learnin' the lingo

Ok so this is probably going to be an overly nerdy post for most people, but if you have any interest in this stuff or if you ever watched a cooking show and had no clue what the dessert they were making was, maybe you will be as curious as I was. 

For one of my classes this semester, one of the assignments was to define and learn a long list of vocabulary words.  I didn't realize just how many pastry terms I didn't know until I looked at this list.  I decided to go ahead and give you a peek at my first attempt so you can see just how lost I was:

Aspic -

Bakewell tart -

Basket weave -

Battenburg -

Beignet – kind of like a doughnut, served in New Orleans

Betty – like an apple brown betty?

Beveling – what makes a mirror expensive

Biscotin -

Blitz puff pastry -

Blown sugar – How they make all that amazing sugar art on TV

Boule de neige -

Brix hydrometer -

Bubble sugar -

Chiboust cream -

Cake comb -

Cat’s tongue -

Charlotte royal -

Chemiser -

Chinois -

Clafoutis -

Coffin – Yikes.

Cornelli lace -

Coupler -

Croquembouche – Christmas-tree-esque tower of balls of pastry covered in strands of sugar

Crumb coating – first layer of icing a cake to cover the crumbs so they don’t get in your final layer

Custard powder -

Dacquoise -

Dragee – those sprinkles I like that look like pearls

Enrobe -

Entremet -

Fairy floss – what the Tooth Fairy oughta leave instead of a quarter

Filigree work -

Financier – saw it on Top Chef, don’t know what it really is, some kind of cake

Floating island – saw it on Top Chef, don’t know what it really is

Food lacquer -

Fool – what I feel like looking at this list of vocab

Frangipane -

Gastronomy – the science of eating or something along those lines

Gianduja -

Ghee – crazy show about a bunch of singing high schoolers.  Oh wait, that’s an H.

Glycerine – pretty good song

Indian pudding -

Intermezzo – intermission?

Japonaise – Japanese mayonnaise?

Kringle – The father of Christmas cookies?

Ladyfinger – the cakes used in Tiramisu

Lambeth method -

Luster dust – the stuff they paint on fondant on Ace of Cakes that makes it look metallic

Maryann pan -

Meyer lemon – expensive kind of lemon

Nappé –

Nonpareil – chocolate-chip-looking-candy covered in white sprinkles

Nougat – The middle of a 3 musketeers

Palmier –

Panna cotta – Italian dessert they are constantly making on cooking shows

Paris-brest –

Petit four Varitété

Piping Gel –

Pistole –

Pithivier –

Religieuse –

Rennet –

Ribbon stage – point in an egg foam when it will stand on itself like a ribbon.  so maybe I learned this last week in class, but that counts!

Sfogliatelle –

Sheeter – Crazy machine we used to rolled out our croissant dough, kind of like a giant pasta machine

Springform pan – I know this one! I know this one! Cheesecake pan!

Tant-pour-tant –

Tarte Tatin –

Transfer sheet –

Vol-au-vent -

Wow!  Needless to say, I was a little intimidated but also a little curious and a lot inspired, so I jumped right on it.  Upon googling a few, I realized that some of these were just too ambiguous for my trusty search engine method of research.  So I made myself wait a few days for my Pastry Chef Companion to arrive in the mail and then really got cracking:

Aspic – A clear gelatin preparation. In the pastry kitchen, made with fruit juices and may be a mold lining for riz à l’impératrice or other molded desserts.

Bakewell tart – An English tart with a puff pastry crust brushed with jam and filled with eggs, sugar, and butter.  After the tar is baked, it is dusted with confectioners’ sugar or glazed with a simple icing or fondant.  The tart was created by accident in Bakewell, England.

Basket weave – A cake-decorating technique resembling a basket weave, often used for bridal cakes.  A vertical line of buttercream is piped on the sides of the cake from the bottom to the top.  A series or horizontal lines are then piped across this vertical line, leaving space between each one.  A second vertical line is piped over top of the edge of the horizontal lines, and then additional horizontal lines are piped, starting from the spaces found on the previous series of horizontal lines and over the new vertical line.  Mostly are piped using the #47 or #48 piping tip.

