Molasses Sugar Cookies: I Lost My Sugar...In Salt Lake City?

Molasses sugar cookies are a favorite treat in the Chaston family.  So, of course, I made a batch up today!  All the storms lately have turned my attention to baking since I can't do much outside!

Word to the wise: use a mild molasses, not a blackstrap molasses.  Blackstrap will make the cookies less sweet and give them a deeper flavor, but it can be overwhelming and sometimes bitter.  I always use Grandma's Molasses and get good results with it.  What is fun about making these cookies is the dough is rolled in sugar!

I love the song "I Lost My Sugar in Salt Lake City" sung by Peggy Lee with George Shearing.  It's my favorite version and is from the amazing album Beauty and the Beat!

MOLASSES SUGAR COOKIES

Cookie:
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup molasses
2 eggs
3/4 tsp. salt
4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. ginger
2 tsp. cinnamon
3 3/4-4 cups flour

Sugar coating for rolling dough:
1/2 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl cream butter, sugar, molasses, and eggs until blended.

Add salt, baking soda, cloves, ginger, and cinnamon.  Add flour 1 cup at a time.  Reserve 1/4 cup of the flour out.

Put the 1/2 sugar on a plate or lipped dish.  Roll 1-inch balls of dough in sugar.

Strongly suggested:  Make test cookies by placing 2 dough balls on a cookie sheet 2 inches apart.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the middle of each cookie is cracked.  Do not open the oven while the cookies are baking.  If the cookies are too flat and buttery, add the remaining 1/4 cup of flour.  Make the rest of the cookies according to the directions above.

Birthday Snickerdoodles: A Doodlin' Song

Birthdays in my family are special and this weekend is my brother's birthday so we have been celebrating for several days already!  One of his favorite cookies is snickerdoodles.  So I made them today!

In honor of this tasty cinnamon sugar coated cookie, today's song is "A Doodlin' Song" sung by Peggy Lee and Bing Crosby.  I figure "Doodlin'" and "Snickerdoodles" go together, right?


SNICKERDOODLES

Cookies:
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup Crisco
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cream of tartar
2 3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt

Coating:
3 Tbl. sugar
3 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl cream butter, Crisco, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.

In a small bowl stir cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, and flour together.  Add to butter mixture

Mix 3 tablespoons of sugar and 3 teaspoons of sugar together and put on a plate.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls and roll in cinnamon sugar mixture.  Place on parchment paper lined baking sheets.

Bake for 8 minutes.

Finally! Someone Stopped the Rain!

Finally, the sun is out shining brightly in the sky, and there's not a rain cloud in sight!

During this last weekend, I experienced the gloomiest weather in a very long time!  I love rain and thunderstorms.  I'm grateful for rain.  But gloomy skies and constant drizzle made noonday seem like late evening.

I thought of Creedence Clearwater Revival's song "Who'll Stop the Rain" all this weekend wondering when the rain would stop.  I knew it would but it seemed interminable!  Now that the sun's out, I can safely say that someone stopped the rain...!

Chet Redux: But Not for Me

This evening I sat down on the living room floor to play a game with the family and rammed my backbone right into the upholstery rivets on the arm of the sofa.  Ouch!

After some silent tears--I'm a silent crier and the tears just stream down my face--and an ice pack, I was ready to laugh about it.  My older brother suggested I needed pad guards, like the kind you put on your knees and elbows when roller blading!  His second suggestion was to wrap myself up in bubble wrap.  Both options seem rather impractical!

So tomorrow I may be a little sore, but honestly, having a bruised back isn't the worst thing that could happen to me.  To poetically illustrate this point, here's "But Not for Me" with Chet Baker on vocals and trumpet.  I highlighted Chet Baker and his piercingly honest vocals before so here is another of his songs--I just can't get enough Chet!

Memorial Day and Scrabble

Memorial Day is for remembering those who have sacrificed their lives and served as well as those currently serving in the armed forces to protect our country.  It is also a day to take time to be grateful for our families.  Playing games is one way the Chaston family spends time together!

Scrabble is a favorite game of the Chaston men.  Erik won today's game!

To close out Memorial Day in gratitude for the United States of America and the freedoms we enjoy, I am sharing "America the Beautiful" from my album As American As Jazz.  This album expresses my love for my country, God, and family.

