Farewell (for now) to a fallen friend

Please note, the following events are real and not intended for the faint of heart.

There has been a casualty at seven spoons.

A stalwart ally, a reliable provider and an invaluable assistant has been lost. After serving valiantly for seven long years, my KitchenAid Stand Mixer may have beaten its last batter.

This is the story of our last moments together.

It was a busy afternoon when I came to the idea of some impromptu, yet slightly complicated, baking. Usually when undertaking such an endeavour I set aside a bit of time, counter space and attention to the work at hand. However on this day while I already had a full schedule, I felt compelled to take on the project as it was a gesture of thanks to a dear friend. I thought it was only one more thing to do; surely I could multitask my way through the my to-do list.

I should have known better.

I was considering dinner, amusing a toddler in his highchair, then amusing a toddler as he perched on my hip as I prepped my ingredients. Sifting flour with overly impatient vigour sent a powdery cloud over my cookbook, the floor and the aforementioned toddler. With military precision and brisk pace, I measured, scooped, poured and set out the rest of my mise. With my little battalion lined up and ready to jump into the fray, I began.

Cream together butter and sugar. Such simple words of action, the mantra of any seasoned baker, little did I know that they would spell such tragedy.

I moved to set the Mixer to medium-high. After four clicks along the left lever, I was greeted by the familiar whir of the paddle attachment making its way around the gleaming stainless bowl. Benjamin and I watched as the Mixer made quick work of smoothing out the softened butter; after only a few moments dandelion colour turned to straw, pliant and yielding under the blade. The lever was switched back to its first position, and the Mixer slowed for a momentary rest. After attentively scraping down the sides, I added the granulated sugar and firm-packed brown to the bowl.

With a deft flick of the finger, such a trifling gesture really, the Mixer was woken once more; it moved from its slumber back to four-notch action. It was then that I turned my back to attend to the peek-a-boo demands of my other kitchen help. Caught in mid peek, I heard the Mixer gasp, then strain. I whipped around, immediately reaching for the suddenly-elusive lever; but it was too late. As I lunged, the straining turned to a rattle and the Mixer seized.

I peered inside the bowl - in the midst of a silken cream of sweetened butter there was something else; something now firmly wedged between the paddle and the edge of the bowl.

In my military precision, I evidently lapsed in my military attention to detail. While scooping the brown sugar, I missed a hard lump. About the size of a ping-pong ball, what by all accounts seems a inconsequential size, it was able to take down my steely workhorse.

The Mixer had seen me through countless celebrations; holidays, birthdays, consoler of battles lost and hearalder of battles won. It has stood by me from university to career changes, through relationships to marriage and motherhood and followed me on four moves. A constant presence in a blur of activity.

The estimated time of death was 3:21 p.m.

Epilogue: My dear Sean, fan of the Mixer, has promised to find a specialist to assess the situation. In the meantime, its brother, one Mr. Burr Coffee Grinder is holding vigil on the counter. The Mixer is also survived by Food Processor and Artisan Blender. We still have hopes to one day expand our family to include Ice Cream Attachment.

Choosing substance over style makes commitment easy

I have never been ashamed to admit that I can be utterly shallow. Nor have I ever feigned ignorance of my obsession with chocolate in its purest form. However now and again a girl is struck by something that goes beyond infatuation and adoration. Something deeper than that; something that touches your very soul. Of course, I am talking about greed.

Were you expecting something different?

I will admit, maybe something along the lines of love and affection would be more apt for today - and I have been looking at lighter-than-air mousses and soufflés, pillowy madelines and coyly trembling panna cottas. But I cannot deny my want, nay the necessity, for something much more soul-satisfyingly decadent than a trifle of the palate.

Dense and rich, these squares are so very indulgent that one overlooks their rather indelicate appearance; they are reminiscent of a elementary bake sale treat but oh so much better. A tumble of chocolate, peanut butter and toffee chips, unctuous dulce de leche tempered by a ribbon of tart cheesecake ... sigh. Attempt to restrain yourself to just one.

