Just like Stella used to make...

Not Much Baking Going On-A late TWD entry

2008-07-27T13:20:00.008-04:00

I just don't feel like baking much in the summer. The thought of heating up the house, just makes me get in the car and go the Dairy Queen along with everyone else in town. The lines at our local downtown Dairy Queen are 10 or so people long these days.

But as I clean our my fridge to go on vacation next week (another reason I have not been baking)I came across the ingredients to a recent TWD, cherries, rhubarb and plums. So I baked up a batch of cobbler to go along with my Summer vegetable soup.

It is so beautiful, the deep reds and fluffy biscuit top. The house did not get to hot and I have a wonderful fruity treat.

Now I am going to make some zucchini muffins with our endless supply of garden zucchini.

New Kitchen Table

2008-07-19T11:09:00.009-04:00

I have one of those kitchens that have character but just suck to cook in. No counter space and strange set up. I love the old built in cabinets and crown molding but it is not functional. I also hate the cheap newer sink and counter. But changing things is so expensive so I have been making due.

When this house was built in the 20's the kitchen was not supposed to be the center of the house like it has become today. I have been looking for ways to change the kitchen ever since we moved in.
This week I got a butcher block center island/table and I am so pleased. I how have a great work surface that is next to the sink and the stove. If only my fridge was in the kitchen instead of the hall. But I am happy with the addition.

Last week I found an old bread box that I thought would fit under my counters but did not, but will work out great under the new table.

TWD-Apple/Cheddar Scones

2008-06-29T20:14:00.006-04:00

Scones are really a treat. I have a great neighborhood bakery, The New Day Bakery, that makes great scones. It is one of my weekend morning treats to my self. The owner Christine, makes all kinds of scones. Some of my favorites are Blueberry/Peach, Pear/Almond, and I love the cheese omelet scone. So this weeks TWD pick is both sweet and savory with the apples and cheese. A great snack, apples and cheese. Should only be better in a scone. I have never quit masters the slight hand it takes to make great biscuits/scones. So here we go again.

I only looked briefly at the list of ingredients and knew I needed butter milk but thought I had everything else. No. I did not note it called for dried apples, so I used fresh. Over all these were some of the best scones I have ever made. they rose nicely and the bottoms did not burn. Not to crumbly or to cake like.. I like the extra crunch from the corn meal, but using fresh apples did not impart much apple flavor. So I think the dried would have really added something. I think the basic scone mixture would go well with a ton of other flavors like cranberries or peaches or even spinach and feta cheese. Oh I also always bake my scones together and then slice them after baking. I feel they are much moister that way.

Oh,sorry for posting early, but I am sending my computer off to be fixed in the morning and will be unable to post on Tuesday.

Coconut Cream Merange Pie

2008-06-19T15:07:00.005-04:00

The other day we were in the car driving around Morgantown, teaching Will how to drive, and we heard a description of a dinner on NPR that included Coconut Cream Pie. The whole car said" Oh that would be soooooo good". So today I made the pie. I made a custard with whole milk, egg yolks and cornstarch. Added some butter and coconut extract. Used the egg whites to make the topping and added some shredded coconut on top. The extract I have is really great tasting and the custard is SO yummy!. My egg whites beat up nicely with the addition of cream of tarter and then browned on the peaks in the oven. I cant wait for dinner so we can all dig in.

TWD-Poached White Peach Tart

2008-06-09T16:04:00.005-04:00

I am back from the beach and ready to bake. I just got my computer back today and checked the choice for tomorrow and found the Strawberry tart. Well I have no strawberries but I do have some very nice white peaches and a small jar of peach jelly bought two weeks ago at our local farmers market. So my tart is going to be mad with peaches that I am poaching in a half red half white wine syrup and putting over the peach jelly and see what we get.

Bagels

2008-05-30T08:42:00.008-04:00

After a recent trip to NYC, my friend Molly and I were lamenting the availability of good bagels in Morgantown WV. We both had a few truly great bagels in New York. they are available everywhere and toasted with cream cheese, they are the best.

So I decided to make a batch and see if I could make some good ones.

I have to say, that like any yeast bread, bagels are very satisfying to make. I love the smell of yeast rising and baking. My house smelled soo so good. I did an overnight cold rise in the fridge and baked them on day two. I made plain and some with toasted sesames on the top.

This picture is taken when the bagels are in the water bath being boiled for a minute. This step gives the bagel the chewy outside texture and only takes a minute to do.

I only made a dozen. I used the recipe from Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan. I love Julia Child and Dorie Greenspan and this is a great cookbook. The bagels recipe is on pages 87-90. It is to long to type out, but this is a great resource and anyone interested in baking should get this book. I liked her advise to throw a few ice cubes in the bottom of your 500 degree oven when you put your bagels in to bake. It creates steam and helps the texture of your bagels while baking.

These bagels have come out of the water and I have brushed on some egg/water and coated them with sesame seeds. On my baking stone I put down some cornmeal the prevent the bagels from sticking. I like the added texture too.

Everyone should make bagels. They taste so good fresh and are no harder to make than bread.

My bagels had no real hole in the middle. In the recipe it says to make big holes before boiling and I thought I did, but after baking they were just indentations. Good for sandwiches though. These bagels were eaten so quickly that no sandwich got made with them.

TWD-Pecan Honey Sticky Buns

2008-05-25T21:24:00.010-04:00

This weeks Tuesday with Dorie recipe picked by Madam Chow of Madam Chow’s Kitchen has chosen… Pecan Honey Sticky buns. The buns are made with Dorie's wonderful brioche dough that we made the Raisin Snail's with a few months ago. Last time I had some trouble with the dough, combining the butter, but this time I softened the butter a bit more and used the bread hook and it was much easier to make. I froze half the dough to use later. My mom used to make pecan buns all the time when I was growing up and I love the flavors of pecans, cinnamon and honey syrup. My moms recipe was just a traditional yeast bread dough. I love the brioche dough in this recipe.

The syrup was easy to put together and I cut down a bit on the pecans. I love pecans but thought the amount in the recipe would overwhelm my kids.

The pecan buns can out great. The brioche dough melts in your mouth and the cinnamon filling was perfect.

I took some over to friends and they both said "Oh My God!" when they bit into them.

I will definitely make these again.

