Hounds In The Kitchen » birthday

Beet Creme Brulee {Recipe}

Rachel — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:46:43 +0000

One birthday tradition in our family is that the birthday girl selects the dessert for the day. My dad always has German chocolate cake; Alex and my sister Megan usually share a pie; Lil likes chocolate cake (homemade, of course).

Now that my youngest sister Heather is a trained pastry chef and freelance cake and truffle maker, I usually give her a few ideas and tell her to make me something tasty. This year, I wanted to see her interpret the trend I see of including beets in desserts.

Heather served up two awesome sweets for my beety birthday earlier this month – chocolate beet cake and beet creme brulee. KatySheCooks has a great chocolate beet cake recipe.

The first thing one notices about beet brulee is that it is shockingly pink. The color would lend itself to a baby girl shower or Halloween ‘bloody brulee’ treat.

The earthy beet flavor compliments the eggy custard nicely. It is great on its own, as we ate it, but we all thought it might be fun to play with additional flavors – perhaps a tiny bit of smoky paprika in the crust, or a tad of spicy ancho powder in the custard. If you try it with an extra flavor, let me know!

Beet Creme Brulee

courtesy of Taysetee Pastry chef Heather Tayse

Makes: 4-6 servings, depending on the size of ramekins

Time: 30 minutes active cooking, 1 hour baking, 12 hour cooling

2 2/3 cups cream

pinch salt

2-3 medium sized beets, peeled and roughly chopped

1 cup egg yolks (approximately 16 eggs worth)

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 t vanilla

2 tablespoons turbinado sugar

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1. Pour cream, salt, and beets into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover, and set to a very low simmer for 45-60 minutes or until the cream has a deep pink color and tastes of beets.

2. Pour hot cream mixture into a blender and blend until fully smooth – this step may need to be done in batches, or you can use an immersion blender.

3. Whisk yolks, sugar, vanilla, and salt together until ribbon stage. (Light and fluffy)

4. Temper the egg mixture into the cream mixture by pouring a little bit of hot cream into the yolks and whisking. Add a little more cream and whisk again. Pour both yolks and the rest of the cream back into the pot.

5. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens to coat the back of a spoon.

6. Strain through a fine sieve and cool over a water bath, then chill 4-8 hours to let flavor’s mellow (over night is better).

7. Pour into oven safe ramekins or bowls and place into a deep casserole dish (or a pan with at least 2″ sides).

8. Place into a 325 degrees F pre-heated oven.

9. Pour hot water into the casserole dish to come at least half way up the sides of the brulee dishes, being careful not to splash any water on the dessert.

10. Cover entire dish with a cookie sheet, sheet pan, or aluminum foil.

11. Bake for 30-90 minutes (depending on the size of ramekin/bowl you use), or until when the creme brulee is gently shaken, the mixture is no longer in a liquid form.

12. Remove from oven, being careful not to spill the water bath into the brulee. Immediately remove dishes from the water bath and let cool to room temperature. Once at room temperature cover each individually with plastic and refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving so they are thoroughly chilled.

13. To brulee: Place a thin layer of turbinado and granulated sugar on the surface of the brulee and using a blow torch very carefully caramelize the sugar. Let cool for 2-3 minutes before serving.

Added to Hearth and Soul.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Beet Creme Brulee {Recipe} is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

A Very Beety Birthday {Silent Sunday}

Rachel — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 01:40:09 +0000

A walk at Darby Creek Metro Park with bug, bird, and buffalo watching + goodies from Pattycake Bakery and lunch from Los Potosinos + a family party with pumpkin beer tasting, awesome food and gifts + two Taysetee beet desserts = a lovely birthday for me!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A Very Beety Birthday {Silent Sunday} is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

Earthlust Bottle and BuiltNY Sleeve {Birthday Giveaway}

Rachel — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 01:59:45 +0000

If you’ve ever come to a Hounds in the Kitchen class or event, chances are you’ve seen my Earthlust stainless steel water bottle. I carry my beloved bottle nearly everywhere I go.

It’s safe (no BPA or other nasties), easy to clean in the dishwasher, and sipping is a cinch. (Yes, I am one of those people who dribble down my chin when I drink from a wide-mouthed vessel.) The 20 ounce size is perfect because it doesn’t weigh too much when full and fits easily in a cup holder. Unlike some knock off water bottles, Earthlust bottles are built with quality – mine is 3 years old and still in great shape despite plenty of washes and drops.

I want to share my love of this bottle with one of you readers. Simply comment below to enter. In honor of the parsley on the bottle, share your favorite herb or just say hello.

Giveaway details

Up for grabs is a 20 ounce Earthlust water bottle in the cream on green parsley design with a eggplant purple neoprene insulating sleeve from BuiltNY, retail value $30.

