In 3 Hours

Most bakers would look at this picture and know what I'm making: cookies.  Two sticks of butter + two eggs = dozens of ways to celebrate John's return home.  He will be home in about three hours and I'm in the process of baking him his welcome-home snickerdoodles.  I am simultaneously in the process of eating snickerdoodles for dinner.  Go figure.  Maddie and I are eagerly awaiting his arrival, and until he gets here, I will be comforting myself with cinnamon and sugar.

Have You Seen...

Guest Post by Madison Lexington LaBarre
Have you seen my dad?  He's been missing for almost two weeks and I'm not pleased.  I've been looking for him everywhere.  Whenever I hear a creak in the house or a noise outside I always perk up in the hopes that he's about to walk in the door.  When my mom is walking me down the street and I see someone approaching I am always eager to say hi in hopes that it will be my dad.

Who else am I supposed to wrestle with and cover with my white fur?   And who is going to carry me up the stairs when my old legs are too tired to climb?  No one around here will let me lick their shaved head to my heart's content.

It just isn't the same without him.  Please let me know if you've seen him and send him home.

Almond Bark

When John and I went to Mendocino, every single day I managed to visit the chocolate shop to buy some almond bark.  Almond bark hadn't previously been something I obsessed about, but it was just so delectable from this store that I kept going back for more.  I even got some at the rival chocolate shop down the street, but it didn't compare.  I managed to find some at a chocolate shop in Danville a few weeks back.  It was good, but not as good as the Mendocino Chocolate Company.

Since Mountain View is devoid of chocolatiers, I figured if I had any intention of expanding my thighs by way of almond bark, I would have to find a way to make almond bark myself.  My internet searching so began, and I was surprised to see that none of my favorite blogs or websites had almond bark recipes.  I expanded my search to barks of all kinds and discovered the secret to bark: it's just melted chocolate.  Seriously.  Milk chocolate almond bark is comprised of two ingredients: chocolate and almonds.  Sold!

I'm partial towards milk chocolate almond bark, but a darker chocolate would work great too.  Since you are doing almost nothing to these ingredients, make sure they are top notch.  Because my intention was to balloon up from all of this almond bark, I decided I would go for an enormous piece of chocolate.  It was about a pound and made a cookie sheet worth.  I also was lucky enough to have some raw almonds in my fridge from the farmers market.  You do not want raw almonds in your bark, however, because they are too soft.  This is easily fixed by roasting the almonds yourself.  Just spread out the almonds on a cookie sheet and roast in a 350 degree oven for 10-13 minutes.  The smell will knock your socks off.  I always thought those candied nuts shops in the mall smelled so tempting because of the candied portion of their inventory, but apparently it's the roasted nuts that have the tempting aroma.

The milk chocolate I used was "melty" to the touch even before I made it into bark, so I've been keeping mine stored in the fridge in airtight containers.  If you used a  darker chocolate, I don't think you'll need to do this, but feel free to play it by ear.

If you find almond bark as irresistible as I do, consider yourself warned.  This stuff is addictive beyond belief and you will find yourself eating candy bar-sized portions at intervals throughout the day.

What occasion doesn't call for more chocolate anyway?

Almond Bark

About 1 pound chocolate
About 1 1/2 cups almonds

If using raw almonds, spread in a single layer on a rimmed sheet pan.  Roast at 350 degrees for 10-13 minutes until browned and fragrant.  The almonds will continue to cook when out of the oven, so they only need to be cooked until they are 90% done.  When cooled they will be crunchy.

Chop a one pound block of chocolate into coarse pieces using a serrated knife.  In a double boiler or a glass bowl positioned over a pot with an inch of boiling water melt the chocolate, mixing constantly.  Once melted, remove from heat and stir in the roasted almonds until completely covered.  Pour the mixture onto a wax paper-lined cookie sheet and spread until even.  Cool in the fridge until completely hard (at least one hour).  Chop into two-inch squares and store in an airtight container either in the fridge or on the counter.

Guacamole, Again

Do kids like guacamole?  I know as I kid, I sure didn't.  We went to our favorite Mexican restaurant, El Rodeo, on an almost weekly basis.  I used to devour basket after basket of chips and then order my favorite dish - nachos.  (Seriously.)  It came with lots of melted cheese, shredded chicken, refried beans, iceberg lettuce, and two items I promptly removed to my mom's plate: sour cream and guacamole.  Safe to say, nowadays I love both sour dream and guacamole.  I can't (or at least haven't tried to) make my own sour cream, but I do make my own guacamole.  And it is good.

I posted about guacamole in the early days of my blog, but I've since started adding garlic, so I thought I would post the recipe again.  If you like guacamole and haven't made it yourself, you'll be amazed at how easily it comes together.  Frankly, after making my own, I have a hard time eating the stuff they serve at restaurants a lot because it doesn't taste as fresh.  Sigh - these are my battles these days.

For simple tacos, I suggest topping corn tortillas with lots of guacamole, the meat of your choice (I used ground turkey), and freshly grated cheese.  The rest of the guacamole made its way into my belly via a tortilla chip conduit.  There's never enough ways to eat guacamole.

Guacamole
2 ripe avocados, peeled, pitted, and lightly mashed
1/2 cup minced onion
1 jalapeno chile, minced (remove seeds and ribs for less heat)
1 tomato, seeded and diced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Kosher salt to taste

Add 2 ripe avocados to a large bowl and mash to the consistency you prefer.  To the bowl add onion, jalapeno, tomato, cilantro, and lime juice. Season with salt, and mix to combine.

Grimace

Remember the friend of Ronald McDonald named Grimace?  What kind of a name for a children's character is that?  I'm not sure if Grimace is still gracing the sides of Happy Meal boxes - with such a disturbing name and poor body shape - but when I bought this cauliflower at the farmers market, I just couldn't help but think of the Mickey D's character.

I sliced the bright purple cauliflower into half inch pieces, brushed on some olive oil, topped it with with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, and roasted it at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.  Since I was eating the entire head of cauliflower by myself (John being gone and all), I decided it needed some sprucing up.  Just a small amount of grated Parmesan on top (after it came out of the oven) made this already amazing vegetable even that more irresistible.  It's amazing what a little fresh cheese will do.

Considering I ate the entire head of Grimace-colored cauliflower in one sitting (with no problem, mind you), that certainly shows this is a winning preparation in my book.