Fave Reads of 2011

After connecting with many book bloggers via Twitter and Goodreads last year and being part of a book group and always, always discussing books I enjoy (Hunger Games!) I figured I should join in and note some of my fave books that I read in 2011. I made a goal to read 50 books in 2011 and read 54, which was somewhat disappointing but hey I surpassed my goal. *Please note that not all of these books came out in 2011 and that I may have read ARCs or galleys of said titles that I got from Book Expo.

These are in no specific order of awesomeness. But overall I really enjoyed and would highly recommend them.

• When She Woke by Hillary Jordan (Fall 2011) - This was a phenomenal tale about a woman coming into her own after being betrayed by her beliefs and society in a dystopian setting where the highly religious and conservative rule with a heavy hand. It's a sci-fi take on The Scarlett Letter in which the main character is branded by the color red, and those that commit crimes are branded by colors also. It starts and ends with "when she woke" and you get chills reading some of the things the protagonist has to go through.
• Erasure by Percival Everett (re-released 2011) - One of Everett's earlier works and a great one. It mocks the literary elite and what is considered the 'Black Experience' by others. What happens when a very educated man writes what can be considered ghetto or urban lit and it is widely lauded by those who have no idea what it's like to be African American? Well, the way things go is intriguing and you don't quite get a final answer which makes you wonder where things are going in the literary world and outside of it where money talks and sometimes the subjectivity of art is questioned.
• Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (Fall 2011) - I feel like Laini is one of the most literary and illustrative authors, not just YA authors, around. She brings you into her world and keeps you there and frankly you don't want to leave it. The worst part of a Laini Taylor book is finishing it. But she strikes gold again with the tale of a young girl raised by demons who are at war with angels and how deep things go when starcrossed lovers suffer a great betrayal.
• Domestic Violets by Matthew Norman (2011) - A debut from Norman and a really good one. Usually I get kind of urked by writers writing about writers but this delved into the reality of being a struggling, emerging writer trying to find your voice amidst real life responsibilities and day-to-day disappointments. As someone who works and writes and works I felt like Norman really captured the life of someone toggling between what they want to be and what they are. While a job shouldn't define you, it often does.
• Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (2010) - This was a book club pick and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved the details and textures within this piece though it was kind of heartbreaking in the end. We had a good discussion about the characters and that's what stood out for me most throughout.
• Touchstone Anthology of Contemporary Creative Nonfiction (2007) - I am a fan of anthologies. Last year I read the Touchstone Anthology of Contemporary Fiction also edited by Michael Martone when I saw him again at the Postgraduate Writers Conference. What I love about anthologies is that they can introduce you to a slew of writers you weren't aware of in snippets. There are hits and misses with any collection but I always enjoy the range of stories and reading various genres.
• Lit: A Memoir by Mary Karr (2009) - I'd heard a lot about Karr's latest memoir. She's considered one of the best at the genre. After Lit I was hooked and am eager to read her two previous memoirs. She has a way of delving into things with a clear head looking back and capturing people, facial expressions, times as though they were a snapshot.
• The Given Day by Dennis Lehane (2008) - My first read of Lehane's. I've seen films based on his books but had yet to actually delve into one of his novels. I was invested from the first pages. He has a few too many POVs I felt but the core story between the White Boston cop and the Black man on the run and the friendship formed as America came apart and got back together again all the while having snippets of Babe Ruth (not as lovely as you may like to think) weaved in was amazing. And the fact that for me he didn't lose me at any part after more than 600 pages is a feat in itself.
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (2010) - Another book club pick but also something I had been wanting to read for awhile. I was glad when I finally got to read it and discuss with others. It's funny that when I was reading it a woman came up to me and said "You wanna read a book that will REALLY make you hate White people? Read Medical Apartheid." Henrietta Lacks is a tome that does make you ashamed of how medical professionals treated patients, or color and in general. People were not people but test subjects and to some still are. It was eye opening really and heartbreaking to read of the Lacks family tragedies that went on for years with their mother in the ground and them in the dark about her cells contributions to science and the advancement of medicine.
• Beauty Queens by Libba Bray (Spring 2011) - A friend is the publicist for Libba Bray and highly recommended her book. After hearing her, Meg Cabot, and Maggie Stiefvater speak at a This is Teen event sponsored by their publisher Scholastic and hearing how funny and endearing Libba was I was happy to snag a copy. This woman is hilarious and really captures the voices of her characters. You have to go with the world she creates but her characters are not caricatures. They're endearing as much as the author is and so you go with it and kind of fall in love with each of them.
• Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey (2011) - Amy Garvey is one of the coolest authors I've had the honor of tweeting with and sending baked goods! I snagged a galley of Cold Kiss at Book Expo and boy was I glad I did. This is a well written character driven, literary young adult novel with fantastical elements. Some may say not a lot goes on action-wise but a lot goes on emotionally and I love the scenes she drew out of true love.