Chockablock cheesecake squares
Fans of the famous recipe will note that the cookie base is a variation on the classic Nestlé® Toll House® cookies. I recommend cutting these into either 1 1/2”x2 1/4” bars or 1 1/2” squares.

For the cookie base
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks, 1/2 pound) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup peanut butter chips
1/3 cup of toffee bits

For the cheesecake layer
1 8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg

1/2 cup dulce de leche or caramel sauce (use up to 1 cup, depending on your taste)

Preheat oven to 350ºF (175ºC). Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-by-9-inch baking pan. Line with parchment paper, allowing for a 1-inch overhang on two sides to form handles.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set this aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars on medium high speed until combined. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides. Continue to beat the mixture, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary, for approximately 3 minutes or until the butter is fluffy and pale in colour.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour and stir to combine. Add in chips and candy. Refrigerate dough.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment in place, beat the cream cheese and sugars on medium high speed until combined and smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. On medium speed, add the egg and vanilla.

Take approximately half the refrigerated cookie dough and, with floured fingers, press into the prepared pan. Using an offset spatula, spread the dulce de leche over the bottom layer. Pour over the cream cheese mixture. Crumble the remaining cookie dough over the cream cheese.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown. As with many cheesecake recipes, you may see a bit of “wiggle” in the centre of the pan; not to worry, it will set up as it sits. Cool 1 hour. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. Cut into squares or bars, as desired.

Makes 1 9-inch pan. Approximately 24-36 bars, depending on size. These bars should be stored in refrigerator and can be frozen.

Notes:
• For the cookie crust, I like to use a large flake sea or kosher salt for a salty-sweet combination.
• You can use whatever combination of morsels, nuts and candy you like for the cookie crust; aim for about 2 cups in total.
• If you prefer pockets of caramel, swirl the dulce de leche with the cream cheese filling, rather than layering it.
• The dulce de leche can be substituted with a chocolate ganache or thick chocolate fudge sauce as well.

At this moment, one year ago ...

... our lives completely changed. And for that, we could not be more thankful. Happy Birthday, bundle of boy.

In keeping with the season

How can I find words to greater compel you to help a cause that is so very compelling all on its own? Today marks the start of Menu for Hope III the annual fundraising campaign created by Pim of the ever-tempting Chez Pim. This year's event is in support of the UN's World Food Programme; a fitting cause for this time when we gather to celebrate and share our own good fortune.

In the next few days I will be enthusiastically suggesting support of this worthy endeavor; however some business on my end precludes me doing so just yet. So I'll start you all off easy with the full list of instructions:

1. Go to the donation page at First Giving to make a contribution.

2. Each US$10 donation will give you one raffle ticket toward a prize of your choice. Please specify which prize or prizes you'd like by entering the prize code in the 'Personal Message' section in the donation form when confirming your contribution. E.G: A US$50 donation may be two tickets for UW99 and three tickets for CA02.*

3. Some companies will match personal charitable donations made by staff. If your company has such a program, please remember to mark the appropriate box and fill in the information so we could claim the corporate match.

4. Please also check the box to allow us to see your email address. We need this so we can contact you in case you win a prize. If you do not do this, we will be unable to contact you. Please be assured that we will not share your email address with anyone.

5. Raffle results will be announced on 15 January on Chez Pim. Draws will be conducted electronically, thanks to Derrick at Obsession with Food for creating the computer application used to magically select names.

* N.B: Canadian tax laws prohibit charitable donation receipts to be issued by registered Canadian charities for raffle or lottery tickets. The UNWFP is a U.S.-based charity; should any donation receipts issued, you will need to seek professional advice regarding applying them to your Canadian income tax return.

I have donated a rather fabulous prize (hint: code CA02) prize, but more on that later. To whet your appetites so to speak, here are the roundup lists of all the prizes available:

• The main Menu for Hope III campaign page on Chez Pim to browse the global prize list
• The Canadian Menu for Hope III page on Cardamom Addict

Buy now, buy later, buy often. Your support can make all the difference in someone's world.

