Dear Alisha,
Your blog inspires me to be, well, more Alishaesque in certain aspects of my life. I’m a girl that bakes brownies that come from a box (and I think they are delicious) but I’d like to start working with some recipes that are a couple steps up. Any suggestions for entry level domestic divas? A bit beyond “Taste of Home” but not quite “Food and Wine” Perhaps with some presentation tips?
Sincerely,
Stepping It Up
Dear Stepping It Up,
I will choose to take the 'Alishaesque' reference like the compliment it was intended to be. I will also try to get past your statement that you think box brownies are delicious. We may just be too different.
Moving optimistically forward, here's how to step it up: find one recipe that looks good and attempt to make it. One. That doesn't mean you try to master the whole cookbook or attempt a super hard recipe, just try to make one tempting looking, homemade recipe. If you fail, and I doubt you will if you follow the directions, try a different one next time. Confident and high on life, when you feel ready, try a another recipe, and so on.
Here is how I learned to bake: Newly married, I was given a few cookbooks. At that point in my life I would find myself bored on Sunday nights and would thumb threw a cookbook until I found a recipe I had all the ingredients for. Then I tried to make it, following the directions exactly. It almost always turned out. Sometimes I would think 'well next time I would do this differently or cook it less' but it was usually still pleasantly edible. A couple of dishes probably bombed but I can't remember any. After I had a few successes I would try recipes out, new recipes, and invite friends over. With in a year or two I felt like I Could Bake. It's not rocket science. (Want to know something funny? I repeatedly spelled "rocket science" wrong. And then I spelled "spelled" like "spelt")
A few cautions: pie crusts are hard to get just right. My mom gave me her tips. Souffles or airy cakes often do not turn out at high altitudes. (I was living in the mountains of Flagstaff, AZ.) This is a fatty hobby. There aren't many skinny bakers out there.
Learning to cook is similar to learning to bake only the ingredients do not smell as good.
As far as presentation, I am not as fancy as you might think. I like the food to do the talking and I like it to look edible rather than like a work of art you wouldn't want to touch. Never serve up your food from a 9 X 13"pan. Never. If it is, say brownies, cut them into neat squares and serve them on your nicest plate. If a dollop of whipped cream and raspberries, or a flicker of drizzled chocolate, or a caramel sauce is appropriate, then do it.
Since you mentioned brownies, I will give you my current recipe, also in my cookbook. Every few years I have a different type of preferred brownie. Before this it was Truffle Brownies, before that Frosted, and I have a different recipe all together for layering toppings like cheesecake or mint.
This current recipe is based Matt's Lewis's and I found it on Martha Stewart Living. I have made it no less than 50 times.
Dark, Rich Chocolate Brownies (also called "I Like My Brownies Like I Like My Men")¾ cup flour
1 (generous) Tblsp cocoa powder
pinch of salt
½ cup salted butter
5 to 6oz (1/2 bag) bitter sweet or dark chocolate pieces (like Ghirardelli 60% cocoa dark)
¾ cup white sugar
¾ cup dark brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 335. Line a 9 inch square pan with parchment paper or butter pan. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, and salt.
In a large, heavy bottomed pan, melt together butter and chocolate, stir till smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla till incorporated. Sift flour/cocoa mixture over batter and stir till just combined, ( don’t over mix!). Add chocolate chips and nuts, if using. Pour and smooth into pan.
Bake approx. 30 to 35 minutes. Be careful not to over bake! But do make sure center is set. Cool before cutting. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if you like.
Can anyone really ever say that presentation doesn't matter? Still clean and edible, here is the exact same brownie that started off this post:
"It all goes to the same place"
14 comments:
love the nickname of the brownies... i've used that 'airplane' reference many a time myself.
Sounds pretty awesome.
Uh, based on the last pic I have lost my desire to eat brownies FOREVER!!!! Thanks a lot, girl!
I'm still trying to muster up the desire to get interested in this kinda thing (i.e. anything to do with spending longer than 5 minutes in the kitchen), but I'm sure one of these days I'll take the leap forward (I know I can cook, I just hate doing it).
Alisha, you didn't really get into any tips on presentation. You really have a nice way of presenting all the scrumptious things you whip up. Any pointers? What are your favorite serving dishes? You know, your go-to piece, the pieces you pull out over and over again. And um, more to the point, where can we find them? (we all know you'll have some good shopping hints!) Some of us need specific pointers to know how to do these things!
I love it! This is something that I have been trying to work on also. Every week I pick a few new recipes and try them out. And like you said if I follow the directions they always turn out. I just can't wait for the day that I get to know my ingredients well enough that I can make something up myself.
Oh and presentation is everything. Especially when it comes to desserts, if it doesn't look pretty I almost won't make it (of course there are exceptions but you get the idea)
I just need to say I LOVE your brownies...all varities. I have been craving them all day. Brownies from a box don't even compare. You do have a gift for presentation as well.
That being said, I will never be a baker. My waistline and will power could not handle it.
Oh how I miss your inspiring and delectable treats. I love your creations and am so glad to own your full collection of cookbooks. I should challenge myself to cooking one recipe every week until I have worked my way through. I shall call it the Alisha/Angie experiment. Maybe I'll even blog about it and eventually get a book and movie deal. Good idea.
I think the adorable mini cake-plate featured in your brownie presentation was from me, when I owned the REAL DEALS store. I love to see it in your pictures holding your confections with such style.
Okay, I'll post about presentation more another time.
Really in the photos all I have done is cut up brownies and put them on a pretty plate.
Seriously made brownies today because Meg saw this post and begged to make some too. Going to have to try your recipe next time. They look amazing!
The last picture really drives your point home! Unbelievable how you made brownies look SO good and SO disgusting in the same post...
Yeah, in this case, I can see that all you've done is put a brownie on a pretty plate. But even knowing the difference between a "pretty" plate and a "gaudy/tacky/dated/whatever" plate might take a little guidance and practice.
There's other things you do for other presentation applications that aren't so obvious. Like where do you get your cute little boxes for delivering all the goodies at Christmas? Seems so simple, yet so much more classy than any paper plate.
Made those brownies after dinner last night (triple batch...none of this wimpy 8x8 pan of desserts). They were some of the best brownies ever! Thanks for a great recipe!
Thanks Becky, but it was 9X9, not *"!!
Alisha uses white pedastal cake plates very nicely for presenting goodies. The elevation and whiteness adds elegance and shows off the colors of the sumptuous treats. They can be found at Home Goods, on Ebay, and at antique stores (especially in Oregon). From her example, I collected a few, but need to remember to use them more often.
And perhaps Alisha, you could "use" to spell through as "threw". Love you
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