Pecan Honey Sticky Buns

Makes 15 buns
For the Glaze:
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces1/4 cup honey1-1/2 cups pecans (whole or pieces)
For the Filling:
1/4 cup sugar3 tablespoons (packed) light brown sugar1 tablespoon ground cinnamon3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
For the Buns:
1/2 recipe dough for Golden Brioche loaves (see below), chilled and ready to shape (make the full recipe and cut the dough in half after refrigerating it overnight)
Generously butter a 9-x-13-inch baking pan (a Pyrex pan is perfect for this).
To make the glaze: In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the brown sugar, butter, and honey to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring frequently to dissolve the sugar. Pour the glaze into the buttered pan, evening it out as best you can by tilting the pan or spreading the glaze with a heatproof spatula. Sprinkle over the pecans.
To make the filling: Mix the sugars and cinnamon together in a bowl. If necessary, in another bowl, work the butter with a spatula until it is soft, smooth and spreadable.
To shape the buns: On a flour-dusted work surface, roll the chilled dough into a 16-inch square. Using your fingers or a pastry brush, spread the softened butter over the dough. Sprinkle the dough with the cinnamon sugar, leaving a 1-inch strip bare on the side farthest from you. Starting with the side nearest you, roll the dough into a cylinder, keeping the roll as tight as you can. (At this point, you can wrap the dough airtight and freeze it for up to 2 months . . . . Or, if you want to make just part of the recipe now, you can use as much of the dough as you'd like and freeze the remainder. Reduce the glaze recipe accordingly).
With a chef's knife, using a gentle sawing motion, trim just a tiny bit from the ends of the roll if they're very ragged or not well filled, then cut the log into 1-inch thick buns. (Because you trim the ragged ends of the dough, and you may have lost a little length in the rolling, you will get 15 buns, not 16.) Fit the buns into the pan cut side down, leaving some space between them.
Lightly cover the pan with a piece of wax paper and set the pan in a warm place until the buns have doubled in volume, about 1 hour and 45 minutes. The buns are properly risen when they are puffy, soft, doubled and, in all likelihood, touching one another.
Getting ready to bake: When the buns have almost fully risen , center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Remove the sheet of wax paper and put the pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat. Bake the sticky buns for about 30 minutes, or until they are puffed and gorgeously golden; the glaze will be bubbling away merrily. Pull the pan from the oven.
The sticky buns must be unmolded minutes after they come out of the oven. If you do not have a rimmed platter large enough to hold them, use a baking sheet lined with a silicone mate or buttered foil. Be careful - the glaze is super-hot and super-sticky.
What You'll Need for the Golden Brioche Dough (this recipe makes enough for two brioche loaves. If you divide the dough in half, you would use half for the sticky buns, and you can freeze the other half for a later date, or make a brioche loaf out of it!):
2 packets active dry yeast (each packet of yeast contains approx. 2 1/4 teaspoons)1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch water1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch whole milk3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour2 teaspoons salt3 large eggs, at room temperature1/4 cup sugar3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature but still slightly firm
What You'll Need for the Glaze (you would brush this on brioche loaves, but not on the sticky buns):
1 large egg1 tablespoon water
To Make The Brioche: Put the yeast, water and milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and, using a wooden spoon, stir until the yeast is dissolved. Add the flour and salt, and fit into the mixer with the dough hook, if you have one. Toss a kitchen towel over the mixer, covering the bowl as completely as you can-- this will help keep you, the counter and your kitchen floor from being showered in flour. Turn the mixer on and off a few short pulses, just to dampen the flour (yes, you can peek to see how you're doing), then remove the towel, increase the mixer speed to medium-low and mix for a minute or two, just until the flour is moistened. At this point, you'll have a fairly dry, shaggy mess.
Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula, set the mixer to low and add the eggs, followed by the sugar. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes, until the dough forms a ball. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter in 2-tablespoon-size chunks, beating until each piece is almost incorporated before adding the next. You'll have a dough that is very soft, almost like batter. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue to beat until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes.
Transfer the dough to a clean bowl (or wash out the mixer bowl and use it), cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, 40 to 60 minutes, depending upon the warmth of your room.
Deflate the dough by lifting it up around the edges and letting it fall with a slap to the bowl. Cover the bowl with the plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator. Slap the dough down in the bowl every 30 minutes until it stops rising, about 2 hours, then leave the uncovered dough in the refrigerator to chill overnight. (After this, you can proceed with the recipe to make the brioche loaves, or make the sticky buns instead, or freeze all or part of the dough for later use.)
The next day, butter and flour two 8 1/2-x-4 1/2-inch pans.
Pull the dough from the fridge and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Cut each piece of the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each piece into a log about 3 1/2 inches long. Arrange 4 logs crosswise in the bottom of each pan. Put the pans on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat, cover the pans lightly with wax paper and leave the loaves at room temperature until the dough almost fills the pans, 1 to 2 hours. (Again, rising time with depend on how warm the room is.)
Getting Ready To Bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
To Make the Glaze: Beat the egg with the water. Using a pastry brush, gently brush the tops of the loaves with the glaze.
Bake the loaves until they are well risen and deeply golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the pans to racks to cool for 15 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the pans and turn the loaves out onto the racks. Invert again and cool for at least 1 hour.

TWD- Traditional Madeleines

2008-05-20T08:36:00.010-04:00

Up until this weekend, I have never made Madeleine's before. I love there shape and have always wondered about the texture and the flavor of these cookies. Well first off I would have to question if they are really cookies. They seem more like cake or muffins to me. Not that that's bad, but not at all what I was expecting.

My first batch came out overfilled and the shape did not seem like a Madeleine, but more like a strange muffin. The bottoms had OK shell imprint.

So my next batch I made sure to fill way less in each , but forgot to spray the pan so they were really hard to get out. These I tossed on some sugar. My last batch I overfilled again, and dipped the corners in a lemon icing.

I did get nice "humps" on the backs of the cookies. And they are very tender and springy. I was just disappointed in the edges. Maybe its the pan! Or maybe I just put to much batter in each mold.

Also in half of the batter I added the spices and it is a very nice flavor with the lemon.

I will be making more of these and trying different flavors. I am going to make the chocolate stuffed ones next I think.

Traditional Madeleine's
Source: Dorie Greenspan, Baking: From My Home to Yours

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
½ cup sugar
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¾ stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Working in a mixer bowl, or in a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the eggs to the bowl. Working with the whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat the eggs and sugar together on medium-high speed until pale, thick and light, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. With a rubber spatula, very gently fold in the dry ingredients, followed by the melted butter. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the batter and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours, or for up to 2 days. This long chill period will help the batter form the hump that is characteristic of Madeleine's. (For convenience, you can spoon the batter into the Madeleine molds, cover and refrigerate, then bake the cookies directly from the fridge; see below for instructions on prepping the pans.)
GETTING READY TO BAKE:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter 12 full-size Madeleine molds, or up to 36 mini Madeline molds, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Or, if you have a nonstick pan (or pans), give it a light coating of vegetable cooking spray. If you have a silicone pan, no prep is needed. Place the pan(s) on a baking sheet.
Spoon the batter into the molds, filling each one almost to the top. Don’t worry about spreading the batter evenly, the oven’s heat will take care of that. Bake large Madeline's for 11 to 13 minutes, and minis for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are golden and the tops spring back when touched. Remove the pan(s) from the oven and release the Madeline's from the molds by rapping the edge of the pan against the counter. Gently pry any recalcitrant Madeline's from the pan using your fingers or a butter knife. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool to just warm or to room temperature.
If you are making minis and have more batter, bake the next batch(es), making certain that you cool, then properly prepare the pan(s) before baking.
Just before serving, dust the Madeleine's with confectioners’ sugar.
Makes 12 large or 36 mini cookies

Serving: Serve the cookies when they are only slightly warm or when they reach room temperature, with tea or espresso.

Storing: Although the batter can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, the Madeleine's should be eaten soon after they are made. You can keep them overnight in a sealed container, but they really are better on day 1. If you must store them, wrap them airtight and freeze them; they’ll keep for up to 2 months.

No TWD but Magnolia Bakery in NYC

2008-05-12T16:15:00.008-04:00

I am going to have to skip the Florida cake chosen by Dianne of Dianne’s Dishes this week. I took a long weekend and went on a trip to New York City with my son and friend. I surprised him with tickets to a My Chemical Romance concert at Madison Square Garden. He was soooo happy. I decided I wanted to taste a famed cupcake from the Magnolia Bakery. This is a small storefront on Bleeker street in Greenwich Village. On the day we ventured out it was very rainy but found the bakery and each picked a cupcake from the self serve available. They were very yummy and brightened our day.

When ever in NYC make an effort to stop at the Magnolia Bakery. They also have the cutest t-shirts that say "Cupcakes Make You Happy" on the front and the bakery decal on the back. I got on in chocolate brown!

Oh and I do have Madeline pans so I am so excited to make these for next Tuesday!

TWD- Peanut Butter Torte

2008-05-02T15:49:00.007-04:00

This weeks recipe's by Elizabeth of Ugg Smell Food has chosen…Peanut Butter Torte on pages 282-283. Wow it was an amazing one. Everyone who took a bite loved this over the top torte.

Oh my! This is one recipe to be remembered. The taste of this peanut butter mouse is so good it is hard to put into words. The addition of the cinnamon and coffee adds a wonderful yet subtle dimension to this over the top good torte. I don't know anyone who would not like this dessert.

I made baby cakes instead of a 9" torte and they are so cute and delicious. I gave a few to neighbors and friends and they feel in love. Make this one and make it often.

