use real butter

Recipe: bacon-wrapped venison and garlic-herb butter

Last week it was unseasonably warm and sunny, so Kaweah spent a good bit of time on the deck as I worked inside. While I love spending time with my pup, she can really get underfoot when I’m shooting or cooking anything involving meat, or vegetables, or fruit, or cheese or peanut butter… Basically, anytime I work with food (which is all the time) she is my little shadow.

perfect weather for a kaweah

And I needed to get a lot done without constantly dodging the dog or worrying about tripping over her while carrying camera equipment, sharp knives, or fragile dishware. I was trying to get a jump on my work schedule which seemed to have blown up in the span of two days. That, and my folks arrived in Boulder last week. Even though I see them a lot more than I used to, it’s important to me to spend time with them. We just have to agree on things that we all enjoy because I loathe shopping (they are avid shoppers) and they don’t do the outdoor stuff that Jeremy and I like to do – especially anything in the cold.

picking them up at the bus station with roses for mom (because i’m a good chinese daughter!)

we took my folks to try some awesome korean barbecue at dae gee in westminster

One evening when I took rolled pistachio baklava to my neighbors, Ann went into the kitchen to retrieve a plate to return to me. She set a little package wrapped in butcher’s paper on top and told me Herb had returned from his hunting trip in the Midwest (he’s a bow hunter). It was venison. She asked if I’ve prepared venison before and I said only once – when I had no clue what I was doing and Google didn’t exist yet. I assured her that I would find a good recipe. The next day, I was chatting with Herb and Ann in the driveway when Herb rattled off a quick and simple recipe for the venison. It sounded amazing.

let’s start with the garlic-herb butter: butter, parsley, garlic

chop the parsley

grate the garlic

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: hot buttered pretzels (db)

I started blogging in 2004 – it was an outlet for my thoughts after my sister had died. There was no theme, no goal, just me unloading a lot of tangled emotions, working through my feelings. Only a handful of friends read it at the time and it was virtually unknown to the world. In 2007, I noticed a group of food bloggers – The Daring Bakers – who baked a challenge each month and posted their results on their blogs on an agreed upon day. I wanted to join, but I needed a blog. I mean, I HAD a blog, but I needed a public blog. And that was what prompted me to split off use real butter and start a food blog.

old school: we knead to bake

When I joined The Daring Bakers (now The Daring Kitchen) in late 2007, we were 80 strong. When I left in 2010, there were thousands of Daring Bakers and Daring Cooks across the globe. So much had changed during my stint, but there were always two constants: Lis of La Mia Cucina and Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice – our founders. I learned from Kelly earlier this week that Lis had died suddenly and unexpectedly. Old timer DBs reconnected at hearing the news and it was decided (thanks to Kelly) that Friday, November 15th would be our day of tribute to this witty, energetic, supportive, and wonderful woman. Lis was every Daring Baker’s biggest cheerleader and we cannot believe she is gone.

It was only fitting that I post a Daring Bakers recipe. The first one – the one that started it all – was hot buttered pretzels. Lis and Ivonne made them back in 2006 and it has been on my list of “must bake” recipes for years. So this one is for you, Lis – and for all of my beloved Daring Bakers.

start with: water, butter, yeast, sugar, kosher salt, flour, sugar and salt

mix warm water, sugar, salt, and yeast

add flour

You can find old Daring Baker challenges (the recipes) in The Daring Kitchen archives, but there was a slight discrepancy between that one and the recipe on Ivonne’s site so I went with Ivonne’s version. I remember how I used to feel either elation or dread when I would get the next Daring Baker challenge. But here’s the thing – I learned so much and gained confidence and skill in the realm of baking with each monthly challenge. It helped me grow as a food blogger, a baker, and a person.

knead the dough

dust with flour

place in a ziploc bag to rise for 30 minutes (or a bowl – i’d go with the bowl next time)

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: pistachio rolled baklava

I’ve been so wrapped up with work the past few weeks that I kept missing sunsets and sunrises, except to notice that I missed them. While I walked Kaweah Monday evening, I had one eye on the dog and another eye on the sky. A few clouds overhead began to tint gold as we walked back to the house and I got antsy. Potentially good colors. “Come on, little girl. We need to get moving.” But Kaweah was intent on sniffing every single twig, pine cone, and rock for at least ten seconds apiece. I glanced up and noted that the yellow had become intense with hints of orange. Looking further east, the clouds were orange and pink. I placed my hand on Kaweah’s side and tried gently guiding her in the direction of the house only to have her take interest in the next rock. Determined not to miss yet another sunset, I scooped her up in my arms and carried her across the yard into the house. “I’ll make it up to you with unlimited sniffing tomorrow,” I said, patting her belly as I set her down at the door.

i got my sunset

It’s easy to get sucked into work. Too easy. And that usually comes at the expense of other things. I got together with a bunch of girlfriends for a potluck this past weekend and realized that I hadn’t seen most of them in over a year. But I’m so glad I went because it was nice to just chill out, cook, and talk. I watched my friend’s son playing in the yard while we adults ate lunch on the patio. That carefree kind of play. I think carefree play has been missing from my life these days. Gotta fix that.

the joys of sweet youth

The dish I brought to the potluck was a dessert. Actually, I brought two desserts – some huckleberry ice cream and baklava. Baklava, I can make in my sleep. I’ve been making it since fourth grade which is… a long time. This time, the same old baklava just didn’t appeal to me, so I tried to mix it up a little.

butter, phyllo dough, sugar, pistachios, orange blossom water, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, extra pistachios

place the pistachios, spices, sugar, and orange blossom water in a food processor

pulse it to coarse sand texture

Pistachios cost much more than walnuts, but they are worth it. They are treasured for the gorgeous green color as much as for the flavor. I used organic raw unsalted pistachios to get the best results and added cardamom, nutmeg, and orange blossom water to the usual cinnamon. The motivation was that these additional flavors would complement the pistachios.

keep the phyllo sheets under a damp towel

brush butter on one half of a sheet

fold the sheet in half and butter the top

**Jump for more butter**