Sweet and Savory Eats

Back in the Saddle Again

2009-02-06T00:01:00.000-08:00

It's been many months since I've paid attention to my poor little blog. Unfortunately, I have experienced some personal circumstances recently that have left me unable to cook or bake, and therefore blog. It looks like things are settling down now and I am happy to be back, and ready to give my blog some TLC.

If you've been patiently waiting, I thank you. If you are new to my blog, stay tuned. I'm no master chef, but I have been told that I am one wicked home cook... I'll take that.

Dare to Eclair!

2008-10-05T11:05:00.001-07:00

I was out of commission for the past month—and subsequently out of the kitchen—because I tore some ligaments in my foot at the very beginning of September. It's a very stupid story, so let's just pretend I fell while skiing in Vail or something exciting like that.

With time and some physical therapy under my belt, I'm on the mend now. That's all fine and good, but I've barely been in the kitchen this month and really only out of necessity to keep my family fed. (Shhhh, don't tell, but we ordered more than our share of take-out pizza this past month.) Not only have I not been in the kitchen, my poor little blog has bore the brunt of my injuries and has been postless for too long.

So, I am playing a little catch-up with the Daring Bakers, who baked some gorgeous eclairs back at the end of August. I actually baked mine back then too, but wasn't able to post on time and then had my spill, and well ... you know. So, better late than never, here are the fruits of my eclair labor.

First, a big thank you (albeit very belated) to Meeta K of What's for Lunch, Honey? and Tony from Olive Juice for hosting the August challenge. The very premise of Daring Bakers is to challenge yourself to try something new and out of your comfort zone. I definitely would not have tried to make eclairs had it not been for their selection, so I was pleased to try something new.
Eclairs consist of three elements:

Pâte à choux, also known as choux pastry or cream puff dough
Pastry cream
Chocolate glaze

Unlike many past challenges, Meeta and Tony gave us quite a bit of culinary freedom. The guidelines simply stated that we were required to use the pâte à choux recipe provided for the eclair dough and we had to keep at least one chocolate element provided: chocolate glaze or chocolate pastry cream. Umm, yes please. I'll take both. And because I wanted to make the project my own, I piped some peanut butter down the center as well. It didn't pipe as well as I would have liked and was a little flat compared to the full-bodied pastry cream, but it tasted just like a peanut butter cup.For the complete recipe, visit Meeta's blog.

Fennel Gets its Due

2008-08-01T07:20:00.000-07:00

One vegetable that all to often gets the proverbial diss is fennel.

People are always asking me what they can possibly do with it and how they can mask the strong taste.

If you're unfamiliar with fennel, it is a type of plant with an edible bulb, which resembles pale celery—only shorter and fatter. The taste is similar to a very mild black licorice. Rich in fiber and antioxidants, fennel is a versatile addition to cooking often found in soups and salads.

As a fan of fennel, I prefer to make it the star of a dish, rather than try to cover it up with other flavors. With just a handful of ingrendients, most of which I have onhand at any given time, I threw together some quick pan-fried fennel a la Martha Stewart. I had saved a recipe for Green Garlic Dip a while ago and have been trying to figure out how I could include it in or with a dish.

The two went together great and made a perfect summer appetizer. Everyone tried some and I didn't get one complaint (and my group doesn't mince words). The fennel had a nice crunch that paired nicely with the bread crumb coating and the fresh, subtle flavor of the green garlic.

Pan-Fried Fennel
from Martha Stewart

2 medium fennel bulbs
1 cup all-purpose flour, for dredging
1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs, for dredging
2 teaspoons coarse salt, plus more for seasoning
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, plus more for seasoning
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil, just enough to yield about 1/4 inch in the pan
~~2 lemons, cut into wedges~~ One recipe Green Garlic Dip

Remove tops and fronds from fennel bulbs. Slice each bulb in half widthwise. Cut each half into slices about 1/8 inch thick.

Pour flour into a medium bowl and bread crumbs into another. Season with the salt and pepper. Crack eggs into a third bowl; whisk until frothy. Season with salt and pepper. Dredge fennel lightly in flour, then in egg, and then in bread crumbs, shaking off excess after each step.

Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Check to make sure the oil is hot enough by tossing a pinch of flour into the pan. If the flour sizzles, the oil is ready.

Fry fennel slices until golden brown on each side, about 30 seconds per side, working in batches so as not to crowd pan. Drain on paper towels; season with salt. Serve hot with Green Garlic Dip (recipe follows).

Green Garlic Dip
from Daniel Patterson, chef and owner of Coi in San Francisco

¾ cup minced green garlic, white and light green parts only
1 egg
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon red-wine vinegar
6 tablespoons fruity extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup pure olive oil
Salt

In a blender, purée the egg, vinegars and cooled green garlic on medium-high. With the blender running, add the oils in a slow, steady stream to emulsify. Season with salt.

Praline Dreams

2008-07-30T13:29:00.000-07:00

Hang on to your knickers! Today is posting day for the month of July for the Daring Bakers.

Get ready for some serious sinful eating with more Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream than your mouth can handle.

Chris from Mele Cotte, selected this month's challenge. At first blush, this one seemed like it would be time-consuming than challenging. Oh, how naive of this particular Daring Baker. For the most part, things went well. But, that was short-lived when it came time to glaze with the chocolate. I knew the layers had to be pretty even in order to create a smooth finished product. I thought I would even out my slightly uneven layers by smoothing some leftover buttercream into the seams on the sides. "How clever am I?" I thought. What I didn't take into consideration is that hot chocolate glaze poured over buttercream would melt the buttercream. Duh!? It seems so obvious now, but I had to act quickly and patch up my mess. For the most part, I was able to save the cake, but there were some obvious patches of tan where the buttercream and chocolate melted together. Not too big of a disaster, but a lesson learned on my part.

Daring Baker challenge turned birthday cake

The recipe calls for a large amount of skinned and toasted hazelnuts. All I could find were hazelnuts in the skin, so I wondered how the heck I was going to skin all these little buggers. Neha from The Literate and Liberal Foodie came across this great tip for removing hazelnut skins and shared it with the rest of the group. If you follow the tip, make sure you use a very large stock pot. I used my smaller one at first and the baking soda bubbled up and over the sides all over my stove. I quickly poured everything into my big-daddy stock pot and had a heck of a mess on my stove to clean after.

For the most part, I followed the recipe as written. However, I did make a few minor modifications just to use up some ingredients I happened to already have in the house:

Chambord (black raspberry liqueur) everywhere the recipe called for rum or Grand Marnier
Raspberry preserves in the glaze instead of apricot

And I did overlook accidentally the requirement that said we had to use buttercream as part of the garnish. I thought it was optional and I like drama, so made these candied hazelnuts instead.

Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream
From Great Cakes by Carol Walter

1 Filbert Genoise
1 recipe sugar syrup, flavored with dark rum
1 recipe Praline Buttercream
½ cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks
1 recipe Apricot Glaze
1 recipe Ganache Glaze, prepared just before using
3 tablespoons filberts, toasted and coarsely chopped

For the Filbert Genoise
Because of the amount of nuts in the recipe, this preparation is different from a classic genoise.

1 ½ cups hazelnuts, toasted/skinned
2/3 cup cake flour, unsifted
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
7 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar, divided ¼ & ¾ cups
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. grated lemon rind
5 lg. egg whites
¼ cup warm, clarified butter (100 – 110 degrees)

Position rack in the lower 3rd of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10” X 2” inch round cake pan.

Using a food processor, process nuts, cake flour, and cornstarch for about 30 seconds. Then, pulse the mixture about 10 times to get a fine, powdery mixture. You’ll know the nuts are ready when they begin to gather together around the sides of the bowl. While you want to make sure there aren’t any large pieces, don’t over-process. Set aside.

Put the yolks in the bowl of an electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, and beat until thick and light in color, about 3-4 minutes on med-high speed. Slowly, add ¾ cup of sugar. It is best to do so by adding a tablespoon at a time, taking about 3 minutes for this step. When finished, the mixture should be ribbony. Blend in the vanilla and grated lemon rind. Remove and set aside.

Place egg whites in a large, clean bowl of the electric mixer with the whisk attachment and beat on medium speed, until soft peaks. Increase to med-high speed and slowly add the remaining ¼ cup of sugar, over 15-20 seconds or so. Continue to beat for another ½ minute. Add the yolk mixture to the whites and whisk for 1 minute.

Pour the warm butter in a liquid measure cup (or a spouted container). * It must be a deep bottom bowl and work must be fast.* Put the nut meal in a mesh strainer (or use your hand – working quickly) and sprinkle it in about 2 tablespoons at a time – folding it carefully for about 40 folds. Be sure to exclude any large chunks/pieces of nuts. Again, work quickly and carefully as to not deflate the mixture. When all but about 2 Tbsp. of nut meal remain, quickly and steadily pour the warm butter over the batter. Then, with the remaining nut meal, fold the batter to incorporate, about 13 or so folds.

With a rubber spatula, transfer the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the surface with the spatula or back of a spoon. **If collected butter remains at the bottom of the bowl, do not add it to the batter! It will impede the cake rising while baking.

Tap the pan on the counter to remove air bubbles and bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes. You’ll know the cake is done when it is springy to the touch and it separates itself from the side of the pan. Remove from oven and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Invert onto a cake rack sprayed with nonstick coating, removing the pan. Cool the cake completely.

*If not using the cake right away, wrap thoroughly in plastic wrap, then in a plastic bag, then in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If freezing, wrap in foil, then the bag and use within 2-3 months.

For the Sugar Syrup
Makes 1 cup, good for one 10-inch cake – split into 3 layers

1 cup water

¼ cup sugar

2 Tbsp. dark rum or orange flavored liqueur

In a small, yet heavy saucepan, bring the water and sugar to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, add the liqueur. Cool slightly before using on the cake. *Can be made in advance.

For the Praline Buttercream

1 recipe Swiss Buttercream

1/3 cup praline paste

1 ½ - 2 Tbsp. Jamaican rum (optional)

Blend ½ cup buttercream into the paste, then add to the remaining buttercream. Whip briefly on med-low speed to combine. Blend in rum.

For the Swiss Buttercream

4 lg. egg whites

¾ cup sugar

1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly firm

1 ½ -2 Tbsp. Grand Marnier or liqueur of your choice

1 tsp. vanilla

Place the egg whites in a large bowl of a electric mixer and beat with the whisk attachment until the whites are foamy and they begin to thicken (just before the soft peak stage). Set the bowl over a saucepan filled with about 2 inches of simmering water, making sure the bowl is not touching the water. Then, whisk in the sugar by adding 1-2 tablespoon of sugar at a time over a minutes time. Continue beating 2-3 minutes or until the whites are warm (about 120 degrees) and the sugar is dissolved. The mixture should look thick and like whipped marshmallows.

Remove from pan and with either the paddle or whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and sugar on med-high until its a thick, cool meringue – about 5-7 minutes. *Do not overbeat*. Set aside.

Place the butter in a separate clean mixing bowl and, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter at medium speed for 40-60 seconds, or until smooth and creamy. *Do not overbeat or the butter will become toooooo soft.

*On med-low speed, blend the meringue into the butter, about 1-2 Tbsp. at a time, over 1 minute. Add the liqueur and vanilla and mix for 30-45 seconds longer, until thick and creamy.

Refrigerate 10-15 minutes before using.

Wait! My buttercream won’t come together! Reheat the buttercream briefly over simmering water for about 5 seconds, stirring with a wooden spoon. Be careful and do not overbeat. The mixture will look broken with some liquid at the bottom of the bowl. Return the bowl to the mixer and whip on medium speed just until the cream comes back together.

Wait! My buttercream is too soft! Chill the buttercream in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes and rewhip. If that doesn’t work, cream an additional 2-4 Tbsp. of butter in a small bowl– making sure the butter is not as soft as the original amount, so make sure is cool and smooth. On low speed, quickly add the creamed butter to the buttercream, 1 Tbsp. at a time.

Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days, or can be frozen for up to 6 months. If freezing, store in 2 16-oz. plastic containers and thaw in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for several hours.

For the Praline Paste

1 cup (4 ½ oz.) Hazelnuts, toasted/skinless

2/3 cup sugar

Line a jelly roll pan with parchment and lightly butter.

Put the sugar in a heavy 10-inch skillet. Heat on low flame for about 10-20 min until the sugar melts around the edges. Do not stir the sugar. Swirl the pan if necessary to prevent the melted sugar from burning. Brush the sides of the pan with water to remove sugar crystals. If the sugar in the center does not melt, stir briefly. When the sugar is completely melted and caramel in color, remove from heat. Stir in the nuts with a wooden spoon and separate the clusters. Return to low heat and stir to coat the nuts on all sides. Cook until the mixture starts to bubble. **Remember – extremely hot mixture.** Then onto the parchment lined sheet and spread as evenly as possible. As it cools, it will harden into brittle. Break the candied nuts into pieces and place them in the food processor. Pulse into a medium-fine crunch or process until the brittle turns into a powder. To make paste, process for several minutes. Store in an airtight container and store in a cook dry place. Do not refrigerate.

For the Apricot Glaze

Good for one 10-inch cake

2/3 cup thick apricot preserves

1 Tbsp. water

In a small, yet heavy saucepan, bring the water and preserves to a slow boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes. If the mixture begins to stick to the bottom of the saucepan, add water as needed.

Remove from heat and, using a strainer, press the mixture through the mesh and discard any remnants. With a pastry brush, apply the glaze onto the cake while the cake is still warm. If the glaze is too thick, thin to a preferred consistency with drops of water.

For the Ganache Glaze

Makes about 1 cup, enough to cover the top and sides of a 9 or 10 inch layer or tube cake

**Ganache can take on many forms. While warm – great fudge sauce. While cool or lukewarm – semisweet glaze. Slightly chilled – can be whipped into a filling/frosting. Cold & solid – the base of candied chocolate truffles.

6 oz. (good) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, like Lindt

6 oz. (¾ cup) heavy cream

1 tbsp. light corn syrup

1 Tbsp. Grand Marnier, Cointreau, or dark Jamaican rum (optional)

¾ tsp. vanilla

½ - 1 tsp. hot water, if needed

Blend vanilla and liqueur/rum together and set aside.

Break the chocolate into 1-inch pieces and place in the basket of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Transfer into a medium sized bowl and set aside.

