My White Whale

Admittedly, I've been away from this blog for some time. There's two reasons. Well, maybe three.

Reason 1: I've started a new semester where I'm taking two separate literature classes, with a massive amount of reading each week. Because of this, I'm only fitting baking in when guests come over or when I scan through Pinterest and see something that screams "You can actually do this!" or "This only has two ingredients!" 

Reason 2: I've actually started a second blog. Gasp! It's true. Now you can also read my mediocre musings at www.sleepstanding.com. This new blog is about my sleep walking/sleep talking adventures, and about how I'm (mis)handling them. Personally, I think it's pretty great and you'll love it. Since it's so new I've had to take the time to cultivate it a little, build it up so that people might actually like it. I don't have to do that with YIBT anymore, this thing just writes and reads itself! So do me a favor and check out www.sleepstanding.com, I'm also on twitter @sleepstander.

Reason 3: I've been trying to catch my white whale.

A Disasterpiece

This is a short post because I don't like writing about disasters when I can't pull them off graciously or casually act like I meant to do it. Sometimes you can get away with it, like how if I burn the edge of a batch of brownies I'll just cut all the edges off, throw them away, and make really tiny brownie bites and nobody has any idea that I stood in front of the stove saying the f word repeatedly. That's not gracious.

Upcycling, Pumpkin Pancakes & Potato Pancakes Or PANCAKES!!

As we all prepare to hunker down for the holidays and our long winter naps, there's been something that I've been thinking about and want to share it with you. I have two specific recipes to post today, recipes that originally come from something else - this basic idea of upcycling that I tossed around a few weeks ago. But how did we get to the point of using a word like upcycling?

Our culture is obsessed with recycling. Everything needs to be recycled. EVERYTHING. That shampoo bottle I pulled out of the trash could become a young child's teething ring some day. Hey, don't shoot the messenger - these are facts. We hover over our office trash receptacles thinking things like, "I bet Gary doesn't even know what single stream means. Plus, I heard he's getting divorced." Just like all of the other things in life, we latch onto one important issue and we have to shove it in every one's face. "Look, I'm using a recycled nalgene bottle!" "I reused rain water to wash my car!"

Yeah, I'd Bake That's Not Favorite Things Because That Was Taken, But Things We Really Enjoy List! Part 2!

Wow, such a great response for Part 1 of Yeah, I'd Bake That's Not Favorite Things Because That Was Taken, But Things We Really Enjoy List! You guys had me all like

Seriously, I'm super flattered.

Yeah, I'd Bake That's Not Favorite Things Because That Name Was Taken But Items We Really Enjoy List! Part 1

Today we kick off our 2nd(!) Christmas season with Yeah, I'd Bake That's Not Favorite Things Because That Name Was Taken But Items We Really Enjoy List!

Let's talk about this title. I am not giving anything away so "12 Days of Giveaways" was scratched off the list, and I just didn't feel right using "Oprah's Favorite Things". "A December to Remember" is great if you can also say "Everyone's getting a car!" but sadly, not this year. YIBT that is in no way endorsed by Oprah, licensed by Hasbro, given special accommodations from any baking company, affiliated with Lincoln Motors, herein withto, ipso facto legal talk.

Guest Post! Hosting Your First Thanksgiving and Why It All Hinges on Fennel

Editor's Note: Hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving! If you happened to read my last post you could probably feel my anxiety about hosting Thanksgiving this year at our house, but I'm happy to report that all went smoothly and aside from a minor grease fire we fed and spirited everyone until we had to roll them out the door.

