Baby On The Way! (So, I'm Cooking) + Baby Shower Food Ideas

Baby Shower Food and Ideas~

(Nutella Milk & Cookies, Teddy Bear Braised Short Rib Sliders,
Paper Baby Shoes Filled with Cheese Crackers, and S'mores on a Stick)

If you came to this page for a recipe only, that's cool. However, you may want to just scroll on down to it because, in the teen vernacular words of my very teen vernacular-worded son, "shiz is about to get real in here."

I'm typing this as my daughter has gone into "pre-labor", so her husband and she have gone to the movies. I know, right?!? What the..? Shouldn't she head to the hospital?

She's having a home birth with Mid-wives. Quite frankly she and her loving husband know more about the whole process of her body and her baby's body than I did with all 3 of my children, even though I tried. When I was pregnant with my daughter I was in North Carolina and barely over 20. I definitely read every book I could find. I did the whole "no drugs", baby into a warm bath, husband leading the "hee hee hee" and the "hee-ho-hee" routine of breathing. My birthing room was decorated like a nice guest room (that just happened to have a bed complete with stirrups attached.) And, I was blessed with a crew of patient and intelligent nurses. The doctor showed up in time to catch and complete, and was perfectly accommodating to my preferences.

The second child was born effortlessly, and I also was fortunate to have a wonderful doctor and a similar experience in Santa Monica. A second marriage and 10 years later, that same incredible doctor delivered my third and pre-mentioned son into the world, into mine and my husband's arms first, and with no rush or cold attitudes that many women have told me about with their deliveries. I'm sure, like everything, there are good and bad examples.

There are many caring doctors, nurses, hospitals and there are some who are buckling under the stress of the system. Some have become more of a money making "get her-in, get her-out" surgery cafeteria of labor and delivery. We have a flawed health care and insurance system and the rushed labor and delivery stories are often bearing witness to the problem.

And for some, there is no choice. So, for this moment I pause and become keenly aware of how thankful I am to be living in a situation that offers choices. I sincerely pray that this country does not lose sight of the freedom to make choices in all personal matters, but instead works to make the opportunities equal. Of course, that starts with me. I will admit that I have both reveled and anxiously paced during my daughter's pregnancy, but with full respect for her intelligence and fortitude. She didn't make the decision to have a home birth out of any anger or fear. It was only after educating herself, weighing her beliefs and doing her work. It's not for everyone, and there are many wonderful ways to add to a family.

But for now, I'm getting ready to pack up my groceries and head to her house. I'm part of her "birthing team", I'm the one that will keep everyone fed when the "shiz starts getting even more real."

I'm nervous. I'm thrilled. I can't wait to meet my new little granddaughter, ya'll. Send me good vibes/prayers/energy/light. :D

The recipe part:Several weeks ago we had a baby-shower for my pregnant daughter. Many of her friends and our friends attended, including family who traveled just for the weekend. My mom was on Skype for the whole party, so we even had her "virtually" there. The food was plentiful and never-ending. When I get happy, I cook (okay, when I get sad I cook, when I get nervous I cook, when I'm cooking I'm thinking of what else to cook.) I was cooking and planning this for weeks.

I thought maybe others would like the recipe or ideas for a couple of these things, too.

Nutella Milk and Cookies:

This is simply made with a ratio of 1 Tablespoon of Nutella for every Cup of Milk. I put that in a large jug and used an Immersion Blender to mix it all up. I held it in the fridge until ready for pouring into these cute milk bottles, purchased from (click) here.The cookies are a basic Butter Sugar Cookie dough, then cut out in rounds followed by a smaller cutter for the center, before baking them. I've used a similar idea in catering dessert buffets, but with plain milk.

Teddy Bear Braised Short Rib Sliders:

A picture of Teddy Bear buns was floating around the internet for a long time, but without a recipe. I simply made the One Hour Bread dough I often use. I measured pieces of dough (.25 ounces each) and rolled them into small bun shapes. I used scrap dough to make tiny balls for ears, and attached them to the side of the dough buns with a little brush of water. I let the bread rise for about 1 1/2 hours, then brushed egg white on top and baked in 350F. oven for about 18 minutes. The faces were drawn on with Wilton Food Markers. The Braised Short Ribs were my recipe found (click) here. The meat was pulled off the bones (or it fell off, they were so tender, Mmmm), and a fork-full was used for each slider. I also spread a little Jalapeno Jelly on the inside of each bun, first.Paper Baby Shoes Filled with Cheese Crackers:

The shoes were made from card stock using this template (click) here.
I made those a week earlier while talking on the phone, or waiting for pictures to download. It takes a bit of time, but it moves faster once you have the hang of it. The crackers were my Go-To Eazee Cheezees. S'mores on a Stick:

I was super excited to use this idea, just one of many found in Food On Sticks. It's a fun and exciting food book with recipes and inviting pictures by Matt Armendariz. I used my own homemade marshmallow recipe (there's also an easy recipe in the book) and incorporated his brilliant idea for Party S'mores. You can buy Food On Sticks from Amazon right (click) here.