Battenberg – A German checkerboard cake of pink and yellow cake squares held together with apricot jam and wrapped in marzipan.  English favorite, also known as tennis cake.

Beignet – The French word for fritter.  Refers to a doughnut-type yeast pastry popularized in New Orleans.  The pastry is deep-fried and heavily dusted with confectioners’ sugar.  May also be savory, and are best served warm.

Betty – A baked pudding of alternating layers of sweetened spiced fruits and buttered bread crumbs.  Betties originated in colonial America and are also known as brown betty.  Apple brown betty is the most well-known, made with apples and brown sugar.

Beveling – The act of cutting off the edge of an un-iced cake so as to soften and round the edge.  Beveling is done when rolled fondant is placed over the cake, so that the edges will not tear.  It also increases the area of the cake for decorating purposes.

Biscotin – A small, thin, crisp biscuit usually served with ice cream or other frozen desserts.  It may also be served as a petit four with coffee and tea.

Blitz puff pastry – Blitz is the German word for lightning and refers to the quick preparation of this dough.  The dough is prepared by the biscuit method and then rolled and folded like puff pastry.  Although it is faster and easier to make than regular puff pastry, it does not have as many layers, does not rise as high, and the texture is not as fine.  IT is often used for napoleons and other desserts that are layered with cream filling because it is crisp and flaky after baking.

Blown sugar – Pulled sugar that is blown into thin, decorative objects with the use of an air pump.

Boule de neige – “Ball of snow” in French, referring to either 1. A petit four of two small white meringues sandwiched together with chocolate buttercream and iced with vanilla buttercream before being rolled in grated chocolate or 2. A large cake with layers of genoise and vanilla buttercream, that once firm, is cut to resemble a ball and then enrobed in vanilla buttercream and rolled in shredded coconut.

Brix hydrometer – Uses the Brix scale to measure sugar concentrations using the refractions of light.

Bubble sugar – A decorative sugar technique made by pouring a prepared sugar syrup across the top of parchment paper that has been lightly covered with spirit alcohol.  As the paper is lifted, the sugar runs down the paper and reacts with the alcohol to create an array of bubbles through the sugar.  This may also be accomplished by spreading a thin layer of isomalt between 2 Silpats and baking it until the sugar melts and forms the desired bubble appearance.

Cake comb – A small, flat triangular hand-held tool with different size of serrated teeth on each of the edges.  It is made of stainless steel and is used to create decorate curvy or straight lines on cake.  Also known as icing comb or pastry comb.

Cat’s tongue – A crisp, dry, sweet cookie with an elongated, slightly rounded shape that resembles a cat’s tongue.  The cookies may be flavored with citrus as well as chocolate or spices, and are traditionally sandwiched together with jam or a cream filling.  Can be piped or molded.  French name is langue-de-chat.

Charlotte royal – A cold charlotte made by lining a domed mold with small slices of jelly roll, packed tightly, then filled with a flavored Bavarian cream and topped with a round of sponge cake.  Once chilled and set, the mold is inverted and glazed with apricot jam. 

Chemiser – To coat or line the bottom or sides of a mold.  This is done either to prevent food from sticking and allow for ease of unmolding or to be an integral part of the dessert, such as lining a flan mold with caramel.

Chiboust cream – A rich custard cream lightened with meringue and set with gelatin.  Invented in 1846 by Chiboust of the preparation of gateau Saint-Honoré.

Chinois – A metal sieve shaped like a cone, used to strain custards and sauces and for making purees by forcing the soft fruit through the mesh. 

Clafoutis – A rustic French fruit tart made by placing a layer of black cherries in a fluted tart pan or dish and covering them with a thick, pancake-like batter.  The batter puffs slightly when baked and produces a golden brown crust in between the tops of the cherries.  Classically, the cherries are unpitted to add flavor.  The top is dusted with confectioners’ sugar and it is served warm.