Today's post is a little different. Because Kevin was in charge of the turkey, and because it tasted amazing, he's writing the post today. I know, I know - but sometimes we need to sit back and let others have all the glory. For an amazingly easy and delicious turkey recipe read on my friends!
**

Hello, Spouse here!  When Danielle started Yeah, I'd Bake That I figured that at most I'd get a few tasty treats (which I was already accustomed to) and that would be that.  What I didn't expect is that this blog was actually the start of a pattern in our house -- a pattern that led to a new word, "Pinteresty".  I come home from work and Danielle will say something like "Kevin, I need a pallet" or "Kevin, do we have a tomato cage in the shed, I want to make a Christmas tree." I happily say to her, "Ok, lets go steal a pallet, and yes I do believe there is a tomato cage back there."  I've quickly learned not to ask questions because the answers are never as good as her final project, and I am not skilled in her Pintresty ways.  So when she says to me "...find as many shoebox lids as possible and if you happen to see a window shutter somewhere pick it up." I do it, because I know the house is going to be better for it.

Mini Pumpkin Filo Pies

A while back we talked about spectacular failures. That feeling you get when you realize your house smells like a broken fire extinguisher factory. The moment when you look at the garbage can and think, "no one has to know I even attempted this". Websites like Pinterest and Brit & Co give us access to anything. We convince ourselves that we can turn large men's shirts into cute little dresses. We live in this crafty delusion where if we can just get our hands on 59878 buttons we could make a really, really awesome lamp.

And I fall for it every time.

Copycat Pizza Hut Pan Pizza

Every time my sister visits I ask her if we can go to the Pizza Hut lunch buffet. Not necessarily because I like Pizza Hut pizza, but because we used to go a lot and I just like asking her the same ridiculous question over and over. We used to have a lot of great memories at Pizza Hut - I have literally penned infamous poetry, taken probably 1000 pictures and have drank 49+ Wild Cherry Cokes from their restaurants. If I happen to frequent one now it's because I'm trying to relive my Book-It days, not because I want to feel like I just ate an entire pizza by myself.

Election Night Pizzas!

I Don't Know How I Made it Through High School Or Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

For those of you who might not be avid readers of my high school transcripts, I have always been pretty poor at math. In fact, in my sophomore (?) year of high school school I repeated geometry. I can't remember if I had failed miserably the year before, or if it was just close enough to failing to warrant giving it another shot, but there was something about that class that just made my brain shut down. So I took it again.

I don't want to say I'm more of a creative type because I know people a lot more creative than me. I'm easy with ideas, I can picture what the thing should look like, but when it comes to engineering it I'm basically useless. To support a bunch of half marathon runners a few weeks ago I had an idea for a sign that had a back part that would spin around to reveal 8 different names - keeping me from having to make 8 different signs. In my head, the sign would spin around a gold fastener which I figured would be easy to find (they weren't), and it would be no big deal to sit down and measure it all out to make sure each name fit in the space I provided. This would be my greatest running achievement.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies

Recently I've noticed (and have partaken in) a lot of posts and Pinterest links comparing food to crack. My last post was about how peanut butter is my crack. The dip I'm making for this weekend is called "apple crack dip". Now I'm no Walter White, my understanding of crack is mostly that it's whack, but I can understand and appreciate how people are finally talking about food addiction like it's no joke! I'm not a drug addict, but I can secretly eat Wheat Thins like it's an obsession. One of my best buds has had a Cheez-It overdose, literally throwing up Cheez-Its. Is it pretty? No. Is it like being addicted to crack? Yeah, probably not. But for us white bread folks who get spooked by needles and pass out when we see blood, it's close enough.

Peanut Butter is My Crack

There's that old saying that there are a few things in life we can be absolutely sure of. I'm pretty sure the examples are friends, and family, and that the sun will come up in the East, etc. Those things are all lame. The one thing you can absolutely, always be sure of? Peanut butter tastes good all the time. Peanut butter all day, every day. If there was a chance we could vote peanut butter into office it would be a good idea if we all put our contrasting jelly ideas aside and elect it a winner. This is how serious I am. 

Last night I had a little free time and decided around 8PM that I was going to make these cookies I found on Pinterest. I was short one very key ingredient, chocolate chips, so after a short pilgrimage to Giant and a conversation with a man who couldn't decide on the best kind of frozen pizza (Red Baron! Because it's not delivery it's DiGiorno is for rich people eating dinner in their hot air balloons) I was able to come home and crank out these cookies. 