Green Bean Casserole: God Bless the USA

Green Bean Casserole is my second favorite food for Thanksgiving, my most favorite is stuffing.  But recently, my green bean casseroles have turned out very soupy.

So today I went the extra, extra, extra mile.  I fully defrosted the green beans by draining them in a colander then patting them down with paper towels.  Voila!  Incredible, non-soupy green bean casserole!

Today's song connection is admittedly a stretch, but green bean casserole and musician Lee Greenwood do go together.  I love Lee Greenwood's song "God Bless the USA."  Tomorrow is Memorial Day and I don't think we can ever have too many patriotic songs!  I covered "God Bless the USA" on my album As American As Jazz: A Patriotic Celebration of the USA, but it's Lee Greenwood's version that I remember watching fireworks to on the Fourth of July as a kid.

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

2-16 oz. bags of frozen French cut green beans, thawed and drained
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 cups French fried onions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Place the French cut green beans in a casserole dish.
3. In a medium bowl whisk together milk, Worcestershire sauce, and mushroom soup until blended.  Pour over the green beans and mix.  Add 1 cup of French fried onions to the mixture and stir.
4. Bake for 20 minutes uncovered.  Remove from oven and shake the remaining 1/2 cup of French fried onions on top of the beans.  Bake for another 5 minutes.

You're a Grand Old Flag

This is the flag in front of my house today!  I don't usually add effects to my blog photos but thought I'd try it this time given my new interest in photography!  I just love our flag!

Every year the local Boy Scout Troop puts flags up in our neighborhood for each national holiday.   I think the yearly donation per household is $30.  What a small price to pay for a neighborhood of flags as we celebrate The United States of America!

Some mornings I'm up early enough to see the boy scouts running down the street behind the scoutmaster's truck, stopping to put a flag in front of each house.  It just makes me so happy to see diligent and cheerful boy scouts line our street with flags.

Usually, I don't put my own music in my blog, but today I will.  Last year I released my patriotic album As American As Jazz: A Patriotic Celebration of the USA.  In fact, the flag on the CD cover is one of the Boy Scout flags.  So here's "You're a Grand Old Flag" from my album As American As Jazz.

Photographs and Memories

Today I read about apertures, ISOs, and shutter speed in photography.  Brett Bird, my videographer and photographer and friend, suggested I check out digital-photography-school.com.  I read through many of the blog entries today.  There are entries about camera parts, subject composition, post production, and more!  It was great fun!

I've always been a bit confused by apertures, ISOs, and shutter speeds, but am now a little more enlightened now.  I tried out what I learned using a 50mm f/1.5 lens with a hood.  I've never used this lens before.  First, I tried manual focus, and then I tried auto focus.

The photo of raspberry plant leaves above I did with manual focus.  It was fun to try out different settings and subjects to see how letting in more or less light changed the exposure of the photo!

I could think of just one song for this blog: Jim Croce's "Photographs and Memories."  I love this plaintive ballad because Croce infuses such genuine longing into it with his rugged voice and articulate guitar playing!

Homemade Caramel Popcorn: You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To

My brother, Keith, makes the best homemade caramel popcorn.  I think it is far superior to any bagged caramel popcorn you can buy at the store!  It is the tastiest caramel popcorn I've ever eaten!

Coming home to this yummy caramel popcorn makes me think of "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To" sung by Frank Sinatra.  I love this “tasty” song!

CARAMEL POPCORN

12 cups popped popcorn

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup corn syrup

1 cup brown sugar

1/8 tsp. cream of tartar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

Put popped popcorn into a very large, microwave safe bowl.  Sift through by hand to remove any unpopped kernels

Put butter, corn syrup, and brown sugar in a heavy saucepan.  Bring to a rolling boil and boil for about 3 minutes.

Remove from heat.  Add cream of tartar, salt, and soda.  Stir until foamy.

Pour caramel mixture over popcorn.  Stir with a wooden spoon to coat the popcorn.

Microwave caramel popcorn for 30 seconds on high.  Stir. Microwave for 30 seconds again if popcorn is not crispy enough.

