cinnamon rolls

i am a serious slacker.

i made ALL SORTS of stuff for xmas, and totally forgot to take pictures. duh!

but, one thing i did not make for xmas was cinnamon rolls, and that upset my husband very much. so, i decided to make them for new years instead. you need a bread maker for this recipe (in the past, i kept borrowing my mom's, but, i finally ordered my own!) it is sorta time consuming, in the fact that you pretty much need to hang around the house all day in order to make them, but, perfect for a snowy december day!

here goes ... !

Ingredients:
1 cup milk (heated approximately 1 minute in microwave)

1/4 cup warm water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

2 eggs, room temperature and beaten

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

5 cups bread flour

3 teaspoons instant active dry yeast

cinnamon filling (see below)

butter frosting (see below)

Directions:

Add all the ingredients, except the cinnamon filling and the butter frosting, in the bread pan of bread machine. Process according to manufacturer's instructions for a dough setting (my bread maker - well, my mom's - has a different setting for regular dough vs pizza dough - the regular dough setting take 90 mins). When the bread machine has completed the dough cycle, remove dough from pan and turn out onto a lightly oiled surface. I use my kitchen table.

Form dough into an oval, cover with a plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes.

Butter a 9x13x2-inch baking pan; set aside.
After dough has rested, roll and stretch the dough into approximately a 15x24-inch rectangle.

Brush the softened butter over the top of the dough with a rubber spatula.

Sprinkle cinnamon filling over the butter on the prepared dough.

Starting with long edge, roll up dough; pinch seams to seal.

Rolling the log too tightly will result in cinnamon rolls whose centers pop up above the rest of them as they bake.

With a knife, lightly mark roll into 1 1/2-inch section. Use a sharp knife (I like to use a serrated knife and saw very gently). Place cut side up in prepared pan, flattening them only slightly. The unbaked cinnamon rolls should not touch each other before rising and baking. Do not pack the unbaked cinnamon rolls together.

then, you have TWO OPTIONS:

Refrigerating or Freezing Unbaked Cinnamon Rolls:
At this point, the cinnamon rolls can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight or frozen for 1 month. Before baking, allow rolls to thaw completely and rise in a warm place if frozen (overnight is best).

Bake Immediately After Making:
Cover and let rise in a warm place for approximately 45 to 60 minutes or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bake approximately 20 minutes until they are a light golden brown.

Let sit for a few minutes, but spread the butter frosting on while still warm.

This recipe was originally meant for 15-16 rolls - but I always end up with only 12 or 13 : ) ENJOY!

CINNAMON FILLING:

1/2 cup butter, melted or softened

1 cup firmly-packed brown sugar

5 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Soften the butter; set aside. In a bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon

BUTTER FROSTING:

2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup powdered (confectioners) sugar

1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon lemon extract

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese and butter until creamy. Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon extract or oil until well mixed and creamy.

checkerboard cookies

OK, how COOL do these look?

I have seen pictures of these cookies online before, and thought, 'wow, how awesome!' I am definitely a fan of a dessert that looks fantastic, as well as tastes fantastic! So, I thought I would give them a try!

They turned out fabulous, in both respects - but - oh my god, what a friggin pain in the neck ...don't be fooled by the short ingredient list! The LOOONG directions list makes up for it! But, really, just take your time, read the directions slowly, and when you make these, people will say WOW.

Ingredients:

3 cups hazelnuts, toasted

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups flour

1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
3/4 cup white sugar

1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest (1 medium orange)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake hazelnuts for 15 minutes or until skins start to blister. Remove from oven and wrap in a clean towel so the nuts can 'steam' for 5 minutes. Rub the towel briskly in a back and forth motion to remove the skins from the hazelnuts. Set aside to cool.

When cool, place the hazelnuts in a food processor along with the cocoa powder and process until the hazelnuts are finely ground. Set aside.

In a small bowl whisk together the flour and salt. Set aside.

In bowl of your electric mixer (or with hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2 to 3 minutes). Add the egg, vanilla, and orange zest and beat until well blended. Add the flour mixture and beat just until incorporated.

Divide the dough in half and place one half of the dough back into the bowl of your electric mixer. Add the cocoa and hazelnut mixture to the dough and beat until incorporated. Set aside.
Lay out two large sheets of parchment paper (about 10x12), and on one sheet of parchment roll out the white dough into a 6 1/2 inch by 10 1/2 inch rectangle, making sure both sides of the dough are smooth. (OK, do the best you can! This dough is very unhappy!) Wrap dough and place on a baking sheet in the freezer for about 15 minutes or until dough is firm.