Favorite Cupcake of the Year: Vanilla Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Frosting

The rumors are true (because I'm the one who started them). Yeah, I'd Bake That is slowly getting back to regular postings. I can't officially promise a post a week like before, but we'll get there. Together.

I know it's a little bit early in the year to be picking "The Best Cupcake of 2012" but I don't care. I had no formal judging process. I didn't choose this one because it got the greatest reception (although it did) or because it was the easiest to make (it wasn't). My choosing this cupcake to share with you today is because I just liked it the best this year, damn it.

A Perfectly Good Explanation

It's certainly been awhile since we've looked at the joys of baking together. I'll take the blame for it because clearly you've been waiting around all summer for delicious treats that are made of strawberries, or jello concoctions shaped like American flags. I get it.

I'm sorry to report that even though I understand it's time for me to suit up and get back in that proverbial saddle, it's just not our time yet. The summer classes that I so carelessly scheduled because I thought they'd be easier have been all consuming. This is the first time in weeks when I've been able to write something that doesn't involve Medieval literature. And although I'd like to share a few recipes with you today, I'm afraid they'll have a weird women's literature through history slant, and I can't put you through that.

So in the mean time, enjoy this fun photo of Ross that I found. 

Even he was disappointed to here that Yeah, I'd Bake That wouldn't be back in action for a few more weeks. I could just tell. 

Don't abandon me entirely, I do have some excellent recipes coming up. I promise. 

Check me out on Pinterest if you so desire: http://pinterest.com/yeahidbakethat/

Brownies or Something

It has been over a month since my last post. It has also been over a month since I've written anything that doesn't have to do with british literature, unions, english teaching methods or the representation of women in medieval text. I've been up at the crack of dawn to observe ninth graders falling asleep in class, I've waited around the house so chatty refrigerator repair men can make my freezer work again, and I've dodged awkward conversations with my new neighbors at an average of 2 times per day. Since moving to Emmaus life has been ridiculously busy and filled to the brim with school work. If people don't call me Danielle Malone, Master or Master Danielle Malone by the end of this graduate degree -- it's not going to be worth it. I'm going to start making business cards now.

That all being said, it's been tough to get on here to update you all with new recipes. I've been bookmarking and pinning recipes out the proverbial ying yang, but in between recipes for strawberries filled with cheesecake sits websites about the use of word walls in the classroom. I do have a fail-proof recipe for you tonight, something you'll eventually be able to share with your grandkids. It's a win win for everyone. 

Bite Size Apple Pies

I've been a little lax on my posting lately, I can't seem to get back on my old schedule and when I want to write about something I forget what I want to write about immediately. Pretty soon I'm going to turn into the lady I met at Goodwill yesterday- buying memo boards to keep all of my notes to myself in one place. Just, without the purple lipstick. And hopefully without the velour jumpsuit.

Chocolate Creme Brulee

There are many occasions in life where we just have to sit back and say, "you know what, it's okay to put chocolate in that". Someone has to do it. The friends of the person who invented chocolate milk probably said that it was ridiculous, but that person (who I'm going to affectionately name, Mr. Chocolateberg) did it anyway and now more people want the brown stuff than the white.

That figure is from my own data sampling.

From a sample of me.

This is something I was thinking about when I was hunting around for a chocolate creme brulee recipe. It had to exist, it was just taking me a few days to find the right one. I really liked Paula Deen's recipe at first, but then I saw you needed 50708 eggs and a glass of chocolate liquor. I liked the one from the reliable recipes.com until I noticed you needed to practically grow your own cocoa beans (thanks Hershey tour) to make the creme brulee - not to mention the baking time was an average of 16+ hours and a promise to never leave the kitchen. I had pretty much given up on the whole search, the creme brulee, my baking future, my education, my future children...everything. I was pretty frustrated. 