Other books I enjoyed this past year were The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones, The Apothecary by Maile Meloy, The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler, The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson, and A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan.

2011 Wrap-up! My year in baking...(part 2)

And thus we come to the latter half of the year in my annual baking review. July 

As posted I proclaimed July Gluten-Free baking month! And as noted flour substitutions for gluten-free items from the book Gluten-Free Cookies by Luane Kohnke got kind of pricey. In particular xantham gum ($13 at Whole Foods! Aye!).

First up was jam thumbprints.

These were tasty! Nice butter cookies with a granular texture. Many enjoyed them and I'd make these again. Thing with gluten-free dough from this book was that all doughs needed to be refrigerated for at least an hour. So no baking and then going on the run. You had to let things sit for a bit. And also the mixing of flours and thickeners gets kinda messy. Just sayin'.

Next up was macadamia white chocolate blondies. These were super sweet even for me. Because of the lack of thickener from regular all-purpose flour and the fact that the measurements didn't provide for a lot of substitutes of gluten-free items it was quite dense, more so than you may want in a blondie with a kind of doughy, undercooked texture to it which increases the sweetness of it. My co-workers enjoyed it though.

Follow up to that was sweet cinnamon snickerdoodles. These were good and very much like what you'd expect a snickerdoodle to taste though add the granular texture and them being a bit lighter as well. Whereas the Sweet Melissa snickerdoodles I made had more bite to them these didn't leave you feeling as heavy. I made them for a friend who is a snickerdoodle addict and loves it in all forms. Something else to note with these gluten-free cookies is that they are precious cargo. So make sure to pack them tightly and carry carefully. I gave a couple to a friend who then stuffed them into her purse and then had crumbs within the hour.

After that was flourless peanut butter cookies. I added chocolate chips just 'cause. These were interesting to do as there are a handful of flourless recipes in Gluten-Free Cookies. And it introduced me to the fact that you can make items without flour that aren't meringue. You have to watch these cookies while they bake because they will burn in seconds if you do not take care. Also the peanut butter flavor was booming! With nothing to combat it (even the chocolate chip cookies were dormant) it was all peanut butter in every bite. Again, delicate to transport but good to eat!

And the last item for gluten-free baking month was chocolate peanut butter cups. A chocolate cookie with peanut butter filling inside. Any leftover peanut butter filling can be used to make flourless peanut butter cookies, but these were lighter because the peanut butter filling had egg whites in it.

I liked these. The cookie isn't overly sweet due to the unsweetened cocoa powder so you kind of rely on the peanut butter to give you a kick on the sweet side. Good and not chewy really, a disappointment for me, but somewhat crispy cookie. Better to transport because it's packed more but a big hit with my co-workers at the time.

And although this item was not gluten free I did owe two of my buds (shot out to ALev & Dessert Landscape) for their impending nuptials and so made them one of my fave recipes: dulce de leche & chocolate chunk bread pudding courtesy of Bon Appetit Magazine (March 2008 issue).

This is all kinds of perfection. The perfect solid yet chewy texture that makes a great bread pudding. The mixture is made of a crapload of caramel with cream and you use challah bread to soak up the mixture which is sweet and buttery in itself. Add in chocolate chunks and then sprinkle powdered sugar when done and you have yourself the perfect bread pudding in my opinion. In all honesty I have yet to try one that even compares to the one I've made from this recipe three times. I certainly need to make it more often. But it's hard to part with. Every time I make it I have to give the bulk of it away and only get a taste. Perhaps it's for the best...