Coffin – The colonial American term for a pie crust.

Cornelli lace – A decorative technique used on cakes to create a lace pattern.  The technique involves piping random curves all over the cake a #2 or #3 decorating tip.  The curvy lines never touch each other. 

Coupler – A two-piece plastic device used to attach a pastry tip to a pastry bag, allowing the tips to be changed without having to change the bag.

Croquembouche – French for “crisp in the mouth,” referring to a pyramid shaped dessert composed of cream puffs that have been filled with rich cream and dipped in caramel.  The pyramid is embellished with an assortment of decorations that include spun sugar, candied fruits, nougatine, sugar flowers, royal icing, and marzipan sweets.  Traditionally served at weddings, buffets, and First Communion celebrations.

Crumb coating – Technique for icing cakes where a thin layer of icing is spread in order to trap the crumbs in the icing so that they are less likely to resurface when the cake has the final icing coat applied.

Custard powder – A powdered thickening agent used in lieu of flour.  Made up of cornstarch, arrowroot, vanilla, colorings, and sometimes sweetener. Typically needs to be added to liquids such as milk, cream, or water and cooked to remove the starchy flour.

Dacquoise – 1. A meringue disc that includes ground almonds folded in before baking, used in the preparation of confections, cake and petit fours. 2. A French cake of three hazelnut or almond meringue discs sandwiched together with sweetened whipped cream or flavored buttercream.

Dragée – 1. A French confection of an almond or other flavored center surrounded by a hard, shiny sugar coating. 2. Tiny, glossy gold or silver sugar balls used to decorate pastries and confections.

Enrobe – To coat a candy or pastry with chocolate, sugar, or fondant.  Usually done by pouring rather than dipping.

Entremet – 1.  French for “between courses,” referring to desserts served after the cheese course.  2. A composed dessert, which means it has several components that may be hot, cold, or frozen.

Fairy floss – The Australian term for cotton candy.

Filigree work – A cake decorating technique made by piping royal icing on a sheet of parchment paper.  Once the pieces have hardened, they are attached to the cake.  The pieces may be one dimensional or made multidimensional by attaching server pieces together.  Generally large and used as adornments for the tops of cakes or between tiers.

Financier – A delicate sponge-like cake made with egg whites, beurre noisette, and ground almonds.  They are dry so that when financiers ate them on the floor of the Stock Exchange they would not get their fingers sticky.

Floating island – A dessert of poached meringue balls topped with caramel and served in a pool of crème anglaise.

Food lacquer – A food-grade product used to add shine and protection to chocolate and sugar showpieces.  Available in both glossy and matte.

Fool – A chilled British dessert of strained fruit puree that is sweetened and mixed with twice its volume of whipped cream.  Dates back to the 15^th century.

Frangipane – An almond cream used as a filling for pastries such as pithivier and jalousie or baked as a cake and used as a base for petit four glace and other pastries.

Gastronomy – The art and science of gourmet food, drink and dining. 

Gianduja – 1. Smooth and creamy Swiss mixture of dark or more commonly, milk chocolate and roasted hazelnut paste.  2.  Confections made with chocolate and hazelnuts.

Ghee – A cross between clarified butter and beurre noisette, produced by slowly melting the butter to separate the milk solids and then simmering it until the moisture evaporates and the milk solids brown.  The result is a nutty caramel-like flavor that is popular because of its high smoke point.  Originated in India using buffalo milk.

Glycerine – A sugar alcohol obtained from three fatty acids that produce triglyceride.  Odorless, colorless, and syrupy, and used in the commercial production of candies and confections.

Indian pudding – also known as hasty pudding, a colonial American dish of cornmeal mush sweetened with molasses, maple syrup, or honey, served for breakfast or dessert.

Intermezzo – A refreshing dish, usually sorbet, served in between courses to cleanse the palate.

