Darcie B

Now the bagels have to rest and pass the "float test" before you can retard them in the refrigerator. Retarding is putting the dough in a cold environment to slow down the rising and allow some of the tasty enzymes in the dough to develop, enhancing the flavor. It's supposed to take 20 minutes or so until the bagels will float when you place them in a bowl of cool water. I guess floating means they have risen enough so when you retard them they will still develop properly. Well, no dice after 20 minutes. Or after 40 minutes. Or after 1 hour.... By then it was 12:15 a.m. and I was no longer in a happy baking mood. I had ruined one of the bagels drying it off after it didn't float (the paper towel got hopelessly stuck to the bagel). I decided that they would probably be ok if not spectacular, and stuck them in the fridge until the morning. I got up, turned on the oven and started a large pot of water to boil, which is the next step in bagel making. Here are what the bagels looked like when I removed them from the fridge. You'll note they rose some in the fridge and the holes are a lot smaller. I boiled them for about 1 1/2 minutes on each side, in water that had been alkalinized with baking soda. Apparently this is what gives them their sheen. Then I sprinkled some with toppings... And popped them in the oven. About 15 minutes and 1 rack switcheroo later, I had to toast mine (I just love the contrast between the crunchy and chewy), and topped it with a mixture of cream cheese, honey, walnuts and a pinch of nutmeg. These aren't the best I have made but they are still better than Lender's.

I decided that last night would be a good night to make bagels. The dough has to rest in the fridge at least overnight, so it makes it a decent weeknight project if you get started early. I haven't made bagels for quite some time because if you don't make them with high gluten flour you shouldn't even bother trying. Local stores don't carry high gluten and I'll be darned if I pay more for shipping than for the flour itself. The first few times I made bagels I ordered Sir Lancelot high gluten flour from King Arthur Flour. Then I tried subbing bread flour with added gluten and the bagels were not as dense and chewy. Then, on the way back from the mountains last weekend, I stopped by a bulk foods store about an hour north of here and spotted this: Glory be! And it's cheap, too! I use Peter Reinhart's recipe from The Bread Baker's Apprentice. First you make a sponge with flour, water and yeast: This sits for two hours while you go to a friend's house and drink vodka in front of a roaring fire. Upon your return, you add more yeast, flour, salt, water and barley malt syrup. This should be available at nearly any health food store. I have taken to weighing my flour because I am hopelessly inaccurate when I measure. I use an old analog scale that a coworker gave to my husband. He painted it to match my kitchen: Sidebar: I had the dickens of a time getting a good photo of the darn scale because the flash reflected off of the face. I improvized a flash diffuser by using a piece of white paper held on by Scotch tape. Here is what it looks like without the diffuser: So you don't need a fancy lighting system, just some Scotch tape. Back to baking. This dough is really stiff and is a challenge for anything but a heavy duty stand mixer. Don't try this with your Osterizer or you might kill it. I use a Kenwood aka Rival aka Delonghi and this dough gives it a workout. The Kenwood is noisy like a Moss gearbox in an E-type to begin with, and it really whines with this dough. I know the dough is done when the mixer starts to not only sound like but also smell like an old English car. Actually you knead it about six minutes in the stand mixer. Don't walk away or the mixer might follow you. Once the dough is kneaded, you cut it into 12 pieces. I use a bench scraper: Then you form it into balls. The method Reinhart uses (that I use too) is to cup the dough in your hand and, using the resistance of a clean, dry countertop to create surface tension, roll it into a smooth ball. As you roll it, the outside will get smooth and taut and the underside will close up. This is not a great picture and by the time it took to get the photo, the underside of the ball had started to open a little. It will not open if you leave it on the counter. You let these little balls rest for about 20 minutes, covered with a damp tea towel or paper towels. Then you shape the bagels. There are two basic ways to do this. You can just punch a hole in the bagel and twirl it to enlarge the hole, or you can roll out a rope, overlap the ends, and roll those together. I use the latter method. Note how large the holes are in the beginning.

