TGIP Field Trip: Eva's Bakery & Christiansen's Family Farm

Took a visit to a lovely new bakery in downtown Salt Lake, Eva's Bakery. So many delicious breads and pastries, I'll have to make a return visit to give some things a first try, and, of course, to pick up a second round of some new favorites. In this picture from lower left clockwise to lower right: chocolate nib cookie, coconut macaroon, apple half-pocket, pistachio snail, mountain loaf, Italian brioche, beehive brioche, kouing aman (both peeking out from under the Italian brioche), chicken pesto pizza. All of their pastry was lovely. Their dough in general is tender and flaky and easily takes to different applications.

 

Things I especially loved:

• the pistachio snail--has dark chocolate nibs in such a delicious combination with the pistachios.
• the Italian brioche--has a raspberry filling that is perfect, not too sweet, no gooey texture, you know, as if it's made from ACTUAL raspberries, which I'm sure it is.
• the beehive brioche--a brilliant combination of crunchy almonds, fleur de sel, and honey with a really beautiful, tender brioche dough.
• the mountain loaf--a blend of flours, including rye and whole wheat with sunflower seeds (I think) and tart dried cherries. Yeah, the cherries were what got me, but even my cherry-hating mr. liked this bread. It's just a really balanced combination of flavors and textures. Hearty breakfast-y goodness.

Unfortunately for Eva's, we have Les Madeleines here in town, where we all learned about Kouing Aman. Eva's suffers in the comparison on this one count. But next time I visit I'm buying every kind of bread I can get my hands on, as that appears to be their specialty.

A while back I saw an article in the newspaper about a local family farm that was starting to offer lard. Jumped, is what I did. Because the last time I obtained leaf lard it was about $30 for 5 pounds, and even more for shipping (I think it was coming from Wisconsin, and had to be sent overnight in special dry-ice packaging). Oy. Not to mention the fact that I'm trying to do what I can to buy local. I really am trying. And these people have made it easy for me. I can order online, and then pick it up from one of several stops they make throughout the valley on Saturday mornings. Where, as it turns out, there are scores of other people sitting in their cars (like junkies) waiting for the truck (their dealer). It's a funny thing to witness. Their lard is a combination of leaf and back fat and comes from their super-happy pigs that are petted by the family's children. No, for real. Go look at their website. Of course, not all the junkies were waiting in the parking lot for lard. The family raises pigs, cows, and chickens. And maybe I need a deep freeze in my garage so I can order well-handled meat from them, with knowledge of the source and their practices...

And after a first attempt at using this lard, I am thrilled to report that it is perfect. Perfect texture, dough is elastic and easy to handle. Perfect taste, adds that tiny bit of saltiness that I like for my lard to bring to the pastry party. And it bakes up beautifully as you can see above.

TGIP Rating--Eva's--KEEPER. They also have a seating area and a beautiful espresso machine. One of these mornings you'll find me there enjoying a croissant and a real cappuccino.
--Christiansen's Family Farm--KEEPER. Thank goodness people like this exist. In my general neighborhood. Maybe I'll make them a pie just for being awesome.

Next up: I have to take a few weeks off baking. I know. Trust me, it hurts me more than it hurts you. But sometimes the theatre is a brutal taskmaster. When I'm back at it, I think I'm going to do cupcakes. Probably using some elements of this.

Doughnut Bread Pudding

No, I still can't give you the recipe because it still belongs to this guy (and I don't want him to look at me like this):

BUT, I will say this: you know that favorite bread pudding recipe you have? The one that was handed down from your Great Aunt Mabel? Make it exactly like you do with bread, except use leftover doughnuts. And maybe waffles just for some texture variety. What's that? You've never heard of "leftover" doughnuts? You don't make doughnuts at home? Fine. Use these (or something like them) (and also, stale) (I used about 14-15 oz for an 8x8 pan):

And here's some bonus advice from him ^ as you're making your egg/milk mixture--you should be able to smell the egg and vanilla, but just barely smell the sugar. Wise.

Then, maybe, for a change, sprinkle some turbinado sugar on top instead of brown sugar (doesn't it look fuzzy and cozy?):

And, you know, bake it. Like you do. And you can top it with whatever sauce you like. Something rummy? Sure! Or something like this:

You do have a Trader Joe's in your neighborhood, right? Good. I thought you did.

Next up: I wanted to make these Cherry Chocolate Truffles with Coconut for Christmas, but got too lazy. Not baking, in the strictest sense of the word, but still. I've never made truffles and want to give them a try.

Lazy Bakemas--a photo essay

You CAN make pie crust with no rolling pin and no lard. But if you're visiting at sea level you have to remember that baking times are different.

 Looks pretty, but didn't taste quite right. To be tweaked. Also? That fruitcake in the background? Maybe cured too long. 3 weeks MAX next year.

This is what happens when you use cupcake recipes, but you live at a high altitude. EVEN when you make alterations because you're well aware of your altitude problems. Recipe writers: please. Take pity on those of us who are altitude challenged.