Peanut Butter Torte
1 ¼ c. finely chopped salted peanuts (for the filling, crunch and topping)
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon instant espresso powder (or finely ground instant coffee)
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
½ c. mini chocolate chips (or finely chopped semi sweet chocolate)
24 Oreo cookies, finely crumbed or ground in a food processor or blender
½ stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Small pinch of salt
2 ½ c. heavy cream
1 ¼ c confectioners’ sugar, sifted
12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 ½ c salted peanut butter – crunchy or smooth (not natural; I use Skippy)
2 tablespoons whole milk
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate finely chopped
Getting ready: center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch Springform pan and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.
Toss ½ cup of the chopped peanuts, the sugar, espresso powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and chocolate chops together in a small bowl. Set aside.
Put the Oreo crumbs, melted butter and salt in another small bowl and stir with a fork just until crumbs are moistened. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the spring form pan (they should go up about 2 inches on the sides). Freeze the crust for 10 minutes.
Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then transfer it to a rack and let it cool completely before filling.
Working with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, whip 2 cups of the cream until it holds medium peaks. Beat in ¼ cup of the confectioners’ sugar and whip until the cream holds medium-firm peaks. Crape the cream into a bowl and refrigerate until needed.
Wipe out (do not wash) the bowl, fit the stand mixer with the paddle attachment if you have one, or continue with the hand mixer, and beat the cream cheese with the remaining 1 cup confectioners’ sugar on medium speed until the cream cheese is satiny smooth. Beat in the peanut butter, ¼ cup of the chopped peanuts and the milk.
Using a large rubber spatula, gently stir in about one quarter of the whipped cream, just to lighten the mousse. Still working with the spatula, stir in the crunchy peanut mixture, then gingerly fold in the remaining whipped cream.
Scrape the mouse into the crust, mounding and smoothing the top. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight; cover with plastic wrap as soon as the mousse firms.
To Finish The Torte: put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Leave the bowl over the water just until the chocolate softens and starts to melt, about 3 minutes; remove the bowl from the saucepan.
Bring the remaining ½ cup cream to a full boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and , working with a a rubber spatula, very gently stir together until the ganache is completely blended and glossy.
Pour the ganache over the torte, smoothing it with a metal icing spatula. Scatter the remaining ½ cup peanuts over the top and chill to set the topping, about 20 minutes.
When the ganache is firm, remove the sides of the Springform pan; it’s easiest to warm the pan with a hairdryer, and then remove the sides, but you can also wrap a kitchen towel damped with hot water around the pan and leave it there for 10 seconds. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Update on Polenta Cake

2008-05-01T17:27:00.002-04:00

I just wanted to add a photo of my cut cake and comment on the flavor. I added thyme to my cake as Dorie suggested and was very pleased with the results. It compliments the over all honey flavor nicely. It was just enough to add another dimension with over powering or making it savory. I would recommend adding the thyme or even rosemary or lavender to this cake in the future. Also serving it with the sweet creme fraiche and fig jam was really excellent.

TWD- Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake

2008-04-29T07:43:00.011-04:00

This week we are baking a honey cake picked by Caitlin of Engineer Baker has chosen…Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake. I am excited to taste this cake. The combination of cornmeal and ricotta and figs should be amazing. I added some thyme to is as per Dorie's suggestion and I think it will add a nice dimension. The batter sure tasted good! I have made a similar cake form one of Lynne Rosetta Kasper's cookbooks. It was a great chewy cake. I am taking this one to my book club tonight and will serve it with a fig compote and creme fraiche and hopefully some Earl Grey tea. Sounds good to me! I will post some pictures of the cut cake after my book club tomorrow. I cant wait to see the figs inside the cake!

Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake

About 16 moist, plump dried Mission or Kadota figs, stemmed
1 c. medium-grain polenta or yellow cornmeal
½ c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 c. ricotta
1/3 c. tepid water
¾ c. sugar
¾ c. honey (if you’re a real honey lover, use a full-flavored honey such as chestnut, pine, or buckwheat)
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 large eggs

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 10 ½-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom and put it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.
Check that the figs are, indeed, moist and plump. If they are the least bit hard, toss them into a small pan of boiling water and steep for a minute, then drain and pat dry. If the figs are large (bigger than a bite), snip them in half.
Whisk the polenta, flour, baking powder, and salt together.
Working with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the ricotta and water together on low speed until very smooth. With the mixer at medium speed, add the sugar, honey, and lemon zest and beat until light. Beat in the melted butter, then add the eggs one at a time, beating until the mixture is smooth. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are fully incorporated. You’ll have a sleek, smooth, pourable batter.
Pour about one third of the batter into the pan and scatter over the figs. Pour in the rest of the batter, smooth the top with a rubber spatula, if necessary, and dot the batter evenly with the chilled bits of butter.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. The cake should be honey brown and pulling away just a little from the sides of the panm, and the butter will have left light-colored circles in the top. Transfer the cake to a rack and remove the sides of the pan after about 5 minutes. Cool to warm, or cool completely.

Jelly Doughnut Muffins

2008-04-22T08:53:00.008-04:00

On one cool blog called Taste Spotting I found this recipe there for Jelly Doughnut Muffins. A great one. It only makes 12 muffins so next time I will double the recipe as my family ate them as soon as they came out of the oven.

Jelly Donut Muffins

2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbs baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
your favorite fruit jam
sugar for sprinkling over the muffins
1 Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2 Sift the dry ingredients together.
3 Mix in the eggs, oil, butter, milk and vanilla.
4 Grease the muffin pans. Fill the muffin cups almost halfway, carefully place about 1 tsp of jam in the center, and cover with a little more batter.
5 Sprinkle tops with sugar.
6 Bake for about 18 minutes.
7 Cool in pan on rack for about 5 minutes, then turn on out on rack to cool.
Yield: 9 muffins

Foodie blogroll

2008-04-14T20:01:00.002-04:00

I have joined The Foodie Blogroll. It is a great site to search for recipes and other blogs! Check it out at The Foodie Blogroll.

TWD Marshmallows

2008-04-10T12:33:00.010-04:00

I was excited when I saw this pick. How cool to make your own marshmallows. I am attending a baby shower this weekend so I decided to make a few batches of different fruit flavors. I made strawberry-rhubarb, raspberry and chocolate. The fruit ones both had a beautiful pink glow. Very subtle but beautiful. I forgot to put the 2T of corn syrup in the first batch but they seem to be fine. I wonder what the benefit or purpose of the corn syrup is, just to sweeten or for elasticity?

Overall a very simple and satisfying recipe. The only part that needs attention is the sugar with the candy thermometer. I sometimes have trouble cleaning the pan but just put water in the pan and boil on the stove for a minute or so and it is clean.

Unflavored gelatin is sorta unappetizing. Weird smell.

Spring in here!

Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of my finished cut marshmallows and they were eaten up quickly.

My Pantry

2008-04-09T09:09:00.010-04:00

I just found a new site called The Perfect Pantry:What a Food Writer Keeps in her Fridge, Freezer and Cupboards. I love looking at other peoples pantries. It is like taking a walk at night and looking in peoples windows. But a pantry in very revealing. What kind of flour do they use? Is everything orderly? Do they have a ton of junk food or canned goods? Very interesting.

So for all of you to make your judgements here is my pantry for all the world to see.

This is one of my favorite parts of my kitchen. It used to be a pull down ironing board. I do not iron, ever. So that came out and in its place I put a ton of small shelves to hold my spices and teas. I love this because nothing gets lost. They are at eye level. On the door I keep my calendar and menus and schedule for kids and stuff.

The cabinet next to the spices holds all our breads, cereals, crackers, chips and lunch stuff. It is also were I keep all my oils and vinegars and bottled sauces. This cabinet is much deeper and the shelves are adjustable. This is my main pantry space. It holds all my canned goods, flours, dried fruit, baking supplies, pasta and everything else. It has my pressure cooker and other seldom used cookware on top too. Its not to deep so I don't usually lose stuff.
The last part of my kitchen I would consider my pantry is a tall metal shelving unit next to my stove. It holds cookbooks, my microwave, pancake warmer, trays, a huge bag of rice to big to go some where else. Below the microwave are my pots and pans. In front of the cookbooks are salt and pepper and oil that I use every night to cook.

TWD-The Most Extraordinary Orange Cream Tart

2008-04-07T14:07:00.009-04:00

This weeks recipe chosen by http://startingfromscratch-mary.blogspot.com/, seemed straight forward but challenging when I read it. But I ended up having trouble with a few things. First off, I decided to make the orange cream instead of the lemon cause I was feeling lemoned out. I tried to find blood oranges but couldn't so I ended up with Cara Cara navel. They have a very orange almost red flesh and are very sweet. I loved zesting and rubbing the sugar. I think this is an essential step and really imparts a ton of flavor to your finished tart.

The crust came together nicely and was easy to work with. I decided to make mini tarts and put cut our stars on top so I also made tiny cookies. Dorie even mentions that the dough can go from not done to over done in a flash, but I totally burnt the stars and had no more dough, so I guess the tops will be bare. But I watched the mini tarts until they stated to brown and then removed them to cool. they even came out of the pans easily, which I was worried about cause mini pans do not have removable bottoms. But they are beautiful!

Making the cream was a bit challenging. I read about people having trouble reaching 180 degrees F, so I was worried. But mine came up to temperature pretty quickly, about 12 minutes, and smelled like an Orange Julius! I then strained out the zest and put the cram in a blender to cool. After about 10 or so minutes I started adding butter! My mom was over helping me and was shocked at the amount of butter. But oh the taste! I almost forgot to add the gelatin and put it in last, but i don't think it made a difference. the cream was not super thick when I put it in the fridge to cool, but in the morning it was crazy thick. It was difficult for me to put it in the tarts and make it look nice. I really need those cookies now!

