Advent Begins Tomorrow...

Some great resources I found to share...

A blog post full of resources and a free 28 day handout you can sign up to receive.  It is a great resource!

A more detailed description of the meaning behind all of the elements of the Advent Wreath.

A free resource - digital download entitled Good News of Great Joy

Scripture Writing for December Link

A December Bible Reading Plan

The Road to Christmas Study

The Cool Stuff I Get to Learn

Dan has been the English preacher at a local Korean church since May.  It was totally a perfect time to start this new ministry for him and for our family.  We are being loved well at this church and I even have a special name.  They call the pastor's wife "Samonim"... which is the honored wife of a teacher who is a motherly figure.  This has taken some getting used to because the other church we attend does not even acknowledge that I am a pastor's wife at all.  This is a very different experience for us and I am really learning a lot.  I will share some thoughts on all of that at some point.  Right now I am still processing.

We were informed last weekend that a big Korean holiday was coming this weekend.  It is the biggest holiday in South Korea and it is called Chuseok.

It is the Korean Thanksgiving.  

Since I am learning I thought I would share some things I have found.

The whole country takes 3 days off to celebrate!

Count me in!!!

Chuseok or Korean Thanksgiving is also known as "Han-gawi" or "Mid-Autumn Festival"

It is one of the most important holidays in Korea and celebrates harvest time.  

This year it falls on September 7th-9th.  

Here is a link to more info

For food links for this holiday you can check out...

A recipe for a traditional "rice cake" or "Songpyeon"

A small collection of easy recipes for the holiday

A great Korean Cuisine blog with another Songpyeon recipe

Another cool blog with videos... 

this one shows the traditional dress and how to make the rice cakes in video form

New Year's Favorites...

There are a few things that are traditions in our home.

The annual making of the meatballs are quickly
becoming a tradition with our little circle of friends.
I make the meatballs every year, and everyone brings their
specialty for the Christmas Eve spaghetti dinner.

So, these just went into the oven...

While they are baking I will tell you a bit more about our traditions.

For my whole life my Dad has been making black-eyed peas and cabbage.
It was not until I was grown that I found out that was a "Good Luck" tradition.
Since I am not into good luck and such I decided to just keep making them....
well.... because I LOVE them!

So, they are going into the crock pot with a ham bone
from my freezer in mere minutes.

I am also watching Ratatouille with the kids as I am working in the kitchen.
We got two copies for Christmas.
One for my daughter and one for ME!!!

I also got a little late Christmas gift in the mail today.
I bought this for myself....

and this book... that just allows me to dream even more
about traveling and going to school there one summer.

Have I mentioned I am Irish, English and French in my heritage?
I am constantly on a quest to learn more about the foods of my history.
I am also totally enthralled by the concepts taught at Ballymaloe.
They are totally into seasonal ingredients and eating
locally so much that they grow their own produce and raise their own livestock.
So cool!!!

Ok, the meatballs are done...

Have a great New Year's Eve and we will see you next year!!!

LOL... HERE IS THE RECIPE!!! :)

December Daring Baker's Challenge... Yule Love It!!!

The Daring Bakers can be found here... there are lots of links to lots of bakers and you can see all the monthly challenge results by visiting the sites there as well as coming here. :) On with the challenge!!!

Well, at least my family loved it!!! LOL

Ok, so that was bad! LOL I have been out of commission for two months due to pending surgery but I had the surgery and have been in the kitchen today taxing myself a bit but it was for a very good cause. We have our annual Christmas party at church tomorrow night and I decided this little cake would fit the bill for my contribution.



Here is what I did...

I made the Genoise Cake

Plain Genoise:

3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
pinch of salt
¾ cup of sugar
½ cup cake flour - spoon flour into dry-measure cup and level off (also known as cake & pastry flour)
¼ cup cornstarch

one 10 x 15 inch jelly-roll pan that has been buttered and lined with parchment paper and then buttered again

1.Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.

2.Half-fill a medium saucepan with water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat so the water is simmering.

