Summer Love: Sally's Baking Addiction

As an award-winning baker myself (hey, it was 3rd place for cupcakes at the Dixie Classic Fair so it totally counts), I am very picky when it comes to baked goods. The best recipes need to strike that balance between being delicious and not too time consuming.
So a few years ago, I found the best blog ever for fabulous recipes that fit my impatient time limit. Thank the chocolate gods for Sally's Baking Addiction - and if you don't know this blog, click over there right now.
"Sally" is Sally McKenney, a woman who has the patience to try try and try again until she finds the perfect set of ingredients for the very best cakes, pies, and cookies. That is a true talent. I love to bake, but I'm one of those "just throw it in there and see what comes out" kind of girls. Sometimes that works, and sometimes that doesn't.
Every single thing I ever made from Sally's blog popped out of the oven just as perfect as she said it would be. And the cupcake recipes always make exactly 12. That happens to be a sticking point for me with other cupcake recipes, frankly. Yes, I realize that's weird. But obviously Sally shares that odd obsession.
I was thrilled this summer when I received a cookbook of the best recipes from her blog, called oddly enough Sally's Baking Addiction. And, as many of you know, I spent this summer baking my way through the cookbook.
I'm obsessed with cookbooks, and I enjoy baking, but I rarely want to try every single recipe I find in a single cookbook. This was the exception - I loved every recipe and wasn't disappointed with any of the processes or ingredients. Everything was fairly easy and straightforward. And I have a lot of happy friends, since I passed along most of what I made.
So head to her blog and search through the thousands of recipes, or give this book to the baker in your life. Meanwhile, scroll below through the photos of the sinful goods I made this summer!

Jumbo Blueberry Muffins

Chocolate Glazed Orange Macaroons (I did the glaze my own way)

Mint Chocolate Chip Brownies (sans the green food coloring)

Skinny Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Brown Sugar Marble Pound Cake (pre-bake, of course)

Sugared Lemon Bars

Eat Like a Roman

When one is going to Rome, what's the first thing most people say? Usually, it's some form of "ahhh, the food!"

And that's no mistake. The food here is incredible: fresh seafood, delicate pasta, light broths, intense sauces, and that amazing gelato.

Usually on Wednesdays I share some sort of food news with you. Today I'll just tantalize you with our meals. Last night, I had an odd coincidence happen. I found a dish on the menu that I had just read about in one of my books on ancient Rome. It was Strachetta, which consists of very thin slices of beef sauteed in olive oil and garlic, and served on a bed of bitter greens. Delizioso!

Here are some of the other meals we've had:

Antipasti + Prosecco

My three-tomato soup and Matt's octopus salad - both with glasses of Frascati.

Grilled tuna with fresh vegetables

Handmade pasta filled with pumpkin, served in a light broth with vegetables.

Food Protest

Dear Garden & Gun,

Beignets? REALLY?
Don't get me wrong, I am the first to admit that the word "fried" and the word "sugar" are very popular in the Southern cooking lexicon.
But I think it is big stretch to say that beignets are the Ultimate Southern Food. They are not.
They are a regional Southern food, I'll give you that. But go into any restaurant in Kentucky, Tennessee, or North Carolina and try to order them. No go.
Cornbread? Yep. Barbecue? Of course. And most of the other items on your bracket would be on any respected Southern menu.
I'm a big fan of beignets myself. I even voted for them in the regional part of your food bracket. But I also voted for Fried Chicken (which lost to Country Fried Steak), for Mac and Cheese (which lost to Cornbread), and for Shrimp & Grits (which lost to Hoppin' John).
Before you say I'm bitter (cause I'm not), let's just admit that at least those items that beat my votes are quintessentially Southern, no matter which region you live in.
I do question your voting system, though. And your title. If something is "Ultimate," then it better represent. By that I mean that you should be able to walk into any Southern watering hole and say: "Hey, ya'll! What's a beignet?" and get a good answer.
You know and I know that it's just a fancy doughnut, but even doughnuts aren't super-Southern unless they have Krispy Kreme stamped on their box (look it up - they are based in N.C.).
No, you can't please everyone all the time. But I suspect your chart topper won't please anyone most of the time.
Sincerely,
A Disgruntled Southerner

Cereal Killer

In the '70s (yes, I'm dating myself), I remember watching Zoom on TV while eating my Zoom hot cereal. That was the one cereal my mom didn't mind giving us because it was nutritional, without all that added sugar.

