running with tweezers

sweet by request

One of my favorite memories from childhood is of a birthday cake my mom made for me. I was turning 5 and I was having my party at a Putt-Putt (remember those?). My cake that year was inspired by my obsession du jour: Strawberry Shortcake. My mom made this goofy, two-level cake decorated with red gel frosting with a Strawberry Shortcake doll perilously perched on top. It made my eyes light up then...and as an adult, I still smile & chuckle when I see a photo of that thing.

While there is a place in this world for a sleek fondant-covered cake (cue the wedding bells), there is something to be said for a hand-crafted, homemade, not-so-fancy birthday cake. Slaved & stressed over with attention to details the recipient would like - not what's going to be so darn photogenic. This isn't Ace of Cakes over here.

My friend Martin had a birthday this week. He's been talking about German Chocolate Cake ever since he made a carrot cake but thought he was making a German Chocolate Cake instead. Editors Note: I don't know how that happened either so don't ask me. As my birthday gift to him, I thought I'd make one from scratch. As I've said before, baking scares the crap out of me so a multi-layered, frosted & decorated version is something I would normally call in an order for. Instead, I Frankenstein-ed a couple recipes together and came up with a sweet, chocolatey, gooey hit. This is a heavy hitter chocolate bomb so don't expect diet food. Oh yeah, it has a little booze in it, too.

German Chocolate Cake - recipe adapted and put together from recipes by David Lebovitz and Aliyyah Baylor

•        4 ounces baker's chocolate (preferably: Baker's German Sweet Chocolate)
•        1/2 cup water
•        2 cups cake flour
•        1 teaspoon baking soda
•        1/2 teaspoon salt
•        1/2 pound unsalted butter, room temperature
•        1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
•        1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
•        1/2 cup brown sugar
•        4 eggs, separated
•        1 cup buttermilk   
•        Coconut Pecan Filling, recipe follows
•        Chocolate frosting - I used David Lebovitz's recipe below but use your own favorite recipe if you prefer 

- In a microwave safe bowl, add the chocolate and water and heat in a microwave or over a double boiler until melted. Stir until smooth and set aside. In a separate bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, vanilla extract, granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add egg yolks 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in the melted chocolate. Add the flour mixture and buttermilk, alternating, until just combined. Stir in bourbon, if using. 

- Add the egg whites to a small bowl and beat with an egg beater until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whites into the batter until well incorporated.

- Pour the batter evenly into 2 buttered/prepared (9-inch) cake pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes depending on your oven. Remove from the oven to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before filling and frosting.

for the Coconut Pecan Filling:

• 1 1/2 cups evaporated milk
• 5 egg yolks, slightly beaten
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup butter
• 2 1/2 cups flaked coconut - reserve 2 tablespoons for garnish on top of cake
• 2 cups toasted pecans - reserve 1 tablespoon for garnish on top of cake

- Combine the evaporated milk, slightly beaten egg yolks, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and butter in a large saucepan or heavy pot over low heat. When the butter melts raise the heat to medium, stirring constantly. The mixture will thicken after 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add the coconut and pecans (except for those reserved for the top cake garnish) and cool before frosting the cakes.

For the Chocolate Icing:

• 8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1 ½ ounces unsalted butter
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons Kahlua (optional)

-  Place the 8 ounces of chopped chocolate in a bowl with the corn syrup and 1 ½ ounces of butter.
-  Heat the cream until it just begins to boil. Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate. Let stand one minute, then stir until smooth. Stir in Kahlua, if using. Let sit until room temperature.

To Assemble the German Chocolate Cake:

- Put a cake layer on top of a serving plate. Drizzle cake layer with 1 tablespoon bourbon or other liquor. Top with a generous layer of the caramel/pecan filling. Cover the frosting with another cake layer, drizzle that layer with 1 tbsp. of bourbon and spread with the frosting. Top with the final layer and frost. Spread remaining coconut/pecan filling on top of cake and sprinkle with extra toasted coconut & pecans.
Spread dark chocolate frosting around the outside of the entire cake. I piped a decorative trim on the top layer to connect the side chocolate frosting to the top - this is optional but I think it makes a nice finishing touch. 

