The Smith Family Vacation Part Two: Luang Prabang
14 years ago
Monday, March 23, 2009
Sunday, December 21, 2008
espresso cake: the tale of the 37-year-old stand mixer
Like most of my food stories, this one begins on a Sunday. Prior to heading to my dad's for lunch, I was sitting on the couch watching the Food Network (yes, we're all surprised). A lesser-known show called "Cooking for Real" was on, and the host was making an alternate holiday meal of cornish hens. (Side note: The host is Sunny Anderson, who I think is great. Possibly the only female host on the channel that isn't legitimately insane). Aside from the birds, she made a coffee cake (with espresso powder), which I thought looked especially tasty. So tasty, in fact, that I decided I was going to make it.
Now this is slightly odd for three reasons. 1. I don't like coffee. 2. Aside from "break-and-bake" cookies, I haven't baked anything ever (unless you count helping my mom when I was growing up, and I don't, because all I ever really did was lick the spoon after everything was in the oven). 3. I don't own a mixer of any kind.
Item 3 was the real issue. I'll be damned if I'm going to make a batter with a hand whisk. So when I went to my dad's, I picked up my mom's old stand mixer. When I took it out of the closet, I was kind of worried that it might not work. It was at least as old as me, probably older (it was later confirmed to be a wedding gift, so 37), hadn't been used since probably the late '90's, and was caked in dust. But alas, I took it home, cleaned it off, plugged it in and turned it on. To my amazement, it worked. It was pretty loud and it got kind of hot, but it worked. Considering I was already making short ribs and prepping pork chops, I put the mixer away until later in the week.
Fast forward a day to Monday when I made the espresso cake. Since it was 1. my first baking experience, 2. my mixer was ancient, and 3. I fully documented the whole ordeal, getting everything mixed up and into the oven took about 45 minutes. Quite slow, I agree. But, in the end it was worth it. I ended up with two loaves of espresso cake (minus the frosting, I don't see how peanut butter and coffee go together). I kept one for myself and brought the other into the work the next morning. Suffice to say, it didn't last long. Definitely making it again, probably for Christmas.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sunny-anderson/mini-espresso-cakes-with-peanut-butter-frosting-recipe/index.html
After making the cake, I went online looking for any info about the mixer. Couldn't find anything except for a Japanese E-bay entry, which I obviously could not read. So I ended up emailing Hamilton Beach with the model number and whatnot. Below is my email and the cold auto-reply.
My email:
Product: Standup Mixer
Model: MHB 29
Series: n/a
Message: As I was searching through my parents' house the other day, I found my mother's old standup mixer. Hamilton Beach, model MHB 29 (200 watts, 120 VAC, 50-60 Hz). It hadn't been used in years, and since I didn't have a mixer at my place, I decided to take it home. Seeing as how I remember my mom using it when I was just a little kid (I'm now 26), I was skeptical that it would still work. However, it still does. I put it to work tonight, as I mixed batter for a coffee cake, and it worked quite well (although, it did get pretty warm after a while). I'm just curious if you have any idea how old this model might be. Not surprisingly, I couldn't find a manual at my parent's house, and I also couldn't find any info online. No problems here, just looking for info. And good job making a rather durable product!
Response:
Thank you for contacting Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc.
Unfortunately, all parts and accessories have been depleted for your model.
We would like to encourage you to visit our website at www.hamiltonbeach.com to view our current line of small household appliances. You will find purchasing information here as well.
Thank you for your patronage and we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
Thank you for contacting Hamilton Beach Brands and please let us know if there is anything else we can assist you with.
Catherine
Consumer Affairs
Now this is slightly odd for three reasons. 1. I don't like coffee. 2. Aside from "break-and-bake" cookies, I haven't baked anything ever (unless you count helping my mom when I was growing up, and I don't, because all I ever really did was lick the spoon after everything was in the oven). 3. I don't own a mixer of any kind.
Item 3 was the real issue. I'll be damned if I'm going to make a batter with a hand whisk. So when I went to my dad's, I picked up my mom's old stand mixer. When I took it out of the closet, I was kind of worried that it might not work. It was at least as old as me, probably older (it was later confirmed to be a wedding gift, so 37), hadn't been used since probably the late '90's, and was caked in dust. But alas, I took it home, cleaned it off, plugged it in and turned it on. To my amazement, it worked. It was pretty loud and it got kind of hot, but it worked. Considering I was already making short ribs and prepping pork chops, I put the mixer away until later in the week.
Fast forward a day to Monday when I made the espresso cake. Since it was 1. my first baking experience, 2. my mixer was ancient, and 3. I fully documented the whole ordeal, getting everything mixed up and into the oven took about 45 minutes. Quite slow, I agree. But, in the end it was worth it. I ended up with two loaves of espresso cake (minus the frosting, I don't see how peanut butter and coffee go together). I kept one for myself and brought the other into the work the next morning. Suffice to say, it didn't last long. Definitely making it again, probably for Christmas.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sunny-anderson/mini-espresso-cakes-with-peanut-butter-frosting-recipe/index.html
After making the cake, I went online looking for any info about the mixer. Couldn't find anything except for a Japanese E-bay entry, which I obviously could not read. So I ended up emailing Hamilton Beach with the model number and whatnot. Below is my email and the cold auto-reply.