Contest entries close at 12:01 AM EST on Wednesday, October 12, 2011. One winner will be selected with random.org. The winner will have 24 hours to respond to email notification with their mailing address for shipment. Winners must have a US address. Only one entry per person please.

Disclosure: I am personally sponsoring this giveaway. Opinions are my own and shipping is also covered by me.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Earthlust Bottle and BuiltNY Sleeve {Birthday Giveaway} is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

Eco-friendly Dog Gear {Birthday Giveaway}

Rachel — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 01:18:31 +0000

As I was thinking about my life and readers, I considered ‘how about something for the four legged beasts?’

My dogs keep me company on walks in the alleys, bark at strangers, and eat cooking leavings off the kitchen floor. They also eat my tomatoes, birthday cakes, and everything else passable. They are, in part, evil.

But even evil dogs deserve a nice fresh collar and leash once in awhile. Today’s birthday giveaway is a OLovesM leash made from reclaimed Chaco sandal straps, a biodegradable poop bag dispenser, and a collar in your choice of size medium or small.

Comment below with your dog’s name to enter.

Giveaway Details

Contest entries close at 12:01 AM EST on Tuesday, October 11, 2011. One winner will be selected with random.org. The winner will have 24 hours to respond to email notification with their mailing address for delivery of the gift card.

Winners must have a US address. Only one entry per person please. Retail value of dog gear gift pack is $30.

Disclosure: I am personally sponsoring this giveaway. Opinions are my own and shipping is also covered by me.

Additional Birthday Giveaways:

Kroger Giftcard (ends October 10, 2011)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Eco-friendly Dog Gear {Birthday Giveaway} is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

Birthday Week: Kroger Gift Card {Giveaway}

Rachel — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 14:00:00 +0000

This purple basil flower has nothing to do with Kroger or my birthday but isn't it purty?

Last year, when I turned 30, my birthday was all about me. This year, I want to celebrate with you fellow cooks and readers. Let’s countdown to my birthday (October 9) with some giveaways!

First up is free shopping at Krogers. Krogers is a supermarket store chain in the Midwest. I shop at our Graceland Marketplace location once a month of so for staples and organic produce.

What I like most about Krogers is that they carry canning jars and supplies year round. This time of year, especially, I keep an eye out for sale and clearance canning equipment.

Up for grabs are five $10 gift cards. I will award one each to five separate commenters on this post.

To enter, simply reply below with why you want to win. Be sure to include a valid email so I can contact you! Contest is now closed. Congratulations winners!

Giveaway Details:

Contest entries close at 12:01 AM EST on Monday, October 10. Five winners will be selected with random.org. Winners will have 24 hours to respond to email notification with their mailing address for delivery of the gift card.

Winners must have a US address. Only one entry per person please. Retail value of each gift card is $10.

Disclosure: I received a gift card to Kroger of my own. Opinions are my own and shipping is covered by me.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Birthday Week: Kroger Gift Card {Giveaway} is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

October 3, 2011 {Meal Plan}

Rachel — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 03:00:10 +0000

Ingredients & Inspiration:

I harvested a ton (well, several huge bowls) of green tomatoes, peppers, and herbs this weekend when frost threatened.
I ended up with four bags of Swainway Urban Farm sprouts after working the booth on Saturday. Yum!
Hello birthday week!! I want to go to Athens Farmers Market for my birthday and backpack the night at Wildcat Hollow. This will be our first time to the market ever and first time backpacking since Lil was a baby.

Menu:

Monday – fried green tomatoes, remoulade, dinner salads

Tuesday – salmon cheeks (fish heads, fish heads, rolly polly fish heads), stuffed peppers, sprout salad

Wednesday – dinner with Dad at India Oak?

Thursday – Applicious cooking class at Franklin Park Conservatory (tickets still available, $63 for six (6!) courses including fennel apple slaw, apple braised pork, and rustic apple tart)

Friday – Trail burritos (dried beans/salsa, cheese, tortillas, sprouts), dried fruit

Saturday – Dinner in Athens (Casa Nueva or Jackie O‘s? Maybe one for early lunch, the other for dinner?)

Sunday – Birthday dinner of fondue and small plates at our house

PS. Stay tuned to the blog this week for a series of giveaways celebrating my birthday!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

October 3, 2011 {Meal Plan} is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

Lil is Six!

Rachel — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 02:31:49 +0000

Lil’s kitty cat cake was made by my sister Heather of Taysetee Pastry. Lil’s birthday marks two weeks until my birthday, yippee!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Lil is Six! is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

Meal Plan September 19, 2011

Rachel — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 14:00:02 +0000

Ingredients and Inspiration:

We are trying to return to a normal routine after several weeks with lots of events.
Our garden is winding down with only a few tomatoes and peppers left.
I unearthed some old homemade chorizo in the freezer that needs to be used.
Lil’s birthday is this weekend!