August

I improvised a recipe from the basic chocolate chip one and made white chocolate macadamia nut cookies since I had items left over from the blondies I made in July.

These were okay. I found that with using only white sugar instead of brown sugar it took away some of the flavor you get from the cookie so I'll have to work out the recipe again since I am a fan of the combination. Plus I had less macadamia nuts than I'd like.

Another item was double chocolate muffins from one of my go to books Cakes and Bakes. I had to stay up to make these and I have to say I was none too happy with the results. Even for a muffin they weren't very sweet. The double chocolate comes in because the muffin itself has chocolate and you top it with a white chocolate frosting that's really melted down white chocolate via a double broiler (or in my case a makeshift double broiler).

The unsweetened cocoa powder was something you tasted more than anything and could've used more sugar or chips or something inside to pump up the chocolate flavor. Also the white chocolate did not melt as easily as bittersweet or milk chocolate has for me which made the smearing on top quite difficult and irritating late at night. My new co-workers enjoyed them enough as I had made them for my boss before he "retired" but I felt as though I could do better. And I will. This...I vow.

September

This month brought birthdays and fall! So you know that meant some pumpkin cookie action. All good things to those who wait...

Before pumpkin there were Chocolate (chocolate) chip cookies. I added nuts inside to add some crunch and because I just like nuts. This was a recipe from Cakes and Bakes and inside the cookie you had the addition of almond extract instead of vanilla. This made these cookies a hit!  I made these for a friend's birthday and she and her fiance enjoyed them thoroughly. I was informed in many Jewish treats almond extract is a key ingredient. The cookie itself was chewy but firm and the nuts and chocolate chips inside made these a nice treat when biting into it. Add in the almond extract and you get a new flavor that you weren't expecting and all of them work together yet don't overpower one another. Very nice.

Next up is another Cakes & Bakes recipe which was cinnamon seed bars (sans seeds). I'm not a fan of seeds in my goods so I don't really use them even if called for. Perhaps one day I will. This was more cake than bar I have to say and that may be because of the fact that sour cream is involved which automatically enhances moisture. These were very light so I just started calling them cinnamon cake after awhile. And while there is a boat load of cinnamon (a few tablespoons) it has a great taste and cinnamon doesn't seem like the only thing you savor. You get moist cake and cinnamon and it's great with tea/coffee/hot chocolate. And they keep well. I sent them to a friend in Australia (yes, another continent) and her and her husband enjoyed them a couple weeks down the line. Of course I saran-wrapped the hell out of the tupperware holding said cake. Nothing was getting in that box.

And to end September with an Original Creation! As blogged about previously I made a couple cookies based on books I enjoyed this year. The Cold Kiss coconut cookie is something that I have to give credit to the author of Cold Kiss Amy Garvey for creating such a lovely book and for letting me know she's a huge fan of coconut.

This is a soft cookie (you know I love those!) with a nice balance of coconut and vanilla. I wanted to make sure not to overdo the coconut so used coconut and vanilla extract but for the glaze atop it used vanilla only and sprinkled with coconut flakes. It worked perfectly and I wouldn't change a thing about this cookie. You can read Amy's responses in my blog post on these. She's a fan. Again, just sayin'.

October 

October was a heavy baking month for me.

As with the Cold Kiss cookie, I made a book based on another fave young adult novel that released this year. This one by Laini Taylor entitled Daughter of Smoke and Bone called the Blue Karou chocolate hazelnut cookie.

Again, rather than repeat myself from my earlier post in October I am going to provide you the link here. As mentioned I was somewhat disappointed with this cookie as all the flavors I had hoped would come through didn't. But I was quite happy with the picture. Did you see it?

Next up was my latest attempt on the banoffee pie.  I love banana and toffee and all things sugary sweet. So this is a fun pie to make. It came out better than the one I made via the Claire Robinson recipe last year. This time I went with the tride and true Paula Deen. And yup, this recipe had a boatload of butter. Seriously, it was oozing out of the graham cracker crust. As mentioned I made this pie for the Pie Party Live event that Jackie (aka The Diva that Ate New York) started with Ken (HungryRabbitNYC). It was super fun and I met super great people. It was a great and fun-filled as well as food filled time. Really great.