Over all a really amazing dessert. the texture and flavor of the cream is amazing. It would make an over the top filling in a cake too. I will definitely be making this again. And the sweet crust. really great crumb and flavor and easy to put together.

The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart

1 cup sugar

Grated zest of 3 lemons

4 large eggs

¾ c fresh lemon juice (from 4-5 lemons)

2 sticks plus 5 T butter(10 ½ ounces) unsalted butter,

cut into tablespoon size pieces, at room temperature.

1 9-inch tart shell made with sweet tart dough

(see below).

Getting ready:Have a instant-read thermometer, a strainer and a blender (1st choice) or food processor at hand. Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in a saucepan.
Put the sugar and zest in a large heatproof bowl that can be set over the pan of simmering water. Off the heat, rub the sugar and zest together between your fingers until the sugar is moist, grainy, and very aromatic. Whisk in the eggs, followed by the lemon juice.
Set the bowl over the pan and start stirring with the whisk as soon as the mixture fees tepid to the touch. Cook the lemon cream until it reaches 180 degrees F. As you whisk- you whisk constantly to keep the eggs from scrambling- you’ll see that the cream will start out light and foamy, then the bubbles will get bigger, and then, as it gets closer to 180F, it will start to thicken and the whisk will leave tracks. Heads up at this point- the tracks mean the cream is almost ready. Don’t stop whisking or checking the temperature, and have patience- depending on how much heat you’re giving the cream, getting to temp may take as long as 10 minutes (note: TWD bakers report average of 20-30 and up to 40 minutes for this step…..and sometimes it never got above 160F but turned out ok!!)
As soon as it reaches 180F, remove the cream from the heat and strain it into the container of the lender (or food processor); discard the zest. Let the cream stand, stirring occasionally, until it cools to 140 degrees F, about 10 minutes.
Turn the blender to high (or turn on the processor) and, with the machine going, add the butter about 5 pieces at a time. Scrape down the sides of the container as needed as you incorporate the butter. Once the butter is in, keep the machine going- to get the perfect light, airy texture of lemon-cream dreams, you must continue to bend the cream for another 3 minutes. If your machine protests, and gets a bit too hot, work in 1-minute intervals, giving the machine a little rest between beats.
Pour the cream into a container, press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface to create an airtight seal and refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight. (the cream will keep in the fridge for 4 days or, tightly sealed, in the freezer for up to 2 months; thaw it overnight in the refrigerator)
When you are ready to assemble the tart, just whisk the cream to loosen it and spoon it into the tart shell. Serve the tart, or refrigerate until needed.

Daring Bakers Challenge: Perfect Party Cake by Dorie

2008-03-28T17:27:00.017-04:00

This is my first post for The Daring Bakers. This months recipe was selected by Morven of Food Art and Random Thoughts. Check our her blog and check out The Daring Bakers blog to see other peoples results.

WOW! What a cake. I loved every part of this cake. I have always wanted to make this kind of butter cream icing. My favorite bakery from home, Bethel Bakery had icing like this. Who knew it was so easy to make. For this challenge I stayed pretty true to the original. I used lime zest instead of lemon in the batter. I stuck with the raspberry preserves in the layers and also added fresh berries to the top of my cake.

I had a bit of trouble cutting the two cakes in half. I always cut unevenly, as you can see in the layers. It doesn't effect the taste, but visually is unappealling. I have seen people use dental floss and pull through the cake instead of cutting, maybe I will try next time.

I think the next time I make this cake I will just make a vanilla butter cream, or almond and put a custard or pastry cream in the layers. I think toasted almonds on the out side instead of coconut would be great too.

For the Cake:

2 ¼ cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups whole milk or buttermilk
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon pure lemon extract

For the Butter cream:
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Finishing:

2/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves,
Stirred vigorously or warmed gently till spreadable
About 1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9-x-2 –inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each with parchment paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

To make the cake: Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl. Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixing bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter and, working with the paddle attachment, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. Beat in the extract, and then add 1/3 of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk /egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs, beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good 2-minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated. Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool or 5 minutes, then unmold them and peel off paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.
To make the Butter cream: Put the sugar and egg whites in a heat proof mixing bowl, fit the bowl over a pan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like a shiny marshmallow cream. Remove the bowl from the heat.
Working with the whisk attachment, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth. Once all the butter is in, beat the butter cream on medium-speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes. During this time, the butter cream may curdle or spate-just keep beating and it will come together again. On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon Juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then add the vanilla. You should have a shiny, smooth, velvety, pristine white bitter cream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the butte cream and set aside briefly.
To assemble the cake: Using a sharp serrated knife, and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half. Put one layer cut side up in a cake plate. Spread it with on third of the preserves. Cover the jam evenly with about a quarter of the butter cream. Top with another layer, spread with preserves and butter cream and then do the same with the third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have butter cream left over). Place the last layer cut side down on the top of the cake and uses the remaining butter cream to frost the sides and top. Press the coconut into the frosting, patting gently all over the sides and top.
Taken from:
Baking: From My Home to Yours
Page 250-252 by Dorie Greenspan

Toasted Hazelnut Cream Pie

2008-03-28T17:05:00.005-04:00

For her birthday my mother received a package of fresh hazelnuts form her friend in Oregon. She was searching for a recipe to try and we decided upon Toasted Hazelnut Cream Pie, off of the Oregon Hazelnut Growers web site. It is very similar to a pecan pie, except for a layer of custard on the bottom and using a different nut. Over all, I was very pleased with the results. I did not like the crust, all shortening is not my favorite, but the flavor or the hazelnuts was great. To get fresh hazelnuts ready to eat you must first blanch them in boiling water with baking soda. The reaction causes the water to turn black! It is something else. the smell is similar to blanching green beans or maybe peanuts. Then you rum he nuts together to remove the skins and roast them in the oven.

Instead of cream cheese I used marscarpone. I also used Lyle's Golden Syrup instead of corn syrup. I love this stuff and would recommend trying it.

Hazelnut Caramel Pie

1-1/3 cups sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
3 tablespoons water
3 eggs
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1-1/2 cups roasted & chopped Oregon hazelnuts Combine flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt in bowl. Cut in shortening until uniform, but coarse. Sprinkle with water, toss with fork and press into ball. On lightly floured surface, roll out pastry 1-1/2 inches larger than inverted 9-inch pie plate. Fit into plate and trim 1/2 inch beyond edge of plate; fold under to make double thickness around edge and flute or trim even with edge; decorate with small pastry cut outs. Beat together eggs, sugar, syrup, 1/4 teaspoon salt and vanilla. Stir in butter and hazelnuts. Pour into pie shell. Bake in a 375 oven for 45 minutes, or until set in center. Cool. Hazelnut Cream Caramel Pie: Beat together 4 ounces cream cheese (softened), 1 egg and 2 tablespoons milk until smooth. Pour into pie shell. Bake in 375 oven for 15 minutes. Add caramel/nut filling and bake as directed above.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Carmel Flan

2008-03-22T15:18:00.010-04:00

This weeks Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was picked by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. In honor or the flan, we are making a big Mexican meal. Making chile rellenos, enchiladas with tomatilla sauce, Spanish rice, refried beans, grilled fish, and chips and salsa. Corona with lime and margaritas. Also I am making another Dorie cookie, the salt and pepper chocolate short bread cookies. Not everyone likes flan, and I can't really understand this. I love flan. The silky texture, the caramel burnt sugar top, the dense custard.

Both the flan and the salt and pepper shortbread cookies were excellent. They complemented each other and the meal. I will make them both many times. The meal was also a treat. We invited a few friends over on a snowy, should-be-spring evening, and the spice of the chili rellanos and the silk of the flan, made for an enjoyable evening. I could eat the same meal over again, even now. LJ took a nap on the couch after we ate.