Alternative:  Put popcorn in a brown paper bag and microwave for 30 seconds, shake the bag and check to see how crispy.  Repeat for 30 seconds if not crispy enough. 

On the Sunny Side of the Street...Where the Internet Works

Arg!  The Internet hasn't been working all day...again!  I still can't believe how awful it is to not be connected to the "outside" world.

I can't think of a song other than "On the Sunny Side of the Street" sung by Louis Armstrong.  I wish I were on the sunny side of the street where the Internet works!  Since I don't know how to hyperlink on a phone, you can look it up yourself. But it's worth the time!

Trees: Willow Weep for Me

For Mother's Day, we kids got my mom a hibiscus tree.  Her gardenia tree died from last year a few weeks before this Mother's Day, so she definitely needed another kind of tree!

When I was little, the tree I loved at our house was a willow in our backyard.  It was the biggest tree I'd ever seen.  I loved to go sit and read under it during the summer.  The branches made a canopy hanging over almost touching the ground.

Speaking of trees, today's song refers to the willow tree.  Here's the jazz standard "Willow Weep for Me" sung by Ella Fitzgerald.

Hail: Here's that Rainy Day

At 11:20 PM yesterday, Erik poked his head into my doorway to ask me if I was watching the storm.  I hadn't been so he lowered my blinds (we have blinds that can go up from the bottom and down from the top).  Then he went back to his room to watch the storm from the west side of the house.

I still needed to brush my teeth and suddenly over the sound of my electric toothbrush heard some banging noises.  Erik came running into my room to pull my blind back up because it was hailing and he didn't want glass to splatter everywhere in the event the hail broke my window.

Hail has never been a part of my love of watching storms.  Thankfully, the hail didn't do much damage to our house. 

Today's song is another storm related song that just includes rain and no hail!  "Here's that Rainy Day" is sung poignantly by the great Ella Fitzgerald.

Storms: Ain't No Sunshine

From the time I was little, I remember loving to watch storms.  My brother and I would go in the living room and move the couch with our Dad and sit by the big front window.  We loved it!

And when I was 12, we got our dog, Dylan.  He was so afraid of storms he would hide under whichever bed was closest.  So Erik and I would make forts for him and sit with him during the storms.  As Dylan aged he got less afraid of storms.  We think his increasing hearing loss attributed to his fear lessening--but he was still able to sense the storms coming.

I hope I get to see a little of the impending storm tonight!  It is true there is a tornado watch until 3:00 AM Monday morning for northeastern Iowa.  I always pray that tornados do not develop but we always prepare for them by making sure everything outside is secured.

So instead of worrying about tornados coming, I recollect the fun times staying up as a little kid to watch the wind blow the trees, hear the rain pelting the roof and see the water temporarily flood the streets.  Storms are great when you feel safe inside protected from the elements!

When it is stormy, it is not sunny at all.  It is good to remember that the sun will reappear but when it is not there, it simply is not there!  I've highlighted other "stormy" songs before so I am sharing "Ain't No Sunshine" sung by Eva Cassidy, a marvelously emotive singer and performer whose life was too short but whose music lives on!

Apple Pie: American Pie

In all of my baking I still haven't tackled pies.  I seem to have avoided making pie crusts.

We were hungry for pie today!  My brother's favorite pie is Marie Callender's Dutch Apple Pie.  It's very tasty!  It is probably the best freezer pie I have eaten that is baked at home!

Soon I will be trying my hand at pies...but until then I'll just keep listening to Don McLean's "American Pie!"

Community Softball: High Hopes

My family loves to play community softball.  I talked a little bit about it a week and a half ago in a blog post.  The first game was this week!

We may not have won, but we did have a lot of fun!  I take pictures of the team playing every year.  We have "High Hopes" (sung by Frank Sinatra) for a win in next week's game!  Yet even if we don't win, we will have some great photos and memories!

The ensuing weeks will have more softball and more pictures!

Raspberries: Blackbird

I love raspberries!

When I was little my family had a raspberry patch in the backyard.  Erik and I loved eating the fresh raspberries right off the bushes!

The best crop we ever had was the year a pair of red-winged blackbirds made their nest in the middle of the raspberry patch.  Red-winged blackbirds are very territorial and protect their hatchlings...and the raspberries from other birds!