Heat the cream and corn syrup in a saucepan, on low, until it reached a gentle boil. Once to the gently boil, immediately and carefully pour over the chocolate. Leave it alone for one minute, then slowly stir and mix the chocolate and cream together until the chocolate is melted and incorporated into the cream. Carefully blend in vanilla mixture. If the surface seems oily, add ½ - 1 tsp hot water. The glaze will thicken, but should still be pourable. If it doesn’t thicken, refrigerate for about 5 minutes, but make sure it doesn’t get too cold!

Assembling the Cake

Cut a cardboard disk slightly smaller than the cake. Divide the cake into 3 layers and place the first layer top-side down on the disk. Using a pastry brush, moisten the layer with 3-4 Tbsp. of warm sugar syrup. Measure out 1 cup of praline buttercream and set aside.

Spread the bottom layer with a ¼-inch thickness of the remaining buttercream. Cover with ½ of the whipped cream, leaving ¼-inch border around the edge of the cake. Place the middle layer over the first, brush with sugar syrup, spreading with buttercream. Cover with the remaining whipped cream.

Moisten the cut side of the third layer with additional sugar syrup and place cut side down on the cake. Gently, press the sides of the cake to align the layers. Refrigerate to chill for at least 30 minutes.

Lift the cake by sliding your palm under the cardboard. Holding a serrated or very sharp night with an 8-inch blade held parallel to the sides of the cake, trim the sides so that they are perfectly straight. Cut a slight bevel at the top to help the glaze drip over the edge. Brush the top and sides of the cake with warm apricot glaze, sealing the cut areas completely. Chill while you prepare the ganache.

Place a rack over a large shallow pan to catch the ganache drippings. Remove the gateau from the refrigerator and put it the rack. With a metal spatula in hand, and holding the saucepan about 10 inches above the cake, pour the ganache onto the cake’s center. Move the spatula over the top of the ganache about 4 times to get a smooth and mirror-like appearance. The ganache should cover the top and run down the sides of the cake. When the ganache has been poured and is coating the cake, lift one side of the rack and bang it once on the counter to help spread the ganache evenly and break any air bubbles. (Work fast before setting starts.) Patch any bare spots on the sides with a smaller spatula, but do not touch the top after the “bang”. Let the cake stand at least 15 minutes to set after glazing.

To garnish the cake, fit a 12 – 14-inch pastry bag with a #114 large leaf tip. Fill the bag with the reserved praline cream. Stating ½ inch from the outer edge of the cake, position the pastry tube at a 90 degree angle with the top almost touching the top of the cake. Apply pressure to the pastry bag, moving it slightly toward the center of the cake. As the buttercream flows on the cake, reverse the movement backward toward the edge of the cake and finish by pulling the bag again to the center. Stop applying pressure and press the bag downward, then quickly pull the tip up to break the flow of frosting. Repeat, making 12 leaves evenly spaced around the surface of the cake.

Make a second row of leaves on the top of the first row, moving the pastry bag about ¾ inch closer to the center. The leaves should overlap. Make a 3rd row, moving closer and closer to the center. Add a 4th row if you have the room. But, leave a 2-inch space in the center for a chopped filbert garnish. Refrigerate uncovered for 3-4 hours to allow the cake to set. Remove the cake from the refrigerator at least 3 hours before serving.

Leftover cake can be covered with foil and kept in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

What's-in-the-box Wednesday 7/30/08

2008-07-30T07:43:00.000-07:00

I'm back with my weekly update on what's in my CSA box. I skipped a couple weeks because a few weeks ago, my box went missing and last week, I totally spaced on taking pictures before the week got away from me. This week's harvest box is probably my favorite so far this season, as I love everything in it. It's probably not too ambitious to say that I think most of it will be gone by the weekend.

This week we found the following in our box:

Chard
Bell peppers

Tomatoes

Yukon Gold potatoes

Cucumbers
Red onions

Sweet corn

Now, I know you're not supposed to play with your food, but I was fooling around with all the produce and this just made me laugh. It's my own personal produce man.

Salmon for the Rest of Us

2008-07-24T08:43:00.000-07:00

When you have a food allergy, eating out or even going to a friend's for dinner can feel a little intimidating. I'm allergic to fish and seafood, and multiple trips to the emergency room over the years have taught me that if something has gills or fins, swims or just plain lives in the water, I am to stay away from it.

For today's Barefoot Bloggers assignment, our hostess—Ashley of The Spicy Skillet— selected Smoked Salmon Spread. Obviously, a recipe with the words "smoked salmon" in the title is likely to scare the bejeezus out of someone like me. I had a brief oh-crap moment and then started brainstorming as to how I could stay as true as possible to the original recipe (without having to visit my friendly neighborhood ER doc yet again). I simply substituted chicken for the salmon. And, I cut back on the cream cheese and sour cream. One, because I wanted it to have the consistency of traditional chicken salad and not a spread; and two, to reduce the fat and calories.

The modifications worked out great. The dill and chicken complemented one another nicely and the combination made for a cool, crisp summer sandwich.

Dill Chicken Salad Sandwiches
adapted from Ina Garten's Smoked Salmon Spread

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
1 teaspoon prepared horseradish, drained
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Arrange chicken in a glass baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes. Turn the chicken pieces over and bake for another 25 minutes, or until the juices run clear.

Once the chicken cools, cut into small cubes and set aside in a large bowl. Cream the cheese in an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until just smooth. Add the sour cream, lemon juice, dill, horseradish, salt, and pepper, and mix. Add to the cooked, cubed and cooled chicken and mix well. Chill for at least an hour before serving.

To assemble your sandwiches, use any combination of breads and vegetables that appeals to you. I used pumpernickel bread and the following veggies: red onions, sprouts, cucumbers and tomatoes.

I've also made Ina's:

Pesto, Pasta and Peas

Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread

The Salsa Conspiracy

2008-07-10T18:32:00.001-07:00

First it was tomatoes.

Then jalapeños.

Now cilantro has been added to the list of possible sources of the salmonella poisoning striking more than 1000 Americans in recent months.

So, what I want to know is:

Who has it out for our dear, spicy friend salsa?

It's a little coincidental that all these ingredients on "the list" somehow all appear in salsa. I mean what's next, onions?

Of course, this is all in jest and is my weak way of trying to bring a little bit of humor to a bummer situation. As a consumer, it is scary to know if what you are eating is safe. But, the group hurt most is the farming community. Many farmers are taking a big hit during this salmonella scare, even if their produce is just fine. Hopefully, the true source will be identified soon and we can all go back to our chips and salsa without worrying about it wreaking havoc on our intestines.

So, what does any of this have to do with my blog anyway? Well, for the latest installment of the Barefoot Bloggers (for which I am a week late posting), Sabrina and Alexander from Cooking with the Kids charged the group with making Ina Garten's delicious Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread. There was some group discussion as to whether or not it would be safe to use jalapenos as called for in Ina's recipe. Many decided against it and either omitted it or substituted for something else. I'm lucky to live in an area where local produce abounds and you can buy directly from many farmers. I was able to get my hands on some locally grown jalapenos and, therefore, include them in my cornbread. While it's certainly never without risk when you're eating food grown by someone else, I feel good knowing I was able to continue supporting those whose livelihoods depend on the farming industry.

I never knew until doing a little research on the subject, but it turns out cornbread is a pretty contentious issue, with many clamoring to have their recipe earn the distinction of "the best cornbread ever." Really, I like pretty much any kind of cornbread out there just fine and have yet to come across one that knocked my socks off. Ina's recipe included. It was tasty and easy to make. That's about it. I'd make it again, but I don't know that I would personally hang on to this recipe as the end-all, be-all in cornbread recipes.

Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread

from Barefoot Contessa at Home

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups milk
3 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus extra to grease the pan
8 ounces aged extra-sharp Cheddar, grated, divided
1/3 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts, plus extra for garnish, 3 scallions
3 tablespoons seeded and minced fresh jalapeño peppers

Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the milk, eggs, and butter. With a wooden spoon, stir the wet ingredients into the dry until most of the lumps are dissolved. Don't overmix! Mix in 2 cups of the grated Cheddar, the scallions and jalapeños, and allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking pan.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and sprinkle with the remaining grated Cheddar and extra chopped scallions. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and cut into large squares. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I've also made Ina's:

Pesto, Pasta and Peas

What's-in-the-Box Wednesday 7/9/08

2008-07-09T19:57:00.000-07:00

What's in the box this week?

Absolutely nothing.

I'm totally disappointed. We went to get our weekly harvest box at our regular location, a local juice bar, and were told by the ~~clearly uninterested~~ teenage employee that somebody else already came to pick up our box. I explained that was impossible since my husband specifically called me earlier in the day to say he wouldn't make it in time and could I please pick it up for him instead. Again, I asked the young man to check the fridge one more time just to make sure it didn't get misplaced accidentally. He did and came up empty handed.

I emailed the farm, letting them know of the situation and asking how they handle boxes of produce that grow legs. They seem really flexible, so I am hoping they will just double up the quantity in our box next week. Haven't heard back yet, but will report back.

So, no farm-fresh produce for us this week.

A Fistful of Fruit

2008-07-06T13:05:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about summer is the abundance of fresh produce available. No matter if you get your produce at a grocery store, at your local farmers' market, by belonging to a CSA or even ordering online, many fruits and veggies are currently at their prime and flavor abounds.

I'm always looking for unique ways to serve all this tasty fruit to my family and friends. Outside of a fruit salad or fruit kabob, how do you get a decent serving of fruit in an unexpected way?

I've done cold fruit soup in the past and, while lovely, it always seems cumbersome for guests unless we are having a sit-down meal. And if we're being honest, we only have formal get-togethers a couple times a year and usually during the fall and winter months. Certainly not during the peak of summer when the mercury tops out in 110s around here.

So I took the cold soup idea one step further and came up with the idea of fruit puree "shots". It's quick to make, easy for guests and ensures everyone has plenty of room in their belly to sample all the other items on the menu. By using clear shot glasses, you also get to showcase the gorgeous colors in in their simplest form.

You could really use any variation of fruit for this, so be creative and experiment. I like the idea of high-contrast fruits and tossed around these combos:

Blueberry puree topped with mango puree

Strawberry puree topped with pineapple puree

Watermelon puree topped with cucumber puree

The main thing to consider is that the heavier or denser puree would be better on the bottom to avoid blending of the colors. I think it would be fun to do a variety of flavor combos for large crowds.

Another variation on this concept would be a shot of tomato gazpacho as a side dish to a vegetable sandwich.Summer Fruit Shots
Adapted from Two-Colored Fruit Gazpacho recipe by Andrew Weil, M.D.

3 kiwi fruits, peeled 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

2 pints chilled fresh raspberries
1 tablespoon sugar
8 ounces lime-flavored sparkling water
2 fresh mint leaves, cut into thin strips,

12 tall shot glasses

12 whole fresh mint leaves, for garnish

Process the kiwis and the lime juice in the food processor until smooth.

Process the raspberries and sugar in a food processor until they are smooth. Strain the raspberry puree through a colander to trap the seeds and transfer it to a big bowl. Add the sparkling water and mint and stir.

Pour equal amounts of the kiwi-lime puree into each glass. Pour equal amounts of the raspberry puree on top of the kiwi-lime puree. Garnish each glass with a mint leaf.

Pain Au Choco-Bana: Belated

2008-06-30T21:15:00.000-07:00

Almost any food combination that includes chocolate appeals to me.

Chocolate and peanut butter.

Chocolate and pistachio.

Chocolate and raspberry.

... Even chocolate and bacon (if you don't believe me, you need to order a Mo's Bacon Bar. Out-freaking-standing!)

You name it, if it includes chocolate, I usually like it. But, one of my all-time favorites is chocolate and banana.

For the June Daring Bakers recipe, our hosts—Kelly of Sass & Veracity and Ben of What's Cooking?—challenged us to tackle yeasted laminated dough in the form of a danish braid. Huh? I have to be honest that I get a little freaked out every time I have to work with yeast, let alone dough layered with butter. It scares the bejeezus out of me . Will it rise properly? Will the butter actually form layers or just blend in? I'm convinced this is why Julia Child always took a swig of her sherry while she was in the kitchen. Maybe she was just taking the edge off from attempting challenging dishes? . . . I digress.

The only hard and fast rules for this challenge was that we had to make at least one danish braid using the recipe provided. The suggested filling was apple, but we were given the option to go sweet or savory and use any filling of our choice. Since I'm always looking for excuses to eat chocolate, I knew I wanted to include that in my filling, but certainly didn't want just chocolate. I glanced around my kitchen for inspiration and fixed on the bananas across the room on my counter. Banana pastry cream and chocolate. Lovely combination.

While the total time took a while, the actual labor involved in making the dough was fairly easy and straight forward. I had to make the dough twice because I realized I misread the ingredient measurements the first time and added way too much flour. Otherwise, it came together easily for this home chef. The hard part was keeping track of how many times I turned the dough. I tend to multi-task, so kept track of my progress by making hash marks on my printed recipe. If you have a lot going on while making this, mark the dough with your finger (as the recipe suggests) or keep track on paper of how many times you have turned it. I found it to be a simple, yet helpful tip. The braiding came together quickly and I topped with the egg wash and some coarse sugar. The directions instruct you to fold up the ends of the braid, but I lean towards a more rustic look with pastries and rather enjoy seeing the filling peek out a little. So, I skipped that step and left my ends exposed.

As for the taste, I loved, loved, LOVED it! I made modifications to an existing vanilla pastry cream I had, so I was unsure it would come out okay, but I was so thrilled with the outcome. Just the right amount of banana flavor without being obnoxious. And the pairing with semi-sweet chocolate was the perfect balance. I cut it when it was still a little warm, so the chocolate and banana blended together.

For more yummy braids, check out the Daring Bakers blogroll. I'm a few days late getting my post up, so any Daring Baker regulars are probably overloaded on braids by now. Hopefully, this is at least different than anything you've seen. I haven't had a chance to look yet myself, so can't wait to see how everyone else interpreted the recipe. The opportunities are really endless. Thanks again to Kelly and Ben for a great challenge.