Japonaise – A French baked meringue made with ground almonds or hazelnuts.

Kringle – 1. The Norwegian name for a Christmas butter cookie with lemon flavor.  2.  A flat, wide Danish pastry made from flaky dough and filled with fruit or nuts.  Also called Racine Danish kringle.

Ladyfinger – A delicate individual sponge cake that resembles a large, fat finger.  Also known as biscuit de savoie or biscuit à la cuiller (spoon cookie) and used in charlottes, trifles, and tiramisu.

Lambeth method – A highly decorate and ornate style of cake decorating created by Joseph A. Lambeth in the late 19^th century to early 20 century.  Uses a lot of intricate piping to create scrollwork, leaves, flowers, etc.

Luster dust – also known as pearl dust, a colored, edible dusting powder used to give a pearlescent sheen to gum paste, fondant, and pastillage.  May be mixed with a clear alcohol to make it liquid enough to be painted on a surface.

Maryann pan – A baking pan with a convex bottom to give the baked product a hollowed-out center that is then typically filled with fruit or cream.

Meyer lemon – a cross between an orange and a lemon, with a thin, smooth lemony skin.  Prized for sweeter, less acidic flavor, available from October to May.

Nappé – French for “to cover,” used in the pastry kitchen to mean “to coat the back of a spoon.” Used in production of sauces, crème anglaise to determine thickness.

Nonpareil – 1. A tiny sugar pellet for decorating cakes and other baked goods, available in many colors 2. A small flat chocolate candy covered tiny white sugar pellets

Nougat – A sweet made with a  cooked mixture of sugar, honey, and nuts, eaten as candy or used as an ingredient.   Ingredients, texture, and production method vary by country.  Susceptible to humidity.

Palmier – The French word for palm leaves, referring to crisp, buttery strips of puff pastry that have been rolled up to resemble a palm leaf.  Topped with sugar, which caramelizes as it is baked.  Also referred to as “elephant ears.”

Panna cotta – The Italian term for “cooked cream,” referring a light, refreshing eggless custard often molded and served with fresh fruit or sauce.  Made by simmering cream, milk, sugar, and a flavoring and setting with gelatin.

Paris-brest – A French pastry that consists of a pâte à choux piped into a ring, topped with sliced almonds, and baked.  Once cooled, it is sliced in half horizontally and filled with a praline flavored cream.  Other variations omit the almonds and may be filled with whipped cream or crème diplomat.

Petit four Varitété – All petit fours that do not fall into the main categories, such as savory petit fours.

Piping Gel – A smooth, jelly-like, translucent, ready-made mixture of sugar, corn syrup, ad gum Arabic.  May be tinted with food coloring and used to decorate cakes and pastries.

Pistole – A packaging term for couverture that refers to small round discs of chocolate – reduces the amount of chopping, and the uniform size and shape assist in even melting.

Pithivier – A French dessert that consist of two large round circles of puff pastry that are filled with frangipane, the edges are scalloped, and the egg-washed top is scoring into a sunburst design.  Traditionally served as Twelfth Night cake in the Orleans region of France.

Religieuse – The French word for nun, referring to a pastry of two pâte à choux puffs, one larger and one smaller, that are filled with a flavored pastry cream and glazed with fondant of the same flavor.  The smaller choux is attached to the top off larger choux and decorated with buttercream of the same flavor.

Rennet – A coagulating enzyme obtained from the stomach lining of a young animal, usually a calf.  It contains an enzyme called rennin, which causes the milk to curdle.  Used to make cheese and junket, and is available in either tablet or powdered form.  There is also a form of vegetable rennet available to make kosher and vegetarian cheese, which comes from similar plant enzymes.

Ribbon stage – When a product has been whipped to a ribbon-like consistency, and the spoon or whip can be lifted up, moved from side to side, and the batter falls in ribbons.