We called animal control after the birds actually started attacking us whenever we were in the backyard.  The suggested solution was to beat metal pans with metal spoons while standing on the back porch so that the birds would be momentarily scared away long enough so my dad could run to the raspberry patch and pick as many raspberries as he could before the birds came back.  It was really quite comical!

Fresh raspberries are the best, however, thawed frozen raspberries are also very tasty!  They are a healthy and very easy snack, especially when it is hot outside!

I mean, how easy is it to pull the bag of frozen raspberries out of the freezer, let it sit on the counter for 10 minutes, and then scoop some into a bowl??!!  Maybe half-frozen raspberries are even better than fresh...

The blackbirds in my childhood raspberry patch story reminded me of The Beatles song "Blackbird," so it is today's song!

Life without Internet: You're Gonna Hear from Me

Life without Internet...stinks.

I've tried to write this blog at least four times today without success.  Now I finally have a little connectivity and I feel connected to the world again!  I don't know why connectivity has been an issue today but it has!

It's difficult to have communication without Internet...or feel that you are being heard from.  So today's song is "You're Gonna Hear from Me" sung by Frank Sinatra.  So good to connect with you!

Chocolate Cheesecake Redux: How About You?

I made my favorite chocolate cheesecake in my new silicone springform pan and it turned is superb!  The best part?  The springform just slid right away from the cake when I unhinged it!  I'm so pleased with easy my silicone bakeware makes baking!

I made a few ingredient adjustments to the Kraft recipe so I've included the altered recipe below.  You can access the original Kraft Chocolate Cheescake recipe, too.

To paraphrase, "I like chocolate cheesecake cold, how about you?"  So please take a listen to the classic Frank Sinatra tune, "How About You."

CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE

CRUST:
2 cups crushed Oreo Cookies, about 24 cookies
4 Tbl. melted butter

CAKE:
3 packages of cream cheese (8 oz. each)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
8 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate, chopped

Prepare a 9-inch metal springform pan by lining bottom and sides with parchment paper.  If using silicone, spray vegetable spray on bottom and sides.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Combine crumbs and melted butter in a medium bowl and mix.  Press evenly onto the bottom of the springform pan.  Bake for 15 minutes.

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chopped chocolate in the microwave on power 4 for 45 seconds.  Stir.  Put in for another 45 seconds.  Stir.  Microwave until the chocolate is melted.  Let cool on the counter.

Whip the cream cheese until smooth and shiny, for 2 to 3 minutes.  Add sugar, vanilla, and eggs and beat just until incorporated.

Add the cooled chocolate to the cream cheese and whip until completely mixed.  Pour on top of the baked crust.

Bake at 325 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes.  Center should be set, but may jiggle.  Don't over bake or cheesecake will be very dense and heavy.

Let cool in springform pan.  If in a silicone pan, let the cake cool and remove the silicone ring before placing in fridge or freezer.  Refrigerate for 4 hours or freeze for 2 hours before slicing and serving.

Muffins: A-Tisket, A-Tasket

Muffin Ma'ams Basket

Today I got to try scones and biscotti from Muffin Ma'am's a local catering bakery in Dubuque, Iowa.  They were fantastic!  I wish I could make scones and biscotti like they do!

If you're looking for a great tasting, personalized gift or need great pastry for a party, definitely call Muffin Ma'ams!  Check out their long list of flavors including Lemon Poppy Seed, Raspberry (muffins), Cinnamon Crunch, White Chocolate Raspberry (scones), Triple Berry, and Butter Pecan (biscotti).  Just about any flavor you can imagine they make!

These goodies were packaged in a "basket" lined with cheese cloth so I thought of the first lines in "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" sung by Ella Fitzgerald!  "A-Tisket, A-Tasket, a brown and yellow basket...."  Enjoy!

Mother's Day and Comfort Food: Pound Cake

Happy Mother's Day!  When I think of mothers, I think of comfort--which inevitably leads me to think of comfort food.  And a great comfort food is Pound Cake!

Now, I know I've highlighted this song before, but I love the way "I'm a Woman" sung by Peggy Lee "tells it like it is" for mothers who care for families around the clock!  Mothers have my highest regard!