But then I found Celiac Family.com, and I can officially say that not only did I find an amazing chocolate creme brulee recipe but it's gluten free. Did you hear that Kelly Clayton?! Gluten free! I did it!

Easter, Chocolate Bunnies & Cake

There are a lot of things happening in the next few weeks make life on this blog difficult. Starting school again today, finishing our taxes, moving to an entirely different part of PA (not like our 3 minute move from Manayunk to East Falls) and Easter. Easter's been at the bottom of my list these past few days, but I can't deny how much I actually enjoy the holiday. Besides the fact that it's always fallen right around my birthday, it's got some of the best looking candy filling up two aisles at Rite Aid. Two aisles!

Every year I just slink through the aisles looking at it. Marshmellow covered everything. This year I saw orange bunny peeps (I was shocked too). Chocolate in the shape of eggs, eggs made of creme, and carrots filled with reeses pieces. You could get a cavity just looking at all of the sugar, it's amazing. 

I think I love Easter because when I was little I used to occasionally bring home chocolate easter bunnies from winning drawing contests or guessing the right amount of jellybeans or something. I remember that they were always deceivingly hollow. When I'd bring them home, Allyson and I would size them up to see if we could open the box and eat a part of it before my parents got home. It never really worked, but when we were allowed to open it up I remember you could almost see a puff of smoke come out of the rabbit's head when you yanked an ear off. Like in Christmas Vacation when the turkey is too cooked and just explodes completely hollow, these rabbits looked like they were five solid pounds of chocolate but they were just a thin shell of a bunny. So disappointing. 

Birthday Red Velvet Cupcakes

We're backkkkkkk [bitches!]. I'm not sure if it's appropriate to use bitches like that because this blog is rated G for content, but it felt right. Just really right.

So after a prolonged hiatus due to the stressors of grad school, particularly the audacity of one professor who assigned us a 10 page paper for finals week, I'm back with a vengenace [insert karate kick sound here].  I've been holed up in an office for the past two weeks creating lesson plans for invisible students and writing papers and as soon as I was free I went straight to the grocery store to stock up on red velvet cupcake ingredients. For those of you who had these red velvet guys back in November, this is that recipe. Not only is it a great comeback gig, but Saturday was my birthday so I went all out here.

Red velvet cupcakes are fun to make for two important reasons. 1. There's so much red dye involved that you feel like you're recreating a crime scene from Dexter. It's fun to walk around the kitchen and say things like "yeah, the perp came at it from this direction". The second reason is that when you accidentally combine baking powder with white vinegar you get an awesome explosion! Who doesn't love that.

Make Crepes at Home!

For four years I lived in North Philadelphia, dredging up and down Broad Street pretending like I was totally comfortable living in the city. We all know (or I think we can all assume) that I am not the most subtle person you've ever met, so trying to act cool and urbany was just not my style. I always came up out of the subway stairs ready to roundhouse somebody. I paid for that Vera Bradley bag myself mister, keep your hands off.

When you move from rural to urban everyone wants to sit you down and tell you about the dangers of society. This is fairly warranted, but the drama that people pump into it is far more scary than anything you'll probably see on campus. When I went to orientation at Temple they told us not to wear lanyards with our keys around our necks because people would come up from behind and choke us. The more they talked, the more I couldn't help but wonder why I had chosen a school that had so many stranglers on campus. 

Keys were better left in your pocket, or better yet - your largest key was better left in ready position in your right hand so you could stab someone quick if you had to. 

Potato Chip Cookies

I was reading a blog on the Philly Post today about Whole Foods, and how the author was never particularly excited to walk into the store and shell out large amounts of money for organic cheese and soy milk. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, mostly because I have the same aversion towards the chain and whenever I can meet another person like me it gives me a false sense of security. It's not me. It's the aisles of wheat grass and ground chia seeds. Okay, I know I'm irrational. I don't go to Shop Rite because I think the parking lot is too small, but I know that walking through Whole Foods makes me hate myself.