Baking vs Cooking

I like to think that I'm a fairly good cook.  At least, Pat eats everything I make for dinner.  That might be because he knows how sensitive I can be and he doesn't want to lose his backrub privileges (no, that's not code for anything else).  But even I like 99% of the food I make.  Cooking, to me, is fun, and is all about taste.  It's become more of an experiment since Pat and I have lived together and I like challenging myself to be more adventurous and better than the last time around.

Baking and I have always had trouble, though.  Baking is chemistry.  And not the easy-high school-Mrs. Kilmartin-goof off while taking tests-kind of chemistry.  No, baking to me is the really tough-gotta take it during the summer because I failed it in the spring and the summer teacher is easier-better study and bring the teacher coffee-ORGANIC chemistry.  I like to think I'm on the road to getting better since as a 23 year old aspiring housewife (just kidding), I finally learned that over mixing makes things SUCK (gluten and whatnot).  My last homemade boxed pumpkin bread came out fantastic and I credit it to NOT overmixing.  Feeling confident, I decided to take on cheesecake.

What?!  Cheesecake?!  I don't even LIKE cheesecake.  The boy does, though, and in honor of my birthday (...?) I decided to make him a fall treat - pumpkin cheesecake with an Oreo crust.  So, the other night at work I printed out a recipe and of course forgot to bring it with me when I went shopping so I got the ingredients by memory.  Yesterday while I was refusing to get out of my pajamas becauseit'smydayandIdon'thaveto, I started to mix things together and realized that I was missing 1/3 of my cream cheese and so instead added a yogurt.  Does this make sense to anyone but me?

I mixed what I was supposed to mix and set the timer for 60 minutes like my recipe said and settled down onto the couch for the next hour.  I decided to Google cheesecake baking tips and realized that there was not a single one that I followed because my "Super Easy Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe" from about.com did not mention any of them!

• I didn't originally know that my springform pan was going to leak, so I warmed up the butter for the crust in the stove and now our kitchen smells like burning vegetable oil.
• I knew nothing of a water bath instead of direct baking and of course have huge cracks in the surface.
• I took the cheesecake out of the oven at 60 minutes instead of leaving it inside to slowly cool.
• I used the wrong ingredients (see above).
• I may have overmixed.  I thought I was safe because this is a gluten free desert, however eggs hold air.

You know what, though?  Pat thinks it tastes great.  I still don't like cheesecake.

From about.com:

This dessert is super-easy and makes a really impressive presentation. Plus, the whipped cream topping will hide any "cracks" in the cake's surface. There's no way you can mess it up, so give it a try today!
Note: This is a great recipe for making the day before a big event, such as Thanksgiving. Just be sure to allow yourself plenty of time to make the cheesecake and allow it to chill for several hours or overnight.

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs A bunch (12?) of Oreos smashed up
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) melted butter Original 1/2 stick plus another 1/4 after it all leaks out into your oven
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 lbs. cream cheese, softened 1 lb spreadable cream cheese, fridge temp, plus 1 serving of Oikos honey flavored Greek yogurt
• 1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 14-oz. 15-oz can pumpkin puree
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon However much cinnamon you eyeball because the pouring spout really sucks
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 1/2 cups whipping cream
• 1/4 cup confectioner's ("powdered") sugar Haven't added the whipped cream yet but I will before I bring it to work!

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 350º F.
2. Add the 4 tablespoons of butter to a 10-inch or 12-inch springform pan and place it in the oven to melt.
3. Add the graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Stir.
4. Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan and 1/2 way up the sides.
5. Bake at 350º F. for 10 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, yogurt and sweetened condensed milk. Beat at medium-high speed until well combined.
7. Add the pumpkin puree, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground cloves.
8. Beat at medium speed until smooth.
9. Scrape the sides of the bowl and beat again until the mixture is completely smooth. This may take 1-2 minutes.
10. Pour the mixture into the prepared springform pan.
11. Bake at 350º F. for 60 minutes.
12. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool. Run a knife blade along the rim of the springform pan to release the edge of the cake; but do not remove the outer ring of the springform pan just yet.
13. Leave the cheesecake on the wire rack until it is completely cooled.
14. Remove the outer ring of the springform pan and place the cheesecake in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours or overnight.
15. Shortly before serving, prepare the whipped cream. Simply beat the whipping cream and confectioner's sugar until stiff peaks form.
16. Spread the whipped cream over the cheesecake. This will hide any "cracks" in the cake's surface, too!
17. Chill again until you're ready to serve.