I finally got photos uploaded so I can show you what I've been up to. First, dinner last night. I made a sausage, potato and kale cream soup, one of my DH's favorites. Don't tell anyone but it's my imitation of the Olive Garden Toscana soup. Saute some shallots in EVOO (imagine Rachel Ray saying it - or not). Add mild Italian sausage. Note the liquid gold standing at the ready. Add potatoes and broth and put in a few herby type things. Add kale, some cream and enjoy... with some wine... I promised to show you some of the area's markets. I'll start with the place I get a lot of my meat. I complained upthread about the paucity of butchers in the area. This place is pretty good but they don't start with whole cows and pigs as I would prefer. Therefore they can't get all the cuts I want, but they will cut to order and save me chicken backs for stock and are generally very accommodating. Plus, this is one of two places I can get chicken and pork that haven't been "enhanced." They carry Boar's Head deli meats They asked that I didn't take a photo of their meat case because it was kinda empty (they do most of their business on the weekends).

Thanks! I put the island in before I did the rest of the kitchen and was on a tight budget so I used tile. Then I did the rest of the kitchen using Corian. I left the tile because I liked having a surface on which I could place hot objects without worry. It would be nice to have a smooth surface for rolling out dough, etc., but I really haven't any problems with the tile so it will remain for now, although I have thought about replacing it with some kind of stone (I will never again get Corian). My actual job title is Judicial Assistant. So basically I am a federal judge's secretary although I do more varied tasks than the standard typing and filing. I volunteer to cook and bake at various functions so my boss is not taking advantage of me. I get compensated for things I do out of the office (not by the gov't so don't worry about your tax dollars being misspent ). I never thought I would end up as a secretary after four years of undergrad and 1 year of grad school, but I was a systems administrator before and due to wages being low here, I actually make much more as a secretary . This job also allows me to do a lot of work for a nonprofit that the Judge and I are both involved with, so it all works out (except my ego takes a beating).

Just checking in before bed. I decided to bake bagels and they are almost ready to stuff in the fridge for a good night's rest. I have photos to post of dinner and the bagel making, but forgot to bring home the gadget to download them to the computer (DOH ). Pictures tomorrow when I get to work. I said in an earlier post I might try to make macarons this week for the first time. I am constantly trying out new things and have a list of things I want to do but haven't yet. The biggest ones right now are roasting my own coffee, making macarons, making a joconde and wrapping it around a filling for a neat standalone dessert (inspired by Wendy DeBord in the Baking and Pastry forum), making a standing rib roast with meat from Lobels (anyone care to guess why I haven't done thi$ one yet?) and blowing sugar. I'm sure there are more that my sleep-deprived brain can't remember. There have been a lot of things I have checked off my list, but as soon as I check something off another thing gets added. What are your as-yet-unachieved culinary goals? Edit to add: I forgot croissants! I want to do croissants...

My kitchen is usually that clean at least once a week. I guess I am one of THOSE kind of people. I have four cats and hate the thought of little feet on the counter, so I am pretty compulsive about cleaning. We don't have any kids so it's just the two of us to clean up after (plus the four furry ones). Edit to add: bacon toffee cake is intriguing, but might not make it as the b-day cake. My sweet tooth is so strong it's actually sweet teeth!

Unfortunately it is an electric smooth top, and nearly matches the counters so it doesn't show up very well on the pictures. I really want a gas cooktop and will eventually get one. We have to run a gas line through the basement and it has a drywalled ceiling that we have been loathe to tear down. It is in the "long range" (pun intended) plan. I will either get a Thermador or a DCS. I really want to build a house with my "dream kitchen" that includes a huge pantry, but that will have to wait until DH's business gets going. The kitchen I have now is loads better than anything else I had before, so I'm not complaining.

Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to get out and show you my favorite markets and stores. We have a farmer's market that is pretty decent but not much is happening there right now (reference above snow picture).

How about Plugra?

Gee, I forgot to mention that I LOVE coconut. I have heard about that cake but haven't made it. I have made the Cook's Illustrated Coconut Layer Cake and liked it pretty well. So far the contenders are the white chocolate mousse cake, some kind of chocolate/orange combo (still groovin' on the blood orange sorbet idea), and the black forest cake. I'll add the coconut cake to the list.

The Wonder Cup would work with something thick like molasses. It's really a pretty tight fit and would scrape most of it off the sides. However, if something were thinner like maple syrup, it *might* leak down the sides/bottom. I once poured milk in it just to see how tight it was and it did leak but fairly slowly. If you'll notice on the one I have, the plunger is hollow and if you turn the unit upside down you can use the hollow part for liquid measurements (marked in blue, the "sticky stuff" measurements are in red). This is the only one I have seen that does this, and it actually isn't a Wonder Cup brand product, but (I am almost embarrased to admit this) is a Pampered Chef product. About $9 USD. I have two and use them all the time. The actual "Wonder Cups" only handle the sticky type stuff.

I learn something new every day! The white chocolate mousse sounds really, really good. I think it is at the top of my list right now but the blood orange sorbet is still beckoning too Since the weather is like this today: I ended up going through the drive through (I park underneath my building in a heated garage so I am spoiled!) for lunch. Note: The salad is from the fridge at work, not from Wendy's. Hopefully tomorrow will be better so I can take you on a tour of some of the local groceries and stuff...

I have found that buttermilk lasts much longer than the stated expiration date. I have kept it for up to a month past the expy date with no problems. It didn't even smell bad then, but by then I had used it up.

I wondered about that so I tasted the bacon fat. It wasn't very salty, actually. Therefore the cookies weren't too salty. But that's a great point to make.

Duck fat cookies? Do tell more...

Back to bakin' with bacon. This morning I managed to bake off the bacon cookies. Here they are going into the oven: and emerging... You can definitely taste the bacon. They are pretty good all around; good spice flavor. I am thinking that they would be even better if I used drippings from peppered bacon and added some freshly ground pepper into the dough. I think that would really set these off. They are quickly disappearing from the break room, along with the coconut macarooms I brought. Then I grabbed a quick breakfast: Oh, almost forgot to show my 2:30 a.m. snack: I'll bet I could lose part of the 20 pounds I have gained in the last few years if I could just give up the midnight snacking

I'm diggin on the blood orange sorbet. I must confess, I have never had a black forest cake. Sounds like it could be good, but I usually don't see good dried cherries here and I don't have any kirsch! However, I am remembering that I saw some dried cherries that looked pretty good recently, now if I can only remember where...

I like chocolate with orange, chocolate with raspberry, white chocolate with almost any kind of fruit, and just about any kind of butter cake/buttercream icing. That really limits it, doesn't it?

The bacon fat for these cookies comes from smoked bacon. When I use lard for baking, I try to get leaf fat (fat around the kidneys in pigs) and render it. I mainly use it in pie crusts. Maybe I need to make a chicken pot pie for dinner one evening....it's one of my favorite meals.