Atlanta's Food Blogger Bake Sale - The Recap!

It's been another busy week of work and travel...and I wish I had gotten this post up sooner. I didn't want to just throw something up and call it done. This was a very special event for me and the outcome of Atlanta's first ever Food Bloggers Bake Sale was quite remarkable. It was a gorgeous morning. Lots of folks came out to both help, visit and do some shopping. In the end, our little ol' bake sale raised over $1600, all of which goes to Share Our Strength! Thanks to the hard work of the bloggers, the bakers, participating businesses and restaurants and all the other volunteers - as well as those who donated online. None of this would have happened without you and I am eternally grateful.

Everyone donated their time, their kitchens, or both so generously...I need to give all of those that took part a shout-out. Please visit their blogs or businesses to thank them for giving so selflessly to our cause:

• Lisa Hanson, owner of Cabbagetown Market, was so instrumental in the success of the Bake Sale. She gave so much of her business's space, her personal time, the use of her tent. She also made some killer pickles & banana puddings! Her market reopens - even better than before - on May 1st. Go check it out!
• Patti from Anatomy of a Dinner Party was totally the cruise director of the Bake Sale. She manned the cash register, took photos of everyone, and just bubbly & amazing. Her oatmeal cookies were incredible too!
• Tracy from Sensatiables brought over some of the best jams I've ever had - the caramelized onion is incredible as an accompaniment to savory dishes. You can visit her on her Facebook group page here.
• The wonderful folks from Maison Robert, a local pastry and confection shop, brought over freshly baked croissant, brioche and flourless chocolate cake. Those savory baked goods were gorgeous and a huge hit!
• Daphne made chocolate-mint marvel cookies. Yum! Her website is www.daphnesashin.com
• Ashley, who has a great food blog over at The Quick & Dirty Cook, contributed her Triple C Cookies.
• Thanks to Kirk Parks at Rathbun's for those double layer chocolate & peanut butter brownies. Rathbun's is one of the most popular restaurants in town - GO if you haven't!
• Is there anything more magical than homemade marshmallows? New addition to Atlanta's restaurant scene Miller Union donated boxes of homemade strawberry & chocolate covered marshmallows
• Cacao, just included in Food + Wine's Best New American Chocolate feature, sent over heavenly (and so beautifully wrapped) brownies.
• Betty from Trouble With Toast whipped up several whole Key Lime Pies (which is one of my faves - i took one home with me!)
• Local foodie & poodle lover Emily made her grandmother's rhubarb cake recipe - and stuck around to help out at the sale. It definetely seemed to be a fan favorite at the sale!
• Amy from Scratch, a local Atlanta bakery, outdid herself with Southern "Pecan Pah" Bars, Pumpkin Bread and two types of scones. Her baked goods are DIVINE - visit her website here. 
• Allison brought a slew of margarita cookies (a recipe she adapted from Smitten Kitchen). They were delicate & had great margarita flavor! 
• Maggie Sweeney, who runs a pastry business here in Atlanta, made everyone a little woozy with her grown up alcohol-soaked cakes. They're INCREDIBLE! Her gluten-free carrot cake cupcakes made a believer out of me - you would have never been able to tell the difference. She is on Twitter as CakeHag
• Chris from Mele Cotte was an angel during the sale. Not only did she bring a TABLE full of goodies, she was sweet enough to make awesome name tags for all of the volunteers & stick around to help. Her beautiful cupcakes & cookies put smiles on folks young & old that day.
• Mandy, who writes the Atlanta Dish blog, made one of my favorite types of cookies: shortbread. Her version had rosemary in it - yum!
• Wanda, whose lovely blog is The Teacher Cooks, brought a variety of beautifully packaged treats. The recipe for the chocolate chip cookies she baked is on her blog! 
• Nic and Katie, who tag team a pretty awesome blog called We Whisk Away, had the hit of the Bake Sale on their hands. Their Salted Caramel Brownies & Salted Cinnamon Chip Cookies nearly incited a riot. Do check out this brownie recipe - it was the talk of the day! Thanks to both of them for volunteering that morning, as well.
• Amrita, whose blog is Once Upon A Dessert, brought tiny, sweet little macarons and Japanese blueberry cheesecake bites to the sale. She's a relatively new addition to the food blog crowd in Atlanta so drop by & see her blog. 
• Thanks to Besha Rodell from Creative Loafing for the Lamingtons - an Australian treat that I had never seen before. We had to Google it...and they were delicious! 
• The Blissful Glutton knocked out a batch of Mexican Wedding Cookies that went quickly at the sale & caused people to hoot & holler out of their car windows upon tasting them.
• Meredith Ford Goldman, food writer for the AJC, was kind enough to donate a gift certificate for a custom made cake of the buyer's choice. The lucky recipient? A 2 year old, who was going to get a fancy birthday cake from his parents purchase. So sweet!
• Ashia, who has a great blog called Clueless Fashionista, came and hung out with us food bloggers while baking up a batch of vanilla chocolate cherry cookies.
• My food styling assistant - and the person who keeps me from chopping off a finger or tripping over a light - Abby made a huge batch of doggie treats in flavors like bacon & Italian-inspired. Even the pups got a treat at the Bake Sale!