3.Whisk the eggs, egg yolks, salt and sugar together in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer. Place over the pan of simmering water and whisk gently until the mixture is just lukewarm, about 100 degrees if you have a thermometer (or test with your finger - it should be warm to the touch).

4.Attach the bowl to the mixer and, with the whisk attachment, whip on medium-high speed until the egg mixture is cooled (touch the outside of the bowl to tell) and tripled in volume. The egg foam will be thick and will form a slowly dissolving ribbon falling back onto the bowl of whipped eggs when the whisk is lifted.

5.While the eggs are whipping, stir together the flour and cornstarch.

6.Sift one-third of the flour mixture over the beaten eggs. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the flour mixture, making sure to scrape all the way to the bottom of the bowl on every pass through the batter to prevent the flour mixture from accumulating there and making lumps. Repeat with another third of the flour mixture and finally with the remainder.

7.Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

8.Bake the genoise for about 10 to 12 minutes. Make sure the cake doesn’t overbake and become too dry or it will not roll properly.


9.While the cake is baking, begin making the buttercream.

10.Once the cake is done (a tester will come out clean and if you press the cake lightly it will spring back), remove it from the oven and let it cool on a rack.



Coffee Buttercream:

4 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
24 tablespoons (3 sticks or 1-1/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
2 tablespoons rum or brandy

1.Whisk the egg whites and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Set the bowl over simmering water and whisk gently until the sugar is dissolved and the egg whites are hot.

2.Attach the bowl to the mixer and whip with the whisk on medium speed until cooled. Switch to the paddle and beat in the softened butter and continue beating until the buttercream is smooth. Dissolve the instant coffee in the liquor and beat into the buttercream.



Filling and frosting the log:

1.Run a sharp knife around the edges of the genoise to loosen it from the pan.

2.Turn the genoise layer over (unmolding it from the sheet pan onto a flat surface) and peel away the paper.


3.Carefully invert your genoise onto a fresh piece of parchment paper.

4.Spread with half the coffee buttercream (or whatever filling you’re using).



5.Use the parchment paper to help you roll the cake into a tight cylinder.



6.Transfer back to the baking sheet and refrigerate for several hours.

Shamelessly showing you the inside of my NEW refrigeratore!!! :)

7.Unwrap the cake. Trim the ends on the diagonal, starting the cuts about 2 inches away from each end.



8.Position the larger cut piece on each log about 2/3 across the top.

9.Cover the log with the reserved buttercream, making sure to curve around the protruding stump.



10.Streak the buttercream with a fork or decorating comb to resemble bark.



11.Transfer the log to a platter and decorate with your mushrooms and whatever other decorations you’ve chosen.

Meringue Mushrooms:

3 large egg whites, at room temperature
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
½ cup (3-1/2 ounces/105 g.) granulated sugar
1/3 cup (1-1/3 ounces/40 g.) icing sugar
Unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting

1.Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Have ready a pastry bag fitted with a small (no. 6) plain tip. In a bowl, using a mixer on medium-low speed, beat together the egg whites and cream of tartar until very foamy. Slowly add the granulated sugar while beating. Increase the speed to high and beat until soft peaks form when the beaters are lifted. Continue until the whites hold stiff, shiny peaks. Sift the icing sugar over the whites and, using a rubber spatula, fold in until well blended.



2.Scoop the mixture into the bag. On one baking sheet, pipe 48 stems, each ½ inch (12 mm.) wide at the base and tapering off to a point at the top, ¾ inch (2 cm.) tall, and spaced about ½ inch (12 mm.) apart. On the other sheet, pipe 48 mounds for the tops, each about 1-1/4 inches (3 cm.) wide and ¾ inch (2 cm.) high, also spaced ½ inch (12 mm.) apart. With a damp fingertip, gently smooth any pointy tips. Dust with cocoa. Reserve the remaining meringue.

