I woke up this morning at 8:00 AM (which for me is sleeping in) with a full four-day weekend ahead. I cherish mornings like this, and I thought it was only fitting that I choose a breakfast fit for the occasion – an almond croissant (the proper kind from a traditional French bakery) and a cup of coffee. It was a busy week at work and last weekend was filled with the fun (yet long days) of BlogHer Food ’11 in Atlanta. It was nice to have a morning to decompress without worrying about where I had to be or get done. It’s during moments like this and the experience I took back from BlogHer Food that I truly realized why food is a main source of inspiration in my life.
I started this blog so I could share my belief that food is more than a meal – it’s an experience. I always knew that my creativity and my ideas were always brought to life when it came to a topic of food, and while I knew this I never truly understood why I was connected to food. I didn’t grow up with a mother that loved to cook and I didn’t even find my true place in the kitchen until I was about 16 –years- old. Yet, I always had a passion for food and I trusted that it would lead me in the right direction if I followed it. I know that whenever I see take-out pizza I remember family pizza nights from my childhood and baked goods bring to life the comfort of a cozy bakery, no matter where you are. With every bite, taste and nosh I am inspired to create something new, whether it’s bringing new flavors to the table or simply admiring the beauty that food can carry. Whenever I look at a mango I can’t help but admire the beautiful flesh that appears with a color that can only appear in nature. That first bite of sweetness takes me back to summer days, and true goodness that makes you feel nourished inside and out.
At BlogHer Food this realization became even clearer as I was surrounded by bloggers who felt this exact same passion for food. They craved not only to taste food, but also experience it and connect through it. The main message I took back from BlogHer Food (even though there were plenty to choose from) is the importance of failure. It receives a negative connotation, because it’s a disappointment or a sign of weakness. No one wants to fail and I strive every day to prevent it from happening, but no matter how hard I try I can never be perfect and mistakes occur. I hate failure as much as the next person, but through discussions at BlogHer Food I continually heard the word failure brought up, but it wasn’t apart of a negative context. Failure was constantly connected with the word growth, because through failure we discover more about ourselves than we often can through success. It inspires us to think outside of the box, and lights a new fire to push even harder. A recipe can always come out unexpected even after making it 100 times – but it’s through these obstacles and challenges of cooking/baking that I’ve discovered unexpected treasures. I will continue to strive for success – but when failures emerge I will no longer let them define me, because more often than not there is something sweeter waiting on the other side.
Just because I hate to send you off without a recipe, I think these Homemade Oreos from Smitten Kitchen are a great treat to kick - off your Memorial Day weekend.
Homemade Oreos
Recipe From: Smitten Kitchen
For the Cookie:
1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1cup sugar
1 ¼ stick unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
For the Filling:
¼ cup unsalted butter
¼ cup shortening
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
In a food processor, mix together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar. While pulsing on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue mixing until the dough starts binding together.
Place rounded teaspoons of the dough on parchment lined baking sheets. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes and rotate the baking sheet halfway through the cooking time.
While the cookies are baking make the filling. Combine the shortening and butter in an electric mixer and begin to blend. Gradually mix in the sugar and vanilla. Mix until the frosting is light and fluffy.
When cookies are cooled, begin to assemble the sandwiches. If you want perfection, fill the cookies using a pastry bag and pipe the filling into the center of the cookie, about teaspoon size. Press the cookies together to the frosting spreads throughout the entire sandwich. However, if you are in a rush I spread the frosting on with a butter knife and it worked just fine. As you can tell by the pictures, they still looked extremely tempting J