Monday – chorizo mulitas, curtido

Tuesday – from-the-garden Johnny Marzetti (food blogger roundup on this Columbus classic coming Wednesday), steamed garden green beans

Wednesday – broccoli and purple potato frittata

Thursday – Tuscan kale and bean soup

Friday – pool and pizza birthday party for Lil’s friend

Saturday – Lil’s birthday dinner at Sushi Ting. I asked what she wanted and predictably she answered “salmon sashimi”.

Sunday – Lil’s 6th birthday! Party with Taysetee Pastry cake, followed by barbecue dinner at my parents’.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Meal Plan September 19, 2011 is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

DIY Historic Ammunition

Rachel — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 03:14:08 +0000

Alex and I make all sorts of things ourselves: confit, counter tops, hard cider, chicken coops…stuff most people prefer to buy. We like getting a little messy and learning exactly how things are created.

Even given our penchant for handmade goods, we freely admit that Alex’s birthday gift of homemade ammunition for his father this year is bit of do-it-yourself over-achievement.

The Back Story

Tom, Alex’s dad, has a Springfield Model 1873 rifle, more commonly known as the Trapdoor Springfield. He was gifted the firearm, made around 1880, from Alex’s mother’s mother twenty years ago.

It is likely that the rifle hasn’t been shot in about a hundred years, knowing the family history. Neither Tom nor Alex have fired the gun, and can’t but for the birthday present.

You see, modern commercial ammunition is loaded to higher pressure levels than the black-powder era Springfield. Firing with modern ammunition could be unsafe and would likely cause heavy wear on the rifle. Ammunition can’t be easily purchased, so the gun cannot be shot.

Until now.

Click pictures for biggerness.

Making Ammunition

Starting in November, Alex melted several blocks of ‘clean’ lead radiation shielding from a Brownfield cleanup project he and his father worked on. He poured the lead into a historically accurate profile in a modern mold and allowed the bullets to cool.

Next he loaded casings with smokeless powder and crimped the casings to the bullets. He tumbled the cartridges to clean off residual grease. Then, Lil and I wrapped what is certainly the most weight-per-volume gift in our family history.

Now Tom has twenty opportunities to shoot with this historic rifle. Alex invited his dad to an afternoon at an outdoor range once the weather turns warm again so they both have a chance to see how the old gun performs. More than a useful present, this gift was a labor of love.

Happy Birthday Tom!

Recipe for Black Powder Equivalent 45-70 Load

for any reloaders who found this post through a search engine, as typical Hounds in the Kitchen readers are unlikely to cook up ammunition any time soon

405 grain cast lead bullets

33.5 grains Alliant Reloder 7 powder

Winchester large rifle primers

New Starline brass cases

1. The cases can be sized using any commercially available reloading dies. In this case, Hornady 45-70 New Dimension Reloading Dieswere used in a Lee Cast Iron 4 Hole Turret Press.

2. After sizing and priming, add the powder charge. Reloder 7 is a fast-burning powder for use in small varmint calibers, but also in the larger, older 45-70.

3. Seat the bullet and crimp the case. Overall length of the cartridge is 2.65 inches.

Maybe someday I’ll write about my journey from a gun fearing pacifist to a person whose spouse produces ammunition. Would any of you care to read about my views on weapons?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

DIY Historic Ammunition is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

Our Family Doesn’t Buy Cakes

Rachel — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 12:44:38 +0000

Sweet Lil turns five today. I have no words to summarize my complex feelings about being her mother, nor reflections on her growing maturity and beauty. Where to turn, then, but to food?

The setting: Mother and daughter are walking through an unfamiliar grocery store.

Mother, reading list: spaghetti, Parmesan. Where’s the Parmesan?

Daughter: Can I have a…

Mother, interrupting: Oh here it is. We’re going to use already shredded cheese at your spaghetti birthday party because it will be easier. Ok?

Daughter: Uh huh.

Mother: Now, lunch meat. Do you really think you would eat lunch meat at school?

Daughter, spying the bakery case of decorated cakes: Hey, we could just buy a cake!

Mother: Our family doesn’t buy cakes.

Daughter: Why?

Mother: Um, it’s just not something we do. We like to make them ourselves.

Daughter: But those are painted! Can we paint mine?

Mother: Not really. Ours will taste better, though. Do you still want decorations from the cake store?

Characters move on to other shopping.

Lil was beaming as we sang happy birthday around her homemade, not-from-a-box-or-a-store cake. Devie tasted not a morsel, unlike last year’s thievery. The chocolate on chocolate cake was a sweet end to a lovely party for our new five year old.

Does your family buy cakes? Do I really have a five year old kid already?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Our Family Doesn’t Buy Cakes is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.
If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!