POUND CAKE

CAKE:
1 cup butter, cut into Tablespoon-sized pieces, chilled
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
2 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 cup cake flour (if don't have cake flour, all-purpose flour will work too)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cups sugar

RASPBERRY SAUCE:
1 lb. frozen raspberries

Let the butter sit out for about 20 minutes to slightly soften.

In a small bowl, beat the eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla with a fork until incorporated.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Grease and flour a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

Use a paddle mixing attachment to whip the butter and salt together until they are smooth, for about 2 minutes.  Scrape down the bowl.

While mixing on medium speed, add the sugar to the butter mixture until light in color, for about 7 minutes.  Scrape down the bowl.

With the mixer on medium speed, add the egg mixture and beat for 3 minutes until the batter is fluffy.  The batter might have a curdled look, but that is okay.  Scrape down the bowl and make sure all the ingredients are fully incorporated.

Gently hand mix the flour into the wet batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top out with a rubber spatula.  Bake for between 55 and 60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean at the center.  Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for between 10-15 minutes.  Remove from pan and let cool for another 2 hours.

To make the raspberry sauce, put the frozen raspberries in a colander and let them defrost.  When softened, mash raspberries with a fork.  Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.

Powder with Sunshine: Lemon Whippersnappers!

One of my favorite cookies growing up was the Lemon Whippersnapper.  It was a simple and delicious recipe that only had a few ingredients including cool whip and boxed cake mix.  I loved them!

So imagine my delight last December when I discovered a "from scratch" recipe for Lemon Whippersnappers in America's Test Kitchen Magazine!  I didn't even know these cookies could be made without the cake mix or the cool whip.  However, America's Test Kitchen calls them Lemon Snowflakes not Whippersnappers.

I, of course, have added my own adaptation and doubled the recipe.  They were such a big hit that I couldn't just make 2 dozen; I had to make 4 dozen!  These cookies are GREAT freezer cookies and keep very well...if they last that long.  Honestly, these cookies are addicting!

Lemon is so...sunny!  And these cookies are covered in powdered sugar, too.  So here's "Powder Your Face with Sunshine" sung by Dean Martin.

Lemon Snowflakes (Whippersnappers)

DRY MIX:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

WET MIX:
2-1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 Tbl plus 2 tsp grated lemon zest from about 6 lemons (you can substitute dried lemon peel)
6 Tbl lemon juice from about 2 lemons (you can substitute refrigerated lemon juice)
8 Tbl butter, melted and cooled
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbl vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla

COATING:
1 cup powdered sugar

In a medium bowl mix flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

Put granulated sugar and lemon zest in food processor and process for about 60 seconds.  The mixture should be finely ground.  Add the melted butter, vegetable oil, eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla.  Mix for about 60 seconds or until mixture is light in color and somewhat thick.  Pour into the dry mixture and mix by hand with a rubber spatula until fully incorporated.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.  Get out a wire cooling rack and place waxed paper underneath it.

Form dough into 1-1/2 inch balls and roll in powdered sugar.  Place on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart to allow the cookies room to spread.  Bake for between 10 to 12 minutes.  Cookies will look wet in cracks, but are done.  Leave the cookies on the cookie sheet for at least 5 minutes to continue baking outside of the oven.  Remove to wire cooling rack.

Recipe makes about 4 dozen cookies.

My Favorite Things: Recipes!

My adaptation of Pistachio Pudding Bars is one of my older brother's favorite desserts!  And despite that they are made in steps or layers, Pistachio Pudding Bars are quite easy to make.

The crust has pecans in it.  I like to buy whole pecans in bulk so I keep them in the freezer until I need them--then they don't go rancid.  Sometimes I chop up several cups (or use the food processor) and store them in the freezer in ziploc bags with the date written on them.

This little tip is essential: Always sort through bulk pecans to make sure no shells are still attached to the nut meat.  Just when I think I don't need to sort, I find a shell!  It never hurts to be careful!

Since these are one of Keith William's favorite desserts, here's "My Favorite Things" sung by Julie Andrews.  And since this song is immortalized by two greats--Julie Andrews and John Coltrane, I've included Coltrane's instrumental version of "My Favorite Things," too!