The problem with banoffee pie is that it is meant to be eaten immediately and needs to stay chilled. Since this was a pie party there was a lot to choose from and while it tasted fine after a couple hours it became a soggy mess. Lesson learned. I really need to make banoffee pie that will be eaten soon after I make it rather than piecemeal or at a large convention o' pies. Still sweet and good and everything you'd expect from Paula Deen in the dessert category.

Last but not least was one of my first new pumpkin recipes of the year: pumpkin snickerdoodles. My best friend sent me this recipe via recipegirl.com knowing my love of all things pumpkin.

These were interesting to try. They aren't overly orange and the pumpkin taste is light but there even though you have the standard pumpkin powders. Not only do you put them in the cookie dough but you roll the cookie in sugar, ginger, cinnamon, and allspice.

And going back to the FoodNetwork I plucked a nice banana bread recipe (I replaced pecans with the ever indelible chocolate chips) from The Neely's. I had a bunch of bananas left and didn't want them to go to waste and made some scrumptious banana bread that also called for sour cream in the recipe. These became a fast fave and I ate half a loaf for dinner with milk. So good. The chocolate added to it. If you like bananas and chocolate this is the perfect recipe because the moisture is there. It's very much a bread and not a cake but is so delicious and sweet (in a subtle not overt way) that you cannot help but continue to gorge on it. I can't wait to make this again.

November and December were months I baked but nothing new. I baked a couple days of lemon ricotta cookies for friends and as christmas gifts. You can see from last year that these are a fast fave of mine and anyone who tries them. Thanks Giada! I also made some stuff from boxes. I had intended to bake something new this past weekend but a sudden hospital emergency threw that off. I doubt I'll do any new baking this year and will make sure to get right back to it in January. I mean I have to make up for lost time after all.

While I may be done with baking there are plenty going strong. Particularly one of  the new baking blogs I enjoy Mercedes' Satisfy My Sweet. She has a bunch of pumpkin recipes. Hoorah!

I leave you with a lovely and wonderfully good linzer sandwich cookie my aunt made that I thoroughly enjoyed when she had us over for lunch one day. I have to credit my aunt with my interest and perhaps borderline (read: full on) obsession with baking. My earliest memory is of her helping me bake brownies using an EasyBake oven. Man those were tasty. She got the recipe for this cookie from The Barefoot Contessa. Another one who could do no wrong.

Peace and love and lots of baking to you and yours!

2011 Wrap-up! My year in baking...(part 1)

As is the norm, I am scribing this year's baking hits (and misses). It's a fun thing to look back at the year and see review. And now that I have annual goals I write for myself it's good to hold myself accountable for some of the many things I exclaim with excitement that I want to do. This year I got to do a good amount of baking although I went on a bit of a hiatus after my return from my residency. Here are some pics and assessments of my baking this year and also where you can find the recipes. I have to admit the first half of the year was somewhat sparse.

Here goes:

Perish the thought but I did no 'from scratch' baking in January even though it's the month of my birthday. This year I threw a brownies vs. blondies competition and enjoyed many sweets though. :-)

February

I bought oatmeal via the Target Marketplace brand and decided to try out the recipe for oatmeal cookies on the canister. This was a good recipe for the old school oatmeal cookies you may be used to (sans raisins of course, bleh). They were of the chewy variety and stayed as such for a few days. I brought these in on a really gross, slushy, cold, windy day at work and received heaps of praise. It may have been for the cookies or just because of the weather. Who knows. These things just bring smiles on people's faces.

An original recipe I did for February was coconut chocolate chip blondies! I had coconut and coconut extract from a recipe I tried last year and these things keep well. I decided to try and spice up a blondies recipe for a co-worker who'd gotten another job and they turned out delicious. I used a base blondie recipe from Bon Appetit since it proved to help with the moisture and have more of a slightly dense texture (it helps to melt butter and add the sugar while it's still warm in a sauce pan). Coconut extract is not over powering so it added a nice sweetness with the shredded coconut to the blondies and frankly chocolate can never do wrong so these were a hit with my, now former, co-worker.

