Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Sounds strange. Tastes divine.

I made this lovely batch for a certain pretty lady's wedding day mani/pedi party (which was a really fun idea, in case you're fresh out of shower themes!). Blueberry scones and coffee cake were the goodies du jour - two delightfully delicious breakfast treats for your next pre-lunch get together.

In addition to the breakfast tacos, fruit platter and mimosas (naturally), a couple of us baked some yummy treats to add to the spread.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake (thank you, Food Network!)

Ingredients:

Streusel
1/4 C sugar
3 packed tbsp brown sugar (I like light best)
1/2 C walnuts, chopped and toasted
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon


Cake
2 C unbleached flour (sift your flour - always sift your flour when baking)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Pinch of grated nutmeg
3/4 C unsalted butter, plus more for pan (bring to room temp)
1 C sugar
2 lg eggs (bring to room temp)
1 C sour cream (don't get low fat - you'll be sorry)
1.5 tsp vanilla extract (get Molina Mexican vanilla if available)

Kitchen tools:
Stand mixer (hand mixer is fine)
Flour sifter
Square baking dish (9x9 or 8x8 should work. I don't recommend round because you'll end up with fewer presentable pieces of cake - believe me, I learned the hard way)
Mixing bowls

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350.

Grease your pan with butter (generously, so you can get your cake out of the pan later).

Prepare the streusel by mixing the sugar, brown sugar, walnuts, vanilla, and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Set it aside.

Sift flour and whisk together with baking soda, salt and nutmeg. Set it aside.
 
In your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or with an electric hand-held mixer, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy.

Next, add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until incorporated.

Mix the vanilla with the sour cream in a separate bowl.

Begin to add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, alternating with the sour cream until just combined.

for you batter lovers, now is the optimal time to "test" your product :)

Spread half the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle with half the streusel.

Spoon the remaining batter on top and spread it out with a spatula.

Scatter the remaining streusel over the top of the batter.

Bake the coffee cake for 50 minutes, or until golden brown and a tooth pick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. I always take mine out right before it is done - you can't forget to account for out-of-oven bake time, which occurs on the cooling rack.

Cool on a rack for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Wifey Wednesday

The other day, a friend asked me a really great question...

How do you clean pearl earrings?

My friend. This took me a lot of research. I'm sure many of you grew up like me - pearls are worn daily, yet are forbidden to get wet. No pearls in the pool. No pearls in the shower. No perfume spritzes on pearls. If there is water or wetness, don't let it near your pearls.

So you can imagine that when I found this home remedy for cleaning pearls, which requires wetting the pearls, I was initially quite skeptical.

So I tried it for myself, and it is fabulous. Here's how it's done.

Prepare a bowl with mild soap and warm water (I used my Olay face wash, but you could also use mild shampoo or soap). Next, place your pearls at the foot of your pantyhose and secure them with a knot (the website I found this method on said you could also use a bridal veil.... hmm...). The pantyhose offer just the right amount of abrasion without scratching the surface of your pearls.

Gently rub off any residue:























Finally, remove your pearls and pat dry with a soft towel. You're done!























To be honest, I had never cleaned my pearl earrings... is that bad? This method is definitely wife approved, and would work well with other special jewelry too. If you're cleaning your strand of pearls, just be extra gentle so you don't snap the strand (!).

As promised...

Ingredients
1 packet of  Japanese nori sheets
1 bamboo sushi mat
chopsticks, of course
soy sauce2 C medium grain sushi rice
1/4 C white wine vinegar
1 (4-inch-square) piece dried kelp (konbu), wiped lightly with dry cloth 
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp kosher salt
2 1/2 C cold water
.5 lb sushi-grade fish filet (we used salmon... you can use tuna, shrimp, eel, wahoo... your favorite fish!)
1 avacado
1 cucumber
1 carrot

Directions

First, cook your sushi rice.

Place the rice in strainer and rinse under cold water until water runs clear. Drain well.

Transfer rice to heavy medium saucepan. Add 1 1/4 cups fresh cold water and kelp to pan. Cover and let soak 30 minutes. Uncover, discard kelp and bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook until water is absorbed and rice is just tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Let stand covered 15 minutes. Transfer rice to large glass or wooden bowl. Combine vinegar, sugar and salt in small saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Drizzle mixture over rice. Gently toss rice with vinegar mixture to coat. Cover rice with clean damp towel and cool completely at room temperature (do not refrigerate). 

Next, Julienne your veggies and fish.


Huh?


Chop into really skinny strips, like this:

Carrots do well bathing in soy sauce until you're ready to use them.

Then, place sushi mat on a work surface with slats running crosswise. Arrange 1 sheet nori, shiny side down, on mat, lining up a long edge of sheet with edge of mat nearest you. Using damp fingers, gently press 1/4 of rice onto nori in 1 layer, leaving a 1 3/4-inch border on side farthest from you.

(At this point, you can flip the nori and rice over so that the nori is now the top layer... however, we were out of sesame seeds so we just left the nori as is). 

 

Make a thin line of cucumber along the nori 1 to 2 inches from the edge closest to you. Drizzle some of the spicy mayonnaise mixture over the cucumbers, then spoon on the tuna and sprinkle with cilantro and scallions. 

Roll tightly, using the sushi mat to guide you.

Slice about 1/1/2 inches thick. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

Lost? Maybe Bobby Flay says it best after all. He will also show you how to make lots of tasty mayos and sauces to spruce up your rolls. Mmm!