For the Caramel

1/3 cup sugar

3 tbsp water

squirt of fresh lemon juice

For the Flan

1-1/2 cups heavy cream

1-1/4 cups whole milk

3 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Getting Ready:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a roasting pan or a 9-x-13-inch baking pan with a double thickness of paper towels. Fill a teakettle with water and put it on to boil; when the water boils, turn off the heat.Put a metal 8-x-2-inch round cake pan-not a nonstick one-in the oven to heat while you prepare the caramel.To Make the Caramel: Stir the sugar, water and lemon juice together in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan. Put the pan over medium-high heat and cook until the sugar becomes an amber-colored caramel, about 5 minutes-remove the pan from the heat at the first whiff of smoke.Remove the cake pan from the oven and, working with oven mitts, pour the caramel into the pan and immediately tilt the pan to spread the caramel evenly over the bottom; set the pan aside.To Make the Flan: Bring the cream and milk just to a boil.Meanwhile, in a 2-quart glass measuring cup or in a bowl, whisk together the eggs, yolks and sugar. Whisk vigorously for a minute or two, and then stir in the vanilla. Still whisking, drizzle in about one quarter of the hot liquid-this will temper, or warm, the eggs so they won't curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remainder of the hot cream and milk. Using a large spoon, skim off the bubbles and foam that you worked up.Put the caramel-lined cake pan in the roasting pan. Pour the custard into the cake pan and slide the setup into the oven. Very carefully pour enough hot water from the kettle into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the cake pan. (Don't worry if this sets the cake pan afloat.) Bake the flan for about 35 minutes, or until the top puffs a bit and is golden here and there. A knife inserted into the center of the flan should come out clean.Remove the roasting pan from the oven, transfer the cake pan to a cooking rack and run a knife between the flan and the sides of the pan to loosen it. Let the flan cool to room temperature on the rack, then loosely cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.When ready to serve, once more, run a knife between the flan and the pan. Choose a rimmed serving platter, place the platter over the cake pan, quickly flip the platter and pan over and remove the cake pan-the flan will shimmy out and the caramel sauce will coat the custard.Yield: 6 to 8 Servings

TWD vs my Kitchen Aid

2008-03-18T09:53:00.001-04:00

I did not think my Kitchen Aid was going to make it through my dough tonight. The brioche dough was a bit tricky. My first issue was that I no longer seem to have my bread hook, so I used my paddle attachment. Maybe thats why, but I honestly thought I was going to burn out. The dough was coming out the top and the whole machine was bouncing around. I stopped many times and took out dough and finally got it combined and smooth. I didn't think I could combine so much butter by hand. I think the dough will turn out right but I just hope I didn't take a few years off the life of my beloved Kitchen Aid. Although I must admit I would love the have the bigger bowl of the newer KitchenAid. I have a 1985Classic white one that is great.

While my dough is in the fridge, I made the pastry cream which is one of the best things I have ever tasted. I love this custard. It was straight forward and I made the full recipe so I have 2 cups instead of 1/2 cup called for in the brioche snails. Maybe we will have stuffed french toast for breakfast with the cream and strawberries. Yum!

I am thinking of using poppy seeds instead of raisins. After the raisins in the cake-pie last week I am not yet in the mood. Or dried cherries? Decisions, decisions.

Well, I ended up using the raisins after all. My kids were so entertained with the flaming of the rum. Many oohhs and aahhhs from everyone.

I was not to sure what these were going to taste like and I thought the dough was a bit hard to make, but they are so worth the effort. From my first mouthful I was hooked. Each person I gave one to closed there eyes and nearly moaned when the took a bit. these are good. I made the glaze and I think it adds a nice touch. I would make these again in a heartbeat!

Brioche Raisin Snails

1 cup moist, plump raisins
3 tablespoons dark rum
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
Scant 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 recipe for Golden Brioche Loaves(page 48), chilled and ready to shape (make the full recipe and cut the dough in half after refrigerating overnight)
1/2 recipe Pastry Cream (page 448)

For The Optional Glaze
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
About 1 teaspoon water
Drop of pure vanilla extract

Getting Ready: Line one large or two smaller baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
Put the raisins in a small saucepan, cover them with hot water and let them steep for about 4 minutes, until they are plumped. Drain the raisins, return them to the saucepan and, stirring constantly, warm them over low heat. When the raisins are very hot, pull the pan from the heat and pour over the rum. Standing back, ignite the rum. Stair until the flames go out, then cover and set aside. (The raisins and rum an be kept in a covered jar for up to 1 day.)
Mix the sugar and cinnamon together.
On a flour dusted surface, roll the dough into a rectangle about 12 inches wide and 16 inches long, with a short end toward you. Spread the pastry cream across the dough, leaving 1-inch strip bare on the side farthest from you. Scatter the raisins over the pastry cream and sprinkle the raisins and cream with the cinnamon sugar. Starting wit the side nearest you, roll the dough into a cylinder, keeping the roll as tight as you can. (At this point, you can wrap the dough airtight and freeze it up to 2 months; see Storing for further instructions. Or, if you do not want to make the full recipe, use as much of the dough as you'd like and freeze the remainder.)
With a chef's knife, using a gentle sawing motion, trim just a tiny bit from the ends if they're ragged or not well filled, then cut the log into rounds a scant 1 inch thick. Put the snails on the lined baking sheet(s), leaving some puff space between them.
Lightly cover the snails with wax paper and set the baking sheet(s) in a warm place until the snails have doubles in volume--they'll be puffy and soft--about 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Getting Ready To Bake: When the snails have almost fully risen, preheat the oven: depending on the number of baking sheets you have, either center a rack in the oven or position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Remove the wax paper, and bake the snails for about 25 minutes (rotate the sheets if you're using two, from top to bottom and front to back after 15 minutes), or until they are puffed and richly browned. Using a metal spatula, transfer the snails onto a cooling rack.

If You Want To Glaze The Snails: Put a piece of wax paper under the rack of warm rolls to act as a drip catcher. Put the confectioners' sugar into a small bowl, and stir in a teaspoon of water. Keep adding water drop by drop until you have an icing that falls from the tip of a spoon. Add the vanilla extract, then drizzle the icing over the hot snails.

Golden Brioche Loaves

2 packets active dry yeast
1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch water
1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch whole milk
3 3/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature but still slightly firm

For The Glaze
1 large egg
1 tablespoon water

To Make The Brioche: Put the yeast, water and milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and, using a wooden spoon, stir until the yeast is dissolved. Add the flour and salt, and fit into the mixer with the dough hook, if you have one. Toss a kitchen towel over the mixer, covering the bowl as completely as you can-- this will help keep you, the counter and your kitchen floor from being showered in flour. Turn the mixer on and off a few short pulses, just to dampen the flour (yes, you can peek to see how you're doing), then remove the towel, increase the mixer speed to medium-low and mix for a minute or two, just until the flour is moistened. At this point, you'll have a fairly dry, shaggy mess.
Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula, set the mixer to low and add the eggs, followed by the sugar. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes, until the dough forms a ball. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter in 2-tablespoon-size chunks, beating until each piece is almost incorporated before adding the next. You'll have a dough that is very soft, almost like batter. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue to beat until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes.
Transfer the dough to a clean bowl (or wash out the mixer bowl and use it), cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, 40 to 60 minutes, depending upon the warmth of your room.
Deflate the dough by lifting it up around the edges and letting it fall with a slap to the bowl. Cover the bowl with the plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator. Slap the dough down in the bowl every 30 minutes until it stops rising, about 2 hours, then leave the uncovered dough in the refrigerator to chill overnight.
The next day, butter and flour two 8 1/2-x-4 1/2-inch pans.
Pull the dough from the fridge and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Cut each piece of the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each piece into a log about 3 1/2 inches long. Arrange 4 logs crosswise in the bottom of each pan. Put the pans on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat, cover the pans lightly with wax paper and leave the loaves at room temperature until the dough almost fills the pans, 1 to 2 hours. (Again, rising time with depend on how warm the room is.)

Getting Ready To Bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

To Make the Glaze: Beat the egg with the water. Using a pastry brush, gently brush the tops of the loaves with the glaze.
Bake the loaves until they are well risen and deeply golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the pans to racks to cool for 15 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the pans and turn the loaves out onto the racks. Invert again and cool for at least 1 hour.

Pastry Cream

2 cups whole milk
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits at room temperature

Bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan.
Meanwhile, in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the egg yolks together with the sugar and cornstarch until thick and well blended. Still whisking, drizzle in about 1/4 cup of the hot milk-- this will temper, or warm, the yolks so they won't curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remainder of the milk. Put the pan over medium heat and, whisking vigorously, constantly and thoroughly (making sure to get the edges of the pot), bring the mixture to a boil. Keep at a boil, still whisking, for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat.
Whisk in the vanilla extract. Let sit for 5 minutes, then whisk in the bits of butter, stirring until they are full incorporated and the pastry cream is smooth and silky. Scrape the cream into a bowl. You can press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the cream to create an airtight seal and refrigerate the pastry cream until cold or, if you want to cool it quickly--as I always do--put the bowl into a larger bowl filled with ice cubes and cold water, and stir the pastry cream occasionally until it is thoroughly chilled, about 20 minutes.

