Elliott and Lara - Cooking

Cinnamon Girl

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:08:00 -0500

This was written by lara on elliottandlara.com.

I wanted to start a tradition of cinnamon/orange rolls for October General Conference, so I spent last week looking at different recipes, deciding at the last minute on one from King Arthur Flour. A lot of butter later, I had these to show for my work.

A little more butter, a little more sugar, and I had these babies.

I made a lot so we could buy friends with the valuable currency of baked goods.

We'd hoped to deliver the goods before 11:00 conference started, but we weren't ready in time so we decided to deliver them between sessions. I didn't want them getting hard during the two hour wait, so I put them back in a slightly warm oven with a pan of water to keep them nice and soft. For good measure, I also spritzed them with water from a spray bottle.

Now, about six months ago I bought a four-pack of spray bottles from Costco, identical except for the bottles' color accents. I use them as water bottles for plants and laundry (and sometimes cooking) and for homemade and reconstituted household cleaners. Perhaps you see where this is going.

Once the orange and cinnamon rolls were in the oven, I grabbed the bottle next to the stove to give them one last mist before I let them be. *mist* *mist* *mist mist* Then in one of those slow-motion realizations, the slight smell of lemon verbena tells me something's not right. I wasn't spraying water but Mrs. Meyer's All Purpose Cleaner on the cinnamon rolls that were supposed to make us friends.

I shriek and Elliott rushes in, frantic to know which family member just died. I'm standing there, horrified, but manage to tell him, between sobs and giggles, what I've done.

After spending hours making almost sixty orange and cinnamon rolls, I was determined someone outside of our house was going to enjoy them. Luckily there were enough that weren't in the oven with their ill-fated brothers that we managed to deliver a couple plates of non-cleansed goodies, but if we never manage to have more than 2 friends in Houston, we'll all know why.

Maple Bacon Ice Cream

Sun, 08 Mar 2009 23:36:00 -0500

This was written by elliott on elliottandlara.com.

*Evil mad scientist cackle*

Lara and I were discussing—actually, I don't know what we discussing at the time. Maybe this idea was unconsciously inspired by the Bacon Explosion. Or the must-try bacon-wrapped date (no seriously, must try).

Maple. Bacon. Ice Cream.

You know it would be criminal not to act on that sort of inspiration when it comes [1]. After one false start [2], this is what I came up with tonight. I think it was inspired by the homemade lollipops I made with my mom as a kid.

INGREDIENTS:

4 strips of bacon
1/2 cup mountain spring water (just kidding; use the tap)
1/4 tsp maple extract [3]
1/8 cup white sugar
2 cups Breyer's vanilla ice cream

Cook bacon on a frying pan until crispy. Cool and crumble. Set aside.
Bring 1/2 cup of water to boil, mixing in 1/8 cup of sugar and 1/4 tsp maple extract. Boil on med-high for 5-8 minutes. Set aside all but a small amount (~1/8 cup?).
Mix bacon crumbles into remaining candy mixture. Stir to coat. (I had a little too much liquid, and needed to add some sugar to get a good consistency, although that made the final candy a little grainy.)
Cool bacon/sugar mixture in the refrigerator. When sufficiently cool, break into small chunks with a fork. Fold the bacon candy crumbles into 2+ cups of ice cream. Use the set aside maple syrup as an additional topping, if desired.

The bacon taste comes second, but it is unmistakable. I'll let Lara provide a critique in the comments section.

[1] I've purposefully avoided googling "maple bacon ice cream" out of fear that its already been done—and also so I'm not influenced by any other person's methods. Also, I'm a little embarrassed by this recipe, because Lara and I don't eat a lot of meat (however we do usually keep some chicken, shrimp, and bacon in the freezer to supplement or flavor the occasional meal).

[2] I thought I'd be clever and make a maple marinade on the bacon, which seemed to work well, until it came time for cooking. The maple extract quickly burned, and the bacon was not salvageable.

[3] We have the real stuff, but it's much too precious for the Phase I Maple Bacon Ice Cream trial.

Brie Apple Nutella Croissant

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 13:51:00 -0500

This was written by elliott on elliottandlara.com.

We woke up this morning buried in snow.

I'm now just getting to work, having spent a lazy morning and lunchtime in my slippers, so Lunch Break will be a bit unconventional today. But what better way to kick off the column than to talk about, well, a great lunch?

Below is a sandwich I created today that will likely become a family staple. The three flavors and textures complemented each other perfectly; I was worried that the nutella would drown out the brie, which happily wasn't the case. While I have no doubt this particular configuration has been concocted before (nothing new under the sun, as they say), I'm pretty proud of it. (This is Elliott writing, not Lara, who doesn't have her natural knack for freestyling in the kitchen.)

What I recommend:
Slice the croissant and give it a moderate toasting. Spread a thin layer of nutella (let it melt a bit on the toasted croissant to assist spreading) on both sides of the croissant; too much, and you'll lose the balance of flavor (but you want a good coating). Slice an apple (we had Fujis on hand) into quarter-inch thin slices, and make a single layer on one half of the croissant. Slice equally thick pieces of Brie cheese on the other. Put sides together (I hope I'm not patronizing you, dear reader. Indulge me by letting me feel like a chef). Take a bite--and enjoy the ratatouillesque fireworks.

Feel free to give us your ideas, suggestions, links, and all other things brie, nutella, and croissant related. For more inspiration, visit our friends' blog and search for "nutella."