Danish Dough
from Sherry Yard's The Secrets of Baking
Makes 2-1/2 pounds dough (enough for two large braids)

For the dough (detrempe)
1 ounce fresh yeast or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup sugar
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
2 large eggs, chilled
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

For the butter block (beurrage)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

For the filling
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 banana, mashed
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 4-ounce semi-sweet chocolate baking bar
To make the dough:
Combine yeast and milk in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed. Slowly add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice. Mix well. Change to the dough hook and add the salt with the flour, 1 cup at a time, increasing speed to medium as the flour is incorporated. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, or until smooth. You may need to add a little more flour if it is sticky. Transfer dough to a lightly floured baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Without a standing mixer: Combine yeast and milk in a bowl with a hand mixer on low speed or a whisk. Add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice and mix well. Sift flour and salt on your working surface and make a fountain. Make sure that the “walls” of your fountain are thick and even. Pour the liquid in the middle of the fountain. With your fingertips, mix the liquid and the flour starting from the middle of the fountain, slowly working towards the edges. When the ingredients have been incorporated start kneading the dough with the heel of your hands until it becomes smooth and easy to work with, around 5 to 7 minutes. You might need to add more flour if the dough is sticky.

To make the butter block:
Combine butter and flour in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle and then beat for 1 minute more, or until smooth and lump free. Set aside at room temperature.

After the detrempe has chilled 30 minutes, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 18 x 13 inches and ¼ inch thick. The dough may be sticky, so keep dusting it lightly with flour. Spread the butter evenly over the center and right thirds of the dough. Fold the left edge of the detrempe to the right, covering half of the butter. Fold the right third of the rectangle over the center third. The first turn has now been completed. Mark the dough by poking it with your finger to keep track of your turns, or use a sticky and keep a tally. Place the dough on a baking sheet, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Place the dough lengthwise on a floured work surface. The open ends should be to your right and left. Roll the dough into another approximately 13 x 18 inch, ¼-inch-thick rectangle. Again, fold the left third of the rectangle over the center third and the right third over the center third. No additional butter will be added as it is already in the dough. The second turn has now been completed. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.

Roll out, turn, and refrigerate the dough two more times, for a total of four single turns. Make sure you are keeping track of your turns. Refrigerate the dough after the final turn for at least 5 hours or overnight. The Danish dough is now ready to be used. If you will not be using the dough within 24 hours, freeze it. To do this, roll the dough out to about 1 inch in thickness, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze. Defrost the dough slowly in the refrigerator for easiest handling. Danish dough will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.

To make the filling
Heat milk in saucepan on medium-high until very hot. In a bowl, combine sugar, flour and salt. Whisk hot milk into bowl with dry ingredients. Pour the mixture back into saucepan. Heat to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook over medium heat a couple minutes, stirring constantly until mixture is thick and smooth. Reduce heat to low. Whisk in yolks and cook for a few minutes more. Remove from heat and let cool, stirring occasionally.

Mash bananas and lemon juice until smooth Add to milk mixture. Cover and refrigerate.

To assemble the danish braid:

1 recipe danish dough (see above)
1 recipe banana pastry cream, plus chocolate
Egg wash (1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk)

Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll the danish dough into a 15 x 20-inch rectangle, ¼ inch thick. If the dough seems elastic and shrinks back when rolled, let it rest for a few minutes, then roll again. Place the dough on the baking sheet.

Along one long side of the pastry make parallel, 5-inch-long cuts with a knife or rolling pastry wheel, each about 1 inch apart. Repeat on the opposite side, making sure to line up the cuts with those you’ve already made.
Spoon the filling you’ve chosen to fill your braid down the center of the rectangle. Starting with the top and bottom “flaps”, fold the top flap down over the filling to cover. Next, fold the bottom “flap” up to cover filling. This helps keep the braid neat and helps to hold in the filling. Now begin folding the cut side strips of dough over the filling, alternating first left, then right, left, right, until finished. Trim any excess dough and tuck in the ends.
Egg Wash
Whisk together the whole egg and yolk in a bowl and with a pastry brush, lightly coat the braid.

Proofing and Baking
Spray cooking oil onto a piece of plastic wrap, and place over the braid. Proof at room temperature or, if possible, in a controlled 90 degree F environment for about 2 hours, or until doubled in volume and light to the touch.

Near the end of proofing, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Position a rack in the center of the oven.

Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan so that the side of the braid previously in the back of the oven is now in the front. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and bake about 15-20 minutes more, or until golden brown. Cool and serve the braid either still warm from the oven or at room temperature. The cooled braid can be wrapped airtight and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or freeze for 1 month.

Be Elegant, Be Earthy

2008-06-12T00:00:00.000-07:00

Ina Garten is known for her simple, but sophisticated approach to food. Many also know her as the Barefoot Contessa, a moniker she earned from the Hampton's specialty store by the same name, which she used to own.

One of the reasons I admire Ina's cooking is that she always starts with good ingredients. I recently came across a group of other zealous Ina fans, where every two weeks members make the same recipe and post their results on the same day. The group, called Barefoot Bloggers, is currently about 70-members strong.

The first recipe for June is Pasta, Pesto and Peas. This was a super easy recipe and I could definitely see making this as a side dish for a summer barbecue. I made two substitutions: swapped the frozen spinach for frozen since I got a supply in my weekly CSA harvest box, and I used all fusilli pasta instead of a combo. As a superfan of all things basil, I thought the overall flavor was tasty. However, I could easily have done with about half the mayonnaise, as I am not so much a fan. It was just way too creamy for me, but cutting down the mayo is an easy enough modification.

Pasta, Pesto and Peas

3/4 pound fusilli pasta
3/4 pound bow tie pasta
1/4 cup good olive oil
1 1/2 cups pesto, packaged or see recipe below
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/4 cups good mayonnaise
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 1/2 cups frozen peas, defrosted
1/3 cup pignolis (pine nuts)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cook the fusilli and bow ties separately in a large pot of boiling salted water for 10 to 12 minutes until each pasta is al dente. Drain and toss into a bowl with the olive oil. Cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, puree the pesto, spinach, and lemon juice. Add the mayonnaise and puree. Add the pesto mixture to the cooled pasta and then add the Parmesan, peas, pignolis, salt, and pepper. Mix well, season to taste, and serve at room temperature.

Pesto:
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup pignolis (pine nuts)
3 tablespoons chopped garlic (9 cloves)
5 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups good olive oil
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Place the walnuts, pignolis, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process for 15 seconds. Add the basil leaves, salt, and pepper. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until the pesto is thoroughly pureed. Add the Parmesan and puree for a minute. Use right away or store the pesto in the refrigerator or freezer with a thin film of olive oil on top.

Notes: Air is the enemy of pesto. For freezing, pack it in containers with a film of oil or plastic wrap directly on top with the air pressed out.

To clean basil, remove the leaves, swirl them in a bowl of water, and then spin them very dry in a salad spinner. Store them in a closed plastic bag with a slightly damp paper towel. As long as the leaves are dry they will stay green for several days.

Yield: 4 cups

What's-in-the-Box Wednesday 6/11/08

2008-06-11T07:35:00.000-07:00

This week's CSA harvest box was teeming with goodies:

Arugula
Beets
Carrots
Lettuce
Onions
Parsley
Radishes

We were delighted to discover we also got an extra bunch of greens (not sure which variety) and a bag of cherries. We had cherries in the house from our neighborhood grocery store, so did an impromptu taste test of the two kinds. There was no comparing. The ones from our farm were sweeter and tasted more like a cherry should. The store-bought ones tasted fine, but were a little tart and didn't have that lingering sweet cherry taste.

We just got the box yesterday, but the beets are arugula are already gone. Our farm includes a newsletter each week that talks about farm happenings, describes the week's harvest and provides a recipe to help you create meals with your harvest. The recipe this week was for a beet and arugula salad tossed with a simple dressing of olive oil, balsamic, garlic, salt and pepper. We topped it with feta crumbles and it made a perfect light dinner.

What's-in-the-Box Wednesday 6/4/08

2008-06-04T21:22:00.000-07:00

Determined to get more vegetables in our diet, we purchased a CSA share for the 2008 harvest season. Short for community supported agriculture, a CSA is simply a group of community members who commit to support a local farm in exchange for a supply of fresh produce throughout the growing season.

CSA programs vary from farm to farm. Mine offers a few different box options: veggie (two sizes), fruit (two sizes), salad and tomatoes. Some also offer flowers, eggs and meat. Since this is our first year, we are keeping it simple and just went with the small veggie box. We are considering adding a fruit share, but are waiting to see how it works for us for a few more weeks before committing to more.

Our particular CSA runs May through October and we received our third box this week. The produce is just gorgeous and tastes so good. I've decided to show off my bounty each week in a regular post I'm calling What's-in-the-Box Wednesday. Sorry, I didn't take pictures of the first two weeks' boxes. This week, we received:

Basil
Carrots
Cherry tomatoes
Chinese cabbage
Garlic
Radishes
Red chidori kale

All CSAs offer different varieties and options, so my pictures are only representative of what you can get. But, I really encourage buying from local farmers when possible

If a weekly box of locally grown veggies sound good to you, you may be able to find a CSA in your area. If you already belong to a CSA, I'd love to see what you receive each week or hear how it's going for you.

Super Good Superfood

2008-06-02T18:57:00.000-07:00

Many health experts support the belief that some natural food sources are so rich in antioxidants and essential nutrients, they are deemed superfoods. They're referred to as super because their nutritional properties are supposed to help lower cholesterol, improve mood and even reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer.

There is no legal or medical definition of what constitutes a superfood, so there is no official list. However, most iterations I've seen include a similar variety of fruits and vegetables, plus walnuts, salmon, green tea and a few others.

With zero will power these days, I need as much nudging to eat super as possible. So I wanted to make sure I modified this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe to include something with good nutritional value. Di of Di's Kitchen Notebook selected French Chocolate Brownies. Some may argue that good chocolate has antioxidant properties, which is probably true if you eat a single brownie. But, I suspect the benefits kind of cancel out if you eat the full plate. (Is it wrong to eat a whole batch in one sitting?)

When I went to purchase the raisins for which the recipe calls, I noticed a display of dried blueberries. The packaging called out the antioxidant properties of blueberries and I decided to go that route. One for the nutrition, but (get real; we're making brownies here) two for the unique chocolate-blueberry flavor combination.

The prep for this recipe was fairly straight-forward and moved quickly. Others mentioned that the top of the brownies had cracked, so I kept close to the oven and removed the pan as soon as it looked like a crack was forming. I cooked it for 50 minutes and the consistency was perfect. The taste was very rich and chocolaty, but I was a little disappointed with my blueberry experiment as we couldn't really taste a strong blueberry presence. We occasionally got a bite of blueberry here and there, but no consistent blueberry taste.

Completing the blueberry theme, I paired the brownies with a scoop of homemade Blueberry Sour Cream Ice Cream, also from Dorie. The gorgeous blue-purple color popped against the white plate and dark brownie. We could really taste the blueberries in the ice cream, which can probably be attributed to using fresh berries compared to the dried berries in the brownies. All in all, the combination was extremely decadent and delicious. I would definitely make the brownies again, but might try adding fresh strawberries next time.

Check out more brownie action here.

French Chocolate Brownies
makes 16 brownies

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup dried blueberries
1 1/2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons; 6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into 12 pieces
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sugar

Getting ready:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 300°F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, butter the foil, place the pan on a baking sheet, and set aside.

Whisk together the flour, salt and cinnamon, if you're using it.

Put the raisins in a small saucepan with the water, bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the water almost evaporates. Add the rum, let it warm for about 30 seconds, turn off the heat, stand back and ignite the rum. Allow the flames to die down, and set the raisins aside until needed.

Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Slowly and gently melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and add the butter, stirring so that it melts. It's important that the chocolate and butter not get very hot. However, if the butter is not melting, you can put the bowl back over the still-hot water for a minute. If you've got a couple of little bits of unmelted butter, leave them—it's better to have a few bits than to overheat the whole. Set the chocolate aside for the moment.

Working with a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until they are thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Lower the mixer speed and pour in the chocolate-butter, mixing only until it is incorporated—you'll have a thick, creamy batter. Add the dry ingredients and mix at low speed for about 30 seconds—the dry ingredients won't be completely incorporated and that's fine. Finish folding in the dry ingredients by hand with a rubber spatula, then fold in the raisins along with any liquid remaining in the pan.

Scrape the batter into the pan and bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top is dry and crackled and a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and allow the brownies to cool to warm or room temperature.

Carefully lift the brownies out of the pan, using the foil edges as handles, and transfer to a cutting board. With a long-bladed knife, cut the brownies into 16 squares, each roughly 2 inches on a side, taking care not to cut through the foil.

Serving:
The brownies are good just warm or at room temperature; they're even fine cold. I like these with a little something on top or alongside—good go-alongs are whipped crème fraiche or whipped cream, ice cream or chocolate sauce or even all three!

Storing:
Wrapped well, these can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months.

... if they last that long!

More Dorie recipes I've made from Baking: From My Home to Yours
Pecan Honey Sticky Buns
Florida Pie
Peanut Butter Torte
Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake
Bill's Big Carrot Cake
Fresh Tangelo Cream Tart
Gooey Chocolate Cakes
Perfect Party Cake
Brioche Raisin Snails
Russian Grandmothers' Apple Pie-Cake
Snickery Squares
Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits
Almost-Fudge Gâteau

Check Out These Buns!

2008-05-26T22:26:00.000-07:00

The Sweet and Savory kitchen has been dark more than not the past couple of weeks. Certainly not by choice. Trust me, I'd rather have been whipping up something tasty; however, my "real-life" schedule has been extremely demanding of late and kept me from blogging.

Things seems to be back on track now and commitments are at a manageable level now (well, less insane anyway).

This week, Tuesday passed me by like I was standing still and I neglected my weekly baking commitment to Dorie Greenspan and the Tuesdays with Dorie bakers. Madam Chow of Madam Chow's Kitchen hosted this week's recipe and selected Pecan Honey Sticky Buns.

I'm a little late to the party, but come bearing some yummy brioche dripping in honey loveliness to my readers. I ended up a little torn on whether or not I'd recommend these. Don't get me wrong. They are delicious! The name really says it all. But, I hold issue with the four sticks of butter. Yielding about 15 servings, it equates to about a quarter of a stick per roll. Zoinks! At the end of the day, this is a baking group, after all. And baking usually means butter. So, I guess I should consider the butter an blog-upational hazard and just get my buns to the gym more instead of belly-aching about it.

Pecan Honey Sticky Buns
Makes 15 buns

For the Glaze:
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup honey
1-1/2 cups pecans (whole or pieces)

For the Filling:
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons (packed) light brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
3 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:
2 packets active dry yeast (each packet of yeast contains approx. 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch water
1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch whole milk
3 1/3 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.