I decided to make the bacon cookies tonight. The recipe is from a New York Times article, and states the recipe was adapted from Nelle Branson's original in the Trinity Epoiscopal Church Recipe Book, 1982 edition. Ingredients: 3/4 cup cooled bacon fat 1 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup for dusting cookies 4 tablespoons dark molasses 1 large egg 2 cups AP flour 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1 teaspoon ground cloves 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon Of course I can never leave well enough alone so I subbed 1/3 tsp. cardamom for 1/3 tsp. of the cloves. The recipe instructions start by telling you to preheat the oven. Then later on it says to refrigerate the dough for a few hours first. This is one of my recipe pet peeves. Don't tell me to preheat the oven when I have to let the dough chill for hours!!! This recipe uses a food processor, which makes it really easy. I took the dry ingredients and whirred them up for about 30 seconds to make sure it was well mixed, then added the rest of the ingredients and processed until it mostly came together. Then I hand mixed on parchment until I got a smooth and consistent dough. MMMmmmm, bacon fat. Mise en place I just love Wonder Cups - they make it so easy to dispense sticky ingredients. Ingredients in food processor Almost there! Ready to refrigerate Upon first reading of the recipe, I thought, "with that much spice I could probably use whale blubber as the fat and wouldn't be able to tell." However, after I mixed the dough, I could still smell the bacony goodness. We will see how it holds up after baking. Which will be tomorrow, because I am too pooped to stay up another couple of hours and bake cookies. Stay tuned!

Back again to baking. Following are the pics from the cake I took to the neighbors' house this evening (we ate pizza for dinner; birthday girl's request). The cake is really dark and very moist. The crumb is a little coarse but wow the flavor is good. One of the kids said it was, "like, the best chocolate cake I have ever had." Since I was in a hurry, I had no chance to crumb coat or anything. The cake was in the fridge all day, and I warmed up the ganache a little, and it actually turned out pretty well: Edit due to happy fingers posting too soon.

Thanks - I don't follow sports much but I guess WVU's teams have been doing very well. (to keep it food related, I hear we won the SUGAR Bowl). It would be great to blog during all the ramp fests, but that is a few months away. I will try to make a few regional meals, although I am a transplant from North Dakota/Minnesota (been here about 13 years, still a "furriner"). My sense is that hardly anyone cooks traditional foods anymore, heck, hardly anyone cooks. Some of the standards include brown beans (pintos) and cornbread (or fried potatoes), creasy greens, poke greens, biscuits and gravy, fried pies (like apple fritters), the aforementioned ramps, fried chicken, leather britches and I'm sure I am missing some. Not a lot of meat-centric meals since Appalachia is a traditionally poor area. I have a friend whose mom makes all the above mentioned foods. When she is at my friend's house she invites us over because she likes to cook for a crowd. My kinda woman. Thanks - my DH and I redid our kitchen by ourselves (except for the Corian countertop). I did the planning, laid the floors and did the woodwork and my DH did the plumbing, wiring and installed the cabinets (I helped a little on those). Red velvet cake could certainly make an appearance. Bacon candy sounds really good... The bonus is not having to eat the yukky cakes. I wish I could find locally smoked bacon! I can't even find a good butcher! I am fond of peppered bacon and like the Wright's brand, and even the Aldi brand is pretty good, but inconsistent in the thickness of slices. For the cookies coming up, I will be using bacon left from the weekend cooking, which was Hormel thick sliced (Sam's Club). My friends and I did a bacon testing similar to the Cook's Illustrated bacon testing and came up with similar results. We used some local store brands, Oscar Meyer, and Hormel. The latter two came out on top. I have heard Nueske's is really good but can't get it here and haven't mail ordered any because I'm cheap. I'm so glad! I was terrified that no one would read or respond. I actually dreamt about it last night! I hope I can live up to the greats who have come before me. That was one of my goals. I think a lot of people don't bake much for a number of reasons - I hope to inspire a lot of oven-turning-on! mizducky and BarbaraY - I will admit I straightened up my fridge a little for the photo (but I am one of those near OCD cleaning types). Maybe I will post a photo of my spice drawer to really give you a heart attack... Regatta is still held on Labor Day weekend and for several days before. It is a much smaller and shorter event than in its heyday, but still well attended. I don't go because of all the crowds (I call it Regretta...) I too love chocolate and orange. That might show up if I can find a recipe...Keep those ideas coming, folks! Thanks for all your wonderful responses. This is fun!