Sfogliatelle – A scallop-shaped pastry from Napes made with a flaky pastry dough filled with a creamy mixture of ricotta cheese, semolina, and flavorings such as cinnamon, vanilla, candied fruit, or chocolate

Sheeter – A fairly large piece of kitchen equipment used to evenly roll out dough, marzipan, fondant, gum paste.

Springform pan – A round, straight sided baking pan with a removable bottom.

Tant-pour-tant – A French term that refers to a mixture of equal parts by weight of superfine sugar and ground almonds.  Used in the production of cookies, batter, and petit fours.

Tarte Tatin – A French upside-down apple tart, traditionally served with crème frâiche.

Transfer sheet – A small, rectangular sheet of clear acetate used to transfer designs onto chocolate – designs are printed on with color cocoa butter, and are available in hundreds or designs or can be custom made.  The decorated chocolate is popular as a garnish or to wrap around the sides of cakes or desserts.

Vol-au-vent – The French term for “flying in the wind,” referring to a light-as-a puff pastry container that resembles a small pot with a lid.  Usually filled with a warm savory mixture, may be filled with sweet mixtures as well.

So there you have it!  If you were ever curious, now you know!  And if you weren't, you're probably really bored right now!  I must say, I feel a little more legit now that I know some of the pastry world lingo.  Now I have to work on pronouncing it all...

Oh and because I hate a post with no pictures, some strawberry cupcakes with strawberry buttercream I made this week for a cookout:

oh my ganache!

This week in Pastry Techniques went much better than last...except that I am STILL on chocolate overload!  We learned about ganache this week and each group made a ganache tart using one of the doughs we prepped last week plus a ganache we made in class.  My group made the white chocolate ganache.  We did have to throw it out and start over once, because we were having trouble getting the white chocolate to melt right.  But at least we could fix it then and I didn't have to go back the next day to redo the recipe!  The other ganache tarts (left to right) were raspberry dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, banana chocolate, and caramel chocolate.  My favorite was the caramel chocolate, by far.

After we finished our tarts, we started working on our deep dark chocolate cakes.  We had made and frozen the cake and an American buttercream last week, so we cut and did a crumb coat using those first.  This was my first time actually icing a cake the right way, so I was really excited at how well it turned out.  Then we made a ganache glaze that we poured over the top, and then chilled it until it set up.  This was such a simple step but it looked so beautiful!  We didn't have quite enough glaze, so we had to use a spatula to finish the sides, but the other cakes that were completely glazed were even prettier.  And then of course we had to cut into big fat slices to taste!  The cake itself was very rich, dense, and fudgy.  The buttercream was a little too sweet for me but with the glaze, all three parts really came together.  I still couldn't eat the whole slice...there's still some in the fridge!

As if that wasn't enough chocolate, then we made baked whiskey tortes.  These really reminded me of the Pot de Creme we made last semester, except they had whiskey instead of Baileys.  Very rich, I could only eat a few bites but it was wonderful straight out of the oven.  It really needed some whipped cream or vanilla ice cream or something though.  And then the groups with extra ganache made truffles.  I have never eaten so much chocolate in my life!

The next day in cookie class, we were focusing on bagged/piped/pressed cookies.  The two pictures on the top left are the cookies my group made, Strassburger cookies.  They weren't my favorite flavor-wise, but we did get to practice some different piping techniques, which is something I don't have very much experience in.  My favorite was the pleated ribbons in the first picture (mine started getting better towards the end!).  Out of all the cookies the other groups made, my favorites were the gingersnaps. 

After that, I headed to Cakes class.  I was still nervous about that Chef, being one of the least experienced in the class, and the fact that it was our first day baking in there, but all in all it went pretty well.  We made Angel Food cake from scratch (the one in the picture is someone else's, my group got stuck with the "experiment" of doing it in the wrong pan - tasted the same, but it caved in in the middle).  The only thing I didn't like was that when I was eating the cake, I kept smelling the eggs right before I ate it.  You couldn't taste them, so I just started holding my breath and eating it!  Then the Chef demonstrated a French buttercream - by itself, it was too buttery for me, but when we tried it on the cake, it was perfect.  We almost made a Genoise, but they were still cooling in the pans when we left, so no pictures yet.  Those are going to be our practice cakes for the rest of the semester to practice icing, etc.