Macaroons

2008-03-17T08:41:00.011-04:00

After making my TWD recipe this week I had about 1 1/2 cups of egg whites. What to make? Macaroons! One of my favorite cookies, they are so easy to make. The recipe I use is on the back or the box of almond paste. I think the added flavor or the almond paste is essential. These cookies only take seconds to put together and always turn out as you would hope.

Coconut Almond Macaroons
E-Mail Print

One of our most requested recipes.
Yield:40 cookies
Time:Time to assemble: 15 minutesTime to bake: 16 minutes per trayTotal Time: 65 minutes
Ingredients:
In theBaking Aisle
1/2 cup egg whites, room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1-7 oz box Odense Almond Paste
2 cups powdered sugar
14 oz package sweetened flaked coconutOptional: Melting chocolate, to drizzle over cookies
Equipment:Electric mixer
Box grater
Directions:
1 Preheat to oven to 325 F with oven rack in center. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
2 With a mixer beat the egg whites until frothy and white. Add the vanilla and beat until egg whites hold a peak but are not stiff or dry. Using a rubber spatula scrape the egg whites carefully into a large bowl.
3 On the large hole side of grater, grate the almond paste into the mixing bowl (no need to wash out). Add the sugar and beat on low to medium speed until mixture is well mixed and has the texture of small crumbs.
4 Add coconut to the sugar mixture and beat on low until ingredients are well incorporated.
5 Add coconut mixture to egg whites. Using a rubber spatula gently fold together until all ingredients are mixed together.
6 Using two spoons* drop tablespoons of dough 2 inches apart onto cookie sheets. Bake cookies one sheet at a time for 16 minutes, or until lightly browned on bottom, and firm to touch.
7 Place cookie sheets on wire racks to cool cookies. When cool leave plain or decorate with drizzles of chocolate. Store in cookie tins or plastic containers between layers of wax paper. *Note: A small scoop with a wire release can be used in place of two spoons for a faster method and a more uniform shaped cookie.

Allspice Muffins

2008-03-13T09:10:00.008-04:00

I was looking for a new muffin to try and decided on Allspice Muffins from Dorie Greenspan. They have a crumb top and turned out really great. I have never used just allspice to season a baked good before and was happy with the result. It has a flavor all its own.

While making these muffins I was thinking about the ingredients.

The flour I use is from King Aurthur Flour. I love this flour and this company. They are located in rural Vermont and have a wonderful catalogue and many cookbooks. If you happen to be in Vermont you can take cooking classes also.

Instead of buttering and flouring my tins I have been using Bakers Joy. It saves a ton of time and is very neat and easy to use. It seems to always give perfect results on the crust too. I would highly recommend to anyone to try this product. And to try these muffins!

Allspice Crumb Muffins
by Dorie Greenspan

For topping
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c light brown sugar
1/2 t ground allspice
5 T cold unsalted butter, cut into bits

For Muffins
2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c sugar
1 T baking powder
1/2 t ground allspice
1/4 t salt
1/4 c light brown sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
3/4 c whole milk
1/4 t pure vanilla
grated zest of 1 lemon

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter or spray 12 regular muffin tins.

To make topping: Put the flour, brown sugar and allspice in a small bowl and sift them together with your fingers to blend. Add the bits of cold butter and toss to coat, then use your fingers to work the butter into the dry ingredients until an irregular crumb if formed.

To make Muffins: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, allspice and salt. Stir in the brown sugar, making sure there are no lumps. In a large glass measuring cup, whisk the melted butter, eggs and milk and vanilla together until well combined. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry and with the whisk or rubber spatula, gently but quickly blend. The batter will be lumpy. Stir in the lemon zest. Divide batter evenly between tins. Sprinkle the crumb topping over each muffin and use your finger tips to gently push the crumbs into the batter.
Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden. Transfer to a rack to cool for 5 minutes then remove from the mold.

Tuesdays With Dorie, III

2008-03-10T08:58:00.011-04:00

I must say, this weeksrecipe was WONDERFUL. Russian Grandmas Apple Pie-Cake picked by Natalie of Burned Bits. When I started this recipe I did not get the pie-cake name, but the crust-dough-batter is very unique and flavorful. The texture is different on the top and bottom of the pie-cake too. A ton of apple that goes into the cake and the smell was heavenly! I could not find decorating sugar and used turbanido sugar instead. I like the smoky color and flavor.

I paired this cake-pie with a big German meal: kasespatzle, sweet and sour cabbage, potato pancakes with apple sauce, and pork chops. We had this meal over the weekend when we got a huge snow storm and the house was filled with the smells of great food. We all went out to sled ride and play in the snow and returned to our comfy, warm, fragrant house. There is no place like home.

I loved the story in the book about memories of grandmas cooking. It made me think about watching my great grandma Stella make noodles. I loved when she would put the flour on the table and fill it with eggs and mixed it with her hands right on the table. Then rolling them out by hand and cutting them. Leting them dry in a nylon sack by the window for a few days. I wish we could be older when our great grandparents are alive so we can savor the moments and learn more. But the memories are powerful, however foggy and faint. I have memories of adults stomachs and legs instead of faces. I guess being small, that was my view. I always try to call up a memory of a face and get a midsecion or a smell. I have a huge smell memory. A particular house, with my grandfather's pipe smoke. Or an old library I used to visit. Meals I have eaten and enjoyed. The small of our barn with horses and hay. I can think back and these smells come to me. Or if I ever return, the memories of what I used to do come back.

For The Dough
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Juice of 1 lemon
3 1/4 - 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

For The Apples
10 medium apples, all one kind or a mix (I like to use Fuji, Golden Delicious and Ida Reds; my grandmother probably used dry baking apples like Cordland and Rome)
Squirt of fresh lemon juice
1 cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden)
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Sugar, preferably decorating (coarse) sugar, for dusting

To Make The Dough: Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and continue to beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes more. Reduce the mixer speed to low, add the baking powder and salt and mix just to combine. Add the lemon juice - the dough will probably curdle, but don't worry about it. Still working on low speed, slowly but steadily add 3 1/4 cups of the flour, mixing to incorporate it and scraping down the bowl as needed. The dough is meant to be soft, but if you think it looks more like a batter than a dough at this point, add the extra 1/4 cup flour. (The dough usually needs the extra flour.) When properly combined, the dough should almost clean the sides of the bowl.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather it into a ball and divide it in half. Shape each half into a rectangle. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or for up to 3 days. (The dough can be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 2 months; defrost overnight in the refrigerator.)

To Make The Apples: Peel and core the apples and cut into slices about 1/4 inch thick; cut the slices in half crosswise if you want. Toss the slices in a bowl with a little lemon juice - even with the juice, the apples may turn brown, but that's fine - and add the raisins. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together, sprinkle over the apples and stir to coat evenly. Taste an apple and add more sugar, cinnamon, and/or lemon juice if you like.

Getting Ready to Bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Generously butter a 9x12-inch baking pan (Pyrex is good) and place it on a baking shee tlined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Remove the dough from the fridge. If it is too hard to roll and it cracks, either let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes or give it a few bashes with your rolling pin to get it moving. Once it's a little more malleable, you've got a few choices. You can roll it on a well-floured work surface or roll it between sheets of plastic wrap or wax paper. You can even press or roll out pieces of the dough and patch them together in the pan - because of the baking powder in the dough, it will puff and self-heal under the oven's heat. Roll the dough out until it is just a little larger all around than your pan and about 1/4 inch thick - you don't want the dough to be too thin, because you really want to taste it. Transfer the dough to the pan. If the dough comes up the sides of the pan, that's fine; if it doesn't that's fine too.

Give the apples another toss in the bowl, then turn them into the pan and, using your hands, spread them evenely across the bottom.

Roll out the second piece of dough and position it over the apples. Cut the dough so you've got a 1/4 to 1/2 inch overhang and tuck the excess into the sides of the pan, as though you were making a bed. (If you don't have that much overhang, just press what you've got against the sides of the pan.)

Brush the top of the dough lightly with water and sprinkle sugar over the dough. Using a small sharp knife, cut 6 to 8 evenly spaced slits in the dough.

Bake for 65 to 80 minutes, or until the dough is a nice golden brown and the juices from the apples are bubbling up through the slits. Transfer the baking pan to a cooling rack and cool to just warm or to room temperature. You'll be tempted to taste it sooner, but I think the dough needs a little time to rest.

