Before I properly begin this entry, I like to make my first, and far from last retraction.
As my sister kindly pointed out after returning from her trip to Boston, if I only baked twice a month it would be impossible for me to complete this challenge. Additionally, it would make the blog fairly boring. So, for the sake of eventually gaining relative fame as Clark's cupcake girl and the slim chance of ever doing a "Julie and Julia", I caved. Until it proves to be detrimental to my academic performance, I will try to bake at least once a week. Maybe, if I'm lucky, twice a week. I'm holding my breath that someone I know will buy me industrial sized bags of flour and sugar so I don't end up buying new supplies twice a month. But enough of that, lets move onto more important matters.
For todays post, I decided to discuss my baking and cooking roots. Or my lack there-of. If anyone has read or seen "Julie and Julia" they would know that Julie Powell spent a bit of her narrative discussing how Julia Child has inspired her from the time she was a child to when she began her famous blog. I can proudly say that I lack such a culinary role model. In all honesty, most of the chefs that I admire I have discovered not through cookbooks or biographies, but rather through reality TV. Figures such as Anthony Bourdain, Gordon Ramsay, Buddie Jr. of Cake Boss, Jamie Oliver, and so on. Yea I'll admit that this is not the traditional way of finding culinary role models but these figures taught me to appreciate all the different magical dishes that can come from a kitchen. Hopefully when this is all over I'll have properly come to know and love some of the more traditional and well-known famous food figure heads.
But in addition to the TV personalities mentioned above, most of my culinary inspiration comes from the numerous blogs that I read on a daily basis. Currently I have multiple folders filled with recipes that I cannot wait to tackle. Coincidentally, this cleverly ties into another aspect of what I hope to feature on my blog.
Even though the cupcake marathon of crazy hasn't begun, I already know that I wish to blog about other things as well. Cooking as always been a passion of mine and I have already promised many people at school that I would proudly cook them dinner. So, in honor of that, every now and then I'll include a recipe that I love to make. Fortunately for you, dear readers, today's post will feature just that. But more on that later.
Flipping through my cupcake bible as I've come to know it, I was hit with the sudden realization that I lack quite a few objects that will be necessary to pull this stunt off.
1. Cupcake pans: Yea I should probably on this right away. But alas, a problem: I don't know what size the ovens are at my dorm. However, I have already found a set of baking pans on the wonderful Etsy.com. I can already picture all the wonderful moments I could have with these lovely baking pans, all the burned batches and messes that we'll make together.
2.Cupcake liners: Another find on Etsy.com made me realize that if I was going to be making cupcakes, then by god I wanted to be sure that I bought the cutest cupcake liners that I could get for the cheapest price. As one college professor once shared, "It doesn't matter how badly you mess up, its all about the presentation. If it looks good, you can always rake in points for having a good looking project." Truer words have never been uttered.
3. Frosting equipment: True, I don't necessarily need to buy whatever you call that thing you use to put frosting on cupcakes and stuff, but I kind of want one. Why? Well why not. If I'm going to be perfecting my cupcake skills I should also work on my frosting abilities as well.
4. Cupcake storage containers: One of the more important items that I'll be needing for this cupcake adventure. Of course, I need to see the size of the fridge in the kitchen before I can really buy a serious storage unit thing. In addition, I have this crazy idea of how I plan to get rid of my cupcake surplus. Bare with me, this is going to take same imagination. It involves me dressing up as Eliza Doolittle and carrying a basket of wrapped cupcakes around campus. With my basket fully stocked, I'd walk around campus offering cupcakes for $2 a peice. Throw in the cockney accent and I think I'm onto something. Don't worry about me looking weird or anything; at Clark University anything is possible. There was a guy in one of my classes who always wore red cat ears.
Lastly, I just want to say that I have decided to embark on this challenge firstly for the fact that I'll be doing something spectacularly amazing. And secondly, I hope to ultimately end this challenge as a better baker and cook. I want to see people smile when they see what put out on a plate for them to eat and tell them that I was able to make that without being trained.
And here it is, as promised. A dish that had my dad say, "Wow, it smells like an Italian restaurant in here" as its delicious smell wafted through the house. Behold, Tyler Florence's (who is he anyway?) Spaghetti with Roasted Eggplant and Cherry Tomatoes. This recipe is really simple and tastes so delicious.
Tomato Sauce:
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cans (28-ounce) whole, peeled tomatoes, drained
- Handful fresh basil leaves, torn
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 small (3/4 pound) eggplants, stemmed but not peeled
- 2 to 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 pound dried spaghetti
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, stemmed
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino, plus extra for serving
- Handful fresh basil leaves, torn
Directions
First, make the tomato sauce: Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, for 7 to 10 minutes until the vegetables are soft but not browned. Add the tomatoes, crushing them in your hand to break them up. Add the basil and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the sauce is reduced and thickened, about 10 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Cut the eggplants crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rounds and put them in a large bowl. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper, and drizzle generously with olive oil. Toss to coat, drizzling in more oil if you needed. Arrange the slices in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast 20 minutes until eggplants are very tender.
While the eggplants are roasting, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. About 5 minutes before the eggplants are done, drop the pasta into the boiling water and cook until al dente, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain. Bring the tomato sauce to a simmer and pour it into a large pasta bowl. Add the drained spaghetti and stir to coat with the sauce. Fold in the eggplants and the cherry tomatoes. Add the cheese and basil, and another drizzle of oil, and toss gently. Serve immediately and pass extracheese at the table.
Yum!
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