Oh and one last exciting-ish thing for the week!  Right in the middle of the ganache extravaganza, another Chef popped into our class with cocoa pods straight off a tree in Puerto Rico.  As gross as the cocoa beans looked inside, I figured I would never get another chance to try something like that, so I peeled the slimy shell off and took a teeny-tiny bite of one.  How awful!  It's amazing that something as wonderful as chocolate can come from something so bitter!  We aren't allowed to have drinks in class, so that stuff was stuck in my teeth for hours...gross!  But I'm still really glad I tried it, now I can cross that one off my bucket list!

[the purple part is the part I ate]

second semester, first week

well I made it through the first week of my second semester, but let me tell you...it wasn't easy.  I'm really glad I only decided to take three classes this semester, because I am exhausted...and I still have hours of homework ahead of me.

My first class was Pastry Techniques on Wednesday.  2 pm to 8 pm.  And we made EIGHT recipes.  I was exhausted.  But I better get used to it, because that's how it is going to be every week.  I really like the teacher though, and I already feel like I am going to learn so much.  Although if this week is any indication, it will be learning through mistakes...  Out of the eight recipes, two of ours failed.  Completely.  One cake that was supposed to bake in 40 minutes was still liquid 2 hours later.   No clue what went wrong there, except that it must have been some kind of mis-measurement.  We are thinking either too much oil or not enough flour.  The other one, we accidentally substituted baking soda for baking powder.  That might sound like a little technicality, but if you've ever done it, you know it isn't.  SO that meant two cakes in the trash, which was a problem, because the point of class this week was to make a bunch of stuff to use later, pie crusts, tart doughs, cakes to practice icing, etc.  So not having cakes completed wasn't really an option.  So we remade them the next day in between my other two classes.  And they turned out great.  But then I was trying to hurry and get to my next class, and tried to wrap one of them before it was cool enough.  And broke it in half.  And had to throw it away (after I ate a little).  I felt like crying.  But luckily Chef said I don't have to do it again, one was enough to save.  I know I know, school is about learning and if I knew it all I wouldn't be there.  But I can't help but get frustrated when I can't even get a simple cake right.  And nervous for the rest of the semester!

Sad, sorry, golden cake that wouldn't bake...if you look closely it is still liquid in the middle :(

My first class on Thursday was Cookies, Tarts, and Petit Fours, which went a lot better.  Same Chef as Pastry Tech, so I was excited about that.  And my group members were two people I already knew from last semester.  Oh yeah did I mention that we don't get to pick our groups this semester?  They rotate every week.  Probably a better learning experience but man am I gonna miss my awesome group from Breads class!  So anyways, each group did one recipe (this week was focused on Drop Cookies) and then we all tasted each others so that we can write flavor profiles.  My group made the Potato Chip Cookies.  They were great, a little salty and crunchy but otherwise you wouldn't even know there were chips in there.  My favorites were the Almond Crisps, I love anything with an almond flavor. 

And then my last class of the week was Basic and Classical Cakes.  I was really nervous about this one because everyone says that Chef is super scary, but I thought she was alright.  Strict but reasonable.  We didn't bake this week though, just took notes. 

Well I am a little intimidated to go back to Pastry Techniques, but I'm still excited for this semester.  Still haven't been doing a whole lot of baking at home, but the other night we ran out of ice cream (first world problem, I know, but we eat ice cream every night and my sweeth tooth won't go to bed hungry) so I made these awesome no-bake pretzel-peanut butter-chocolate truffles I had seen on Pinterest earlier that day and just happened to have all the ingredients for.  Super easy! They reminded me a lot of the Buckeye cookies my Mom makes, but with a little extra salty crunch I loved.  They did not last long.

