Baking with Julia – Strawberry Bourbon Upside-Down Cake

Again, just like yesterday – so late. Supposed to have this baked and blogged by Tuesday but whatever. It is what it is. I made this last night and I’m really pleased with how it turned out. Not only is this late, but it’s actually supposed to be several small little cakes and they’re supposed to be made with rhubarb, not strawberries. Obviously I took a slight detour. I’m all about working with what I’ve got these days.

We had a long winter here in WI and unfortunately rhubarb is not readily available yet. When I went to the grocery store I used my points (does anyone actually believe this saves $$? Obviously things are more expensive all the time to make up for these random freebies right?) to get some free strawberries and thought they might make an apt substitute. I’ll take any excuse to use my cast iron skillet so that’s what happened.

Sliced strawberries nestled in bourbon-laced caramel? Yes, please! The butter cake came together with no issues although I did have to substitute Greek yogurt in for the creme fraiche since I didn’t have that or sour cream. But really, there’s not a whole lot to say about this little cake. You can really use any fruit you have on hand (clearly) and as long as you don’t burn it or really mess up on turning it out onto a cake plate, you’re golden man.

Topped with a little homemade whipped cream and fresh mint from the garden, this simple cake is dessert perfection. The simplicity was especially nice for me since I’m coming off a weird stomach bug and haven’t eaten much of anything in the last week. Somehow I did manage to eat a small piece last night and another one for breakfast today. When you’re sick you can do things like eat cake for breakfast. It’s a thing. If you want to try your hand at this one, visit Erin’s blog for the recipe.

A final note: bourbon helps cure what ails you.

French Fridays with Dorie – Creamy Mushroom & Egg Burrito

So not only is this almost a week late, I made it into a burrito. How’s that for tardiness and thinking outside the box? I came home from work today and just felt like catching up. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any bread or any way to get to the store and though I’ve waxed poetic about how much I love baking bread, neither Candy the mixer nor I were up for it tonight. So what could I use for a replacement?? The only bread-like substance in the house was a bag of tortillas in the fridge and voila! this weird little burrito was born.

Up until just a few months ago, this picture would never have been taken in my kitchen. I have never been a huge mushroom person. I could take them in small doses and cut up very tiny but big ol’ hunks of baby bellas like these? Nah uh. Not gonna happen. But then, someone made me this Creamy Basil Chicken with Mushrooms and I discovered that when covered in butter and cream, these suckers can be pretty damn good. Granted, if you cover almost anything in butter and cream the flavor will improve, no? So anywho, I was all on board for this mushroom dish especially because I have never poached an egg before and I was really excited to try it. I think I even did it right! Dorie’s instructions seemed a lot simpler than this:

Who doesn’t love Chris Messina by the way? Is everyone watching The Mindy Project? It’s probably my favorite new show of the year. I love it and I love him. Paging Dr. Danny Castellano, heart palpitations up in here!  And if you’re looking to just dip your toe in the pool Danny Castellano is My Gynecologist is probably the funniest episode so far in my humble opinion. But anyway, back to  food – so the mushrooms got sauteed in some butter and olive oil with a shallot & a little salt & pepper and then doused in a smidge of cream. I’m finally able to use herbs from my little herb garden (thanks Mother Nature!) so I threw in chives and mint to give this a little pop of flavor. I used a heated tortilla for the base and built myself a fancy little French burrito. And was it tasty you ask? Oui, oui!