use real butter

Math is your friend. Because I knew that my recipe for a deluxe 10-inch cheesecake would fill four mini cheesecake springform pans more than twice over (and halving 5 eggs is a total pain), I went and picked up a second set. I have a lot of great recipes for desserts that worked like a dream at sea level. The cheesecake recipe didn’t come out to the texture of my satisfaction the first time I baked it here at 8450 ft. Add to that my obsession with making personal desserts (individual servings) and we have two factors to juggle with. But I figured I’d just give it a go…

filled for baking

cooling the first set

The first set came out a tad short, but the second set was taller because I realized the first set wasn’t rising as much as the 10-inch cake would have. So I filled the second set to about a quarter inch of the top and they were fine and better proportioned. I also tested two 6-inch pans (not springform) and they turned out beautifully as well. Even jotted down the exact timing for each. It really is like chem lab.

Of course, a drawback of not working is that I have all of these desserts to get rid of instead of sending out a mass email at the office. I just needed one bite to know that the texture was as I prefer: rich, creamy, smooth, dense - classic. What to do with the rest? Well, our neighbors are excellent test particles. We took two over to Tom and Kellie tonight, dressed with some fruit. Tom gave it the thumbs up (he dove into it while we were chatting). I made Jeremy try one at home. I’ll take some over to Marcus and the kids tomorrow.

I might should find a restaurant supply store to buy small cake circles and boxes that most bakeries have for packaging just such a thing. I hate taking stuff over in my own dishes because it forces the recipient to clean the dish. Now that I think of it, this exercise was two-fold as I will probably make little baked goods for the holidays. I love sending a variety of little goods instead of a single cake… although the former takes far more time. I just can’t think of anyone whose face doesn’t light up more when presented with several diminutive treats.

This morning we drove down to Boulder to have brunch at Lucille’s (yes Kell, this is that great New Orleans joint) with Erin (from Seattle) and her friends. A really lively and fun group with terrific beignets to start the meal! Afterward, the host couple had to get back home, but the rest of us walked down Pearl St. and then down to the farmer’s market.

fall produce in the market

Erin’s friend is a college buddy who lives in Bellingham. Both of their partners were unable to come to the wedding (in Boulder) so they flew out together. How to describe it… sometimes conversation is forced and other times it isn’t at all. This flowed so easily. We wanted to know more about her and she wanted to know more about us. I love making new friends like that. When I think of my network of close friends, I really think many of them would hit it off immediately. That makes sense. I don’t think you can ever meet enough quality individuals.

I’ve never bought tamarind juice concentrate before. I picked up a jar of this while I was getting shouted at by the asian store owner in Boulder. I mean, if you’ve got her attention to look for preserved salted turnips, why not ask for the tamarind concentrate too? She never showed me where it was, she just began yelling to herself in her dialect (I don’t know what she is, to be honest - but she ain’t chinese) and then emerged from one dangerously crowded aisle with “LASJAR!” She meant the last jar.

to make thom kha kai (chicken coconut soup)

serve hot!

I don’t use galangal because I am lazy and replace it with sliced ginger. I am also a retard because I forgot to buy cilantro. And my pad thai is like a bad chemistry experiment - I can never reproduce the same results. This batch was good, but a tad different from all of the previous attempts. I do think they are converging though.

fresh ingredients

pad thai served my way

I don’t cook the egg into the noodles like some places. I actually cook the noodles first, then remove them from the pan. Meanwhile, I make an egg sheet and when it is half cooked I toss the noodles on top and fold them over in an egg blanket. Remove from heat. Then I separately lightly sauté the sprouts and green onions and top the noodles with those and the other half of the ground peanuts.

There’s about 6 new inches of snow on the ground and we’re waiting to hear if Erin wants to meet up for brunch. Ski or hike?