Meanwhile, take the cbhocolate dough, remove 1/2 cup (used later for wrapping the checkerboard log) and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside. On the second sheet of parchment roll out the remaining chocolate dough into a 6 1/2 inch by 10 1/2 inch rectangle, making sure both sides of the dough are smooth. Wrap dough and place on a baking sheet in the freezer for about 15 minutes or until dough is firm.

When both the white and chocolate dough are firm, remove from freezer and lay the white dough on a cutting board, removing the parchment paper. Lightly brush the top of the white dough with a little water (this helps the layers to stick together). Remove the parchment paper from the chocolate dough and place it evenly on top of the white dough. Trim the edges of the two doughs so the rectangle now measures 6 inches by 10 inches. (Take the chocolate dough trimmings and add to the 1/2 cup of reserved chocolate dough.) Lengthwise cut the rectangle into thirds (3 - 2 inch by 10 inch stripes). Place one strip on a piece of plastic wrap. Brush the top of the dough with water and place the second strip on top of the first (alternate colors so you have white, black, white, black pattern). Brush the top of the second layer with water and stack the third layer. Press down lightly on the top of the dough and then wrap and freeze for 15 minutes, or until firm.

When firm, remove from freezer and unwrap, placing the dough on a cutting board. Using a sharp long knife, cut the layers lengthwise into 1/2 inch wide and 10 inch long strips. (You will end up with 4 strips). Stack the layers, turning every other strip so top faces down and bottom faces up, to produce the checkerboard effect. Rewrap stack and place in freezer again to firm up.
Meanwhile, take the reserved chocolate trimmings and 1/2 cup of chocolate dough and roll out on a piece of parchment paper into approximately 9 1/2 x 10 1/2 inch rectangle, making sure the dough is smooth. Cover and refrigerate until slightly firm.

Remove stack of checkerboard dough from freezer and place in center of chocolate dough. Wrap the chocolate dough around the checkerboard layers until you have a smooth surface that encloses the checkerboard design. Wrap in plastic and freeze until firm. At this point, you can freeze the dough for up to a month.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (again). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove dough from freezer and place on a cutting board. With a sharp knife, cut the block of dough into 1/4 inch thick slices. Place on prepared baking sheet spacing about 1 inch apart. Bake for about 5-7 minutes or until cookies just start to brown around the edges. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool.

Baked cookies can be stored in an airtight container up to one week.
Makes about 3 dozen cookies

Stone Cat Marathon - November 8th, 2008

The only other marathon I have run in NYC, which was November 4th, 2007. My time was 5:13:15.

I am definitely down to run more - but - I also thought I would give this a try first.

The GAC (Gil's Athletic Club) sponsers a trail marathon and 50 miler in Willowdale State Forest in Ipswich. It was Saturday, November 8th. I decided somewhere around mid September that I would go for it. I mean, why not?

I was already doing 35 miles a week. and I did a 30K mid September. I figured if I threw in a few 12-14 mile trail runs, and bumped by weekly average to 40-ish I would be all set.

This marathon was amazing. It was difficult, don't get me wrong, running 26 miles through many single track trails in the woods, but, I had a great time. This marathon was a 1.2 loop around the school where the start line was, and then two 12.5 mile loops through the woods.

OK - this guy was awesome. i kept running into him; he would be way in front of me, and then, 15 mins later, he would be pulling up behind me. he said he was going for some kind of "falling down" record. the last time i saw him, he said he had already wiped out 8 times. yikes!

and I can't express how AWESOME the aid stations were enough. The first was around mile 4 of the woods loop, and then second around mile 8 - and then there was one back at the start/finish, or middle of the marathon. Since this was also an ultra-marathon, the aid stations had all your normal stuff, like water, and gatorade - plus also has crackers, cookies, PB&J sandwiches, grilledf cheeses! you name it! I also had a glass of Coke at the mile 8 aid station on my last loop, and it really boostd me to a great finish. As you can see from the photo below, lots of goodies! and gatorade shots!

ALSO, I received a jacket for finishing! My time was 5:35:26 (which, leads me to believe that I could do WAY better on a paved road marathon - 4:30 maybe? I am thinking Vermont in May - we will see ).

tuna casserole

this is probably the first "real" meal i ever ever made. it is so easy, and usually i always have all the ingredients on hand. and it is SOO good. : )

10oz egg noodles (or, you can use 1lb of cavatappi, shells, ziti, elbows, or other "small" pasta shape).