I'll try to post some of the other recipes and ideas in a later post. I also served Mini-Grilled Cheese Sammies on a skewer over Tomato Basil Soup Shooters, Mushroom and Gruyere Risotto Balls, Chicken Cherry Mole in Filo Dough Shells, Momma's Mini Apple Pies, Pomegranate Lemonade, Rose Sangria, Baby Chocolate Cupcakes with Rose Butter Frosting, and Blueberry Macarons with Lemon Curd Filling.

Just for fun I made my own Pixie Sticks by grinding dried Pomegranate into a dust and mixing with double the amount sugar, plus a teaspoon of Tartaric Acid to make it like a Sweet Tart. We played several games that my daughter's friends designed, and each guest also decorated a Onezie using Fabric Pens and Stencils. I had several sizes of the Onezies, so her baby will be wearing the party for the first 2 years.

We did a book lottery: Each person who brought a copy of their favorite children's book had their name put into a lottery for an Amazon Gift Card.

It was a fun-fun, laugh filled day. I wish many of those for my daughter and our ever expanding family.

When Good Bananas Go Bad - Make Banana Salted Caramel Muffins

Is it just me, or do bananas go from perfect to over-ripe in 5 minutes? Here's what to do when Good Bananas Go Bad.Sometimes, I feel like bananas are jerking me around. If I buy them a bit green and sit them out gently and wait patiently for the peel to yellow (and the fruit to be sweet yet have a soft snap), I will still somehow miss the moment. I swear it feels like they are unripe in the morning and before I get home in the afternoon, the whole bunch have been in a big banana brawl and left each other black and streaked.I take great pride in using every morsel of my ingredients to the best of my ability. So, I have made Banana Ice Cream, Banana Cake, Banana Mousse, and even Banana Face Cream just to use up those bad boys. When time is tight and good bananas go bad, this is my Go-To "Bad Banana" Muffin Recipe. It's fast, simple, moist and freezes well (for that teenager who likes to grab something on the go for later.)

These muffins are great all alone, but can be enhanced with a dollop of cream cheese, Earl Grey Tea Milk Jam, Honey Butter or the following recipe for Salted Caramel Drizzle.Bananas are so good, but like all of us, they have their bad days.


RECIPE: "Bad Banana" Muffins

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
Pinch of each: Ground Cardamom, Cinnamon, Nutmeg and Salt
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Butter (room temperature)
1 Egg
2 Bananas (over ripe)
1/4 cup Sour Cream
1 teaspoon Vanilla


1) In one bowl, mix together the dry ingredients of flour, baking soda, and spices. Hold.
2) In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar til smooth. Add the egg and continue beating until fully incorporated.
3) In a small bowl, using a fork, mash together the over-ripe bananas, sour-cream and vanilla.
4) Add the banana mash to the butter/sugar mixture and stir together with the fork.
5) Add in the dry ingredients and continue to stir with the fork until the whole batter is fully mixed in, but just a bit lumpy.
4) Fill each muffin container about 3/4 full. Bake in pre-heated 350F oven for about 20-25 minutes.


Salted Caramel Drizzle:

1/3 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons Butter
1/4 cup Heavy Cream
1/4 Teaspoon (plus more for garnish) Sea Salt (course grain)

1) In a saucepan over med/high heat, add the butter and sugar together stirring constantly until it reaches a dark caramel color (about 3-5 minutes.)

2) Carefully pour in the cream and stir vigorously until mixed together. Add the salt and continue to stir while it dissolves. If it's too thick for a drizzle, add a bit more cream.

3) While the caramel is hot, very carefully drizzle with a teaspoonful over the muffins, then garnish with a few grains of Sea Salt.

Nutella Spiral Bread called Povitica (Po-va-teet-sa) - Daring Bakers

Nutella Povitica

Just a few quick notes about the sweet tender addictive bread called, Povitica (Po-va-teet-sa):

Cinnamon Walnut Povitica

1) It's a traditional Eastern European dessert bread that is often served at holiday.

