Pink Bake Sale

We held an office bake sale this week for the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

*steps onto soap box*

I was bitterly mad at SGK earlier this year when they chose to politicize women's health. They've since restored grants to Planned Parenthood, the founder stepped down, and they let go of a few of the extreme right conservatives who were offering nothing but negative guidance. I know that other organizations are keeping their eyes on SGK, so I reserve the right to change my find if they return to their evil ways. It's just not cool to mess with women's health.

*jumps off soap box*

Let's talk cookies. Our bake sale organizer decided that all baked goods should be pink. At first I'll admit that I was a little bummed since we are within 2 weeks of Halloween. I wanted to bake with the colors of Fall. Oranges and yellows and rich reds. But then  I was totally inspired by Glorious Treats' riff on traditional pumpkins. A chevron orange and white pumpkin! Yes. More, please.

I decided to make pumpkins, bats, "pink" cats and ghosts. I made the pumpkins and ghosts with regular sugar cookie dough. I decided to mix it up by making the "pink" cats and bats with chocolate cookie dough. I thought it would make the pink icing POP, and it really did. I added a teaspoon of King Arthur Flour's Espresso Powder. Don't worry. It does not add coffee flavor, but it really enhances the cocoa by giving new depth to the flavor of the cocoa. I used Trader Joe's natural cocoa...trust me, it wasn't fancy!

I love packaging sugar cookies as favors. They're lovely little treats. I used these adorable tags by hey love designs. Everyone went bonkers for the "fight like a girl" tag.

Yellow Ribbon Sugar Cookies (aka Cancer Sux!)

I made over 180 cookies for my sister's party to celebrate her 10-year battle with brain cancer. She requested cookies to give as favors. How could I resist? I used a ribbon cookie cutter that I bought at Pryde's Old Westport many years ago. If you are ever in the Kansas City area, then you must visit Pryde's. Be sure to plan a few hours to explore. I placed 2 cookies back-to-back in clear cello bags from Michael's. I attached these lovely tags from Vintage Indie which tied into my sister's theme of LIVE LOVE LAUGH!

This is the piping order I used to create the ribbon's tie. It was hard for my brain to get a grip on this to make it look more like a ribbon. I think the end result is kind of fantastic.

This is the biggest batch of cookies I've ever baked and decorated. Cookies took over my freezer, kitchen, house, and life...but it was definitely worth it! Now that's a lot of cookies.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl is the perfect read for a long hot summer. I'm not a huge fan of suspense/thrillers, but Flynn is a master. Her characters are so developed. You feel like you know them. So much has already been said about this book. It's a huge hit. What's left to say?

I'll keep this short. I loved the alternating chapters between Nick's present (in Summer 2012 no less!) and Amy's diary entries. This is where Flynn's skills at character development are in full glory. Flynn's portrayal of Amy's parents is so clever. You understand how Amy is the way she is...how could she NOT be who she is with parents who exploit her childhood to make Perfect Amy children's books??

I wasn't too keen on the final quarter of the book. I thought Flynn lost her way a bit, as the story veered into an almost comical farce (even pushing to absurd maybe?) about true crime and Nancy Grace-esque "news" programs and whodunit territory. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it...I just wished Flynn had taken a different route.

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward

I'm still reeling from reading this novel. This isn't so much a review, but more like a collection of my thoughts.

Esch is a female protagonist unlike any other. She's growing up in rural Louisiana surrounded by boys and men. The theme of motherhood is thread throughout the story which starts while China, Skeet's prized pit bull, is giving birth to her first litter. We learn that Esch's mother died giving birth to Junior. Then we learn that Esch is pregnant as Hurricane Katrina swirls around in the background. As the hurricane warnings build, life goes on. I've lived in the Midwest my entire life. You don't go to the basement when you first hear the tornado warnings. The warnings slowly build while you go about your life.

One of my favorite elements of this book is the relationships between the siblings. Skeet, Randall, Junior and Esch stick together. They're loyal. They look out for each other as their Dad is adrift in alcohol and grief. Esch's romantic obsession with the myth of Medea and Jason permeates the story as she becomes obsessed with Manny.

There are several dreamlike scenes: looking for chicken eggs from chickens who roost everywhere but the dilapidated chicken coop, the dog fight involving China and 2 other pit bulls in the eerily silent woods as the sun light filters down while the hurricane winds pick up above, Skeet and Esch's journey through the woods to the white farmer's medicine, Randall and Esch's journey through the woods for supplies.

Violence and tenderness are woven together throughout the story. When Esch watches Skeet skin a squirrel, she thinks of her love for Manny as she watches the pulsating heart. China is a majestic character. She is Medea. Skeet's devotion to China makes Esch crave Manny's attention more.