PISTACHIO PUDDING BARS

CRUST:
1 cup plus 2 Tbl. butter, room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 13 x 18 inch jelly roll pan with parchment paper.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar together.  Add flour and mix until combined.  Mix in the pecans and vanilla.  The dough will be crumbly and slightly dry.

Press dough evenly into the lined jelly roll pan.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.  Crust may puff up a little during baking, but will fall once out of the oven.  Allow to cool.

CREAM CHEESE LAYER:
2 - 8 oz. packages of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup heavy cream, whipped to make 2 cups

In a medium bowl, whip the cream cheese until smooth.  Add powdered sugar and beat until silky in texture.  Add vanilla and whip until incorporated.  Add a 1/3 cup of the whipped heavy cream to the bowl and whip.  Then fold the rest of the whipped cream in by hand.

Dollop onto the cooled crust and then spread until the whole crust is covered.

PISTACHIO PUDDING LAYER:
4 - 3.4 oz. boxes of instant pistachio pudding mix
4 cups skim milk

In a large mixing bowl combine pudding mix and milk and whip until thick.  Make sure to break any pockets of mix by scraping down the bowl and running a rubber spatula through the mixture.  If Mixture is too runny, put in the fridge for a couple of minutes to thicken.

Once thickened, dollop onto the cream cheese layer and spread until the cream cheese is covered.

Put in the refrigerator or freezer to firm up.

To store, freeze the entire tray.  Remove the bars by picking up with the parchment paper and put on a large cutting board.  Let the bars sit at room temperature for a few minutes.

With a large knife, cut into rectangles.  Line an air-tight container with waxed paper.  Put the bars in the container in one layer.  Put another piece of waxed paper on top of the first layer of bars and add another layer.  Repeat until the container is full.  Store in the freezer.

VARIATION:
Choose your favorite flavor of pudding mix and substitute it for the pistachio pudding mix.

Just in Time for Torte!

Chocolate Raspberry Torte

As I looked for recipes to try in my new silicone bakeware, I came across a recipe for Chocolate Raspberry Torte.  I love chocolate and raspberries, so I had to try it!

And the silicone bakeware worked magnificently!  The cakes literally just slid out of the pans!  Perfect cakes without the hassle of sticking and breaking!

Time is very important in baking, perhaps even more-so than in cooking.  Over bake and cakes dry out.  Under bake and cakes are, well, not done.  So today's song is "Just in Time" sung by Dean Martin.

The recipe below is my adaption of a Cook's Illustrated recipe.

CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY TORTE

CAKE
4 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate, chopped
4 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped
12 Tbl. butter, cut into pieces
2 1/2 tsp. vanilla (real, not imitation!)
2 cups sliced almonds, toasted
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt
5 eggs
3/4 cup sugar

FILLING
12 oz. frozen raspberries, thawed
1/3 cup seedless raspberry jelly, heated until runny

GLAZE
4 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate, chopped
1 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup and 1 Tbl. heavy cream

GARNISH
16 full raspberries, set aside

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and put the oven rack in the middle.  Line two 9-inch round pans with parchment paper and grease the paper.  If using silicone pans, spray with vegetable spray.

Melt the 4 oz. of semi-sweet and 4 oz. of unsweetened baking chocolates in the microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds on power 3.  Take out and stir.  Put in for another minute and 30 seconds.  The chocolate should be mostly melted.  Add the butter and put in microwave for another 30 seconds.  Stir the butter and chocolate together.  When combined, add vanilla.

Pulse 1 cup of sliced almonds coarsely in a food processor.  Set aside.

Put the rest of the almonds in the food processor and grind finely.  Add flour and salt until combined.  Put in a small bowl and set aside.

Put eggs in food processor and turn on for 2-3 minutes until light in color and slightly frothy.  Add the sugar and whip until combined.  Remove food processor bowl.  Hand whisk the almond-flour mixture and chocolate mixture together.

Evenly divide the batter into the prepared cake pans.  Bake for 14 minutes.  Let cool, in pans, on wire rack.

If using metal pans, loosen cake sides from pan with a knife.  Flip one cake onto the backside of a plate.  Then flip the cake to be right side up on the wire rack.  Put waxed paper under the rack.

To make the filling, mash the raspberries and add the liquified jelly to the mixture.