And then you have to surgically remove the cupcakes from the pan and they look like this. But taste delicious!

Perfect Swiss Meringue to start Buttercream.

Delightful and delicious.

The moral of this story: Next time you think making a Stump de Noël is going to be too big of pain, DO IT ANYWAY. The variety of things you have to do to make up for the grandiosity of the stump is just as much of a pain, and those things don't necessarily turn out the way you hope they will. Also, next year you better make more cookies.

Next up: 2012 year in review.

Breakfast Pastries

Don't ask me how it happened, because the camera is usually to be found in the kitchen these days--but I neglected to take pictures of Christmas morning's Farm Stand Buttermilk Doughnuts. You'll just have to trust me that they tasted delicious and looked beautiful. The BAKED boys win again--this recipe is CONSIDERABLY easier than the cake doughnut recipe mr. has been using up until now. And even more tasty. The chocolate glaze is a little rich, especially for kids. And we didn't try the vanilla glaze. But frankly, all I want from a doughnut is cakey goodness--no filling, toppings, glazes or sprinkles required. I know others feel differently about that, namely, my children. But for me, this recipe, NAKED, is perfection.

I did, however, remember to take pictures of New Year's morning's Monkey Bubble Bread.


Okay, so it's not quite as pretty as the one in the book, but who cares?!--it tastes yummy! The dough is not overly sweet, so the sweet coating is allowed to sort of...be the star. There were 6 of us at breakfast, one of us (not me) hardly ate any, and somehow the whole thing was devoured within 10 minutes. When they say there won't be any leftovers, they mean it. I used the "don't get up too early" method: prepped all of it, up to the rise, the afternoon before and refrigerated it.


Then I got up about 8 am, shoved the thing in the oven with the light on (a warm place), went back to bed and let it sit there until probably 10, when the balls were puffy enough that their sugary coating was starting to crack, then baked it.

Overall, a super easy recipe--Prima even helped me with the sugar coating.


Not easy enough to be something that I'll do every weekend, but easy enough to be something special on those weekend and holiday mornings that call for something better than boxed cereal.


TGIP Rating--Farm Stand Buttermilk Doughnuts and Monkey Bubble Bread--both KEEPERS. This Doughnut recipe especially will be well-loved (and likely stained) from future Christmas Day usage.

Next up: Remember how I mentioned the extremely large amount of whole wheat flour I currently possess? I'm going to use some. To make whole wheat sourdough bread. I have a recipe that I vaguely remember trying, but not blogging about. In my vague memory it was kind of a fail. This time I have some ideas about how to make it better--those ideas include, but are not limited to: setting aside enough time for rising, and giving myself a big dose of patience.

Guest Blog: Christmas Donuts

Both Santa Claus and the Donut Maker were entirely too good to me this year. Witness:


What this means for you is more beautiful kitchen-y goodness. And my own domain name! (More on that in another post). I am left utterly speechless. So I leave you in the capable hands of today's Guest Blogger--my husband--the Donut Maker.

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Happy Holidays, all! This is Mark, shifting temporarily into Guest Blogger status from my usual role as this blog's Designated Eater.

So. Christmas Donuts. I suppose it falls right in that delicious holiday intersection of Tradition Street, Baking Drive, Family Avenue, and Psychotherapy Lane. And it's as busy an intersection as you might expect.

First a bit of family history: I doubt the word "abandoned" is too strong a word for my father's presence in my life. He was barely around, but I do have a snapshot memory of him making donuts from scratch in the shape of an "M" and a "K" ... my and my sister's initials. I don't know if it had anything to do with Christmas, but when I became a father I decided I'd like to claim it as my own Christmas tradition. Something I could own and pass down to my children, in a way of exorcising a Ghost of Christmas Past.

It's become an integral part of our Christmas celebration along side the tree and eggnog. It's a nice leisurely activity, as everyone looks through presents and I attend the deep fryer, and lets a lazy morning stretch into grazing on crisp donuts throughout the day. I even make Christmas Morning deliveries to the Eagle Mountain branches of the family!

The recipe is not a secret, and I can't claim any skill in donut-crafting. While I cook plenty, this is about the only baking I do in a year, and I forget a lot in the 8760 hours between batches. What really hits the spot in this recipe is the nutmeg and mace, which make it taste very Christmas-y.


It starts on Christmas Eve with shortening, condensed milk, and other fine products, and it chills overnight. It doesn't look much like donuts at this point, or even a dough you could work with, but by the time Santa's come and gone and the first Bailey's and coffee has been imbibed it's ready to flour, roll, cut and fry.





Though the dough is so spiced and flavorful no topping is needed, I do a few in powdered sugar and some in a chocolate glaze. This year, we had leftover crushed candy cane from Seconda's pie request and she suggested some candy cane donuts, which I happily provided.


It's "good eats", but it's more than that: a chance to spend a few hours on Christmas Morning each year thinking about tradition and family and fatherhood. And I look forward to making Christmas Donuts for years and generations to come.

Christmas Donuts--KEEPER