3.Bake until dry and firm enough to lift off the paper, 50-55 minutes. Set the pans on the counter and turn the mounds flat side up. With the tip of a knife, carefully make a small hole in the flat side of each mound. Pipe small dabs of the remaining meringue into the holes and insert the stems tip first. Return to the oven until completely dry, about 15 minutes longer. Let cool completely on the sheets.



4.Garnish your Yule Log with the mushrooms.

My first wedding cake...

Happy 4th of July to you all!!!

Hope you have lots of cookouts, staying cool by the pool and fireworks planned.
We are doing a bit of it all today.

I got a call this morning to let me know of a lady in our church that is getting married on Sunday. She had a lady to do her cake but that fell through and now I am doing it. This will be my very first wedding cake and I am a NERVOUS WRECK!!!!! LOL I am going to Hobby Lobby this afternoon to pick up some new supplies (they have an online coupon for 40% off Wilton Products for this week) and the rest of the week is all about getting that cake made. I will share pictures when I am done.

Oh, and today is my 1 YEAR BLOGIVERSARY for Crunchy Culinary Capers. I am still in the process of getting a new template made and making some changes but it is coming. I am working around school and, now, the cake to get some new stuff done here. Bluebird Blogs is doing the design and I am so excited to see what she does with this place. She does such beautiful work!

Saint Patrick's Day...

I am part Irish and have taken it upon myself to share a bit of that with my children. In doing so we take time to listen to some traditional Irish music, watch something dreamy with Maureen O'Hare in it and eat great Irish food. I thought you might like a few links to see what is offered on the culinary front in Ireland. Enjoy...
Irish Abroad - an extensive list of good stuff
A great list of Irish recipes from Ireland's Eye
Ireland Information - a real favorite of mine
A Fun Page of goodies and trivia

Enjoy Your Weekend!!!!!

Happy New Year 2007

Hey guys!!! I have not done much cooking this week. After a week of being sick and with a house full of sick kids, too, I am still fighting a sinus infection. I am such a granola that I refuse to go to the doctor for meds until I am on my death bed!!! I am not that bad yet so I am still fighting it with natural remedies. They seem to be working. It would help if I had gone to bed at a decent hour last night but I did not. I stayed up to be with friends and family and I am a bit wiped out today.

Dan - the hubby - is putting in a new bathroom today. He is doing toilet and tile in the kids bathroom and I am just working on a resting, making a pot of beans and trying to think through a few things that need to be done in the next two weeks before I head back to school for the semester.

I did make some breadsticks and meatballs for our get-together for last night. I am still not eating much. It is so hard to enjoy food when you cannot taste it. *sigh* I have to be well in the next few days because Dan heads back to work. I am hoping to do some Once a month and freezer cooking this year. I have been asked to share some recipes on all of that and on crockpot cooking. I will put some things together for you guys... just let me get past the yuckies first.

I am also losing some more weight this year. I lost almost 15 pounds last year and I still have another 15 or so to go. I have some cookbooks coming that I bought with some Christmas money. I also got four new cookbooks for Christmas but they are about the pastry chef in me more than the healthy chef.

I also need to start thinking through some catering things because I have two events coming in about two months. I also need to get my name put on my chef jackets before the semester starts. I want to get a new jacket for my new business, too. I have got to start putting together a business plan and a bazillion lists of things to get done this year as I move through my coursework and get closer to becoming a REAL chef. I will have 13 hours under my belt toward the chef program (can only take night classes at this point in my life) and am playing with the idea of doing some summer school (nutrition and accounting???) I start the pastry program in the fall and I am so excited about that!!! I am working on a few new bread recipes, too. I need to get them honed and then put them on the list of breads I want to offer to customers.

There might be a cookbook started at some point in the new year, too. We shall see... (Wilm are you reading???) LOL

Well, that is a start for the new year. Happy New Year to you all!!!!!

Oh, one more thing... I opened a new Flickr account for my food stuff only.

Here ya go...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chefleann/

Travel week...

....so that means no menus and maybe very little posting so have a

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!


...will post some turkey leftover recipes when I get a free moment this week, I hope. :)