Spread the raspberry filling on the top of the first cake.  Flip the other cake directly onto the top of the first cake and filling.

To make the glaze, put the rest of the chocolate and heavy cream in a small saucepan.  Melt over medium-low heat, stirring constantly.  Be careful not to scald the cream or burn the chocolate.  Once combined, pour and spread over the cake, being sure the sides are covered by letting the chocolate go over the sides of the cake.

Using the remaining coarsely chopped almonds, pat onto the sides of the torte.

Place the 16 raspberries on top of the cake around the edge.

Throw away waxed paper under the cake rack.  Place the rack with the cake on a jelly roll pan.  Put in the freezer.

Everything Baker

By now you know I love to bake!  And you also know that my family loves to celebrate.  Some of my belated graduation presents included a set of silicone bakeware and silicone baking sheet!

Two months ago after using a silicone bundt pan--which ironically is one-third the price of a metal bundt pan--I wondered if it were possible that other silicone bakeware could be superior to metal bakeware.

Fast forward to yesterday,  I just couldn't bring myself to make a chocolate cheesecake because the springform pan was completely rusted and even though I line the entire springform pan with parchment paper, I couldn't use it.  Plus, it was a bit bent and I was afraid it would leak.  So I looked online and found out that silicone springform pans exist!  They really do!

So I ordered one that will arrive tomorrow.  I'll let you know how well it works.

Now to this afternoon, I came downstairs to find the beautiful arrangement of silicone bakeware waiting to be discovered by me!  A graduation surprise!

I'm in heaven selecting recipes to try out in the new silicone bakeware!

Seriously, if I could do an infomercial for silicone baking products, I would.  I would also write a catchy jingle...!

For now, here's a treat of a song, "Everything Happens to Me" sung by the jazz trumpeter Chet Baker in honor of the "baking" mood.  Chet Baker is more known as a trumpeter but as a great musician he puts emotion in his vocals, too!

Charade and Softball: Playing at Games

Thank you for all of the well wishes for law school!  I'm excited to start this new chapter of my life.

And today is the beginning of Sherrill, Iowa, community softball season!  Every summer I take pictures of our team in action.  It's very fun!  Today Team Chaston did provided umpires and concession stand workers, so the top photo is of the last game of the night.  The concession stand photo is of Joe Baggot, left, Will Chemin, middle, and Katie Eastvedt on the right just as they were finishing cleaning up and stocking the shelves after a busy night!

You'd think I'd learn the rules of softball, as this is my fourth summer taking pictures of softball being played, but I still find myself asking other fans, "What just happened?"  Perhaps I'm too focused on getting my pictures in focus to figure out all the rules...I will get those for a future blog!

One of the lines of the song "Charade" from the theme for the movie Charade is "Playing at games..."  So here's Andy Williams singing "Charade," though my favorite rendition is the vocal-less soundtrack version.  Also, definitely check out the movie starring Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant.  It's an awesome thriller!

I Can't Believe That...I'm Going to Law School!

So I have some news for you that began unfolding in early April.  I start law school in the fall!  You are probably as shocked as I was with my recent decision.  One of my tutors might be wrong but he thinks I hold the record for the shortest prep time for deciding to go to law school and being accepted to law school. 

With only five weeks to study, on January 7th I signed up to take the February 9th LSAT.  Besides studying for the LSAT, I had personal statements to write for very different law school applications, and I needed to line up letters of recommendation and evaluations from professors and an employer.  Plus, I had to finish the classes I needed to graduate.  I even added a pre-law class that I absolutely loved!

As grateful as I was to be admitted to Southwestern’s two-year SCALE program and as much as I highly prize being admitted to the University of Iowa, I choose to attend BYU for overwhelming reasons.

Never fear, I am still performing and releasing albums during law school.  Plus, my blog will include law school updates as well as jazz and recipes! 

I love this line from the beginning of While You Were Sleeping, “[My dad] would get these far-off looks in his eye and he would say, ‘Life doesn’t always turn out the way you plan.’"  Then Lucy (Sandra Bullock's character) says, "I just wish I’d realized at the time he was talking about my life.”  Well, that pretty much sums it up!

Since I still can't believe how this all came together so swiftly, here's "I Can't Believe That You're in Love with Me" sung by Frank Sinatra.