2) Original recipes included a spiced walnut spread. 3) The dough is rolled out so thin you can see a picture through it.


4) The Nutella was my idea, don't blame or credit the masters of this form.

5) The recipe looks more complicated than it is. Make an afternoon or night of it and enjoy the process.


This is one of the many inspiring recipes from the monthly "sorta online baking club" called, The Daring Bakers. I've posted many of the monthly challenges, but haven't talked about how it all works in a while.
One obvious proof that this "virtual baking group" works is in the numbers. In 2007 there were only 7 members, now there are thousands. I know, right? There are no fees, no drama, no giant commitments past your own personal desire to be challenged and grow. Each month a chosen member will post on the forum a particular recipe along with information, sometimes history and a very extensive pictorial guide to a certain baked good or procedure.

Then, on a certain day everyone posts their spin and journey with that recipe. You don't even have to have a blog for it, you can just participate and play along on your own.

Some of the challenges have been homemade Croissants (here), Dobos Torta (here), Macarons (here), Canoli (here), Nanaimo Bars (here), and Orange Tians (here) just as a start. The list goes on and on, and includes some fun holiday ideas, too. Just do a search on this site for Daring Bakers and it will come up with many many more. Here's why I'm telling ya this - YOU can join, too. At least check it out if you enjoy baking or cooking (there is one just for cooking called, Daring Cooks.) There's nothing in this for me by telling you about it, except someone told me and it's been a giant ball of fun and real challenge (in a great way.) Let me know if you try it, so I can come check out your post, too and see our spin on next month's recipe. That's another fun part, they don't reveal the next recipe until a certain day. You can read all about it there (here) - but for now, how great is this bread, huh? The Daring Baker’s October 2011 challenge was Povitica, hosted by Jenni of The Gingered Whisk.

Povitica is a traditional Eastern European Dessert Bread that is as lovely to look at as it is to eat! ***The recipe as given and developed by our sweet hostess this month would make 4 loaves of bread. I used her "Half Batch" recipe for making two loaves (a move I would regret as I was eating the last crumbs of the second loaf and wishing I had another in the freezer.) To make 4 loaves, just double.

Recipe: Povitica with Nutella Spread (and one with Walnut Spread)
Half Batch Dough Ingredients (Makes two loaves each 1.25 lbs/565 grams)

To activate the Yeast:

1 Teaspoon (5 ml/4 1⁄2 gm) Sugar
1⁄2 Teaspoon (21⁄2 ml/11⁄2 gm) All-Purpose (Plain) Flour
1⁄4 Cup (60 ml) Warm Water
1 Tablespoon (15 ml/7 gm/1⁄4 oz/1 sachet) Dry Yeast

Dough:

1 Cup (240 ml) Whole Milk
6 Tablespoons (90 ml/85 gm/3 oz) Sugar
11⁄2 Teaspoons (71⁄2 ml/9 gm/1/3 oz) Table Salt
2 Large Eggs
1⁄4 Cup (60 ml/60 gm/1⁄2 stick/2 oz) Unsalted Butter, melted
4 cups (960 ml/560 gm/193⁄4 oz/11⁄4 lb) All-Purpose Flour, measure first then sift, divided (** I found I needed almost a 5th cup because the dough was too sticky**)

Topping: 1⁄4 Cup (60 ml) Cold STRONG Coffee
1 Tablespoon (15 ml/14 gm/1⁄2 oz) Granulated Sugar
Melted Butter

Half Batch Filling Ingredients
(enough filling for the two loaves)

3 1/2 cups (840 ml/560 gm/1 1/4 lb/20oz) Ground English Walnuts
1⁄2 Cup (120 ml) Whole Milk
1⁄2 Cup (120 ml/115 gm/1 stick/4 oz) Unsalted Butter 1 Whole Egg, Beaten
1⁄2 Teaspoon (21⁄2 ml) Pure Vanilla Extract
1 Cup (240 ml/225 gm/8 oz) Sugar
1⁄2 Teaspoon (21⁄2 ml/2 gm) Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1⁄2 Teaspoon (21⁄2 ml/11⁄2 gm) Cinnamon

****MY OWN NUTELLA FILLING (enough for one loaf) 1 cup Nutella 1 egg, beaten 1/2 cup Heavy Cream Whip all ingredients in a bowl until smooth and fluffy. Spread on the thin rolled out dough, following same directions as the Walnut Filling.
*****

To Activate Yeast:
1. In a small bowl, stir sugar, flour, and the yeast into 1⁄4 cup warm water and cover with plastic wrap.
2. Allow to stand for 5 minutes