The Food Bloggers Bake Sale!

I must keep this short and, well, sweet. I am in the midst of one of my proudest moments as a food blogger. I was asked by Gaby from What's Gaby Cooking to be the Georgia coordinator for the first Food Bloggers Bake Sale. It's happening in states across the country on Saturday, April 17th. Food bloggers from all over are banding together on the same day to raise money and awareness for Share Our Strength, one of the nation's leading hunger relief charities.

It's been a busy few weeks getting the bloggers, bakers and volunteers together...but it's been well worth it. The response from our community here in Atlanta has been overwhelming. I've been so moved by everyone's willingness to help out. I'll have a full report on tomorrow's sale after it happens. For now, here are the important details. Come join us, meet some local bloggers, and help us raise funds for a great cause! If you can't be there in body, you can help out in spirit - make a tax-deductible donation on our team page!

Where: Cabbagetown Market - 198 Carroll Street in the heart of the Cabbagetown District of Atlanta

When: Saturday, April 17th from 9 am - 1 pm

How: Find on-street parking near the market or park right around the corner at Agave, located at 242 Boulevard SE in Atlanta

Why: We're raising money for Share our Strength. All those who buy items at the bake sale will be given a coupon for $10 a future meal at Agave! Bloggers from Atlanta - as well as several local pastry shops & restaurants - are donating baked goods & sweets!

make this salad

I wish I had the time to tell you the incredible and delicious story of my week in Charleston. I really do. All the great moments with Helen as we hung out, shared stories, collaborated on a really great project. Those details will have to wait. There is a nearly-week long shoot coming up & a television commercial looming...as well as one heck of a bake sale.

One thing I can tell you about last week was that Helen changed my life forever by introducing me to the salad you see before you. A quick stop at EarthFare (something we don't have in Atlanta, darnit) for lunch noshes scored us a one-pound container of this stuff. We ate it for lunch - and dinner - on several occasions (and ended up buying a second pound) vowing to recreate it when I got home.

Here it is - this is a dead ringer for their recipe and cheaper to make at home. Believe me when I tell you that it will take you 10 minutes to make this salad...and 10 minutes to eat a batch of it. This recipe may make more dressing than required but I'd rather you have a little extra (for a marinade or something) than not enough. Just add the dressing in steps until the kale is coated but it isn't soupy at the bottom of the bowl. You must have patience here - this salad gets better with time so don't cheat and eat it straight away. A couple hours of marination changes the texture of the kale & allows for deep flavor.

