Lemon Raspberry Breakfast Rolls - My birthday treat!

Happy Holidays everyone!

Or at least I hope you had a good one. Personally, my holidays could have gone better. My date fell sick and that kind of bummed me out. Our dinner plans fell through and I felt the blues. I started listening to the blues and usually I'm quite upbeat. What made it worse was we had planned to meet on my birthday which was a few days ago. Sigh...

But, I realized, it's my birthday. I'm not going sit around moping. I'm going to take control of my life and do something. Carpe Diem! 

So I decided to do what I do best - bake. I had this recipe that I've been meaning to do for such a long long time and today was the perfect occasion.

Lemon Raspberry rolls....

Just let those words sink in or a second. My mouth was watering the moment I feasted my eyes on those three words. A sunny dish to lighten up my day and match my sunny personality (hey it's all relative here...)

Recipe #3 - Rosemary Ciabatta bread

I love Ciabatta bread. I go several times a week to the nearby Trader Joe's and grab myself a loaf of their par-baked bread. Usually to make an amazing Panzanella tomato bread salad (which will be coming in a bonus post soon).

But then I asked myself - since I have been making breads for the last few weeks, why can't I make this one as well?

Ciabatta bread, here I come.....

Recipe #2 - Orange Brioche Bread

I love the holidays - Christmas/Hanukah/Kwanza -  every single day. I can feel the holiday spirit oozing from every person I meet. The joy, the cheers, the drinks, the food, and the happiness just invigorate me.

I need the energy too - I’m chugging along through the book and I wanted to take it up a notch. I’ve been baking cookies for the last month or two, and I missed one of my baking pleasures – breads.

The book from the Culinary Institute of America is famous partly because of the fact that they have amazing recipes on their breads and detailed instructions on how to proof and bake each one.

So I decided to start off with something tough and challenging (between you and me, it was pretty simple) – Orange Brioche Bread. This is the perfect holiday bread to make for your family.

Recipe #1 - Double Chocolate Bing Cherry Cookies

If you saw my last post, my goal was to go through my 1st edition 1000 page book from the Culinary Institute of America for baking and pastry. Well here goes.....

My first recipe from the book.... Page number 326.

Double chocolate Bing Cherry Cookies.....

Yes, I saw you do a double take and rightfully so. They are absolutely delectable.

A New Phase begins .... my own Baking Challenge

Hey all,
So I was looking back and I realized that it's been a little more than a YEAR since I started. Omg! One year! Can you believe it?

Thank you to all who have stopped by so far and inspire me to keep going.

I've loved making every single baking recipe so far, but now that I've gotten my feet wet, it's time to take it to the next level....

Pumpkin bread with cream cheese filling

Cheesy goodness and thanksgiving wrapped together gives you this......

.... Pumpkin bread with a cream cheese filling.

Pumpkin Butterscotch cookies!

Hey all,
I know that your first reaction to this image is... where is the pretty picture? Plates of cookies should be what we stare at. Not a bag of three cookies. Well, funny story.....

Thanksgiving - I give thanks to gingersnaps

Hey all,
Thanksgiving is finally upon us - in one short week! I'm excited and surprised as to how quickly time has passed by.

Desserts play an important part in Thanksgiving. They signify the end of an amazing meal and if you end on a bad note, then it leaves the event kind of flat.

Also this is the perfect way to use up all of that excessive pumpkin that you collected and froze during thanksgiving when you were carving those pumpkins into vampires ghouls or ghosts.

One of the most traditional holiday cookies (particularly at Thanksgiving) is the ginger-snap...

Toasted Coconut Macaroons

Hey everyone,
So I'm on a roll here with cookies. I think the one person who would probably love me at this point (apart from the nurses and staff at the hospital), would be this character.

I mean this lovable guy loves cookies and who can argue with that? Last week, I had the amazing mini chocolate chip cookies, which is the traditional Cookie Monster cookie. I hope I can tweak tradition and convince him to have these equally delectable treats....

Toasted Coconut Macaroons

Amazing Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hey folks,
Short post today. I'm enjoying the Clinton Foundation Concert on Yahoo! and it's pretty darn amazing, so that's keeping me occupied.

Last week for the hospital shift, I was trying to figure out what I could make that wouldn't take too much time, but would be worthy of giving to a staff of awesome nurses and physicians who help me so much during my shift.

I landed upon a recipe from Smitten Kitchen (of course my go-to-guide).....

I'm back with Warm Brown Sugar Cookies

Hey all,
I missed you guys so much. Things have been crazy the last few months and you have been patient with me. And patience is always rewarded. Trust me on that.

I rushed to grab these brown sugar cookies and that was a big mistake. Suffice to say, I will be more patient from now on.

Things have been fun - volunteering, medical school applications, dating, music festivals, and baking of course. Sometimes I wish I had more than 24 hours in one day and that I could go through these 24 hours without any sleep.

And warm brown sugar cookies will definitely not help you stay awake, especially with a cup of warm milk.