To Make the Dough:
3. In a medium saucepan, heat the milk up to just below boiling (about 180°F/82°C), stirring constantly so that a film does not form on the top of the milk. You want it hot enough to scald you, but not boiling. Allow to cool slightly, until it is about 110°F/43°C.
4. In a large bowl, mix the scalded milk, sugar, and the salt until combined.
5. Add the beaten eggs, yeast mixture, melted butter, and about 1/4 of the flour.
6. Blend thoroughly and slowly add remaining flour, mixing well until the dough starts to clean the bowl.
7. Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead, gradually adding flour a little at a time, until smooth and does not stick.
8. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces
9. Place dough in 2 lightly oiled bowls, cover loosely with a layer of plastic wrap and then a kitchen towel and let rise an hour and a half in a warm place, until doubled in size.

To Make the Filling
10. In a large bowl mix together the ground walnuts, sugar, cinnamon and cocoa.
11. Heat the milk and butter to boiling.
12. Pour the liquid over the nut/sugar mixture.
13. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix thoroughly.
14. Allow to stand at room temperature until ready to be spread on the dough.
15. If the mixture thickens, add a small amount of warm milk.

To Roll and Assemble the Dough:

16. Spread a clean sheet or cloth over your entire table so that it is covered.
17. Sprinkle with a couple of tablespoons to a handful of flour (use flour sparingly)
18. Place the dough on the sheet and roll the dough out with a rolling pin, starting in the middle
and working your way out, until it measures roughly 10-12 inches (251⁄2 cm by 301⁄2 cm) in diameter.
19. Spoon 1 to 1.5 teaspoons (5ml to 7 1⁄2 ml/4 gm to 7 gm) of melted butter on top.
20. Using the tops of your hands, stretch dough out from the center until the dough is thin and uniformly opaque. You can also use your rolling pin, if you prefer.
21. As you work, continually pick up the dough from the table, not only to help in stretching it out, but also to make sure that it isn’t sticking.
22. When you think it the dough is thin enough, try to get it a little thinner. It should be so thin that you can see the color and perhaps the pattern of the sheet underneath.
23. Spoon filling (see below for recipe) evenly over dough until covered.
24. Lift the edge of the cloth and gently roll the dough like a jelly roll.
25. Once the dough is rolled up into a rope, gently lift it up and place it into a greased loaf pan in the shape of a “U”, with the ends meeting in the middle. You want to coil the dough around itself, as this will give the dough its characteristic look when sliced.
26. Repeat with remaining three loaves, coiling each rope of dough in its own loaf pan.
27. Brush the top of each loaf with a mixture of 1⁄2 cup (120 ml) of cold STRONG coffee and 2 tablespoons (30ml/28 gm/1 oz) of sugar. If you prefer, you can also use egg whites in place of this.
28. Cover pans lightly will plastic wrap and allow to rest for approximately 15 minutes.
29. Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4.
30. Remove plastic wrap from dough and place
into the preheated oven and bake for
approximately 15 minutes.
31. Turn down the oven temperature to slow 300°F/150°C/gas mark 2 and bake for an additional 45 minutes, or until done.
32. Remove bread from oven and brush with melted butter.
33. Check the bread every 30 minutes to ensure that the bread is not getting too brown. You may cover the loaves with a sheet of aluminum foil if you need to.
34. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for 20-30 minutes.
35. It is recommended that the best way to cut Povitica loaves into slices is by turning the loaf upside down and slicing with a serrated knife.

Croissants - Simplified and Addictive

Croissants are the sexiest bread you can put in your mouth. A really good croissant needs nothing else. Eat it naked (the bread...or you.) A really good croissant shoots flakes in the air when you pull it apart. The outside is golden, crispy and protects the buttery layers of the softest bread on earth.

If the croissant you bite into doesn't do all these things, please just call it a "Crescent Roll" and live with it. Hold out for the real thing before you call it (say it with your best French accent) Croissant.

(The Daring Bakers go retro this month! Thanks to one of our very talented non- blogging members, Sarah,
the Daring Bakers were challenged to make Croissants using a recipe from the Queen of French Cooking,

none other than Julia Child!)

This flaky luna delight has a sorted history and many countries lay claim to it's origin. It did not start out laminated (the technique of alternating butter and dough to form layers, like in puff pastry.) In the beginning it was crescent shaped and the texture was more like a bread roll, or rugelach. The Italians eat a similar, although usually softer and more hollow version of the croissant called Cornetto. In Vietnam, it's called bánh sung bo.

