December 2022 » Hummingbird Excessive

Howdy!

How was all people’s Thanksgiving vacation? Did all people survive the cooking marathon?

Erlend and I historically rejoice with an “Asian-style” Thanksgiving. We normally swap out the standard Thanksgiving turkey dinner for an Asian-y principal and sides. In years previous, we’ve celebrated with Peking duck (we tried making it at house with out nice outcomes, and finally simply resorted to ordering takeout from the numerous wonderful Chinese language locations once we lived in San Francisco and New York). In the event you’re actually interested by what that appears like, you possibly can see the Asian-style Thanksgivings I blogged about in 2014 and 2015.

Up to now few years, nonetheless, we’ve swapped the duck for Korean bo ssam. Erlend likes to make use of the recipe from the momofuku cookbook (which can be obtainable on the New York Occasions Cooking web site), whereas I put together the edges and dessert. This 12 months, I made scallion buttermilk biscuits (I added scallions to my favourite biscuit recipe from Bon Appetit, although I’m undecided I might advocate doing so—the biscuits didn’t rise as effectively) with gochujang sizzling honey butter, a meat-less model of this steak salad with fish sauce and mint (I swapped out the steak for roasted butternut squash), and Korean corn cheese (with a recipe I tailored from Spoon Fork Bacon).

For dessert, I deviated from our Asian theme. I used to be initially going to make one among my favourite Thanksgiving pies—both my model of Libby’s traditional pumpkin pie, this chocolate chess pie, or this black backside chocolate pecan pie—however I had this intense yearning for banana pudding. Particularly, the well-known banana pudding from Magnolia Bakery. I hunted down the recipe, and whipped up a sufficiently big batch to feed greater than a dozen individuals. It was scrumptious, however I used to be severely freely giving pints of the stuff for days. I’m considering of growing a small batch model of the recipe to publish on Hummingbird Excessive subsequent 12 months. What do you guys suppose? I’m personally stoked!

What To Anticipate on Hummingbird Excessive in 2023

Now that it’s December and we’re about to wrap up 2022, I need to inform you about some adjustments I’m making subsequent 12 months:

However in the event you guys like these kinds of recaps and hyperlink sharing, please let me know! I’ve lengthy thought-about beginning a extra informal and private electronic mail e-newsletter with related content material. So please let me know if that’s one thing you’re excited by and would need to subscribe to!

In Case You Missed It: New Recipes and Posts

Right here’s a listing of every thing I revealed on Hummingbird Excessive in November. I really didn’t spend a whole lot of time growing new recipes—as an alternative, I targeted on making fast tutorials for fashionable Thanksgiving recipes:

• Swedish Princess Layer Cake. This was one of many new recipes I revealed final month in celebration of Hummingbird Excessive‘s eleventh birthday!!! I nonetheless can’t imagine I’ve been baking for this weblog since 2011. Wild. Watch a sneak peek of the recipe on Instagram and TikTok, too.
• Libby’s Pumpkin Pie Recipe (Made Higher!). An outdated(ish) however gold recipe on Hummingbird Excessive that’a preferred each Thanksgiving! It’s principally the traditional Libby’s pumpkin pie recipe on the again of a can, however with some very minor updates (like pre baking the crust and waterproofing it! and including an additional egg to the filling!) to make it higher. Watch a sneak peek of my updates to the recipe on Instagram and TikTok.
• Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls. Watch a sneak peek of the recipe on Instagram and TikTok, too.
• Pumpkin Pie, Your Approach. AllRecipes interviewed their favourite bakers (together with yours actually!) about our favourite methods to customise a easy pumpkin pie recipe. I made mine with a toasted meringue marshmallow topping! Extremely advocate.
• Chocolate Chess Pie. One other Thanksgiving favourite on Hummingbird Excessive. Even regardless of my loyalty to my model of the Libby’s pumpkin pie recipe, I’m not the most important pumpkin pie girlie. I’d a lot reasonably have this chocolate chess pie (which I might’ve made for Thanksgiving, had my yearning for banana pudding not destroyed my urge for food for every thing else). Watch a sneak peek of the recipe on Instagram and TikTok.
• Black Backside Chocolate Pecan Pie. After the chocolate chess pie, this is likely to be my favourite Thanksgiving pie. The recipe instructs you so as to add a layer of chocolate ganache to the underside of a standard pecan pie. Why? The chocolate “waterproofs” the pie crust towards the pecan filling, conserving it crispy. Plus, you get chocolate in your pecan pie filling! Be taught extra on Instagram and TikTok.
• How To Get Rid Of Bubbles In Your Pumpkin Pie Filling. My pal Erin from Cloudy Kitchen taught me this neat trick! Normally, after you’ve poured your pumpkin pie filling into the pie shell, you get a ton of bubbles within the filling. Though the bubbles don’t have an effect on the pumpkin pie’s style, they do make it ugly. So in the event you’re OCD like me and need every thing to look picture-perfect, watch the video on Instagram and TikTok for a really cool trick on how one can eliminate them!