I promise to be back soon with crazy stories

Hey all,
I know I've been MIA for the last few months, but it has been a whirlwind, and I'll be back to share many stories with you.

Kartik

Nilla Vanilla - Vanilla Bean Pound Cake + Vanilla bean syrup + Vanilla glaze

Hey all,
It's been a hectic few weeks - new job + medical school applications + social life + volunteering = a very busy past few weeks.

But I have not forgotten you awesome folks - I've been busy baking stuff.

Today I will begin with the vanilla bean pound cake with a vanilla bean syrup with a vanilla glaze.

Nilla Vanilla time!

An amazing baking adventure

I'm sure that the title must have caught your eye, but you are going to have to read the whole thing to see where this adventure is going......

A new KitchenAid and say Holla to the Challah bread

Hey all,
So I got back very recently from Michigan where I had the most amazing time! Visiting Mackinaw island was a lot of fun and I got to ride around the island in a horse-driven carriage.

But the best part was when I got home only to find a box outside my place.

Lazy Saturday in Michigan, Potter Park Zoo, and White batter bread

So here I am in Michigan! And I love it! I'm getting to spend time with my family after the last six months, which have been hectic and tiring.

And although I love to travel and explore, I decided to take a little break on Saturday - I mean, we all need a lazy day, right? A small trip and baking some bread was the answer.

Coming from Yosemite and now off to Michigan

Hey all,
I'm off to Michigan! I'm UBER excited - a well-deserved vacation after a hectic six months of thesis dissertation, medical school tests, graduation, and other things. I'll keep you all posted soon with pictures of my trip to Yosemite - amazing!

Kartik

Graduation, Cocoa Brownies, and Support the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital! (Pretty please)

Hey all,
So I finally graduated this past Saturday! Boy, was the process long, but it was a lot of fun. My family and friends were there to cheer me on, and I loved every minute of it.

I know I've been lagging with my posts, but now I'm ready to catch up.

Last week, I had a bake sale for the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital as part of a fundraising event to raise money. I had a made a tray of these delectable cocoa brownies here.

New Recipes are coming! I promise!

Hey all,
Like I said in my last post, things have been getting quite stressful as I approach graduation - the final frontier. Today is going to be a hectic day, but at the end of it all, I'm going to be comforting myself with....

That will be unveiled tonight!

Kartik

Stress, Stress, and more Stress, but friends + Lady Gaga come to the rescue

So as I mentioned in my last post - it's been quite stressful lately. As graduation looms, I've been hectically trying to finish up my graduate work. Did I also mention that I'm leaving behind research to pursue a career as a physician? Some think I'm crazy, but I think I'm just passionate about being able to make a difference. But, it means I have to apply to medical school and that's exactly what I'm doing right now. Between that and hospital shifts that I'm getting ready to start soon, life gets quite stressful.

But I'm lucky. And let me tell you why.....

Chewy Chocolate chip and Almond cookies

So things have been a little crazy around here. I've been trying to wrap things up at Stanford before I graduate in June - I'm excited about that! So I haven't had much time to do a lot of baking. But here's a recipe that I tried a couple of weeks ago, that was really "interesting."

Chewy Chocolate chip cookies. I added slivered almonds to these to give it that extra flavor - plus I love nuts.

Homemade dark chocolate truffles, anyone?

Short post this week. I just got back yesterday and I wanted to get back into the groove of baking. I was thinking of something I could make for a good friend of mine that was easy and could be done ahead of time.

And then I came across the recipes for chocolate truffles.

Put out an A.P.B - Apple, Pear, Banana cobbler

 

Summer is on it's way. Can you believe it? It's almost May. How the time flies! We need to get ready to fit into our trunks and swimsuits. So, we need to start working out and eating healthy.

With the impending summer, many fruits are coming into season. Fruits are some of the most amazing delicacies that nature provides us. They are sweet, but not overly sweet and they fill you up, because they have tons of fiber. And they taste so good!

So the highlight how good fruits can be in a baked good, I decided to make a cobbler - specifically, a Apple, Pear, and Banana Cobbler. When you eat this cobbler, you will feel the warm comforting embrace of summer - I promise.

And it might help you get into those trunks.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake - Disaster strikes!

 
To err is human.....

That pretty much sums up everything about this post. I've always been posting recipes that were successful, but usually it involves a lot of trial and error on my part. Here is a recipe for a Pineapple Upside down cake, where I tried to get a bit too creative. The recipe is fine - I just made a mistake.

Mistakes always happen in the kitchen and it's a good thing (once in a while) - you learn something new when it happens and you don't do it again in the future.

I hope you learn from my mistake and don't make it with your cake - that would give me the satisfaction that I need.

Bittersweet chocolate and pear cake

 
It was a beautiful summer evening last year, when at the last minute, my friends called me over for a potluck dinner. A nice get-together is always a great thing and the weather was perfect for that. I agreed instantaneously.

But after hanging up, I panicked. What should I do? What should I make? I don't have time to go grocery shopping. What can I make?