But what I really wanted was Cap'n Crunch. I used to dream about that super-sweet crunchy stuff, hoping my mom would bring home a box. I'd even have settled for Sugar Pops, Trix, or Cocoa Puffs. Rice Krispies and Cheerios were about as "crazy" as my mom would go, though. And we ate a lot of Grape Nuts.
Little did I know that Grape Nuts have been around for 130+ years (although when I was a kid, I would have said they tasted like they've been around that long).
The Great American Cereal Book gives us the history of the oh-so-American breakfast food. This fabulous (and hilarious) book covers the gamut, from the heyday of Kellogg's flakes that were supposed to cure any ill, all the way up to the days when cereal boxes were full of prizes and manufacturers proudly boasted about the sugar content right on the front. Example? Honey Smacks used to be called Sugar Smacks, as in "wait one hour and the sugar rush will smack you in the head."
Each cereal is listed in order of when it was "First Poured," and there are fun headings for each one, like "What's In It For You," "Notable Spokescharacters," "Slogans," and "All in the Family," which lists spin-off brands.
There are some interesting nuggets of info here, too, including the surprising fact that cereal is the number-two seller in grocery stores.
So if you think cereal is "GRRRRRR-EAT!" pick up The Great American Cereal Book. And now I am off to get some Cap'n Crunch. For dinner. Don't judge me.

Eat Up

Since I am an avowed foodie and a bookaholic, what better way to make me happy than with a book about food? I am a Top Chef fanatic, so I'm eagerly anticipating Gail Simmons' new book Talking with My Mouth Full, which will be published at the end of February.
Meanwhile, here are three of my favorite books by food insiders:

Heat

by Bill Buford
Like many of us, Bill Buford fancies himself a star in his own kitchen. But how would he do in the big leagues of a top-shelf restaurant?
In Heat, he sets himself up to find out by working in the kitchen of Babbo, Mario Batali's three-star restaurant in New York. I would have started a little lower down the food chain, but what do I know.
This behind-the-scenes look is hilarious and eye-opening, as Buford works his way up from "kitchen slave" to cook, and learns insider info along the way, such as when an egg was first added to pasta recipes, how to butcher meat, and why you never, ever scrape your knife on a chopping block.

Garlic and Sapphires

by Ruth Reichl
I am a huge fan of Reichl's, particularly her time at Gourmet (oh how I miss that mag). This book covers her earlier work as the restaurant critic for The New York Times.
In an effort to keep her experience at each restaurant as "ordinary" as possible, Reichl went to great lengths to disguise herself, often returning to the same restaurant several times unrecognized.
As she tries out all the chic eateries as an anonymous citizen, Reichl uncovers the best and the worst, not only in the food served but also in the attitudes on offer from the staff.
Funny and enlightening, Garlic and Sapphires shows why Reichl is an astonishing six-time James Beard Award winner for her writing.

The Man Who Ate the World

by Jay Rayner
As a restaurant critic for London's Observer, Jay Rayner has eaten in some of the best (and priciest) establishments around the globe. He has also paid ungodly sums for those meals, arguing that it's as much about the experience as the food.
So what is the perfect meal worth, and how far would you travel to get it? Dry Brit-wit Rayner takes us inside some of the most exclusive restaurants, showcasing why a magical combination of ingredients becomes something more than just food.
Eat something before you begin to read, and then be ready to start planning your next vacation to some exotic locale.

More to Ingest
The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen, by Jacques Pepin
The Devil in the Kitchen, Marco Pierre White
Kitchen Confidential, by Anthony Bourdain
My Life in France, by Julia Child
The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry, by Kathleen Flinn
Tender at the Bone, by Ruth Reichl

Thursday Thought: Books and Food

So why a blog about food and books? Well besides the fact that they are two of my favorite things, I do think that they have a similar effect on us.

A good book, like a good meal, elicits emotion and memory. Well-written characters remind us of people we love - or hate. Amazing meals can send us into euphoria, just as a bad meal can literally make us angry and resentful.
In an interesting take on the relationship between food and books, a New York Times illustrated column showcased the "brain fuel" that great authors use to keep them in the writing groove. Titled "Snacks of the Great Scribblers," the column pointed out that F. Scott Fitzgerald liked canned meat and apples (ugh), while Franz Kafka preferred a very cozy glass of milk. It's worth a clickthrough for the illustrations alone.
Characters in books are often associated with favorite meals and special dishes, like Sue Grafton's sleuth Kinsey Milhone who loves peanut butter and pickle sandwiches or Quarter Pounders. And the recent hit The Help features a pivotal (and very funny) twist with a pie - I won't give away what makes it "funny."
Good meals can be plot points, or inspiration. Good books can be inspiring, and engrossing.
See? Books and food - they go together like...well, you know.