And one of Trev's employees has been asking him for about six months now to get me to make some banana nut bread.  I've been procrastinating because it is one of my least favorite baked goods and I just wasn't feel inspired by it.  But she asked again the other day and I don't get a whole lot of requests these days, so I finally made some banana nut muffins.  Again, not my favorite flavor combo, but they were pretty good considering. 

ok I'm gonna keep blogging I promise!

WOW I did not even realize how long it had been since I had posted but it has been a crazy month and a half or so.  Finals went really well, I got all A's for the semester and even made the President's List!  But between the break from school and moving, I haven't been doing that much baking lately.  That's right, I said moving!!!  For those of you that know about our disastrous house search, you know that this is a freakin miracle!  We have been house hunting for about six months now because the house that we fell in love with on the first day of searching was a short sale.  We made an offer and the sellers accepted it but then it had to go to their bank...and we never heard anything back, for months and months.  Oh except for once when their system had an error and rejected every offer for every short sale on record.  So we kept looking..and looking..and couldn't find anything that compared...and couldn't stop thinking about that house.  Between premature packing, people giving us furniture when they moved away, and wedding gifts, our apartment was getting smaller by the day.  And then four and a half months after our offer, we finally heard back that it was accepted!!  It was another battle getting to closing, but that is another story for another day...it would take me hours to write it all and I would get really really angry all over again, so we'll skip to the happy part!  We closed on December 16 and we are finally all moved in and settled.  Well pretty much.  Here's a picture:

Ok, but enough about that... this is a baking blog after all!  As I said, hasn't been much baking going on around here lately, especially for the holiday season.  But my parents and Grandma came down from SC before Christmas to help us move, and I did make a couple of the recipes from Breads class for them to try.  I did my best to duplicate the six-strand Challah - not as pretty as the one from class but not bad for doing it by myself, I think.  I also made the focaccia recipe in a loaf-ish form so we could use it for sandwiches, and worked some pesto into the dough.  Yum!

And while they were here, we made homemade pizza for Grandma's birthday using the dough recipe from Breads class (forgot to take a picture but it was delicious!) and I surprised her with a pecan praline mini-cheesecake. 

My family had to leave before Christmas and we were crazy busy unpacking, etc so I didn't do much in the way of Christmas cookies this year.  Which is way out of the norm for me, I grew up in a house with 20 varieties of Christmas cookies every year.  I did attempt my favorite of my Mom's cookies on Christmas day, Spritz cookies.  They turned out okay except that I didn't realize until the batter was made that my cookie press was in pieces from last year's deep cleaning and I had no idea how to put it back together, and Trevor was at work.  Helpless I know but what can I say?  So I made freeform Spritz blobs...needless to say, no pictures of those beauties.  But they were still tasty!

I know I said no more house talk but one more thing...since it was a short sale, they took the majority of the appliances and we had to buy a new oven, fridge, washer and dryer.  The most exciting of which is obviously the oven!  We got really good deals so that we could splurge on this fine piece of machinery I had been eyeballing for months:

A couple of companies make a double oven in a standard oven size now, but I picked this LG one because it has an extra infrared feature I haven't really figured out how to work yet.  Oh, and because it had touch-screen buttons for the stove instead of knobs.  Is it just me or are those things impossible to get clean??  Seems like a tiny thing I know but it has been a pet peeve for years.  I'm really excited about the oven even though I haven't done much baking.  But the two ovens have already come in handy for cooking supper - garlic bread up top while the meatballs are below, for example.  Can't wait to break it in some more!

Well this was a crazy long post for me so thank you for reading if you have made it this far!! I promise I will post more often now that school is starting back up next week.  I am really excited, and have been out shopping this week for all the new tools we are required to have this semester.  I'm still a little nervous because both of the teachers I have this semester are supposed to be really tough, but I can't wait anyways. 

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season!  Happy 2012!