Another Birthday Dinner

2008-03-03T12:17:00.004-05:00

We are having a dinner party for my husband's friend Joe. In his honor, I am cooking. The menu is garlic and peppercorn pork loin, sunchoke gratin with thyme and parmesan cheese, and green beans. For dessert we are having an apple/backberry pie with nutmeg.

I am excited to try the sunchokes. Recently a new grocery store opened in my town with an expanded produce department and I purchased the sunchokes there. I was not sure what to do with them but after a bit of investigation I found this recipe from Jamie Oliver:

INGREDIENTS
½ Crème Fraiche (Or Double Cream)
1 Lemon (Juiced)
2 Garlic Cloves (Peeled And Finely Chopped)
1 handful Fresh Thyme (Picked And Chopped)
Grated Parmesan (1 - 2 Handfuls)
3 handfuls Jerusalem Artichokes (Peeled And Sliced)
2 handfuls Stale Breadcrumbs
Sea Salt & Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Olive Oil

Method
Preheat your oven to 230C/450F.Gas 8.
In a bowl mix together your creme fraiche, lemon juice, garlic, half the thyme and most of the Parmesan, and season well to taste.
Thin out with around 6 to 8 tablespoons of water and throw in the sliced Jerusalem artichokes.
Mix well and place everything in an ovenproof baking dish. Cover with tin foil and bake for 35 minutes.
Mix the bread crumbs, the remaining thyme and some salt and pepper with a touch of olive oil.
Remove the artichokes from the oven, discard the foil and sprinkle the remaining Parmesan over the top.
Then sprinkle the flavored bread crumbs over the Parmesan. Use up all the bread crumbs.
Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes until the bread crumbs are golden. (If you're in a pokey pokey kind of mood, you can poke the artichokes about a bit - so some of the bread crumbs fall underneath them).
This makes it look more rustic instead of like a crumble

Tuesdays with Dorie

2008-03-03T08:58:00.012-05:00

This week's recipe was Snickery Squares suggested by Erin of Diner and Dessert. I must say it is really tasty. My son has a peanut allergy, so I substituted pistachios for the peanuts. I still candied them, and they were lovely. I have kept my batch in the fridge for snack attacks throughout the week and my whole family likes them. I will definitely make them again.

Snickery Squares

For the Crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
2 TBSP powdered sugar8 tsp salt1 stick unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten

For the Filling:
½ cup sugar

3 TBSP water1 ½ cups salted peanuts or pistachios

About 1 ½ cups store-bought dulce de leche

For the Topping:
7 ounces bittersweet, coarsely chopped
½ stick unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces, at room temperature

Getting Ready:
Preheat oven to 350F.

Butter a 8 inch square pan and put it on a baking sheet.

To Make the Crust:
Toss the flour, sugar, powdered sugar and salt into a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Toss in the pieces of cold butter and pulse about 12 times, until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Pour the yolk over the ingredients and pulse until the dough forms clumps and curds-stop before the dough comes together in a ball.Turn the dough into the buttered pan and gently press it evenly across the bottom of the pan. Prick the dough with a fork and slide the sheet into the oven.Bake the crust for 15-20 minutes, or until it takes on just a little color around the edges. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool to room temperature before filling.

To Make the Filling:
Have a parchment or silicone mat-lined baking sheet at the ready, as well as a long-handled wooden spoon and a medium heavy bottomed saucepan.Put the sugar and water in the saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Keeping the heat fairly high, continue to cook the sugar, without stirring, until it just starts to color. Toss the peanuts and immediately start stirring. Keep stirring, to coat the peanuts with sugar. Within a few minutes, they will be covered with sugar and turn white—keep stirring until the sugar turns back into caramel. When the peanuts are coated with a nice deep amber caramel, remove the pan from the heat and turn the nuts out onto the baking sheet., using the wooden spoon to spread them out as best you can. Cool the nuts to room temperature.When they are cool enough to handle, separate the nuts or break them into small pieces. Divide the nuts in half. Keep half of the nuts whole or in biggish pieces for the filling, and finely chop the other half for the topping.Spread the dulce de leche over the shortbread base and sprinkle over the whole candied nuts.

To Make the Topping:
Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Remove chocolate from the heat and gently stir in the butter, stirring until it is fully blended into the chocolate.Pour the chocolate over the dulce de leche, smoothing it with a long metal icing spatula, then sprinkle over the rest of the peanuts. Slide the pan into the fridge to set the topping, about 20 minutes; if you’d like to serve the squares cold, keep them refrigerated for at least 3 hours before cutting.
Cut into 16 bars.

Tuesdays with Dorie

2008-02-25T17:48:00.009-05:00

I am posting my first baking results participating with Tuesdays with Dorie. This is a group of bloggers who pick a recipe from Dorie Greenspans cookbook Baking-From My Home to Yours. This week the recipe was Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits. I have to admit to being a terrible biscuit maker. I over mix and they never rise. So before baking I read and reread the whole recipe from Dorie. I got all my ingredients out and prepared mentally. Alas, I over mixed, but not to my usual level, so I have hope that if I keep baking biscuits, I will make light and fluffy biscuits soon. These are delicious though. After about 8 minutes in the oven the wonderful aroma hit me. Pecans and brown sugar baking is the best. After letting them cool we all sampled them and went back for more. Maybe next time I will shape them like a scone instead. My scones always are soft and yummy.

Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits
(Makes about 12 biscuits)
2 cups all-purpose flour (or 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour and 1/3 cup cake flour)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 10 pieces
1/2 cup cold sour cream
1/4 cold whole milk
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans, preferably toasted

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Get out a sharp 2-inch-diameter biscuit cutter and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.Whisk the flour(s), baking powder, salt, and baking soda together in a bow. Stir in the brown sugar, making certain there are no lumps. Drop in the butter and, using your fingers, toss to coat the pieces of butter with flour. Quickly, working with your fingertips (my favorite method) or a pastry blender, cut and rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is pebbly. You'll have pea-size pieces, pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and pieces the size of everything in between-- and that's just right.Stir the sour cream and milk together and pour over the dry ingredients. Grab a fork and gently toss and turn the ingredients together until you've got a nice soft dough. Now reach into the bowl with your hands and give the dough a quick gentle kneading-- 3 or 4 turns should be just enough to bring everything together. Toss in the pecans and knead 2 to 3 times to incorporate them.Lightly dust a work surface with flour and turn out the dough. Dust the top of the dough very lightly with flour, pat the dough out with your hands or toll it with a pin until it is about 1/2 inch high. Don't worry if the dough isn't completely even-- a quick, light touch is more important than accuracy. Use the biscuit cutter to cut out as many biscuits as you can. Try to cut the biscuits close to one another so you get the most you can out of the first round. By hand or with a small spatula, transfer the biscuits to the baking sheet. Gather together the scraps, working with them as little as possible, pat out to a 1/2-inch thickness and cut as many additional biscuits as you can; transfer these to the sheet. (The biscuits ca be made to this point and frozen on the baking sheet, then wrapped airtight and kept for up to 2 months. Bake without defrosting-- just add a couple more minutes to the oven time.)Bake the biscuits for 14-18 minutes, or until they are tall, puffed and golden brown. Transfer them to a serving basket

Happy Birthday to you...

2008-02-19T17:13:00.004-05:00

Today is David's 36th Birthday and we are having a family dinner. The house smells so good. When the kids came in from school, Owen started sniffing and looking for what smelled so good. What smelled so good was the Caramel Cake! Oh my it does smell good, I hope it tastes so good. It has a ton if butter in it so it shoud be good. The recipe I used was from Paula Deen from the Food Network. She is not known for her healthy recipes and this is no different. But is sounded so good.

We are also having Tangerine and Rosemary Glazed Roasted Chicken and Roasred Root Vegetables and Orzo. All from the Food Network. David loves chicken on the bone and this combination sounds wonderful. For the vegetables I am using carrots, beets and purple baby potatoes. It is beautiful too.