You nailed it, Deborah. Here at work we have a small b-day celebration for everyone (about 23 people so about 2/month, sometimes they are combined). If I don't make a cake, then they go across the street to the cookie store for a "cookie cake" or to Kroger and get one of their godawful cakes. I've baked everyone a cake for the past six months or so.

Thanks, Chris! If you like vegetarian eats, check out Mountain Kitchen next time you're in Mo-town. Real granola type place. More baking, but first - lunch! The sandwich is made from leftover tenderloin that I made for my boss and some colleagues at a meeting in Randolph County, WV (which is about halfway between Charleston and Charles Town on the map above). My boss owns part of a historic lodge in the area, and I often get to travel there with him to cook for various folks. Since my boss is a federal judge, I get to cook for state and local muckety-mucks. I like it because I get to indulge my hobby and stay at places I normally couldn’t afford. Plus, I get to have views like this from the kitchen: Here is the kitchen I got to cook at last weekend: It isn’t at the lodge I normally cook in, but rather at one of the vacation homes that surround the lodge. You can check out www.cheatmountainclub.com for more information on the lodge that is available for rental (it’s about 2.5 hours from DC). To bring us back to reality, here is the kitchen I usually cook in: and because I enjoyed viewing the contents of mizducky’s fridge and feel it’s a fine eGullet tradition, here’s mine: OK, my boss just brought in a snack: Now back to baking. This evening marks the 14th birthday of my neighbor and good friend’s daughter. I am making her a chocolate cake, mostly using the consensus recipe in the Chocolate Cake thread. I used 2.5 cups of A.P. flour instead of the 2.75 cups of cake flour called for in the recipe, because if you read the thread, you will see I had a disappointing first try with this cake. It fell apart as I tried to ice it and I wanted something a bit sturdier since I have no second chance this time. Here are the cakes as they cooled last night: This evening when I get home from work I will cover and fill them with a sour cream chocolate ganache (very easy, from Rose Levy Berenbaum’s The Cake Bible. For 12 ounces of dark chocolate, melted, you stir in 1 2/3 cups sour cream. That’s it but it is sooo good). Then I will have to think of something to do to make it look good that takes about 5 minutes. I think I will fan some strawberries out on top and pipe a few whipped cream swirls on it. Remember, I still need ideas for my birthday cake, which could turn into a weekend baking spectacular if I get enough suggestions… Edited to add link to Chocolate cake thread

Greetings from the OTHER Charleston! I am getting a rather late start because I got slammed the minute I got into work, but I am very excited about doing this blog. First, a geography lesson – anyone who watched World New Tonight last night on ABC is probably confused about where Charleston, West Virginia is located. They had a correspondent in Charleston (the capital city) reporting on the mine safety legislation that just passed, but the map they displayed showed Charles Town, a WV city about 5 hours away. Here is where both cities are located. West Virginia has been in the news recently for some very unhappy events. I hope to show you that West Virginia is more than these depressing occurrences, and that while not a culinary mecca, there is good food available to most residents of this state. I welcome, nay, encourage, any questions about West Virginia and its food. As the title of my blog suggests, there will be baking in this blog. Lots of baking and indeed baking with bacon. I found an interesting recipe for Swedish Ginger Cookies that calls for bacon fat. Mmmmm, bacon. I also just purchased some almond meal and might try to make macarons for the first time (inspired by this macaron thread on eG). I may bake other items on request, so think about what you might like to see. In addition, I need to bake myself a birthday cake (sorry, no cassoulet on my birthday). My birthday is Thursday (I will be 37), but I will probably get to baking and decorating this weekend. I would like your suggestions on what kind of cake (or pie?) I should bake for myself. My friends all think I am strange for wanting to bake my own birthday cake (and for other reasons also food related), but I love to bake (even if I do cuss a lot whilst doing so). Ideas? I have to run out for an hour or two, but before I leave, here was this morning’s breakfast: All hail the coffee maker, without which I would never get going. There is yogurt underneath all that granola. Gotta run, be back soon! Edited for tipos.