March

Unfortunately more co-workers left my job, and soon I would too. But before they did I made cookies and cream cupcakes courtesy of Cupcakes from the Cake Mix Doctor.

These were a cool experiment in utilizing one baked good in another and in the case of "stacking." By that I mean that there's half an Oreo at the bottom of the cupcake, crushed Oreos in the batter, and crushed Oreos on top of the frosting (as you can see). I used reduced fat Oreos for the first batch I made and people loved them.  I mean loved them. I was told "This is the best cupcake I have ever had." And while I cannot take credit for the inventiveness of the recipe at least I can take a bow for the proper execution.

These cupcakes have a lot, but not too much going on. I think the added crunch of the cookie inside it and atop it make it stand out and they look pretty darn tasty I have to say. Oreos are a good cookie to bake with as they don't become soggy when baked (or fried) but retain a somewhat crispy texture that is a nice contrast to moist cake. I may have to play around more with Oreos when I bake.

April

After the success of the cookies and cream cookie and as a native New Yorker I decided to make a black and white cupcake around the Cake Mix Doctor's recipe.

I liked this cupcake okay, and co-workers enjoyed it enough, but I feel I have to play with the cake mixture more to enhance the moistness. I may add sour cream or pudding in the mixture. I added mini chocolate chip morsels and did chocolate and vanilla frosting a la New York City's Black and White cookie.

While in Wyoming I did some baking. Some fave repeats. But as we often ate meals together many of us residents found that we had extra items left over that we wanted to use. Karen had left over sour cream so I looked up a recipe and found one for sour cream chocolate chip cookies on allrecipes.com.

Wow. Whatever I knew about chocolate chip cookies was obliterated once I tried this recipe and added sour cream in the mix. I am a fan of the cakey type cookie and seek to create more recipes like this so trying this really opened my eyes to the possibilities. Delicious and they stayed moist for days. And as I learned when stale you can nuke it and eat chewy again. Always learning.

That's it for the first half of the year. In part 2 I'll cover July-December which includes gluten-free baking month.

As a side note I was watching ABC's Up Close with Diana Williams this morning and see that places such as The New York City Food Bank are in need of donations. Both monetary and produce-wise. Having been part of this statistic in my youth and being blessed with not currently being afflicted by hunger during this bad economic turn it's great to help those in need while we post about our successes with food.

Please consider donating since as many as 1.5 million New Yorkers are going hungry these days and up to 3 million are on the cusp. Encourage your employer or school or friends & family to donate if you have the ability to do so. And if you are in need of their services definitely contact them. I know I will.

See you in part 2!

National Novel Writing Month 2011 Comes to an End...

As per my post on Halloween I, again, entered *National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo). Last year I did horribly. But this year....

That's right! I won. I. Brought. It.

So, as I've told friends and fellow NaNoWriMo(ers) my contemporary YA novel is done with many hiccups, inconsistencies, syntax issues, repetitive words & sentences, and some time frame problems. But it is done! And the main plot point throughout was maintained.

I'm going to let that piece sit and marinate for a bit before delving back into it again. With the end of the year coming at a super-fast rate I have some goals to accomplish for 2012. One of which is to complete and submit a story from said collection to literary magazines. I'm flabbergasted at how much my collection and other projects  (including a fantasy YA piece and short pieces) have taken shape this year. And I have a lot of great critique partners to thank for that.

I'll be doing a post next year about character development and how much that can help as you pursue a long project. I know, I've done many baking posts this year (not that that's a bad thing) but I aim to do a healthier mix of writing and baking posts for next year.

And congrats to all those who participated in NaNoWriMo this year. It really isn't about winning or finishing or completing the next great piece of literature. It's about trying to focus on a new project and learn where your strengths and weaknesses may be and most importantly it's about writing no matter how much you actually get done.

See y'alls at next years' NaNoWriMo...maybe.

*NaNoWriMo is also in need of donations to keep it afloat! I donated once I crossed the finish line but feel free to donate as much or as little as you can.