An Replace About Hummingbird Excessive‘s Patreon Account

I first began my Patreon account in March 2020, as a direct response to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a scary time for lots of people (on a whole lot of completely different ranges!). 

Talking particularly from the angle of Hummingbird Excessive, it was a tough time financially. Lots of the corporations I labored with determined to pause or halt their upcoming tasks, amounting to a 3rd of my projected revenue for the 12 months disappearing in a single day. Advert income on the web site declined considerably, with many corporations withdrawing their promoting campaigns. And so as to add much more stress and uncertainty to my monetary state of affairs, my husband received furloughed from his healthcare job as a bodily therapist (which was deemed a non-essential medical service on the time).

So to assist mitigate these monetary blows, I made a decision to start out up my Patreon account. I watched as lots of you rallied to assist my work in so many various methods. Lots of you enthusiastically signed up for the completely different tiers, even opting out of the free books and sprinkles. And most significantly, all of you offered such useful suggestions—not solely on my recipes, but additionally on methods to higher run the Hummingbird Excessive group and make it higher for all.

And whereas I’ve totally loved the final two years collectively, I imagine that it’s time for this chapter of Hummingbird Excessive to shut. The worst of the pandemic seems to be over, and also you helped Hummingbird Excessive—and me!—survive via all of it. I can not stress how wonderful you all have been, and the way grateful I used to be (and nonetheless am and might be, endlessly and ever) for every thing.

Meals For Thought

This previous month, I additionally spent a LOT of time considering and studying about meals past the baking recipes you see on this weblog. Listed below are the concepts and points that resonated with me:

• “Meals Costs Soar, and So Do Corporations’ Income” in The New York Occasions. Just a few months in the past, once I received again from my journey to England, I posted a reasonably controversial Instagram Story sequence on @hummingbirdhigh. Particularly, I used to be complaining that the identical carton of Oatly milk value twice as a lot in america (the place it value $4.99 USD) because it did in an upmarket grocery store in a hip a part of London (the place it value $2.24 USD).

  Just a few followers who labored within the agricultural and grocery store industries DMed me considerate messages that helped clarify the value disparities, in addition to quickly rising prices in america. They pointed to provide chain points, rising costs of uncooked elements and supplies, and elevated/unpredictable demand led to by the pandemic.

  Whereas I agree that these are actual points which are aggravating issues, it’s additionally eye-opening to learn the New York Occasions article I linked to above. The article reviews that many meals corporations are experiencing file earnings, with earnings coming from the elevated costs of their items and companies. Particularly, they’ve elevated their costs a lot that it’s greater than made up for the any value will increase led to by the will increase in elements, supplies, labor, and every thing else.

  I don’t have a lot to say aside from this: so when precisely are we beginning the revolution?

• “The Nice British Bake Off Backlash Has Reached a Boiling Level. Can the Present Be Saved?” in Time Journal. I’m the type of one who waits for all of the episodes of The Nice British Bake Off to air, after which binges them . However sadly doing so implies that I get to listen to about all of the controversies—like Mexican Week!—with out actually seeing or understanding the total context.

  And after watching so many TikToks and studying many think-pieces (like this one! or this one!) about how offensive Mexican Week was, I braced myself for the worst. However then I watched the whole season over Thanksgiving and realized it wasn’t so dangerous? Like, sure, Paul Hollywood undoubtedly did the contestants a disservice by making them COOK tacos versus bake one thing… however all in all, the contestants have been respectful and educated on the challenges that gave them the chance to analysis the delicacies and nation beforehand.

  So whereas I do suppose that The Nice British Bake Off is previous its prime (they actually ought to’ve stop when Mary Berry, Mel, and Sue departed the present), I believe a lot of the points and criticisms may be attributed to the judges. We’d like some contemporary, younger judges on the present—the sort who don’t suppose that peanut butter and jelly or maple and bacon is a weird mixture, and are well-traveled sufficient to have tried Japanese cheesecake and know that bao is Chinese language (not Japanese). Idk. Simply my two cents.

Lastly, On A Lighthearted Word

However that’s all, people!

As I stated earlier than—that is the final of this type of weblog publish (for now, not less than). I’d be remiss with out some type of sentimental ship off, so right here we go: I’ve loved writing these posts immensely, and I sincerely hope that you simply’ve loved studying them as effectively.

Have a very good vacation season, and let’s preserve baking in 2023!

XO
Michelle