1 can cream of mushroom soup

8oz cheddar cheese shredded

1/2 cup milk

1 can of tuna

bread crumbs for topping

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook pasta according to directions, & drain. Mix the soup, milk and tuna together. Once pasta has been drained, pour back into pot. Pour the soup/milk/tuna mixture into pasta, and then add the cheese. Stir until blended. Pour in 8x8 clear casserole dish, and top with bread crums. Bake for 20 minutes.

I know. SO easy!

and, as you can see, it is so good that half of it was already gone before I got the chance to take pictures of it.

cream cheese brownies

oh boy. these are good. and pumped full of butter! My husband's boss LOVES them (and I can see why!), so, whenever he has a meeting with him, I am always baking these the night before : )

6 oz. bittersweet chocolate (you can substitute about half of this with semisweet, if you need to)

3 oz. unsweetened chocolate

16 oz. cream cheese

2 cups sugar, divided

4 large eggs

1 Tbl vanilla extract, divided

1 cup butter

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13-by-9-inch baking pan with aluminum foil so that the foil extends 2 inches beyond the sides of the pan. Lightly butter the bottom and sides of the foil.

Heat the chocolates in a microwave oven on high for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking, until melted. Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and 1/3 cup of the sugar on medium speed until smooth. Beat in one of the eggs and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla extract. In another large bowl, beat the butter and remaining 1 2/3 cups of sugar until combined.

One at a time, add the remaining 3 eggs, beating well after each addition. Blend in the melted chocolate and the remaining 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. On low speed, mix in the flour and salt, just until combined.

Scrape all but 1 cup of the chocolate batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the batter.

Spoon the reserved chocolate batter over the cream cheese mixture. Pull a table knife through the layers of the batter in a zigzag fashion to create a marbleized effect.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out slightly moist. Cool in the pan. Then, using the two ends of the foil as handles, lift out of the pan. Cut into bars once completely cooled. Enjoy!

soft pumpkin cookies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup pumpkin (canned or fresh)

1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Glaze (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in medium bowl. Beat sugar and butter in large mixer bowl until well blended. Beat in pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract until smooth. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until edges are firm. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Drizzle Glaze over cookies.

GLAZE: 2 cups sifted powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in small bowl until smooth.

pumpkin spice cake that LOOKS like a pumpkin!

it is late september, and autumn recipes are popping up all over the place.

i saw a recipe in a williams sonoma catalogue for a pumpkin cake - made of pumpkin and LOOKED like a pumpkin. so cool! they were selling some type of special pan for it - but, after doing some research, i figured i could do it in a bundt pan. and i think it came out awesome!!

here's the recipe - for the cake & the frosting:

1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups white sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg*
1 teaspoon ground allspice*
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon*
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt

*i ran out of allspice when i was making this. whoops.

but, most of these ingredients are what "pumpkin pie spice" is composed of. to make "pumpkin pie spice" you should combine cinnamon, allspice, ginger, and nutmeg. if you add a teaspoon of cloves, and then about 2 - 2 1/2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice instead of the others, it will come out just fine : )

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease one 10 inch bundt pan.
Cream oil, beaten eggs, pumpkin and vanilla together.
Sift the flour, sugar, baking soda, ground nutmeg, ground allspice, ground cinnamon, ground cloves and salt together. Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and mix until just combined. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cake cool in pan for 5 minutes then turn out onto a plate.

For the frosting:

1/4 cup shortening
1/4-3/4 cup water (you decide how thick you want it)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon clear imitation vanilla extract (i only had regular vanilla extract - but clear almond extract, so, i used that instead - came out wonderful)
1/2 cup butter
4 cups confectioners' sugar

With an electric mixer blend all ingredients until mixed.

Add food coloring as necessary! I used orange & green gels from Wilton's.

For the pumpkin stem, i used a waffle ice cream cone. i broke off the pointy end so it was slightly flat - and then covered it with green frosting. I put some bunched up papertowls in the middle of the bundt (under the cone) just so the cone wouldn't sink all the way down to the plate.

ta-da!

peach pecan crumble muffins

very exciting, interesting, and novel to use peaches in muffins. yummy!