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.

More Dorie recipes I've made from Baking: From My Home to Yours
Florida Pie
Peanut Butter Torte
Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake
Bill's Big Carrot Cake
Fresh Tangelo Cream Tart
Gooey Chocolate Cakes
Perfect Party Cake
Brioche Raisin Snails
Russian Grandmothers' Apple Pie-Cake
Snickery Squares
Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits
Almost-Fudge Gâteau

Have A Glass of Key Lime Pie

2008-05-13T00:00:00.000-07:00

Here on the West Coast, temperatures are heating up. In fact, the forecast says the mercury is going to pass 100 degrees in the next couple of days. In my world, hot weather like that translates into margarita time!

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe is Florida Pie, selected by Dianne's Dishes. Never really one for meringue, I knew I wanted to modify this week's challenge a bit. What better way than to imbibe a perfectly good citrus dessert with my favorite summer libation. So, I ditched the pie pan for a springform pan, made a crust of crushed graham crackers and salty pretzels, added some tequila and triple sec to the filling, and finished off the pie with a Key lime glaze.

The finished product tasted exactly how I would expect. A margarita in a pie. The alcohol flavor was there just to make its presence known, whispering the margarita taste without overpowering the tart Key lime flavor. No disrespect to Dorie's original Florida Pie recipe, but I am very pleased with my modified version and definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good margarita just as much as they do baked goods.

I only included directions for my modified version. For Dorie's original Florida Pie recipe, visit Dianne's Dishes. Also, don't forget to check out Florida Pies as Dorie intended.

Margarita Pie

adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Florida Pie

For the crust

1 cup finely crushed graham crackers

1 cup finely crushed pretzels

1/2 cup sugar

2/3 cup melted unsalted butter

For the pie

1 1/3 cups heavy cream

1 cup shredded sweetened coconut

4 large egg yolks
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
3 tablespoons good-quality tequila (I use Patrón Añejo)
2 teaspoons triple sec

1/2 cup freshly squeezed Key lime juice, strained

For the lime glaze
3/4 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
7 tablespoons freshly squeezed Key lime juice, strained
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon cornstarch

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Combine the crushed graham crackers and pretzels, sugar and butter. Spread the mixture into the prepared springform. Pack the mixture with the bottom of a drinking glass or flat potato masher. Bake for 7 minutes. Let cool until room temperature.

Put the cream and coconut in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring almost constantly. Continue to cook and stir until the cream is reduced by half and the mixture is slightly thickened. Scrape the coconut cream into a bowl and set it aside while you prepare the lime filling.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl beat the egg yolks at high speed until thick and pale. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the condensed milk. Still on low, add the tequila, the triple sec and half of the lime juice. When it is incorporated, add the remaining juice, again mixing until it is blended. Spread the coconut cream in the bottom of the crust, and pour over the lime filling.

Bake the pie for 12 minutes. Transfer the pie to a cooling rack and cool for 15 minutes, then freeze the pie for at least 1 hour.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over 2 tablespoons of the juice; let stand until soft, about 10 minutes. In a small saucepan, bring sugar and 4 tablespoons juice to a boil. Combine remaining tablespoon juice and cornstarch in a small bowl. Stir until dissolved; whisk into boiling lime juice. Remove from heat. Stir in softened gelatin. Cool to lukewarm, and pour over pie.

More Dorie recipes I've made from Baking: From My Home to Yours

Peanut Butter Torte
Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake
Bill's Big Carrot Cake
Fresh Tangelo Cream Tart
Gooey Chocolate Cakes
Perfect Party Cake
Brioche Raisin Snails
Russian Grandmothers' Apple Pie-Cake
Snickery Squares
Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits
Almost-Fudge Gâteau

What's the Dill?

2008-05-11T22:19:00.000-07:00

My latest kitchen obsession is with canning. I love the idea of preserving food when it's at its peak freshness or when I have an overabundance of produce that I know will otherwise go bad.

To test the canning waters, I wanted to start with something I felt to be fairly benign and thought pickles fit the bill. I turned to my copy of the classic Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook. This was the first cookbook I got when I moved out on my own. With little money and even less cooking skills, this was the perfect catchall for keeping sustenance on my table. Today it sits on my bookshelf, only occasionally referenced, but still revered. With recipes like Spaghetti Pie and Breakfast Casserole, some consider this cookbook a little outdated and June Cleaver-ish. By all accounts, that is probably a little true, but I still find it a great resource for basic cooking needs, no matter how advanced my cooking skills.

Dill Pickles

from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook

2 1/2 pounds pickling cucumbers

3 3/4 cups water

3 3/4 cups cider vinegar

6 tablespoons pickling salt

12 to 18 heads fresh dill, or 6 to 8 tablespoons dillseed

6 cloves garlic, halved

Thoroughly rinse cucumbers. In a large saucepan combine water, vinegar and pickling salt. Bring to a boil.

Pack cucumbers loosely into hot, sterilized pint jars, leaving a 1/2-inch headspace. Add 2 to 3 heads of dill and 2 garlic clove halves to each jar. Pour hot vinegar mixture over cucumbers, leaving a 1/2-inch headspace. Wipe jar rims and adjust lids.

Process in a boiling-water canner for 10 minutes. Let stand 1 week.

These were pretty good, but a little too tart for my taste. Even still, it was a good first attempt and I am more comfortable with the process now. My June 2008 issue of Bon Appétit arrived last week and it just so happens that the At the Market column was devoted to cucumbers and included a recipe Slightly Sweet Dill Refrigerator Pickles. As the recipe suggests, you can use rice vinegar in place of cider vinegar for a pickle that is less tart. Who knew? So, I will probably give pickles one more try using the BA recipe and then I'll branch out my canning from there.

Stay tuned for more canning adventures.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Bliss

2008-05-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth of Ugg Smell Food is my new BFF. Okay, ya. I only know her virtually. But she knows what makes me tick.

Chocolate.

Peanut butter.

That's about all it takes to get me jazzed about a recipe.

Elizabeth had the daunting responsibility of selecting this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, where members bake a recipe from Baking: From My Home to Yours. A girl after my own heart, she chose the Peanut Butter Torte. This thing is seriously like a giant Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. If you have even a remote aversion to either chocolate or peanuts, this is not the recipe for you. But, if you have ever been so desperate for a chocolate-peanut butter "fix" (like me) that you have dipped chocolate bars straight into the peanut butter jar (also like me), you need to rock this recipe.

I tried the mousse with a spoon before assembling and I wasn't impressed. I was a little dissappointed, but I tried to reserve judgment. Once assembled, the flavors blended beautifully. The textures also balanced each other well. Lots of crunchiness and smoothness throughout.

You need to plan with this one because it does require a significant amount of refrigeration, but the actual labor of putting it together is pretty minimal.

I would probably use about six more Oreos than what is called for in the recipe. I had enough for the crust, but it wasn't as forgiving as I need.

I noticed when making the ganache, it took a few moments for the chocolate and the cream to blend. At first I thought I messed up, but it just took a little longer than I expected. Be patient—it will come together.

Check out some more chocolate-peanut butter eye candy.

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 mousse 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.

More Dorie recipes I've made from Baking: From My Home to Yours

Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake
Bill's Big Carrot Cake
Fresh Tangelo Cream Tart
Gooey Chocolate Cakes
Perfect Party Cake
Brioche Raisin Snails
Russian Grandmothers' Apple Pie-Cake
Snickery Squares
Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits
Almost-Fudge Gâteau

Unexpected Elegance

2008-04-29T00:52:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, things have a way of surprising you. Such is the case with the latest installment of Tuesdays with Dorie. Caitlin of Engineer Baker tasked the group with baking Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake this week. I knew I would like the cake. I mean, I luuurve polenta and I rather enjoy figs, so I wasn't worried about not liking it.

What I didn't anticipate was how gorgeous this simple dessert can be. The bold yellow of the polenta served as a nice backdrop for the figs peppered throughout the batter. The edges of the cake browned ever so slightly, showcasing the decorative edge formed by the fluted pan.

I stayed pretty true to Dorie's recipe, using dried mission figs and plumping them in boiling water for a minute or so. It’s good to do this with any dried fruit when baking, as it keeps the fruit moist. The figs I used weren’t huge, but I did cut most of them in half for a more uniform distributiuon in the pan. Next time, I would consider cutting them into quarters, as my resident taster found the halves to be too overpowering.

Dorie writes that the butter you add on top in the step before baking will leave light circles when you take it out of the oven. Mine left little divots, almost like someone had repeatedly poked their thumb into the surface. It’s not terrible looking, just not quite what I expected. It actually gave the cake some rustic charm. I'd probably just leave the butter off the top next time, though, to save time. I don't imagine (though I'm no expert) that it would affect the end result all that much.

For a finished look, I dusted the cake with powdered sugar. Per Dorie's suggestion, I served it with fresh whipped cream lightly sweetened with honey.

Visually, this cake exudes an unexpected and understated elegance. I think it would be the perfect dessert for a barbecue on a summer's night or an afternoon tea party with girlfriends.

In the future, I think I'd like to experiment with cherries or strawberries instead of figs. Also, the other day in the store, lavender honey caught my eye. It got me thinking that a lavender and raspberry combination could be intriguing.

Check out more polenta cake action.

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 pan, 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.

There Should be More Foods on Sticks

2008-04-27T23:18:00.000-07:00

Portable food doesn't get enough credit. While it may seem a bit tedious, it is quite smart to offer food on a stick for a number of reasons. Smaller usually means cuter. You can get a sampling of something without committing to a traditional serving size. And, you don't need a plate or utensils.

This month's Daring Bakers recipe came from our hosts Elle from Feeding My Enthusiasms and Deborah from Taste and Tell. They challenged us to use a specific cheesecake pop recipe and put our personal stamp on the decorating. It's almost as if we all get the same simple canvas to start and we can create the art that best fits our personality.

My biggest obstacle was figuring out how to shape the pops without making a mess of them, as well as come up with a creative way to decorate them. I decided to cut these into cubes for a more structural feel. For dipping, I used a combination of dark chocolate and white chocolate that I made light pink. Embellishments included chocolate jimmies, pink large dragees and large confetti sprinkles. My favorite combination was a two-toned version. First, I dipped about 3/4 of the cheesecake in the chocolate. I popped them in the freezer for about 5 minutes, then dipped it about 1/4 of the way into the light pink. I topped it off with chocolate jimmies. The result resembled a whimsical cupcake.

I admit that I probably would never have selected a recipe like this on my own. However, after making this one, I would definitely do it again. It was a lot of fun and allowed for personal expression. Thanks to Elle and Deborah for a challenge that made me feel like a kid again.

Cheesecake Pops

from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Jill O'Connor

Makes 30 – 40 Pops

Ingredients

5 8-oz. packages cream cheese at room temperature

2 cups sugar

¼ cup all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

5 large eggs

2 egg yolks

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

¼ cup heavy cream

Boiling water as needed

Thirty to forty 8-inch lollipop sticks

1 pound chocolate, finely chopped – you can use all one kind or half and half of dark, milk, or white (Alternately, you can use 1 pound of flavored coatings, also known as summer coating, confectionery coating or wafer chocolate – candy supply stores carry colors, as well as the three kinds of chocolate. White chocolate is harder to use this way, but not impossible)

2 tablespoons vegetable shortening

Assorted decorations such as chopped nuts, colored jimmies, crushed peppermints, mini chocolate chips, sanding sugars, dragees) - Optional

Instructions

Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Set some water to boil.

In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and salt until smooth. If using a mixer, mix on low speed. Add the whole eggs and the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well (but still at low speed) after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and cream.

Grease a 10-inch cake pan (not a springform pan), and pour the batter into the cake pan. Place the pan in a larger roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with the boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake until the cheesecake is firm and slightly golden on top, 35 to 45 minutes.

Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and cool to room temperature. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very cold, at least 3 hours or up to overnight.

When the cheesecake is cold and very firm, scoop the cheesecake into 2-ounce balls and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Carefully insert a lollipop stick into each cheesecake ball. Freeze the cheesecake pops, uncovered, until very hard, at least 1 – 2 hours.

When the cheesecake pops are frozen and ready for dipping, prepare the chocolate. In the top of a double boiler, set over simmering water, or in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, heat half the chocolate and half the shortening, stirring often, until chocolate is melted and chocolate and shortening are combined. Stir until completely smooth. Do not heat the chocolate too much or your chocolate will lose it’s shine after it has dried. Save the rest of the chocolate and shortening for later dipping, or use another type of chocolate for variety.

Alternately, you can microwave the same amount of chocolate coating pieces on high at 30 second intervals, stirring until smooth.

Quickly dip a frozen cheesecake pop in the melted chocolate, swirling quickly to coat it completely. Shake off any excess into the melted chocolate. If you like, you can now roll the pops quickly in optional decorations. You can also drizzle them with a contrasting color of melted chocolate (dark chocolate drizzled over milk chocolate or white chocolate over dark chocolate, etc.) Place the pop on a clean parchment paper-lined baking sheet to set. Repeat with remaining pops, melting more chocolate and shortening (or confectionery chocolate pieces) as needed.

Refrigerate the pops for up to 24 hours, until ready to serve.

Celebrating a Slice of Life

2008-04-22T20:26:00.000-07:00

Today is my mom's birthday. To help her celebrate, I knew I wanted to make her a cake. What I didn't know is what kind. Well, it just so happened that this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe ended up being a cake. A big ol' carrot cake, in fact. Lucky for me, my mom loves carrot cake and she was on board with me baking this for her. I took a quick mental inventory and realized that I had never made a carrot cake in my life. So, I trudged forward with no expectations as to how this one would shake out.

Part of me loves to experiment with recipes, but others are best left alone. After reading through the ingredients and directions a few times, I decided that this was a cake best prepared as instructed. The only modification I made was with the frosting. I had to double the frosting recipe, which kind of surprised me. I was very careful to use a minimal amount of frosting between the layers. By the time I had frosted and stacked the layers, I had hardly any frosting left. So, I took it apart, made a second batch of frosting and re-frosted—this time being a little more generous in between layers. I'm still a little perplexed because I got the impression that while Dorie didn't frost the sides of her cake, the recipe still yielded enough to cover the whole thing.