Interview with Cupcakes in Rome founder Alexandra (International baked goods on a small scale.)

If you didn’t already know by now I’m a bit of a Twitter addict. It’s become a great venue to meet like-minded people like myself and frankly tweets are all the rage these days. A few months ago I did a post on baking blogs I enjoyed and admired and it was around this time that I was made aware of Cupcakes in Rome (CiR), a new independent baking venture started by Alexandra. Who is also a fabulous photographer. As an up-and-coming baker I was intrigued about what got Alexandra started as she begins to put Cupcakes in Rome on the map. She was super excited about doing an interview and since launching Cupcakes in Rome has made great progress connecting with bakers and bloggers and baking bloggers on the worldwide web. Her cupcakes use no preservatives and natural ingredients a plus these days and she said she rarely makes the same thing twice.

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JBH: Cupcakes in Rome is a small business. What was the moment that made you realize you wanted to start this business? Was it something you had been considering for awhile or did you just wake up one day and realize you wanted to follow your passion in baking?

CiR: I’ve always enjoyed being creative and keeping busy. In addition to this, I’ve always loved baking and cupcakes for me have been the perfect way to mix both these activities.

The idea of starting a business, even if it’s home-based and still very small, sort of happened by chance mainly on the suggestion of family and friends who at every occasion I’d bake some cupcakes, would tell me they were so good, I should sell them!

I guess after hearing this for so long, I just took them up on it! It’s really been more of a personal challenge than an actual business choice, really!

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JBH: On your website you mention having traveled a lot from a young age. Where did you travel and what types of sweets and other cuisines did you try that you particularly enjoyed?

CiR: I’ve been very fortunate because I travelled a lot thanks to my dad’s job. We’ve lived in 4 countries, including Indonesia (in Asia) and this has given me the opportunity to see, smell and taste all the wonderful things these places have to offer, from tropical fruits to different kinds of desserts.

I must say though that, having grown in an Italian household, REAL Italian remains my fave, but I do also love Asian-style cuisine (so long as it’s not too spicy!). As for desserts, American and English are my faves! I guess they remind me of treats during school friends’ parties or other occasions.

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JBH: Why the fascination with American cupcakes? What is it about our type of cake that intrigues you? Is it the texture? Layers? Variety of flavors? How does it differ from ones you’ve tried in Europe and other locations?

CiR: There’s something about these tiny cakes that just makes me smile! I love the variety of decorations I have discovered. I love how one tiny bite-sized cake can often become a work of art… like a canvas waiting to be brought to life! I love how, depending on the flavour and decoration, they can be great for any occasion!

Personally, I have not experimented with too many “cake” flavours, though I plan to slowly expand the variety we offer. Italians have a much less “sweet” tooth than the Americans or English… so I have somewhat adapted the selection of what I offer.

I think that the best cupcakes I’ve had were definitely in New York!

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JBH: You also have a blog that you’ve recently created. The tagline says that you aim to have a loving relationship with food and share that on your blog. By delving into your loving relationship with food do you aim to mainly post recipes that you’ve created and comparisons with baked goods native to you versus those native to America?

CiR: The aim with my blog was and is, to offer simple yet interesting recipes any working girl like me can whip up without too much trouble. I’d say I mainly prefer sharing Italian recipes that not many foreign readers may be aware of or know how to prepare.

On the contrary to my cupcake site, the blog is only in English, because my intention was to share these easy (mainly) Italian recipes and tips with English speaking readers.

The fact that I don’t update it too often, is another story!

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JBH: Beyond cupcakesinrome.com and your blog are there other ways that people can connect with you online?

CiR: I am very passionate about photography, though I’ve somewhat neglected my first love, ever since I got involved in “Cupcakes in Rome.”

My photography has always been just a hobby, but it’s something that I care about and that is another way to flaunt the creative side of my character!

Cupcakes in Rome is on Facebook and Twitter.

Websites where you can see some of my work:

http://alextakesphotos.carbonmade.com

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexandra_n

Thanks, Alexandra for sharing your inspiration for baking and these lovely photos of your creations. Wishing Cupcakes in Rome the utmost success!