Idol worship

I was recently watching a biography on Nigella Lawson and was surprised to hear about the controversy surrounding the title of her book How to be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking. Though I may be behind the times to discuss an almost six-year-old debate, at the time I had been unaware of the outrage expressed over her title.

Long story short, some reviewers took the title rather literally, believing that it implied a throwback to pre-feminist ideology. Nigella’s proponents jumped to her rescue, declaring the statement to be facetious; a cheeky attempt at irony.

While an admitted Nigella fan, I will not take this opportunity to defend her humour. Instead, casting aside the trappings of gender roles, I pose a question - is it, for a female or male, terrible to wish oneself worshipped for a job well done?

On the field, in the classroom and around the conference table, we are taught to perform to the best of our abilities. And there are goals to which we choose to aspire, without thought of apology. Why should it be any different in the domestic realm? Is it not one of the most basic, and somewhat noble, desires to want to be able to provide delicious food for those you love?

As much as there is art in the culinary world, there is also basic skill. Some behaviours are learned and it is a talent that can be improved. There is effort; frequently resulting in sweat and sometimes dissolving into tears. Anyone who has ever attempted a holiday meal for family and friends can surely attest to that.

It is in light of this struggle that I will proudly show off my collected burns that decorate my hands and forearms, the nicks on my cutting boards or the scorch marks on my pots and pans. I have survived the trial by fire and come out with feast fit for celebration. Truth be told, I would fully expect the display of these war wounds to illicit an appropriate amount of fawning attention from my loved ones.

With imminent adoration in mind, I happily face the Saturday morning request from my dear Sean - pancakes. Quite content, you will most often find me padding about in fuzzy slippers and spatula in hand, lazily flipping cakes and feeling rather pleased with myself.

Over the years I have played with recipes, striving for perfection and finally settling on one which seems to meet the criteria. Most recently, our bundle of boy, Benjamin, has started stealing nibbles (no syrup, of course). Two clean plates, two toothy grins and two rounded bellies is praise enough for my efforts - and I feel blessed enough, indeed.

I would like to dedicate this post to my dear, dear friend Michèle, a goddess in her own right.

Spiced pillow pancakes
With the subtle warmth of spice floating up from the pan, these fluffy cakes offer some wintertime aromatherapy. It hardly needs saying, but these call for nothing less than a drizzle of your best amber maple syrup. One apology - I always hate a recipe where you have an egg yolk left over. If you choose, omit the third egg white and reduce the flour by 1/4 cup. You will, of course, sacrifice a bit of lift.

Ingredients

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
4 tablespoons golden or brown sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon (a good pinch) ground cardamom
3 egg whites
2 egg yolks
2 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
6 tablespoons melted clarified butter, plus more for cooking

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices. Set aside. In a small bowl beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Set aside. In a third bowl, whisk together the remaining wet ingredients to combine.

Add the egg yolk mixture to the dry ingredients, stirring until just dampened. Some lumps are a good thing here; you are not going for a perfectly smooth batter. Add a dollop of the egg whites to the batter and fold to lighten. Once fully incorporated, fold in the the remaining egg white. Again, I do not mix to fully combine; the batter should be striped with white and tan at this stage.

While the batter rests, preheat a non-stick or cast iron griddle over medium heat. Lightly brush with melted clarified butter if desired. Ladle about 1/3 cup of the batter onto the pan. Cook until the edges become dry and bubbles begin to form in the centre, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side until golden and puffed, about another 2 minutes. Remove to a platter and keep warm in a low oven if needed. Continue until all batter is used.

Makes 20 pancakes, serving about 6.

Notes:
• Vegetable oil can be substituted for the clarified butter.
• Grated apple can be added to this batter. You may need to adjust the flour accordingly.
• If looking for ease of cleanup and perfectly-portioned cakes, use a spring-loaded ice cream scoop instead of a ladle.