To garnish, I candied thin strips of carrot until translucent and made a sort of ribbon design. I was going for the same look as a Martha Stewart carrot cake I saw recently. Mine was not quite as impressive (read not even close), but I think I got the hang of it and could do a better job the next time around.

As for the taste, this cake was insanely good. The cake itself was flavorful and moist, I'm assuming a result of the 1 cup of oil (gasp). The frosting was rich, rich, rich. It tasted like carrot cake frosting I have had before, but definitely more fresh. Perhaps the lemon juice? One moderate slice of this cake was enough to satiate my sweet tooth.

The final verdict came down from the guest of honor and she gave it the big "thumbs up." Kudos to Amanda of slow like honey for selecting this week's treat. Check out more carrot cakes.

Bill's Big Carrot Cake

Yields 10 servings

For the cake
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon salt
3 cups grated carrots (about 9 carrots, you can grate them in food processor fitted with a shredding a blade or use a box grater)
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
½ cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden) or dried cranberries
2 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
4 large eggs

For the frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 pound or 3 ¾ cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or ½ teaspoon pure lemon extract
½ cup shredded coconut (optional)
Finely chopped toasted nuts and/or toasted shredded coconut (optional)

Getting ready
Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter three 9-x-2-inch round cake pans, flour the insides, and tap out the excess. Put the two pans on one baking sheet and one on another.

To make the cake
Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, stir together the carrots, chopped nuts, coconut, and raisins.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the sugar and oil together on a medium speed until smooth. Add the eggs one by one and continue to beat until the batter is even smoother. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing only until the dry ingredients disappear. Gently mix the chunky ingredients. Divide the batter among the baking pans.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point, until a thin knife inserted into the centers comes out clean. The cakes will have just started to come away from the sides of the pans. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes and unmold them. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.

The cakes can be wrapped airtight and kept at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months.

To make the frosting
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until the frosting is velvety smooth. Beat in the lemon juice or extract.

If you'd like coconut in the filling, scoop about half of the frosting and stir the coconut into this position.

To assemble the cake
Put one layer top side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. If you added the coconut to the frosting, use half of the coconut frosting to generously cover the first layer (or generously cover with plain frosting). Use an offset spatula or a spoon to smooth the frosting all the way to the edges of the layer. Top with the second layer, this time placing the cake stop side down, and frost with the remainder of the coconut frosting or plain frosting. Top with the last layer, right side up, and frost the top- and the sides- of the cake. Finish the top with swirls of frosting. If you want to top the cake with toasted nuts or coconut, sprinkle them on now while the frosting is soft.
Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes, just to set the frosting before serving.

Serving
This cake can be served as soon as the frosting is set. It can also wait, at room temperature and covered with a cake keeper overnight. The cake is best served in thick slices at room temperature and while it's good plain, it's even better with vanilla ice cream or some lemon curd.
Storing
The cake will keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. It can also be frozen. Freeze it uncovered, then when it's firm, wrap airtight and freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost, still wrapped, overnight in the refrigerator.

My Kitchen Carnage

2008-04-15T22:47:00.000-07:00

My ego usually gets the better of me when it comes to posting to my blog. I've never posted any recipe that had a less than decent outcome. Today, however, I had a choice to make. This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe and I got into a fight. I'm not sure who won, but it ended ugly. (You'll see what I am talking about in a minute.) In the end, I figured there's no harm in sharing kitchen failures. I have to believe everyone, whether or not they admit it, has had at least one baking debacle. Here's one for the Fail record books.

Judy of Judy's Gross Eats selected marshmallows from the popular Dorie baking tome, Baking: From My Home to Yours, for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe. It seemed easy enough and I felt fairly confident that I would be in and out of the kitchen in no time, and snacking on my newly made marshmallows.

I'm not sure when the breakdown occurred, but my guess is that it started with the whipping of the egg whites. I must not have been paying attention because I never saw the stiff peaks as indicated in the directions. I stopped whisking because the egg seemed to be separating. I should have left it alone at that point, but wanted to experiment a little and added some macerated strawberries. Enter second breakdown. The mixture seemed to set up, but when I cut into it, it didn't have the consistency of marshmallow. The texture was somewhat spongy and the taste? Eggy. Realizing that these would never make it as marshmallows, I spooned it into a bowl, hopeful that I could repurpose the gelatinous mess into another recipe.

In the end, I just tossed it.

So, there you are. The marshmallows that would never be.

I originally planned to give it another go before posting day, but I came down with a nasty cold and I'm just not feeling the culinary love right now. I hope to get back in the marshmallow saddle in the next week or so.

I'm optimistic that I can get it right next time, but really ... it can't get any uglier. For now, check out some good-looking marshmallows from the other Tuesday with Dorie bakers.

Tell me about one of your kitchen blunders so I don't feel so bad.

More Dorie recipes I've made from Baking: From My Home to Yours
Fresh Tangelo Cream Tart
Gooey Chocolate Cakes
Perfect Party Cake
Brioche Raisin Snails
Russian Grandmothers' Apple Pie-Cake
Snickery Squares
Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits
Almost-Fudge Gâteau

A Toast to the Host

2008-04-11T21:41:00.000-07:00

When having overnight company or hosting a brunch, the last thing I want to do is peel my eyes open at "o'dark thirty" and spend all morning in the kitchen trying to whip together a meal.

I recently hosted six for breakfast and my main objective was to keep the prep work to a minimum, but make the meal memorable.

When I came across this recipe for a french toast casserole, I was immediately drawn to the praline topping. I mean, french toast is good, but that topping sounded sinful. What's more, the directions couldn't be easier.

I didn't have pecans, so used hazelnuts. It was a fine substitute. Also, there is absolutely no need for the maple syrup, in my opinion. The bread bakes beautifully and the praline topping adds enough sweetness to satisfy even the biggest sugar addict.

The only issue I hold with this dish is the amount of butter (two sticks!) in the praline. Butter makes everything better, but it also makes the back side bigger. I have to remind myself that this is a Paula Deen recipe. Anyone who knows her cooking, knows that butter is the cornerstone of many of her recipes. So, I guess I knew that going into it. But, I also don't think I will serve this on a regular basis. My pants are already too tight.

Baked French Toast Casserole with Maple Syrup
from Food Network courtesy of Paula Deen

6 to 8 servings

1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces)
8 large eggs
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Dash salt
Praline Topping, recipe follows
Maple syrup

Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup.
Praline Topping:
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Makes enough for Baked French Toast Casserole.

Taken with Tangelos

2008-04-08T21:19:00.000-07:00

Mary of Starting from Scratch chose this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe. Actually, she deferred the honors to her friend, Teri, who was celebrating a birthday. What a good friend! Being such generous ladies, they gave us a choice between Dorie's Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart or her Fresh Orange Cream Tart.

I decided to go for the orange version because I've ogled blood oranges in my grocery store for years. I'd never bought any and really never had a reason to until now. So, I gleefully headed to the store, thinking how exciting it would be to finally add blood oranges to the list of ingredients with which I have baked. As luck—or the lack thereof—would have it, my favorite store was all out of blood oranges. According to the produce guy, they recently got a shipment, but the quality was not their standards. I appreciate the effort, but hey, Produce Guy, "Boooo. Hissss."

Unsure of my next move at that point, something near the oranges caught my eye. Deep red-orange orbs, emitting a subtle citrus scent into the air. Minneola tangelos ... okay, this might just work.

And work it did. A cross between a sweet tangerine and a tart grapefruit, the Minneola produces a super juicy nectar. The perfect foundation for a citrus tart.

While I consider this baking adventure an ultimate victory, it didn't come without its challenges. I was never able to get the cream to 180 degrees F while stirring over heat. The directions indicate that the process would take about 10 minutes. After laboriously whisking for more than 30 minutes, my cream never reached more that 150-ish. I later found out from some fellow TWDers that I might've had better luck had I used a metal bowl instead of a glass one. That's lesson #1. Lesson #2 came from Julius at Occasional Baker, who shared a great tip he learned. Over-zealous whisking can prohibit one's cream from reaching the desired temperature. It turns out that stirring with a spatula is the preferred method and allows the cream to heat up more quickly.

I got zero pictures of an individual slice, so I unfortunately can't share a cross-section. This tart plated terribly for me, and looked just plain sloppy. The fault doesn't lie within the tart, though, but in my lack of grace when it comes to slicing baked goods. I've never done this well in the past and my efforts with this tart were no exception.

Would I make it again? Probably. The cream was very smooth and rich, it was almost too rich. Between the crust and the cream, this tart boasts 17 tablespoons of butter. I'm a superfan of all things decadent, but even I have my limits. I'd like to experiment with the recipe and see if I could reduce the amount of butter and still procure a decent cream.

Fresh Tangelo Creme Tart
slightly modified from Dorie Greenspan's original recipe for Fresh Orange Cream Tart

For the custard filling
1 cup sugar
Grated zest of 3 tangelos
Grated zest of 1 lemon
4 large eggs
Scant 3/4 cup fresh tangelo juice
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/4 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
1 tablespoon cold water
2 3/4 sticks (11 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces, at cool room temperature

1 9-inch Spiced Tart Dough shell, fully baked and cooled (see below)

orange slices and zest spirals, for decoration

For the crust
1 cup ground hazelnuts
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch of ground cloves
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon water
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 tablespoons sugar

Getting ready
Have an instant-read thermometer, a strainer and a blender (first choice) or food processor at hand. Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in a saucepan.

To make the cream
Put the sugar and tangelo and lemon zest in a large heatproof bowl that can be set over the pan of simmering water. Off the heat, rub the sugar and zests together between your fingertips until the sugar is moist, grainy and very aromatic. Whisk in the eggs, followed by the tangelo and lemon juice.

Set the bowl over the pan and start stirring with the whisk as soon as the mixture feels tepid to the touch. You want to cook the cream until it reaches 180 degrees F. As you whisk—you must 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 180 degrees F, 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 can take as long as 10 minutes.

As soon as it reaches 180 degrees F, remove the cream from the heat and strain it into the container of the blender (or food processor); discard the zest.

Soften the gelatin in the cold water, then dissolve it by heating it for 15 seconds in a microwave oven (or do this in a saucepan over extremely low heat). Add the gelatin to the filling and pulse once just to blend, then let filling cool to 140 degrees, 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, you must continue to blend 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 and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. (The cream can be refrigerated, tightly covered, for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 2 months; thaw overnight in the fridge.)

When you are ready to construct the tart, whisk the cream vigorously to loosen it. Spread the cream evenly in the crust. Arrange the orange slices and zest spiral in the center of the tart. Serve now or refrigerate the tart until needed.

To make the crust
Butter a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom.

Whisk together the ground nuts, flour, cocoa, cinnamon, salt and cloves. With a fork, stir the egg yolk and water together in a cup.

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 at medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed. Add the egg and water and beat for 1 minute more. Reduce the speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the dough. Don't work the dough much once the flour is incorporated. If the dough comes together but some dry crumbs remain at the bottom of the bowl, stop the mixer and finish blending the ingredients with a rubber spatula or your hands.

With your hands, flatten the dough into a disk, then grab a rolling pin and roll the dough, turning it over frequently, until you have a round that is about 11 inches in diameter.

Carefully turn the dough into the buttered tart pan. Very gently fit the dough into the pan, lightly pressing it over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Don't be concerned if the dough breaks, as it may—just gently press the tears together with your fingers. Chill the dough, covered with plastic wrap, for at least 2 hours.

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.

Remove the plastic wrap and, using a small sharp knife, trim the excess dough flush with the edges of the pan. Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil, fit the foil, buttered side down, tightly against the crust and fill with dried beans or rice or pie weights.

Place the tart pan on the baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and bake the crust for an additional 8 to 10 minutes, or until it is browned, dry and firm. Transfer to a rack and cool to room temperature before filling.

There's A Fungus Among Us

2008-04-05T23:43:00.000-07:00

It is said that ancient Egyptians believed mushrooms to be the plant of immortality, decreeing mushrooms only for royalty. Commoners, no fungus for you! Other historical accounts explain that many believed mushrooms to have properties that could produce super-human strength, help in finding lost objects and lead the soul to the realm of the gods. This, all according to the Mushroom Council, may be mushroom folklore, but it would be kind of cool if it were true. I could use some help finding all sorts of lost objects. One thing is for sure. Mushrooms are t-a-s-t-y. Their meaty texture and flavor make them a perfect filling substitute for beef or chicken. For those nights you want something substantial, but you don't have the stomach for a heavy meaty meal, choose mushrooms. I found this great vegetarian ravioli. Swimming in a pool of green pea purée, these pillows of mushroom are the perfect foundation to a spring dinner.

Mushroom Ravioli with Green Pea Purée
from Vegetarian Times

Mushroom Ravioli
2 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 small onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp.)
1/2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
8 oz. wild mushroom mix or assorted mushrooms, chopped (3 cups)
2 Tbs. sherry
24 won ton wrappers

Green Pea Purée
2 cups frozen peas, thawed
3/4 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
2 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish, if desired

To make Mushroom Ravioli: Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, and cook 5 to 7 minutes, or until translucent and starting to brown. Stir in garlic and thyme, and cook 1 minute more. Add mushrooms, and increase heat to high. Sauté mushrooms 7 minutes, or until all liquid has evaporated. Add sherry to pan and cook 1 minute, or until sherry has evaporated. Transfer to bowl, and cool 20 minutes.

Place 1 won ton wrapper on work surface. Brush edges with water. Spoon 1 tsp. mushroom mixture in center of wrapper and fold into triangle, pressing edges to seal. Repeat with remaining wrappers and mushroom mixture.

To make Green Pea Purée: Blend peas, broth, and cheese in blender until smooth. Transfer to saucepan, and warm over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.

Bring large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add ravioli and cook 2 minutes, or until cooked through. Drain. Spoon pea purée onto plates, and top with ravioli. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Check Your Will Power at the Door

2008-03-31T23:30:00.000-07:00

It's Tuesday (technically Wednesday now, since I am a bit lagging in posting) and Dorie fans across the blogosphere are sharing their weekly baked yummi-ness from Baking: From My Home to Yours. Many thanks to Leigh of Lemon Tartlet for choosing this week's recipe, Gooey Chocolate Cakes. Excellent, excellent choice, Leigh. These little cakes were so moist and gooey inside, I really considered licking my plate clean when no one was looking. I think I could have eaten all six myself, but I did exercise constraint and managed to maintain the slightest shred of dignity by only having one. My resident tasters were in love, too, hovering in the kitchen for quite some time looking for more long after the last crumb was gone.