I'm adding Jesmyn Ward to my list of must read authors. Her storytelling skills are major. She often uses one two many metaphors, but I can adjust to that. I anxiously await her next novel.

Flower Power

I'm on a sugar cookie kick. Everywhere I look I see inspiration for cute sugar cookies. I've been thinking about the '70's lately so of course this obsession lead into my sugar cookie obsession. Robin Gibb, Donna Summers, gone all too soon. This is my small little tribute to all things '70's.

I use Bake at 350's royal icing recipe. It never fails me. As you can see, I really dig a rather wide outline. I made these for a Memorial Day party. I know, mushroom cookies for Memorial Day? How random?

Happy Mother's Day, Moms

Paul and I hosted a Mother's Day brunch for my family which included about 20 guests. Stella and I made this kind of artsy sign. It originally said Mom, but Paul commented that there would be more than one Mom present! So true. And even if you're not technically a mother, we all mother somebody. We used letter stencils from Amy Atlas' Sweet Designs: Bake It, Craft It, Style It (buy this book, trust me, you will LOVE it). We taped the letters to a mirror which isn't the best design choice but it looked kind of cute in person!

My Mom loves lemon so we decided to give her a lemon dessert table including a Vanilla Sixlet Cake with Lemon Custard Buttercream and Vanilla Buttercream, Vanilla Sugar Cookies, Lemon Shooters, and Tangy Lemon Bars. We added lemon drop candies plus a jar of sixlets. Guests were encouraged to take home sixlets, lemon jelly belly beans, lemons, and limes.

The Vanilla Sixlet Cake with Lemon Custard Buttercream and Vanilla Buttercream was dreamy. I used Amy Atlas' Vanilla Butter Cake recipe (p. 11) and vanilla buttercream recipe. I added Trader Joe's Lemon Custard to about one cup of buttercream. I used this for the filling. This cake cuts like wedding cake...perfect slices every time. The texture is sturdy, but delicate and so good. Stella helped by separating the sixlets by color since we were only able to find bags of yellow/green/white. The top looks a little lonely. Mental note: decorate the top next time!

Stella helped me stack the Vanilla Sugar Cookies. I decided to decorate with yellow and green polka dots to mimic the sixlets. Stella really enjoyed placing the cookies on a bed of lemon jelly belly beans.

The Lemon Shooters were the star of the party. Everyone loved the refreshing sweet and tangy flavor. I made the vanilla pastry cream from the recipe for Boston Cream Pie Cake found in BAKED Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented (p. 135-137). I used a pastry bag to add the pastry cream, then a layer of Trader Joe's Lemon Custard, then I topped it with fresh homemade whipped cream. I served them in shooters with adorable little spoons. I wanted to sprinkle with crushed gingersnaps, but decided to pass since I associate gingersnaps with the Fall.

I didn't take pictures of the food (apologies, but I'm a dessert girl!), but we also served bacon/sausage, Roasted Potatoes with Green Peppers, Shutterbean's Baked Artichoke Squares, Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Baked French Toast with Blackberry Butter, fresh fruit, Biscuits and Gravy, and mimosas.

Talking with My Mouth Full: My Life as a Professional Eater by Gail Simmons

I absolutely adore Gail Simmons on TopChef and TopChef Just Desserts. She's the only judge who is capable of routinely giving constructive criticism without sounding mean spirited. It's a great life skill. You can tell that she truly cares about food and the chefs who cook it.

I don't read very many biographies, but I devoured this memoir because I wanted to learn how she scored such a great job. Talking With My Mouth Full does not disappoint. I anticipated the TopChef chapters the most, but I discovered that the first chapters are much more illuminating. Perhaps the more recent past needs more time to marinate to develop.

Ms. Simmons sprinkles recipes throughout the book. I cannot wait to try this simple salad (p. 64). I'm waiting for summer when the tomatoes are more in season:

"And every single day for breakfast and dinner, I would eat the same salad. The Israeli kids taught me how to make this kibbutz staple. Dice a tomato and a whole cucumber. Mix them with cottage cheese, salt, and pepper. I also would mix in a little mustard, with a fried or hard-boiled egg."

I recommend this book to anyone obsessed with Gail. She's lived a very interesting life from Canada to New York, from working with Jeffrey Steingarten to TopChef, and she even includes a photo of the menu she used at her wedding! She includes useful infographics like a list of those who work the front of the restaurant and the kitchen (p. 126-7). The sketches are darling. She also lists the 12 courses served in general order (p. 99). Simply amazing.