My email:
Product: Standup Mixer
Model: MHB 29
Series: n/a
Message: As I was searching through my parents' house the other day, I found my mother's old standup mixer. Hamilton Beach, model MHB 29 (200 watts, 120 VAC, 50-60 Hz). It hadn't been used in years, and since I didn't have a mixer at my place, I decided to take it home. Seeing as how I remember my mom using it when I was just a little kid (I'm now 26), I was skeptical that it would still work. However, it still does. I put it to work tonight, as I mixed batter for a coffee cake, and it worked quite well (although, it did get pretty warm after a while). I'm just curious if you have any idea how old this model might be. Not surprisingly, I couldn't find a manual at my parent's house, and I also couldn't find any info online. No problems here, just looking for info. And good job making a rather durable product!
Response:
Thank you for contacting Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc.
Unfortunately, all parts and accessories have been depleted for your model.
We would like to encourage you to visit our website at www.hamiltonbeach.com to view our current line of small household appliances. You will find purchasing information here as well.
Thank you for your patronage and we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
Thank you for contacting Hamilton Beach Brands and please let us know if there is anything else we can assist you with.
Catherine
Consumer Affairs
Monday, December 15, 2008
pork chops like whoa
Tonight is Wednesday. So like half of the Wednesdays since July, I cooked pork chops. That is not an embellishment. Since Anne Burrell came into my life over the summer, and showed me the way to perfectly prepared pork chops, I have eaten them at least every other week.
Since you're still reading, I assume you're interested. The link to the recipe is below. I cook mine a little differently. Since I hate using the bbq at my place, because of the neighbor situation, I cook mine under the broiler (more on that later). But the brine is pretty much the same, give or take some of the spices (where the hell does one find fennel pollen).
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/brined-pork-chops-with-soft-parmigiano-polenta-recipe/index.html
Anyways, while I was at McKinnon's on Sunday, getting some short ribs, I also picked up a pack of bone-in, center cuts. And good God, the cuts at McKinnon's are ridiculous. They're about 1-1/2" to 2" thick and absolutely beautiful. After I got the ribs started, I spent a few minutes prepping my chops. Threw them in the brine and pretty much forgot about them until last night. "Ooh, I got pork chops for tomorrow night!" Needless to say, I was periodically salivating today, anticipating them in all their glory. After work & the gym, I got started.
Back to the broiler: Some people (myself included) have had problems burning the hell out of anything they put under there with the rack at the top position. To prevent that, you might put the rack one rung lower. But then you might as well run whatever your cooking under hot water instead. So, what I've been doing, which seems to work out pretty well, is to set the rack at the second position, then putting an upside down cookie sheet on top of that to get to an in between position. Also, since manufacturer's don't want people burning their houses down, they program the broiler to turn off at a certain temp. To prevent the burner from turning off, I put a little roll of foil at the top of the door to prop it open, giving the heat somewhere to escape.
With everything set up, I put the pork on the rack, inside a roasting dish, and put that on the cookie sheet. Seven minutes on each side under the broiler. That'll give it a great char. After that, I turn the broiler off and put the oven at 350, fully close the door and let it go until the pork reaches 160 (about 10-15 more minutes).
Try it out for yourself. Maybe you'll end up eating pork chops every other week....
Since you're still reading, I assume you're interested. The link to the recipe is below. I cook mine a little differently. Since I hate using the bbq at my place, because of the neighbor situation, I cook mine under the broiler (more on that later). But the brine is pretty much the same, give or take some of the spices (where the hell does one find fennel pollen).
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/brined-pork-chops-with-soft-parmigiano-polenta-recipe/index.html
Anyways, while I was at McKinnon's on Sunday, getting some short ribs, I also picked up a pack of bone-in, center cuts. And good God, the cuts at McKinnon's are ridiculous. They're about 1-1/2" to 2" thick and absolutely beautiful. After I got the ribs started, I spent a few minutes prepping my chops. Threw them in the brine and pretty much forgot about them until last night. "Ooh, I got pork chops for tomorrow night!" Needless to say, I was periodically salivating today, anticipating them in all their glory. After work & the gym, I got started.
Back to the broiler: Some people (myself included) have had problems burning the hell out of anything they put under there with the rack at the top position. To prevent that, you might put the rack one rung lower. But then you might as well run whatever your cooking under hot water instead. So, what I've been doing, which seems to work out pretty well, is to set the rack at the second position, then putting an upside down cookie sheet on top of that to get to an in between position. Also, since manufacturer's don't want people burning their houses down, they program the broiler to turn off at a certain temp. To prevent the burner from turning off, I put a little roll of foil at the top of the door to prop it open, giving the heat somewhere to escape.
With everything set up, I put the pork on the rack, inside a roasting dish, and put that on the cookie sheet. Seven minutes on each side under the broiler. That'll give it a great char. After that, I turn the broiler off and put the oven at 350, fully close the door and let it go until the pork reaches 160 (about 10-15 more minutes).
Try it out for yourself. Maybe you'll end up eating pork chops every other week....
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