Dorie suggests using disposable muffin tins for these. I had mini bundt pans in my kitchen that have been collecting dust for many months now and were begging to be used.

I topped each cake with an apricot and ginger glaze, as I wanted something to add a little color and unexpected flavor. It was the perfect balance of rich, gooey chocolate offset by the sweet apricot and a little zing from crystallized ginger.

Per the directions, I added finely chopped chocolate to the tops of the cakes, but I probably wouldn't bother next time. It didn't really add anything and really just made my cakes look a little messy on top.

All in all, this was very easy to prepare and is flexible to allow for modifications. I could see making this for dessert when entertaining. Get your fill of more gooey cakes.

Gooey Chocolate Cakes
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate
~4 ounces coarsely chopped
~1 ounce very finely chopped
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
6 tablespoons sugar

Getting Ready

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter (or spray - it’s easier) 6 cups of a regular-size muffin pan, preferably a disposable aluminum foil pan, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Put the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

Sift the flour, cocoa and salt together.

Set a heat proof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, put the coarsely chopped chocolate and the butter in the bowl and stir occasionally over the simmering water just until they are melted - you don’t want them to get so hot that the butter separates. Remove the bowl from the pan of water.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and yolk until homogeneous. Add the sugar and whisk until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add the dry ingredients and, still using the whisk, stir (don’t beat) them into the eggs. Little by little, and using a light hand, stir in the melted chocolate and butter. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and sprinkle the finely chopped chocolate over the batter.

Bake the cakes for 13 minutes. Transfer them, still on the baking sheet, to a rack to cool for 3 minutes. (There is no way to test that these cakes are properly baked, because the inside remains liquid.)

Line a cutting board with a silicone baking mat or parchment or wax paper, and, after the 3-minute rest, unmold the cakes onto the board. Use a wide metal spatula to lift the cakes onto dessert plates.

Serving
These should be served as soon as they are put on plates. The cakes are not meant to be served alone - they need something to play off their warm, gooey, soooooo chocolaty interior. Ice cream is the most obvious choice and, to my mind, the best in terms of texture and, of course, temperature. Any chocolate-friendly flavor will be good. Circling the cakes with crème anglaise is another good idea and, for those for whom too much is not enough, circling the cakes with crème anglaise and running a ring of bittersweet chocolate sauce through the custard is an even better idea.

Storing
Although the whole point of a warm, runny cake is to eat it when it is warm and runny, the cake is still delicious, but different, the following day. If you wrap the cooled cakes in plastic wrap and keep them at room temperature, the next day the texture of the center of the cake (the part that was once gooey) will remind you of ganache. Eating the cake will be like enjoying a bonbon: it will be firm on the outside and creamy within.

More Dorie recipes from Baking: From My Home to Yours
Perfect Party Cake
Brioche Raisin Snails
Russian Grandmothers' Apple Pie-Cake
Snickery Squares
Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits
Almost-Fudge Gâteau

Dare to Be Perfect

2008-03-30T00:40:00.000-07:00

The March Daring Bakers host, Morven of Food Art and Random Thoughts, chose Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake. The requirements were few: we had to stay true to Dorie's cake recipe and we had to make a layer cake. I was particularly pleased to see that Morven allowed us to be creative from there.

After pouring over the recipe multiple times and wanting so bad to come up with a unique flavor combination, I realized that I loved the lemon concept of the cake, which goes so well with the raspberry that Dorie suggests. Even though we had carte blanche, I followed the recipe almost verbatim, up until the finishing. We're not that into coconut in our house. Not wanting to take away from the simple elegance of the cake, I decided to continue the berry theme and garnish with some piping of raspberry whipped cream and top with a few fresh raspberries.

One of the benefits of waiting to later in the month to complete the monthly challenge (read procrastinate until the last possible minute) is that you are able to learn from the experiences of others who have already completed the challenge. Many Daring Bakers who attempted this challenge earlier in the month reported that they had difficulty getting their cakes to rise. At their recommendation, I used all-purpose flour in lieu of the cake flour, and used four tablespoons less than called for in the recipe. With so many people saying that the cake didn't rise, I panicked a little and doubled the recipe and divided among three round cake pans. I didn't slice the cakes before assembling.

I had serious issues with the layers of jam and buttercream in between each cake. The two kept smearing together, creating a big pink mess. It only really impacted the presentation, but I was envious over the perfect little layers in cake picture in the book.

All in all, this really is the perfect party cake and, as Dorie suggests in her notes, I have marked this one as something to refer back to often. See what the other Daring Bakers baked up this month. You'll find just about every flavor combination imaginable.

Perfect Party Cake

For the Cake
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups whole milk or buttermilk (I prefer buttermilk with the lemon)
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon pure lemon extract

For the Buttercream
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
3 sticks (12 ounces) 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 until spreadable
About 1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut

Getting Ready
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax 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 mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. Beat in the extract, then add one third 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 – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).

To Make the Buttercream
Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a plan 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 shiny marshmallow cream. Remove the bowl from the heat.

Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth. Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes. During this time the buttercream may curdle or separate – 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 the vanilla. You should have a shiny smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream 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 on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. Spread it with one third of the preserves. Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream. Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream and then do the same with a third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have buttercream leftover). Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top. Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.

Serving
The cake is ready to serve as soon as it is assembled, but I think it’s best to let it sit and set for a couple of hours in a cool room – not the refrigerator.Whether you wait or slice and enjoy it immediately, the cake should be served at room temperature; it loses all its subtlety when it’s cold. Depending on your audience you can serve the cake with just about anything from milk to sweet or bubbly wine.

Storing
The cake is best the day it is made, but you can refrigerate it, well covered, for up to two days. Bring it to room temperature before serving. If you want to freeze the cake, slide it into the freezer to set, then wrap it really well – it will keep for up to 2 months in the freezer; defrost it, still wrapped overnight in the refrigerator.

Taking a Breather this Week

2008-03-25T00:40:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy week in the Sweet and Savory kitchen. With holiday feasting and a large to-do list looming, I am bowing out of this week's Tuesday with Dorie recipe.

That doesn't mean there is nothing to ogle this week. Steph from A Whisk and a Spoon selected Caramel-Topped Flan. It sounds yummy, yes? Check out the TWD blogroll to see some flan-tastic desserts.

Next Tuesday, we're baking Dorie's Gooey Chocolate Cakes, selected by Leigh of Lemon Tartlet.

Other yummy treats I've made from Baking: From My Home to Yours
Brioche Raisin Snails
Russian Grandmothers' Apple Pie-Cake
Snickery Squares
Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits
Almost-Fudge Gâteau

If They Only Knew

2008-03-24T23:24:00.000-07:00

Every cook has at least a few go-to recipes in her repertoire. You know the recipes. They're the dishes that you know you can put together with little fanfare. All the while, your guests ooh and ahh, wondering how you do it all.

With extra time at a minimum these days, I appreciate those recipes that are easy and flavorful. Usually, this entails using many ingredients and following lengthy directions. Not the case with this great asparagus Gruyere tart recipe I found recently. With just five ingredients, most of which you might have onhand at any given time, and about 30 minutes, you have an elegant appetizer or filling side dish. A leafless member of the lily family, asparagus takes three years to produce the spears that we eat. It may take long to grow, but it takes very little time to throw together this lovely little asparagus tart.

The Gruyere adds a very distinctive sharpness without being overpowering. The asparagus is cooked just long enough to border on being tender and crisp. Each bite is offset by the neutrality of the buttery, flaky crust. Try adding this recipe to your tried-and-true rotation. No one will know it's that easy. And, I won't tell ...

Asparagus Gruyere Tart
from Martha Stewart

Flour, for work surface
1 sheet frozen puff pastry
5 1/2 ounces (2 cups) Gruyere cheese, shredded
1 1/2 pounds medium or thick asparagus
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a floured surface, roll the puff pastry into a 16-by-10-inch rectangle. Trim uneven edges. Place pastry on a baking sheet. With a sharp knife, lightly score pastry dough 1 inch in from the edges to mark a rectangle. Using a fork, pierce dough inside the markings at 1/2-inch intervals. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes.
Remove pastry shell from oven, and sprinkle with Gruyere. Trim the bottoms of the asparagus spears to fit crosswise inside the tart shell; arrange in a single layer over Gruyere, alternating ends and tips. Brush with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Bake until spears are tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

Cut into eight squares.

Weight Watchers = 7 points

Clear Out Those Cobwebs

2008-03-18T23:47:00.000-07:00

The spiral symbol represents the birth-life-death cycle and denotes rebirth. This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe is Brioche Raisin Snails, selected by Peabody. As the name implies, these just happen to be shaped in spirals.

With the start of spring just days away, new life is already appearing. Flowers have started budding. Days are noticeably longer. And, I hear the birds chirping each morning when I wake.

In the spirit of renewed life and starting fresh, now is a great time to clear the clutter in your life and give your house a deep cleaning. If you don't know where to start, you can find some great tips here and here.

As for the recipe, I really enjoyed it and can see me making it again and again. It is a little time-consuming if you complete all the steps in one session. But, what's great is that you can prepare this ahead of time and toss it in the freezer for use at a later date. This is brilliant for those who entertain or often have drop-in company.

Flambéeing the raisins was easier than expected. I don't know why, but I expected to see a big dramatic torch of flame shooting up like you see in some restuarants when you order a flambé dessert. Instead, mine yielded an itty-bitty flame that barely reached the tip of my small saucepan. Even though the flame isn't large, it is persistent. So, you must keep stirring. A few times, the stirring antagonized a few bursts of flame, so it is important to pay close attention during this step. A trip to the emergency really puts a damper on baking. =-)

As for the pastry cream, don't take your eyes off it while you whisk. The directions said that the pastry cream would boil, but mine never did as far as I could tell. It was thin one second and then very thick and creamy the next. I've never made pastry cream before, so I dont' know if what I experienced is normal or not.

Since the snails recipe only calls for half a batch of dough, I wasn't sure what to do with the other half. I didn't want it or the extra pastry cream to go bad, so I already made another batch. I ran out of raisins though, so scrounged around the pantry. Instead of raisins, cinnamon and sugar, I used chocolate chips and toffee bits. Both versions were drool-worthy and so worth the time this recipe takes.

Check out the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll to see more snails.

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 1/3 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.

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.

I Blame the Beer

2008-03-17T23:03:00.000-07:00

I feel duped.

All these years, American culture has led me to believe that corned beef and cabbage are traditional Irish fare.

I recently discovered that, in fact, corned beef gained popularity in colonial America as an economic way to preserve meat. It has since become an American tradition to eat corned beef every year on March 17 and isn't really Irish at all. Not that I'm surprised, really, since it seems the majority of those I know who suck down green beer and sport kitschy pins with sayings like, "Kiss me, I'm Irish" aren't even Irish in the slightest. What's that saying? Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day.

While I have eaten many a plate of corned beef and boiled veggies in my time (and even had the occasional glass of green beer), I've never actually made the meal from scratch. I've always just had those heat-and-serve jobbies that show up in your local meat department each spring. In fact, up until a few weeks ago, I never gave much thought to how corned beef came about. When my March Bon Appetit arrived in my mailbox recently, I found a great article about and recipe for making your own corned beef at home. I was hooked. And the kicker? You brine the brisket for eight days in lager and then cook it in Guinness. The instructions are easy. I would say the hardest part about brining your own corned beef is finding roomin the fridge to keep it for eight days. Otherwise, anyone can do this. If you can pour a beer, you can make corned beef. The only modification I made was not using the Insta Cure. Without it, the meat turned a little gray. But, the recipe mentioned that would be the case if you don't use it, and personally I didn't see the need to consume nitrates unnecessarily.

Not wanting to be a total Irish poser, I paired the corned beef with Colcannon, a truly authentic Irish dish dominated by potatoes and cabbage.

Now, where did I put my "Kiss me, I'm Irish" pin ...

Just under the wire and actually a little late, this is my submission to Emiline's St. Patty's Day Pub Crawl.

Homemade Irish Corned Beef and Vegetables
from Bon Appetit

Brine:
6 cups water
2 cups lager beer
1 1/2 cups coarse kosher salt
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons Insta Cure no. 1* (optional)
1/4 cup pickling spices
1 6- to 8-pound flat-cut beef brisket, trimmed, with some fat remaining

Corned beef and vegetables:
1 12-ounce bottle Guinness stout or other stout or porter
4 bay leaves
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 whole allspice
1 dried chile de árbol,** broken in half
Cheesecloth
12 baby turnips, trimmed, or 3 medium turnips or rutabagas, peeled, quartered
8 unpeeled medium white-skinned or red-skinned potatoes (about 3 pounds)
6 medium carrots, peeled
4 medium onions, peeled, halved through root ends
2 medium parsnips, peeled, cut into 2-inch lengths
1 2-pound head of cabbage, quartered

For brine:
Pour 6 cups water and beer into large deep roasting pan. Add coarse salt; stir until dissolved. Add sugar; stir until dissolved. If desired, stir in Insta Cure No. 1. Mix in pickling spices. Pierce brisket all over with tip of small sharp knife. Submerge brisket in liquid, then top with heavy platter to weigh down. Cover and refrigerate 4 days.

Remove brisket from brine. Stir liquid to blend. Return brisket to brine; top with heavy platter. Cover; refrigerate 4 days. Remove brisket from brine. Rinse with cold running water. do ahead Can be made 2 days ahead. Wrap corned beef in plastic, cover with foil, and refrigerate.

For corned beef and vegetables:
Place corned beef in very large wide pot. Add stout and enough water to cover by 1 inch. Wrap cheesecloth around bay leaves, coriander seeds, allspice, and chile, enclosing completely, and tie with kitchen string to secure. Add spice bag to pot with beef; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until beef is tender, about 2 1/4 hours. Transfer beef to large baking sheet.

Add turnips and all remaining vegetables to liquid in pot; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and boil gently until all vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer vegetables to baking sheet with beef. Return beef to pot and rewarm 5 minutes. Discard spice bag.

Cut beef against grain into 1/4-inch thick slices. Arrange beef and vegetables on platter. Serve with Horseradish Cream and Guinness Mustard.

*Insta Cure No. 1 is a mixture of sodium nitrate and salt that is used in cured and smoked sausages to prevent botulism. In this brine, its only purpose is to prevent the meat from turning gray, so you can certainly leave it out. You'll find Insta Cure No. 1 at sausagemaker.com.