Bobby's Caramel Cake
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen, 2007
Show:
Paula's Home Cooking
Episode:
Happy Birthday

For the cake: 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature

2 cups granulated sugar

4 eggs

3 cups sifted self-rising flour

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the filling:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

2 cups packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the frosting:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/3 cup heavy cream, or more if needed

1 (16-ounce) box confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup chopped nuts, optional

For the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 3 (9-inch) cake pans.
Using an electric mixer, cream butter until fluffy. Add granulated sugar and continue to cream well for 6 to 8 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour and milk alternately to creamed mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Add vanilla and continue to beat until just mixed. Divide batter equally among prepared pans. Level batter in each pan by holding pan 3 or 4-inches above counter dropping it flat onto counter. Do this several times to release air bubbles and assure you of a more level cake. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

For the filling: While cake is baking, in a saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar, and milk. Cook and stir over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
Remove cake layers from oven and allow cake to remain in pans as you prepare to stack and fill. Remove first layer and invert onto cake plate. Pierce cake layer with a toothpick over entire surface. Spread 1/3 of filling mixture on cake layer. Top with second layer, repeat process. Top with last layer and repeat process again.
*Cook's Note: As I stack layers together, I stick them with toothpicks to prevent cake from shifting.

For the frosting: Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat and stir in brown sugar and cream. Bring to a boil, and transfer to a mixing bowl. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Beat with a handheld electric mixer until it reaches a spreading consistency. At this time it may be necessary to add a tablespoon of heavy cream, or more, if frosting gets too thick. Just be sure to add cream is small amounts because you can always "add to", but you can't take away. Frost cake and sprinkle top with chopped nuts, if desired.

Whole Roasted Chicken Infused with Tangerines and Rosemary with a Tangerine Glaze
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse
Show:
The Essence of Emeril
Episode:
Tangerines
1 whole chicken, about 4 pounds

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Salt and pepper

1 yellow onion, quartered

3 tangerines, quartered

4 sprigs fresh rosemary

1 cup fresh tangerine juice

1 tablespoon honey

Salt and pepper

8 roasted new potatoes, cut into wedges,

warm 1 cup assorted roasted baby root vegetables

, i.e. baby carrots, red, and golden beets, warm

2 fresh rosemary sprigs

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Rub the entire chicken with the butter. Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and Essence, including the cavity and the area between the skin and the breast meat. Season with onions and tangerines with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with the onions, tangerines, and fresh rosemary.
Place the chicken on a rack in a roasting pan. Place in the oven. Roast the chicken for 45 minutes to an hour or until the juices run clear. After the chicken has roasted for 20 minutes, baste the entire bird with the pan drippings. Baste every ten minutes.
For the glaze: Remove the chicken from the oven and allow to rest, reserving the pan drippings. In a hot saute pan, add the pan drippings, tangerine juice, and honey. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce the sauce to 1/2 cup, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Place the roasted chicken on a platter. Arrange the roasted vegetables around the roasted chicken. Drizzle the sauce over the chicken and garnish with rosemary sprigs.
Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch. Published by William and Morrow, 1993.

Baking on a Snow Day

2008-02-12T14:17:00.000-05:00

We are all home again, no school and 1/4 inch of snow. Who decides these things. As usual the whole neighborhood came over to my house after trying to sled in 1/4 inch of snow, which by the way does not work. First thing we made Nestle Mexican Hot Chocolate which is really good. It has cinnamon in it and is really chocolaty.

Then came the brownies. My pesonal all time favorite brownies come from Ruth Riechl's book, Tender at the Bone. The brownies are called Artpark brownies. They are perfect. Waffer top chewy and fundgy and in the middle. You have to folow the recipe exactly to get the right results.

Artpark Brownies

2/3 C butter
5 oz unsweetend, best-quality chocolate
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
2 C sugar
1 C sifted flour

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F
Butter and flour a baking tray (9 inch square is ideal)
Melt butter and chocolate in double boiler
When melted, add vanilla
Beat eggs and salt in mixer. Add sugar and beat on high for around 10 minutes (or until mixture is quite white)
Add chocolate mixture to egg mixture, beating on low until just mixed.
Add flour and combine quickly until no white streaks remain.
Place batter in pan.
Put pan in over and immediately turn temperature down to 350 degrees.
Bake for about 40 minutes - the brownies will be quite fudgy so even a toothpick test when the brownies are done should come out not-quite-clean.

After that Miranda and I still had the baking bug and made some Valentine Cup cakes. My mon had given me a decorating kit from King Arthurs Flour and we used the topings and paper cups and made some Orange Chocolate chip Muffins with Vanilla Cream Cheese icing. Miranda decorated.

Orange Chocolate Muffins from Epicurious.com

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

Finely grated zest of 1 navel orange

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup whole milk

1 1/4 cups semisweet mini chocolate chips (7 1/2 oz)

1 /4 cup heavy cream
Special equipment: a muffin tin with 12 (1/2 up) muffin cups, plus paper liners

PreparationPreheat oven to 350°F. Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, then beat in egg, zest, and vanilla.
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt and mix into butter mixture at low speed, alternating with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
Fold in 1/2 cup chips and divide batter among lined muffin cups.
Bake in middle of oven until pale golden and a tester comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Turn cupcakes out onto a rack to cool completely.
Bring cream to a simmer in a small heavy saucepan and add remaining 3/4 cup chips, whisking until smooth. Spread frosting on cupcakes.

Testing 123

2008-02-07T14:41:00.000-05:00

We have started to cook at 123. And today we got the "burger". Wa hoo! 80/20 is the fat count and boy are they good! I mean good. Even plain and slightly burnt on one side and they are still good.
Yesterday we did paninis or as we lovingly call them, tasty, hot and crispies. They were a big hit. We also tasted two slaws and everyone liked the one with pepper jelly and cilantro.
Tomorrow we are going to do a few appitizers, bacon wrapped dates, hummus, roasted nuts, chicken on a stick, maybe meatballs.

Soup and Muffins

2008-02-02T12:43:00.000-05:00

After looking outside and deciding it was just to cold to go to the store I made potato-leek soup with what I could find in the fridge. It turned out to be very tasty and warm and gets better each day.

For a late evening snack we had popcorn, which Owen made.

Later we will make The Worlds Best Zucchini Muffins, Owen's favorite food in the world.

The Worlds Best Zucchini Muffins

By Eileen Goudge

2 cups grated zucchini
2 t orange zest
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 1/2 t baking soda
1 t salt
2 1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t cloves
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup orange juice
2/3 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottoms of muffin tins (we also use small bread pans).
Combine zucchini and zest and set aside.
Sift together four, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cloves.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs with an electric mixer on low. Add the suger a little at a time, mixing until well blended. Add the oil, juice and zucchini and beat till blended. Add the flour mixture and nuts and beat on low till just incorporated. Pour into pans.
Bake for 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean and tops are nicely browned. Let cool for 5 minutes then remove from the pans and place on a wire rack to cool.
Keeps well for lunches during the week!

The funny thing about these muffins to me is normally Owen would NEVER eat zucchini but put it in a muffin and he asks for it every day.

An Eating Dilemma

2008-02-01T12:30:00.000-05:00

Last nights dinner was really good and the conversation great. We had the 40 clove garlic chicken, lentils, a simple salad with fig in marscarpone cheese, fresh homemade bread and 3 desserts. I made an apple tatin. Megan brought a pumpkin roll from Nunas Bakery and Jenn made a cinnamon cake. We all talked about the Omnivore's Dilemma and tried to come up with way sto change our own behaviors and eating habits to be heathier and better for the planet and environment ( no high frucose corn syrup). The hardest part -including our kids in the process. We all felt like we would like to make an effert to eat more locally and fresher and not prepare 3 seperate meals everynight tailored to each persons food preferences.

Apple Cake Tatin

from Ina Garten

6 T (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 small apples, peeled and sliced

1 3/4 cups sugar, divided

2 extra large eggs, at room temperature

1/3 cup sour cream

1/2 t grated lemon zest

1/2 t pure vanilla extract

1 c plus 2T all-purpose flour

1/2 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Generously butter a 9-inch glass pie dish and arrnage apples in the dish.

Combine 1 cup sugar and 1/3 cup water in a small soucepan and cook ove high heat until it turns a warm amber color, about 360 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Swirl the pan but don't stir. Pour evenly over the apple slices.

Meanwhile, cream the 6 T of butter and the remaining 3/4 cup of sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Lower speed and beat in the eggs one at a time. Add sour cream, zest, and vanilla. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt and with the mixer on low, add to the butter mixture.. Mix only till combined.

Pour cake better evenly over aplle slices and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until teater comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes, then invert the cake onto a flat plate. Dust with powdered sugar to serve.

40 clove garlic chicken

2008-01-31T15:53:00.000-05:00

So tonight is book club and we are discussing "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollen. I really enjoyed the book and hope to have a few women to talk about it with. For dinner I made 40 clove garlic chicken which is an old James Beard recipe. I used Tokyo's organic garlic from his farm. I hope it is good.