French Croissants were one of my first food fascinations. I tore a 4 page recipe out of Gourmet magazine when I was in college and swore one day I would make them. A couple years later I spent about 4 days, head bent over that scrunched up paper, tediously making about a dozen giant, whispy flaked brown croissants. I was so impressed with myself I immediately took pictures of them in a basket and wrote about it in my journal. That was 25 years ago. I guess I was food blogging without knowing it.I'm hoping I can simplify the idea of making these and encourage you (if you've never tried it) to make your own Croissant. It doesn't have to be a many-day tedious event. It's really a lot easier than you'd think.

Prep your ingredients, clear a space in the refrigerator for your dough to hang during that segment of time, and get ready to be impressed with yourself. The whole thing can be done (most of it just waiting for the dough to rise) in half a day, or you can do a little one day and a little the next day. Enjoy it. Do it while you're doing other things. Here we go.

Recipe: Croissants
(adapted from the Daring Bakers' adaptation of Julia Child)

1 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (about 1/2 pkg.)
3 Tbls. very warm water
1 tsp. sugar + 2 tsp. sugar
1 3/4 cups Bread Flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk (warmed)
2 Tbls. Oil
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 egg, for egg wash

1) Mix the yeast, warm water and first teaspoon of sugar together in a small bowl. Leave it for a few minutes so the yeast can foam up a bit.

2) In a large bowl, pour in the warm milk, salt and the 2 tsp. sugar and stir to dissolve.

3) To the milk- add in the flour, the oil and the foamy yeast. Stir it all together well with a spatula, and turn it out onto a work surface.

4) Knead the dough just 8-10 times, place it into a large clean bowl, cover it tightly with plastic wrap and leave at room temp (about 70- 74F) for about 3 hours (so it can triple in size as it rises.)
*********
5) After it triples in size, pull it out of the bowl and onto a lightly floured work space. Using your fingers, spread the dough out into approx. 8x12 inch rectangle. Then fold it like a letter in thirds (the bottom folded up, then the top over that).

6) Put it back into the bowl, cover well with plastic and let rise again for about 1.5 hours (or it can be put in the refrigerator for over-night.)
********
NOW IT'S TIME TO USE THE BUTTER and THE DOUGH (called a deutremp) to START BUILDING THE LAYERS-

7) Put the butter on a piece of plastic, and using a rolling pin, pound it out to about 6x8 inches. Wrap in the plastic to help shape it. It should still be chilled, but not hard.8) Using your hands (or rolling pin if you prefer) spread the dough out to about 8x14 inches. Unwrap the butter and put it on the top half of the dough, leaving dough showing on the top & sides (see the photo.)9) Fold the dough over the butter, like a letter (bottom part folds up over the butter, then the top part down including the butter.) This makes a letter shape that has dough, butter, dough, butter, etc.

10) Turn the dough 1/2 turn, so the folds are on the right and left sides, and roll the dough out into about 14x8 inches again. Fold up into a letter, again. Wrap in plastic and place in refrigerator to chill for 2 hours.
********

11) After 2 hours, take the dough out onto a lightly floured board. With the folds on your right and left, roll the dough out into a 14x8 inch shape again. Fold and roll out, yet again. Fold, wrap in plastic and return to refrigerator for 2 more hours. All this rolling, folding and chilling is creating the soft flaky luxurious bread inside your very own homemade croissants. It's all worth it!
**************
NOW IT'S TIME TO CUT THE DOUGH AND SHAPE THE CROISSANTS-

12) Take the dough out of the refrigerator and let it rest on the floured work space for about 10 minutes. Cut it in half and place one half in refrigerator to keep chilled while working with the other half. Roll your dough out to about 10 x 16 inch rectangle.
13) Using a Pizza cutter, cut the dough in thirds cross-wise, then in half from top to bottom. Then, cut into triangles. (NOTE: For larger croissants - roll the dough to 25 x 5 inches, cut into thirds cross wise, then cut triangles out of each third.)

14) Roll each triangle up, ending with a point. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and curve into a crescent shape. Cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 1 hour.
15) Preheat the oven to very hot 475F. Brush each croissant with an egg wash (one egg beaten with 1 tsp. water.) Bake for about 10- 13 minutes (more if yours are larger.) They should be caramel brown and crisp on the outside. Allow to cool on a rack for a few minutes before serving.

Wasn't it worth it? I know, I know, right? They are SO good. They are gone SO fast (if I'm around.) Seriously, once you've done this, the steps become familiar and you can carve out your time in between other things. Just try it once and you'll see. Go to Paris every chance you get (ok, but at least make your own croissants.) Bonne chance et merci~