**A thin, red, very hot three-inch-long chile; sold at some supermarkets and at specialty foods stores and Latin markets.

Colcannon
from Martha Stewart

Serves 4

1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes
1 savoy cabbage, trimmed, pale-green leaves finely shredded (4 cups)
1 leek, pale-green and white parts only, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Coarse salt

Preheat broiler. Peel and quarter potatoes, and place in a medium saucepan; add enough cold water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until tender when pierced with a fork, about 15 minutes. Drain potatoes and return to saucepan. Mash with a potato masher or pass through a ricer; cover pan to keep warm.

Meanwhile, in another saucepan, combine cabbage, leek, milk, 2 tablespoons butter, and nutmeg; season with salt. Cover, and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until cabbage and leek is soft but not browned, about 15 minutes. Stir into potatoes.

Spread mixture in an 8-inch square baking dish. Make a small well in the center, and place under the broiler until lightly browned on top, about 5 minutes.

Remove from broiler. Place remaining 2 tablespoons butter in well. Serve immediately, spooning melted butter from well onto each serving, if desired.

It's a Pie! It's a Cake! ... It's a Turnover?

2008-03-11T20:26:00.000-07:00

Last week was a little chaotic for me. I was in quite the hurry to post my weekly Tuesdays with Dorie dish and get back to my busy schedule, that I forgot (ever so rudely, I might add) to give kudos to Erin of Dinner and Dessert for selecting the Snickery Squares that with I am now in love (okay lust). So, please visit Erin's blog and also check out what's new with the rest of the Tuesdays with Dorie crew.

So now that I got that out of the way ... This week, our lovely hostess, Natalie of Burned Bits, chose Russian Grandmothers' Apple Pie-Cake. What is a pie-cake, you ask? A wonderful hybrid dessert that seems like a pie at first blush, but surprises you with its cake-like consistency.I've never been a big fan of fruit pie myself, so I honestly wasn't chomping at the bit to get going on this week's challenge. Then I noticed in Dorie's Playing Around notes that she mentioned making apple turnovers instead of one large pie-cake. Now that is my speed. Food already made in individual servings. Right on!

I followed the dough recipe to the letter and only made a slight modification to the filling (instead of raisins, I added about 1 1/2 cups of combo of dried blueberries, cranberries, plums and cherries). I then followed the assembly instructions for the turnovers (see end of this post). Before baking, I brushed with egg whites and then sprinklef coarse decorating sugar for a little added crunch and sweetness.

I think I rolled the dough a little too thick because the turnovers were pretty dense. It wasn't bad, but I think the dough overpowered the amount of the fruit mixture. If I were to make these again (and I likely will), I would roll the dough out a little thinner and would probably add fresh blueberries instead of the dried fuit. Overall, this was another perfect recipe from Dorie.

Russian Grandmothers' Apple Pie-Cake

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 sheet lined 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.

Playing Around
Apple Turnovers
Roll out the dough until it is a little thinner than 1/4 inch and cut it into circles 4-1/2 to 5 inches in diameter. Fill each one with 1 to 2 tablespoons of the apple filling (I chop the apples when I'm using them in a small turnover) or substitute another fruit filling, apple butter and apple chunks or some great preserves. Brush the edges of each dough circle with a little water, fold over the dough to make a half circle pocket and use the tines of a fork to seal the edges. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat and cut a steam slit in the top of each turnover. Bake in a 375-degree-F oven for about 20 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown and you can smell the sweet filling. Cool to room temperature before serving.

Other recipes I've tried from Baking: From My Home to Yours
Snickery Squares
Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits
Almost-Fudge Gâteau

Dolce Dulce

2008-03-04T00:00:00.000-08:00

I've always wondered how dulce de leche is made and have read quite a bit on the subject recently. There seems to be two schools of thought on the process.

Some people, like Rachel at Coconut & Lime, suggest boiling a can of sweetened condensed milk for many hours. Easy enough.

Others are purists, like Pim at Chez Pim, passing on the can and opting for a heated combination of whole milk, sugar and vanilla.

Too indecisive to commit to one method and after reading others' rants and raves about each method, I tried both. The canned method was easy, but took much too long—three hours. My gas bill is probably going to be huge this month from boiling the cans for so long. But, the result was pretty close to perfect, so it's hard to argue with that. The color wasn't consistent when I opened the can. After a few swirls of the whisk, I ended with what can only be described as a pourable, rich caramel.

I then tried boiling the milk and sugar. Even with more ingredients to manage, this method seemed a little easier to me. I mean, come on. Dump everything in the saucepan and simmer for a couple hours? Easy execution. Maybe I didn't heat it long enough, though, because it never really thickened for me as much as the can method. But, I do think this one tasted better. Could be the addition of vanilla beans, I guess.

Since I was making layered bars here, I knew I needed something with a little body to it. So, in the end, I opted to use the condensed-milk version for my square filling and used the milk-and-sugar batch to make some killer gelato.

At the end of the day, what matters most is how the bars tasted. Good lord! Sinful is the one word that comes to mind. The recipe yields 16 squares, with each little gem being the perfect amount to satisfy even the most discriminating palates.

Snickery Squares

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

For the Filling:
½ cup sugar
3 tablespoons water
1 ½ cups salted peanuts
About 1 ½ cups store-bought dulce de leche

For the Topping:
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, 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.

Weight Watchers = 10 points per serving (not including the gelato).
Ya, it's a lot. But, bank your points, people. This one is sooo worth it!

Break Me Off A Hunk of That

2008-02-29T21:46:00.000-08:00

Mary of The Sour Dough and Sara of I Like to Cook hosted this month's Daring Bakers' challenge—Julia Child's French Bread.

Having never made bread before and always an experimenter, I made three different loaves. The first was a plain ol' batard, which was a requirement of the challenge. Then, I took another plain batard and topped it with grated gruyere and garlic before baking. Finally, I threw caution to the wind and busted out my kitchen shears attempted the pain epi. It's supposed to resemble a stalk of wheat. Um ... ya, mine didn't.

There were two versions of this recipe: one for hand kneading and one for stand mixing. I'm no hero, so took the slacker way out and let my Kitchen Aid do its thang. I only posted directions for the stand mixer. For the full recipe—complete with hand-kneading instructions and a bevy of great tips from our lovely hostesses—check out this page.

Household majority ruled the cheese and garlic loaf best in flavor and presentation. I had some serious trouble shaping the loaves; could have been the dough itself or just rookie mistake. But they all tasted great, so I still deem the challenge a success. This experience has opened a whole new level of baking for me, so I plan to give this recipe another go very soon. I have a new appreciation for french bread. It's truly an art form. My hat's off to those who can do this well. Speaking of, check out more beautiful bread from the other Daring Bakers.

Julia Child's French Bread
1 cake (0.6 ounce) (20grams) fresh yeast or 1 package dry active yeast
1/3 cup (75ml) warm water, not over 100 degrees F/38C in a glass measure
3 1/2 cup (about 1 lb) (490 gr) all purpose flour, measured by scoopingdry measure cups into flour and sweeping off excess
2 1/4 tsp (12 gr) salt
1 1/4 cups (280 - 300ml) tepid water @ 70 – 74 degrees/21 - 23C

Step 1: The Dough Mixture – le fraisage (or frasage)
Stir the yeast in the 1/3 cup warm water and let liquefy completely while measuring flour into mixing bowl. When yeast has liquefied, pour it into the flour along with the salt and the rest of the water.

Using the dough hook attachment on the speed the mixer manufacturer recommends for dough hook use or the lowest setting if there is no recommendation, slowly work all the ingredients together until a dough ball is formed, stopping the mixer and scrapping the bits of flour and chunks of dough off the bottom of the bowl and pressing them into the dough ball. Continue to mix the dough on a low speed until all the bits of flour and loose chunks of dough have formed a solid dough ball.

Turn dough out onto kneading surface, scraping bowl clean. Dough will be soft and sticky. Let the dough rest for 2 – 3 minutes while you wash and dry the bowl and the dough hook.

Step 2: Kneading – petrissage
The flour will have absorbed the liquid during this short rest, and the dough will have a little more cohesion for the kneading that is about to begin. Use one hand only for kneading and keep the other clean to hold a pastry scrapper, to dip out extra flour, to answer the telephone, and so forth. Your object in kneading is to render the dough perfectly smooth and to work it sufficiently so that all the gluten molecules are moistened and joined together into an interlocking web. You cannot see this happen, of course, but you can feel it because the dough will become elastic and will retract into shape when you push it out.

Place dough back into the bowl and using the dough hook attachment at the recommended speed (low), knead the dough for about 5 – 7 minutes. At about the 5 minute mark, stop the mixer and push at the dough with your fingertips. If it springs back quickly, you have kneaded the dough enough. If it doesn’t spring back continue to knead, stopping the mixer and retesting every 2 minutes. If the dough sticks to your fingers, toss a sprinkling of flour onto the dough and continue to knead. The dough should be light and springy when it is ready.

Let dough rest for 3 – 4 minutes. Knead by hand for a minute. The surface should now look smooth; the dough will be less sticky but will still remain soft. It is now ready for its first rise.

Step 3: First Rising – pointage premier temps (3-5 hours at around 70 degrees)

You now have approximately 3 cups of dough that is to rise to 3 1/2 times its original volume, or to about 10 1/2 cups. Wash and fill the mixing bowl with 10 1/2 cups of tepid water (70 – 80 degrees) and make a mark to indicate that level on the outside of the bowl. Note, that the bowl should have fairly upright sides; if they are too outward slanting, the dough will have difficulty in rising. Pour out the water, dry the bowl, and place the dough in it.

Slip the bowl into a large plastic bag or cover with plastic, and top with a folded bath towel. Set on a wooden surface, marble or stone are too cold. Or on a folded towel or pillow, and let rise free from drafts anyplace where the temperature is around 70 degrees. If the room is too hot, set bowl in water and keep renewing water to maintain around 70 degrees. Dough should take at least 3 – 4 hours to rise to 10 1/2 cups. If temperature is lower than 70 degrees, it will simply take longer.

When fully risen, the dough will be humped into a slight dome, showing that the yeast is still active; it will be light and spongy when pressed. There will usually be some big bubbly blisters on the surface, and if you are using a glass bowl you will see bubbles through the glass.

Step 4: Deflating and Second Rising – rupture; pointage deuxieme temps (1 1/2 to 2 hours at around 70 degrees)

The dough is now ready to be deflated, which will release the yeast engendered gases and redistribute the yeast cells so that the dough will rise again and continue the fermentation process.

With a rubber spatula, dislodge dough from inside of bowl and turn out onto a lightly floured surface, scraping bowl clean. If dough seems damp and sweaty, sprinkle with a tablespoon of flour.

Lightly flour the palms of your hands and flatten the dough firmly but not too roughly into a circle, deflating any gas bubbles by pinching them.
Lift a corner of the near side and flip it down on the far side.

Do the same with the left side, then the right side. Finally, lift the near side and tuck it just under the edge of the far side. The mass of dough will look like a rounded cushion.

Slip the sides of your hands under the dough and return it to the bowl. Cover and let rise again, this time to not quite triple, but again until it is dome shaped and light and spongy when touched.

Step 5: Cutting and resting dough before forming loaves
Loosen dough all around inside of bowl and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Because of its two long rises, the dough will have much more body. If it seems damp and sweaty, sprinkle lightly with flour.

Making clean, sure cuts with a large knife or a bench scraper, divide the dough into:

3 equal pieces for long loaves (baguettes or batards) or small round loaves (boules only)
5 – 6 equal pieces for long thin loaves (ficelles)
10 – 12 equal pieces for small oval rolls (petits pains, tire-bouchons) or small round rolls (petits pains, champignons)
2 equal pieces for medium round loaves (pain de menage or miche only)
If you making one large round loaf (pain de menage, miche, or pain boulot), you will not cut the dough at all and just need to follow the directions below.

After you have cut each piece, lift one end and flip it over onto the opposite end to fold the dough into two; place dough at far side of kneading surface. Cover loosely with a sheet of plastic and let rest for 5 minutes before forming. This relaxes the gluten enough for shaping but not long enough for dough to begin rising again.

While the dough is resting, prepare the rising surface; smooth the canvas or linen towelling on a large tray or baking sheet, and rub flour thoroughly into the entire surface of the cloth to prevent the dough from sticking

Step 6: Forming the loaves – la tourne; la mise en forme des patons
Because French bread stands free in the oven and is not baked in a pan, it has to be formed in such a way that the tension of the coagulated gluten cloak on the surface will hold the dough in shape.

For Long Loaves
The Batard: (Baguettes are typically much too long for home ovens but the shaping method is the same)

After the 3 pieces of dough have rested 5 minutes, form one piece at a time, keeping the remaining ones covered.

Working rapidly, turn the dough upside down on a lightly floured kneading surface and pat it firmly but not too roughly into an 8 to 10 inch oval with the lightly floured palms of your hands. Deflate any gas bubbles in the dough by pinching them.

Fold the dough in half lengthwise by bringing the far edge down over the near edge.

Being sure that the working surface is always lightly floured so the dough will not stick and tear, which would break the lightly coagulated gluten cloak that is being formed, seal the edges of the dough together, your hands extended, thumbs out at right angles and touching.

Roll the dough a quarter turn forward so the seal is on top.

Flatten the dough again into an oval with the palms of your hands.

Press a trench along the central length of the oval with the side of one hand.

Fold in half again lengthwise.

This time seal the edges together with the heel of one hand, and roll the dough a quarter of a turn toward you so the seal is on the bottom.

Now, by rolling the dough back and forth with the palms of your hands, you will lengthen it into a sausage shape. Start in the middle, placing your right palm on the dough, and your left palm on top of your right hand.

Roll the dough forward and backward rapidly, gradually sliding your hands towards the two ends as the dough lengthens.

Deflate any gas blisters on the surface by pinching them. Repeat the rolling movement rapidly several times until the dough is 16 inches long, or whatever length will fit on your baking sheet. During the extension rolls, keep circumference of dough as even as possible and try to start each roll with the sealed side of the dough down, twisting the rope of dough to straighten the line of seal as necessary. If seal disappears, as it sometimes does with all purpose flour, do not worry.

Place the shaped piece of dough, sealed side up, at one end of the flour rubbed canvas, leaving a free end of canvas 3 to 4 inches wide.

