Artisans in our Backyard: Kristi Jacobsen, baker of cakes

Kristi at our wedding with her husband and
 the incredible cake she made us.

Whenever someone shares a memory with Sean and I about our wedding, it inevitably revolves around one of three things: the church, the music, and (perhaps most often) the cake. Our wedding cake was crafted by my eldest sister, Kristi, and everyone keeps telling us it's one of the best cakes they've ever eaten. Growing up, I remember baking with Kristi; She always made the best chocolate chip cookies and she taught me to make buckeyes. The cakes started coming into play not until about six years ago when she showed up to my birthday with a cake frosted to look like a big orange pumpkin, and it was delicious, too! She's always been an avid reader, and says she really started reading and trying recipes back in the fall of 2005. "I was feeling challenged to stop watching TV for a month, and to fill the time I started baking. I started with the Cake Mix Doctor, and soon after I picked up The Cake Bible from the library and read it cover to cover. It's amazing what you can accomplish when you cut out TV." The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum is largely recognized for being an authority on everything from icing to fondant to actually baking cakes. And these recipes aren't for the faint of heart. One reviewer who claims to have culinary training still reports that these cakes take immense precision and can be quite difficult. 

fresh bread + dutch oven chicken

There's not too much to report these days at the old Oswald homestead. Perhaps our most notable triumph this week has been Sunday night's supper. I used my dutch oven for the first time to make a whole chicken we bought at the farmers market, and Sean baked fresh bread. Even though the temperature outside was well over 90, it made it feel like a nice fall day.

Sean with his loaves. This is right after he punched down the dough and separated it before the second rise.

And look at that! The bread tastes delicious, especially fresh. He made it with only whole wheat flour, so it's dense but very healthy.

The chicken was pretty easy, and I browsed a couple recipes online and then sort of winged it(no pun intended). I stuffed the bird with a quartered lemon, diced garlic, and some rosemary from the herb pot outside. Also, salt and fresh ground pepper inside and out.

Next that went into the dutch oven over some sliced carrots, celery, and onion with more rosemary. I remember sometime in my youth learning to stuff a clove of garlic under each wing, and so I did.

It went into the oven at 350 F for a little over an hour. I read online that the steam in the dutch oven would be very important, so not to open it during that time and also to put a sheet of foil over the top in addition to the lid to seal better.

When it came out it was very moist and delicious, though I did read one recipe that said to sear the chicken on the stovetop before putting it in to bake, and I think I'll do this next time. I missed the crispy skin. I removed the chicken to another dish and strained all the veggies out of the natural juices in the pot. Then I put the dutch oven over medium heat and stirred in some flour and cornstarch and a little chef paul's Poultry Magic, and it made a very savory gravy with a hint of fruitiness. Really made the dish in my opinion.