Sesame Kale Salad - serves 4 to 6 as a side dish (or 2 people if you're Helen and me!)

• 1 pound of kale leaves once the tough stems & ribs are removed and roughly chopped - I used the prebagged & washed variety
• 2 large roasted piquillo peppers or roasted red bell peppers, cut into thin, bite-sized strips
• 3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

- In a small bowl, whisk together the sesame oil, soy sauce and vinegar until completely emulsified. Set aside at room temperature.

- In a larger mixing bowl, place kale and pepper strips. Drizzle in dressing and mix the greens and dressing thoroughly - I used my hands for this. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and mix once more until evenly distributed. Cover bowl with its lid or well fitting plastic wrap. Chill for 4 hours to overnight.

doing what i know. kind of.

This soup and I bumped into each other. It was one of the drizzly, gray days we'd been having way-too-often here in Atlanta. While out running errands, I stopped into a restaurant I hadn't been to in years called Nam. I needed a quick nosh before heading back to whichever store or market I was off to next. This soup sounded so interesting, I just had to order it - even though I had sworn to myself that the last thing I needed was another soup recipe to obsess about. It was so unique yet so familiar. Comforting while it made me a little antsy to rush to a kitchen to re-create it. "Mom's Cabbage Dumpling Soup" pretty much blew my mind.

It's the perfect blend of the stuffed cabbage my mom used to make and the Asian soups I hold so dear. Nam's version has pork, shrimp and glass noodles filling their cabbage leaves. I've simplified mine a bit by using just pork dressed up with some shiitake mushrooms and garlic. Use this recipe as a base to experiment- use ground shrimp, more veggies, noodles. Whatever you like or have on hand. I even threw in some leftover enoki mushrooms I had into the broth.

Once you get the hang of rolling the delicate cabbage bundles, this soup comes together extremely quickly - I consulted some Asian cooking blogs to get an idea if I was on the right track. The key here is not to over-stuff the dumplings. Trust me, with the amount of flavor you get from this soup and the heartiness of the cabbage, you need not worry about them being skimpy.

Pork & Cabbage Dumpling Soup - serves 2 as a meal or 4 as a starter

• 2 cups good quality chicken or vegetable broth
• juice of 1 lime (about 2 tbsp)
• 2 cups water
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup ground pork
• 2 tbsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and diced
• 6 large savoy, napa, or white cabbage leaves
• 10 green onions, long green tops saved and cut into long, thin strips and white bottoms roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
• 2 thai red chilies, chopped (optional)
• 1/4 cup fish sauce (optional)
• salt and pepper, for broth, to taste if needed

- Start a large, wide bottomed pot of water on stove to boil.

- Using the tough seam in the cabbage leaves as a guide, cut large sections on either side of that seam off into smaller cabbage leaves - this should make 12 small cabbage segments to use as your wrappers. When water comes to a boil, blanch cabbage until tender but not falling apart - 2 to 3 minutes at the most. Pull from water and allow to drain and cool thoroughly so you can roll your dumplings without burning your fingers.

- While cabbage cools, mix pork, garlic, salt, pepper and chopped mushrooms up in a large mixing bowl. I found that using your hands to do the mixing works best and incorporates everything most evenly. When leaves are cool enough to handle, spoon roughly a tablespoon into each leaf. Fold sides over and roll cabbage into a small bundle. Tie bundle together with a strip of green onion (the recipe calls for more than you need because you'll have some breakage - don't get flustered!).

- In a smaller pot, bring stock, water, lime juice to a simmer. Taste your broth and salt & pepper as needed. Gently place cabbage bundles in the stock and cook until pork is cooked through - 4 to 5 minutes. 

- When done, gently spoon dumplings into a shallow soup bowl (6 per person is a nice healthy portion for an entree or 3 as a starter soup). Ladle broth over dumplings. Garnish with chopped green onions - those white parts you set aside - and chopped cilantro. If using, serve a tablespoon or so of fish sauce and chopped thai red chilies on the side. Serve immediately!