apple turnovers

It's not that I didn't enjoy eating these turnovers, or that they didn't taste and smell amazingly, I just wasn't happy with them.

I think the puff pastry got too warm from the husband leaving the heat and fireplace running 24/7, so the shapes weren't right and they weren't pretty. I like pretty things. I also like tasty things. These were tasty, not pretty.

The filling was everything I wanted it to be, it made my house smell like a really good scented candle. It was also crazy easy to make. I'm almost thinking you could roll some of the cooled filling into a whole wheat tortilla that's been spread with a thin layer of cream cheese. That would be an awesome and pretty snack.

Even though I don't think they are pretty, you should still make them. Out of the14 turnovers this batch made, I ate 2 and the husband ate 12. In a 16 hour period.

Apple turnovers
[  adapted from the kitchn ]

crust:
1 box puff pastry, thawed overnight in the fridge
1 egg, beaten
sugar for dusting (optional)

filling:
2 large baking apples, peeled and cored (I used gala)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch salt


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.

For the filling, grate the apples on the large side of the box grater, set aside. In a medium saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat, add the grated apples, toss until well coated. Add the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until mixture is thick and syrupy. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining tablespoon of butter, let sit until mixture is room temperature.

Meanwhile, roll out puff pastry on a heavily floured surface to a 12x12-inch square. Using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, cut into 12 - 14 equal-sized squares.

Place a dollop-full of apple filling in the corner of each square, making sure to leave a 1/2-inch border. Pull the opposing side of the dough over, making sure the corners touch to make a triangle. Crimp the open end closed with a fork, transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Make sure each triangle is about an inch apart. Brush tops of triangle with egg and sprinkle with sugar, if using.

Bake for 15 - 18 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack and let rest for a few minutes before serving. Best served the day of, but can be reheated in the oven for a few minutes.

chicken pot pie

Dear April 2012 Jen,

How's it going? It's November 2011 Jen checking in to see what's going on. Wondering if you're getting any sleep, probably not. Silly question.

Wondering if you've had time to make croissants? Probably not. Silly question.

You're probably kicking ass at motherhood right now. For real. Our baby is probably so freaking adorable it makes people turn to stone when they look at her. You're probably making a delicious dinner right now, with the baby peacefully sleeping.

OR you're running around like a crazy woman, haven't washed your hair in 2 weeks, the babe is screaming, and you haven't cooked for DAYS.

Either way, I'm proud of you and I can't wait to be you.

Current me is sometimes lazy, but then sometimes goes on cooking benders where I'll make cookies, chai, calzones, and chicken pot pie in a day. But most times, I'm tired, large, and oddly, full yet hungry all at once.

It's kinda weird, but you already know this because you are in the future.

Love,

You, 6 months ago.

Chicken pot pie

[ adapted from Sweetfineday ]

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed but kept cold in the fridge
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup diced onion
1/3 cup diced celery
1/3 cup diced carrots
2 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken stock
1 lb cooked chicken, in bite-sized pieces
1/2 cup potato, in 1/4-inch cubes
1/2 cup green peas, frozen or fresh
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, melt butter, add onion, celery, and carrots. Cook for several minutes or until onions become translucent. Add the rosemary, sage, sage and flour, stirring constantly and cooking for a few minutes, just to get the flour taste out. Add the stock, stirring well, then add the potato cubes, peas, and chicken. Bring to a boil, then let simmer for about 5 minutes, or until mixture has started to thicken. Season with salt and pepper, remove from heat.

Pour filling into a deep baking dish, or spoon into individual baking pans.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the puff pastry to be just enough to fit over your baking dish. Top the baking dish with the puff pastry, it will probably hang down a little bit, don't worry it will puff back up. Make sure the dough is secure onto the edges of the dish, it will puff up and come loose during baking.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until filling is steaming and the puff pastry is golden brown. Let stand for a few minutes before serving.

a baker's dozen ~ croissants

This challenge scared the crap out of me.

Could you tell that I'm doing it over a month late?

I was so frightened that it would a colossal failure.

I have no idea why.

apple crumble pie

True facts about life.


I have a half soccer ball attached to me. It's kinda feeling weird to bend over.

I'm addicted to making pies.

Our car ran out of gas at 10pm last night when the husband had a craving for ice cream.

Today I'm one!

Today is the one year anniversary of me starting this blog!

It's flown by.