Goat cheese and Chive Biscuit Drops

With all the sweet stuff that I've been making over the past several weeks, I decided to try out something more savory this time around. I had some left over goat cheese from my salad (a recipe for another day). Earlier that day, while randomly browsing through food blogs, I saw a recipe for Blue cheese and scallion drop biscuits on Smitten Kitchen and I said, "Why not do it goat cheese?"

Le Gateau Piege

So I love Clotilde - I mean her food blog - Chocolate and Zucchini. When I was just starting out - (getting my feet wet in baking), Chocolate and Zucchini was one of the first food blogs I encountered while exploring the food blog world. Clotilde's anecdotes and her encounters with food were (and still is) extremely interesting and one can feel the enthusiasm and her passion in her food. Her blogging is also filled with humor - both subtle and clear.

Now, I'm a sucker for French cakes with cool titles.

One of the first recipes I saw in her blog was the recipe for an orange cake, known as Le Gateau Piege.  Looking at the list of ingredients, I was surprised to find that there weren't very many - which is always great thing, since it means less money to spend.

Spring comes bearing a Blood Orange Crostata

So spring finally hit California this past week. It was absolutely gorgeous. The sky was clear, the sun was shining brightly, and the birds were chirping. I woke up this morning feeling invigorated, and after I saw this in my potted plant,  I felt good.

Feeling inspired by the moment, I decided that I should close winter and welcome spring with a tart that suits this transition - A blood orange crostata.

The reason I loved this tart is because even though this is baked citrus, it tasted like blood orange jam, just pure heaven. And I fell in love when I opened the oven and saw a golden brown crust with the blood orange juice just bubbling.

A Gorgeous Fruit Tart

When I was taking pictures of the fruit tart that I baked, I almost felt like the paparazzi taking pictures of celebrities on the red carpet. Can you notice the flash in the second picture? But then again this fruit tart is worthy of that kind of attention.

Apple Cinnamon Buttermilk cake - a solution to a cold day!

Cold + Windy weather = Baking
Baking + Ingredients - Not enough time = To-go recipe for Buttermilk Apple Cake
Baked Buttermilk Apple Cake - one piece = Warm home + delicious baked good + One happy stomach

Nature's Mysterious Bounty

So I walking down the aisle of a grocery store of a supermarket, when something caught my eye. It was so imperfect, that it was absolutely beautiful. It's rare to see these variations. I don't know the cause - if it was genetic or environmental, but I just had to post it up .....

Ich Bin ein Deutscher Schokoladenkuchen

No, I'm not fluent in German .... yet - maybe I need to eat more food to learn the language.
Roughly translated, it's "I'm a German Chocolate cake."

What do you do when the weather is like this .....

When it rains ..... you pour ginger chai tea! This is so warm and comforting when it's pouring outside (quite heavily in Northern California right now). And might I add, it's quite addicting and delicious. 

Ina Garten's Date Nut Loaf

 

Hey all,
So I was watching Food Network the other day and I've come to the realization that Ina is absolutely awesome. It seems that others in the food blog world tend to agree. I mean who would not be drawn to her delicious food, her charming personality, and her culinary experience.

And who could argue against her idea that using great vanilla extract and good quality ingredients with a good recipe gives a great product.

To prove that point, I decided to make one of her recipes on Date nut loaf bread.

Firecracker Cornbread and close cousins

Hey all,
I'm on FIRREEE this week! Hot, more like it. Not me, but the firecracker cornbread that I made from 101Cookbooks.com - my favorite all veggie food blog.

Strawberry Bread

Hey all,
So here's the deal - I love strawberries - they are sweet, red, and delicious. So it's no surprise that when I saw the words "Strawberry bread" on Joyofbaking.com - my to-go website for learning something new everyday - I decided to make it.

Decadent French Eclairs!

Hey all,
My fingers are tingling from just writing this post. It's been a while since I last blogged and now I'm ready to get back into the game. For this coming week, I'll be posting multiple recipes that I tried over the past several to procrastinate from doing my thesis dissertation.  The results were quite pleasing.

Let the fun begin with one of the most decadent desserts - French eclairs. This was as much fun to make as it was to eat. Also the pate choux is one of the most basic fundamentals for any kind of cream puffs.

Welcome back!

Hey all,
Sorry for the long hiatus! I know it's been a couple of months since we parted. But, before you yell at me or look at me with disappointing eyes, I have good news.

1. I finally found an apartment I like! God, those few months were hectic.
2. I finished my thesis dissertation! I'm now one step closer to getting my Ph.D and graduating this summer!
3. I tried many new recipes and I intend to post them a few a week!
4. Changed the title of my blog

Hopefully, I can repair our broken relationship with more baked goods.

Maybe with something chocolatey - Fitting, since it is Valentine's day - and so much better than a bunch of roses.

Happy Valentine's day - remember, chocolate is considered an afrodisiac in many cultures.

Enjoy and welcome back.
Kartik