All in all, I'm feeling less intimidated by baking.  Two successful projects in a week, one of which should have been a complete disaster, and two pumpkiny desserts (breakfasts).

What about you?  Are you a baker, or a cooker (cook?  chef?)?

First snow

We had assumed that there was a good chance we'd be in the house to experience the first snowfall of the year, since our closing date is December 8th.  However...

Yep, we got the snow, too!  Not nearly as much as New Jersey and parts of Mass got, but I can't ever remember having a white birthday.  (It's actually kind of a funny slap in the face considering how much I hate the cold and wet weather.  Happy birthday wake up to me).  It'll all be melted and gone in the next couple of days, but seriously?!?!

Just hoping this weird weather isn't part of a forecast for the rest of the year...Actually, I'll just ask that it be BONE DRY while we are moving.  Can't stand the thought of the upstairs carpets getting trashed by dirty boots! :-(

Holy crap

Are you loving my sophisticated vocabulary??

The last week has been a WHIRLWIND!  A whirlwind of awesome sauce!

Monday: Got the mortgage approval letter you saw in the last post.

Tuesday: Left my job of 2+ years, which I was so relieved about but also a little nervous.  When I talked to my boss at my part time job, though, she told me that ironically another girl told her she was leaving earlier that morning, and that as of 10/31/11, full time is available to me!  What perfect timing, this whole thing could NOT have worked out better!

Wednesday: Went to see the "K" house - loved it as I knew I would.  Pat told me to go for it sight unseen (he has seen a very similar house) and he spoke with our realtor to draw up an offer.

This morning: We put in an offer ($5k off + $5k in closing costs) and they countered with asking price and $4,900 in closing costs.  Pat accepted!

I think this is the first time this has all felt real...

Like I said, holy crap!

We got it...

I'm scared of white appliances

It has recently come to my attention that I have a new fear I wasn't aware of before this house hunt started.

It's not clowns.
It's not spiders.
It's not the irrational panic I feel when I prop the oven door half open to put something inside because THEDOORISGOINGTOSLAMSHUTONMYARMS.

No, I already knew I had all of THOSE fears.

My newly discovered phobia is one of white appliances.

Call it Oileukophobia. (Oikophobia: fear of household surroundings, often including appliances.  Leukophobia: fear of the color white.  Enough people really HAVE these afflictions that they need to name them????)

I look at a kitchen like this:

 source

and it reminds me of a wholeeeee bunch of houses that I've turned down even considering.  The common factor is the white appliances!  No matter the great bones or the ability to update, I just have this huge natural aversion to white kitchen machines!

(Now, before you guys think I'm calling anyone's kitchen ugly publicly, that's not the case.  They've got some great things going on in this kitchen, and the only reason I even felt comfortable using this picture as an example is because the owners apparently thought it was ugly, too - or at least ugly enough to redo the space, which they did, and it turned out beautifully, and I wouldn't feel right if I didn't show you guys that picture as well) :

source

So, I've decided, I need to get over myself and embrace the possibility of a white kitchen.  Yes, it's true that if we purchase a new house, we're going to either be buying our own appliances (most likely stainless with some black accents) or the kitchen will come fully equipped in a more-modern-than-white color, but if we can't get a brandy new home?  There's a good chance an older kitchen will be donning some less than current electronics.

I've started looking at some pictures of beautiful spaces with white appliances to give myself a little confidence and to try to convince myself that it'll all be okay.  Keep calm and carry on, right?!

A few of my favorites for your viewing enjoyment:

 source

source

source