I've met many new people (hello 33 followers!), had lots of visitors (over 22 thousand to be exact), and have learned a great bit since I started this little chunk of the internets one year ago.

I've learned to have my true voice shine through, no matter what I'm writing about.

Take better photos! Get the right light, right equipment, and it will all fall into place.

Pimp your shit out. Wanna get more people to chat about kittens and cake batter with ? Social media. Srsly.

But, really I'm not here to preach, I'm here to show to recipe and kitchen adventures. So, to celebrate the baked life's birthday, let see some of my favourites.

 Crack pie. Always a teeth shattering treat.

Kugelhopf rolls. Worth the wait. Although, you may need to fight off your husband to even try them.

Cinnamon raisin bagels. If you have not made these from scratch, seriously, you are missing out.

Cream cheese cinnamon rolls. That is all.

Rhubarb + raspberry tart. Summer flavours in your mouth.

Homemade oreos. Let the photo do the convincing.

Finally, my most popular post (thanks Pinterest!). Orzo salad. I love this salad, we eat it pretty much everyday in the summer. You need to try it.

THANK YOU and here's to many more years of my crazy ramblings and cat photos. Yay!

traditional pumpkin pie

Hi.

I'm lonely.

The husband went on a boy's trip this weekend. He's probably half-drunk, yelling obscenities at Oilers fans right now.

I'm probably going to eat popcorn for dinner, watch the hockey game, and make a pie to keep myself occupied.

rhubarb + raspberry tart

My stomach is in a giant knot.

My beloved Canucks are playing for the Stanley cup tonight.

It's a best of one series.

Game 7 makes me very nervous.

a baker's dozen ~ french chocolate macarons

You know when you're in the car, driving along, minding your own business, and all of a sudden, you feel the need to dance.

A certain song comes on the radio, maybe it's Janet Jackson, maybe it's not, either way it's a great song and you feel overcome with happiness and emotion and you need to jam it out.

You know this has happened to you, don't pretend like it hasn't.

blackberry macaroon tart

Well folks, the dinner I eluded to last week went swimmingly. We had a nice, comfortable 11 people, much better than the 14 the husband was pushing for.

Along with that evening, we had brunch the next morning with my dad so I spend a good chunk of my long weekend cooking.

apple scones

Every cook has that one instrument in the kitchen that they can never quite get right.

For me, it's the box grater.

Oh I know how to use it, but every single, gosh darned time I use it, I grate my fingers.

Today, for example, I grated not only the knuckle on my thumb but also the tips of my index and middle finger. ON THE OTHER HAND.

Like Jen, get your crap together, it's a grater. It's not that hard to use. For Christs sake your mom bought you an electric grater, why do you insist on using the box grater?!?!

Sigh.

I think I'll need to wear Kevlar gloves next time I use the damn thing.

These scones, thankfully, do not need anything grated. They are fluffy, not very sweet and are lovely with chunks of apple. But if you have other fruits laying around, such as blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, even scallions and cheese for a savoury version, you can use those. Maybe you should make them for say 3:00 am on April 29th? I heard there's a big event. I'm not gonna lie, I'm staying up to watch it.

Apple Scones
[ adapted from smitten kitchen ]

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder*
1 teaspoon baking soda
6 ounces butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup pink lady apple pieces, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces (or 1 cup fruit of your choice)
1 cup buttermilk
cinnamon sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.

Place cubed butter into the freezer for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, place flour, sugar, baking powder and soda into the food processor and pulse to combine.

Add butter to flour mixture and pulse until the butter and flour mixture has the texture of coarse cornmeal. Add buttermilk and fruit and mix until just combined.

Turn dough out on to a lightly floured surface and knead gently, just a few times to help the dough come together. Pat out dough to about 1 inch thick and cut into squares. Cut squares in half diagonally to make triangles. Sprinkle tops of triangles with cinnamon sugar.

Transfer scones to prepared pans, leaving about 2 inches between each scone and bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer to rack to cool completely.

*it's important to use aluminum-free baking powder if you are using fresh fruit in a scones. If you use regular baking powder, your scones will come out with a blue colour and they might have a tin-y taste. I use aluminum-free baking powder in all my baking just to be sure.

petite palmiers

I had all the best intentions when I saw this recipe last week. My dad always buys these cookies at Costco and they are delicious. The title of the recipe even said "surprisingly simple". So me, thinking I'm an awesome baker, I can make these.

Wrong.  Stupid confidence.