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped fresh or frozen peaches, thawed and drained
1/2 cup chopped pecans

TOPPING:
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 tablespoon cold butter

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, combine the brown sugar, milk, oil, egg and vanilla. stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in peaches and pecans. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full.
Combine topping ingredients until crumbly; sprinkle over batter. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

Nahant 30K - September 14th, 2008

I decided to run a 30K (18 miles and change) in Nahant. The race was on a Sunday - and September, i think, is one of the best months for running. The temps are a bit cooler, especially in the morning, but you are almost guarenteed reasonable weather since fall hasn't had a chance to completely take its toll yet.
Sunday, September 14th, 2008: it POURED.

The temperature wasn't bad - about 65 or 70. but as Paul (who was nice enough to be my support staff and get up at 6am to drive me) and i waited in the car before the start, the rain just seemed to come down heavier and heavier. i was thinking "wow this stinks." but, no one else was going home, or seemed to be complaining. so i kissed paul goodbye, and splashed through puddles on my way to the start.
the course was beautiful, running all through Nahant, with tons of ocean views. but, honest to goodness, it was the most hilliest course EVER. ever. besides the causeway, that links lynn & nahant, it was up and down, and up and down, and up and down again - the entire way. oh, ya, and raining.
it briefly stopped raining somewhere between miles 5 and 11. and, well, that was nice. all i could hear was the "slosh slosh slosh" of the other runners - as with each step i felt like i was stepping through a wet & steamy swamp.
the rain picked up again around mile 11 or 12, but, really, who cared at that point. i just wanted to finish.

and finish i did. my time was 3:12, and i was damn impressed.

mount washington hike - labor day weekend

i love the outdoors & i am def adventerous: running, walking, biking, hiking, exploring, and i am down for pretty much ANYthing once. i've done some light hiking, but, i wouldn't call myself an "experienced hiker." and my husband, who is also down for anything, isn't exactly a hiker either. i would rate myself as intermediate, probably just because of my running experience. but, we decided to hike mount washington, the largest & most difficult peak in the east, anyways. haha.

let me start by saying, overall, we had a great time. it was more difficult than almost anything i have ever done, and my husband wanted to "pull the plug" two hours in, but, we ended up making it to within 0.8 miles of the summit. the roundtrip took us about 7 hours. i went from shorts & a T-shirt to fleece, gloves, and a hat. and i would definitely do it again.

loaded with enough food for a small army, which included about eight peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, we started our hike at pinkham notch at about 8:15am. it was a beautiful day, not a cloud in sight, and about 70 degrees. the forecast was sunny and mid 80s. the forecast at the summit, however, was 40-50 mph winds, and a windchill of 25 degrees. oh well, we said. let's go!

the first half wasn't too bad, but definitely long. we made it to the halfway shelter at about 10, or 1 hour and 45 mins into the journey. paul looked like he was struggling a bit, but looked revived after a peanut butter and jelly sandwich & a bathroom break. we spoke to a few people that he hiked to the summit before. they informed us that it was at least twice as difficult going foward, and if we hiked "reasonably fast" we would make it in 2 1/2 hours. yikes!

well, hard was an understatement. it was "seriously uphill." seriously uphill, as in, i was using my legs AND hands to climb the rocks as a cougar would, and we were stopping about every 2 minutes. oh man, but, it was beautiful. we met a woman and her father at the halfway point & chatted a bit (who were from winchester, ma by the way! small world). she was about 50, and in great shape, and her father had to have been at least 70 - and he waved and flew right by us, as we were trying to recover on the side of the mountain. my husband, sweaty, wheezing, and 30 seconds before told me he was ready to "pul the plug," looked at me and said "no way is that old man beating us ..." and off we went!

all and all it was amazing, and i would definitely recommend it to anyone who is in average shape physically, but excellent "mental" shape. we didn't make it to the top. we stopped about 0/8 miles from the summit, as it was already 12:30, and i was nervous about getting down before dark. we took a different path back, and hiking down was a lot easier. when i say a lot easier, i mean really really hard ... but easier than going up!

oatmeal raisin cookies

simply delicious. these cookies are wonderful, soft and chewy. they are easy to make, and are AWESOME to carry along with you when you hike mount washington (even as oatmeal raisin cookie crumbs!) yum!

1 cup butter

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 and 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cups old fashioned uncooked oats

1 cup raisins

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat together butter and sugars until creamy.

Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.

Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; mix well.

Stir is oats and raisins; mix well.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake until golden brown, 10-12 minutes.

Should make about 4 dozen - although I tend to make larger sized cookies, and get about 30-35 total cookies instead.