The top will crust slightly as the dough rises; it is turned over for baking so the soft, smooth underside will be uppermost.

Pinch a ridge 2 1/2 to 3 inches high in the canvas to make a trough, and a place for the next piece. Cover dough with plastic while you are forming the rest of the loaves.

After all the pieces of dough are in place, brace the two sides of the canvas with long rolling pins, baking sheets or books, if the dough seems very soft and wants to spread out. Cover the dough loosely with flour rubbed dish towel or canvas, and a sheet of plastic. Proceed immediately to the final rising, next step.
For Long Thin Loaves
Fincelles: Follow the steps above but making thinner sausage shapes about 1/2 inch in diameter. When they have risen, slash as with the Batard.
For Oval Rolls
Petits Pains, Tire-Bouchons: Form like batards, but you will probably not have to lengthen them at all after the two foldings and sealings. Place rolls on a floured canvas about 2 – 4” apart and cover with plastic to rise. When they have risen, make either 2 parallel slashes or a single slash going from one end to the other.
For Small, Medium, or Large Round Loaves
Pain de Menage, Miches, Boules: The object here is to force the cloak of coagulated gluten to hold the ball of dough in shape: the first movement will make cushion; the second will seal and round the ball, establishing surface tension.

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface.

Lift the left side of the dough with the side of your left hand and bring it down almost to the right side.

Scoop up the right side and push it back almost to the left side. Turn the dough a quarter turn clockwise and repeat the movement 8 – 10 times. The movement gradually smooths the bottom of the dough and establishes the necessary surface tension; think of the surface of the dough as if it were a fine sheet of rubber you were stretching in every direction.

Turn the dough smooth side up and begin rotating it between the palms of your hands, tucking a bit of the dough under the ball as you rotate it. In a dozen turns you should have a neatly shaped ball with a little pucker of dough, le cle, underneath where all the edges have joined together.

Place the dough pucker side up in a flour-rubbed canvas; seal the pucker by pinching with your fingers. Flour lightly, cover loosely and let rise to almost triple its size. After unmolding upside down on the baking sheet, slash with either a long central slash, two long central slashes that cross at right angles, or a semi-circular slash around half the circumference.
For Small Round Rolls
Petits Pains, Champignons: The principles are the same here as for the preceding round loaves, but make the cushion shape with your fingers rather than the palms of your hands.

For the second stage, during which the ball of dough is rotated smooth side up, roll it under the palm of one hand, using your thumb and little finger to push the edges of the dough underneath and to form the pucker, where the edges join together

Place the formed ball of dough pucker side up on the flour rubbed canvas and cover loosely while forming the rest. Space the balls 2 inches apart. When risen to almost triple its size, lift gently with lightly floured fingers and place pucker side down on baking sheet. Rolls are usually too small for a cross so make either one central slash or the semi-circular cut.
For Large Oval Loaf
Pain Boulot: Follow the directions for the round loaves except instead of rotating between the balms of your hands and tucking to form a round loaf, continue to turn the dough from the right to the left, tucking a bit of each end under the oblong loaf. In a dozen turns you should have a neatly shaped oval with tow little puckers of dough, le cles, underneath where all the edges of have joined together.

Place the dough pucker sides up in a flour-rubbed canvas; seal the puckers by pinching with your fingers. Flour lightly, cover loosely and let rise to almost triple its size. After unmolding upside down on the baking sheet, slash with parallel slashes going diagonally across the top starting from the upper left and going to the lower right.

Step 7: Final Rise – l’appret - 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours at around 70 degrees
The covered dough is now to rise until almost triple in volume; look carefully at its pre-risen size so that you will be able to judge correctly. It will be light and swollen when risen, but will still feel a little springy when pressed.

It is important that the final rise take place where it is dry; if your kitchen is damp, hot, and steamy, let the bread rise in another room or dough will stick to the canvas and you will have difficulty getting it off and onto another baking sheet. It will turn into bread in the oven whatever happens, but you will have an easier time and a better loaf if you aim for ideal conditions.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees about 30 minutes before estimated baking time.

Step 8: Unmolding risen dough onto baking sheet – le demoulage.
The 3 pieces of risen dough are now to be unmolded from the canvas and arranged upside down on the baking sheet. The reason for this reversal is that the present top of the dough has crusted over during its rise; the smooth, soft underside should be uppermost in the oven so that the dough can expand and allow the loaf its final puff of volume. For the unmolding you will need a non-sticking intermediate surface such as a stiff piece of cardboard or plywood sprinkled with cornmeal or pulverized pasta.

Remove rolling pins or braces. Place the long side of the board at one side of the dough; pull the edge of the canvas to flatten it; then raise and flip the dough softly upside down onto the board.

Dough is now lying along one edge of the unmolding board: rest this edge on the right side of a lightly buttered baking sheet. Gently dislodge dough onto baking sheet, keeping same side of the dough uppermost: this is the soft smooth side, which was underneath while dough rose on canvas. If necessary run sides of hands lightly down the length of the dough to straighten it. Unmold the next piece of dough the same way, placing it to the left of the first, leaving a 3 inch space. Unmold the final piece near the left side of the sheet.

Step 9: Slashing top of the dough – la coupe.
The top of each piece of dough is now to be slashed in several places. This opens the covering cloak of gluten and allows a bulge of dough underneath to swell up through the cuts during the first 10 minutes of baking, making decorative patterns in the crust. These are done with a blade that cuts almost horizontally into the dough to a depth of less than half an inch. Start the cut at the middle of the blade, drawing toward you in a swift clean sweep. This is not quite as easy as it sounds, and you will probably make ragged cuts at first; never mind, you will improve with practice. Use an ordinary razor blade and slide one side of it into a cork for safety; or buy a barbers straight razor at a cutlery store.

For a 16 to 18 inch loaf make 3 slashes. Note that those at the two ends go straight down the loaf but are slightly off centre, while the middle slash is at a slight angle between the two. Make the first cut at the far end, then the middle cut, and finally the third. Remember that the blade should lie almost parallel to the surface of the dough.

Step 10: Baking – about 25 minutes; oven preheated to 450 degrees (230 degrees C).
As soon as the dough has been slashed, moisten the surface either by painting with a soft brush dipped in cold water, or with a fine spray atomizer, and slide the baking sheet onto rack in upper third of preheated oven. Rapidly paint or spray dough with cold water after 3 minutes, again in 3 minutes, and a final time 3 minutes later. Moistening the dough at this point helps the crust to brown and allows the yeast action to continue in the dough a little longer. The bread should be done in about 25 minutes; the crust will be crisp, and the bread will make a hollow sound when thumped.

If you want the crust to shine, paint lightly with a brush dipped in cold water as soon as you slide the baking sheet out of oven.

Step 11: Cooling – 2 to 3 hours.
Cool the bread on a rack or set it upright in a basket or large bowl so that air can circulate freely around each piece. Although bread is always exciting to eat fresh from the oven, it will have a much better taste when the inside is thoroughly cool and has composed itself.

Step 12: Storing French bread
Because it contains no fats or preservatives of any kind, French bread is at its best when eaten the day it is baked. It will keep for a day or two longer, wrapped airtight and refrigerated, but it will keep best if you freeze it – let the loaves cool first, then wrap airtight. To thaw, unwrap and place on a baking sheet in a cold oven; heat the oven to 400 degrees. In about 20 minutes the crust will be hot and crisp, and the bread thawed. The French, of course, never heat French bread except possibly on Monday, the baker’s holiday, when the bread is a day old.

Step 13: Canvas housekeeping
After each bread session, if you have used canvas, brush it thoroughly to remove all traces of flour and hang it out to dry before putting away. Otherwise the canvas could become mouldy and ruin your next batch of dough.

Forgive, Forget and Stuff Your Face

2008-02-26T23:03:00.000-08:00

There are two things I love about Dorie Greenspan's recipes. First, the ingredients she uses are common items I usually already have in my pantry or fridge. Second, her instructions are clear, easy to follow and very forgiving. That last point is the most important in my case.

Another week has passed—eek! where does the time go?—and it's time for another Tuesday with Dorie. This week, Ashley of eat me, delicious chose the menu and she went for Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits. As expected, they were easy-peasy and took little time to get in the oven.

Now, on to the forgiving part. In Baking: From My Home to Yours, Dorie has written a whole section that talks about how to produce tall, flaky biscuits that are just-so. It's filled with tips and techniques on handling your dough to get the desired results. I have a love-hate relationship with all things that require dough, so my rolling pin rarely sees sunlight. I read (and reread and read again) that section before starting so my dough would yield the coveted tall, flaky biscuits. I had this handled ... or so I thought. Alas, my biscuits were neither tall nor flaky. They were kind of dense and a little scone-like. I didn't mind, though. They were still super delicious and I would definitely make these again. My resident tasters gave them the big thumbs-up as well. The recipe was forgiving, indeed.

Dorie suggests serving these with cold butter. That sounded tasty, but I decided to serve mine with some Earth & Vine Red Bell Pepper & Ancho Chili Jam I had in my fridge. If you've never tried this jam, I suggest you get your hands on some as soon as you can. It is the perfect balance of sweet and tangy, adding yumminess to just about anything.

Head on over to Tuesdays with Dorie to see how all the other bakers fared this week.

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.

Let Them Eat Gâteau

2008-02-18T20:53:00.000-08:00

I recently joined a group of baking bloggers called Tuesdays with Dorie. Each week, one member selects a different recipe from Baking: From My Home to Yours for the group to try and everyone posts about their experience on Tuesday. This week's recipe of Almost-Fudge Gâteau was selected by Nikki of Crazy Delicious.

I really liked the simplicity and understated elegance of this dessert. Since the ingredient list is short, it's important to use high-quality chocolate. Chocolate, after all, is the cornerstone of the recipe. I used Scharffen Berger and was glad I did. It was delish!

My one goof with this recipe was I think I overcooked the cake by about five minutes. You can see from some of my pictures that it was a bit crumbly when I cut it. By the very title of the recipe, I would expect a more dense, fudgy outcome. So, next time, I will probably watch the timer less and the cooking cake more.

The glaze was listed as optional. I personally couldn't see serving this any other way, as it added visual appeal and really kicked up the chocolate flavor. I might be biased since I overcooked my cake in the first place, but I still think I would feel the same had I not.

Dorie suggests serving with a dollop of crème fraîche or any flavor of ice cream. To bring out the hint of coffee in the cake and to complement the bittersweet chocolate, I served it with a scoop of Starbucks^® Classic Coffee Ice Cream.

All in all, this is a great recipe and is an easy way to impress company or a significant other with little effort.

Visit the TWD member list to check out more gâteaux.

Almost-Fudge Gâteau

5 large eggs
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup of sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks
2 tablespoons coffee or water
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt

For the Glaze (optional)
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
½ cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons light corn syrup

Getting Ready:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, butter the paper, dust the inside of the pan with flour and tap out the excess. Place the pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Separate the eggs, putting the whites in a mixer bowl or other large bowl and the yolks in a small bowl.

Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and add the chocolate, sugar butter and coffee. Stir occasionally until the chocolate and butter are melted; the sugar may still be grainy, and that's fine. Transfer the bowl to the counter and let the mixture sit for 3 minutes.

Using a rubber spatula, stir in the yolks one by one, then fold in the flour.

Working with the whisk attachment of the mixer or a hand mixer, beat the egg whites with the pinch of salt until they hold firm, but glossy peaks. Using the spatula, stir about one quarter of the beaten whites into the batter, then gently fold in the rest. Scrape the butter into the pan and jiggle the pan from side to side a couple of times to even the batter.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the cake has risen evenly (it might rise around the edges and you'll think it's done, but give it a few minutes more, and the center will puff too) and the top has firmed (it will probably be cracked) and doesn't shimmy when tapped; a thin knife inserted into the center should come out just slightly streaked with chocolate. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let the cake rest for 5 to 10 minutes.

Run a blunt knife gently around the edges of the cake and remove the sides of the pan. Carefully turn the cake over onto a rack and remove the pan bottom and the parchment paper. Invert the cake onto another rack and cool to room temperature right side up. As the cake cools, it may sink.

To Make the Optional Glaze:

First, turn the cooled cake over onto another rack so you'll be glazing the flat bottom, and place the rack over a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper to catch any drips.

Put the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl.

Melt the chocolate over a pan of simmering water or in a microwave oven – the chocolate should be just melted and only warm, not hot. Meanwhile, bring the cream to a boil in a small sauce pan. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and stir very gently with a rubber spatula until the mixture is smooth and shiny. Stir in the corn syrup.

Pour the glaze over the cake and smooth the top with a long metal icing spatula. Don't worry if the glaze drips unevenly down the sides of the cake – it will just add to its charms. Allow the glaze to set at room temperature or, if you're impatient, slip the cake into the refrigerator for about 20 minutes. If the glaze dulls in the fridge, just give it a little gentle heat from a hairdryer.

Bottle of Red, Bottle of White ... Either Works

2008-02-12T21:55:00.000-08:00

Do you ever have those nights when you wish you could just walk in the door with dinner ready and waiting for you? I definitely do. No fishing around the pantry for ingredients or running back out the store for that one crucial piece of the recipe that you mistakenly thought you had.

While there is no promise of a personal chef in my future, there are ways to cook sophisticated, fresh meals with whatever is in the pantry or fridge. I'm not that great at this, but Nigella Lawson does this very well. Tonight I made her version of coq au vin, which actually calls for Riesling instead of the red wine traditionally associated with this dish. I didn't have exactly what the recipe called for, so substituted with items I had onhand.

Coq Au Riesling
slightly adapated from Nigella Lawson's original recipe

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup cubed bacon
1 leek, finely sliced
2 pounds chicken breasts, each cut in half
1 750-ml bottle Riesling wine
4 cups button mushrooms, sliced
3 bay leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
1–2 tablespoons freshly chopped dill

Heat the oil and garlic in a large skillet and fry the bacon until crisp.

Add the sliced leek and soften it with the bacon for a minute or so.

Tip in the chicken, wine, mushrooms and bay leaves.

Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil, cover the pan, and simmer gently for 30–40 minutes.

Serve sprinkled with dill on a bed of noodles.

**Updated 3/24/08**
Six servings
Weight Watchers = 9 points per serving

Fry It, You'll Like It

2008-02-07T22:09:00.000-08:00

For many years during my youth, I remember my dad getting up early on Sunday mornings before anyone else was awake. He would go out and pick up a box of doughnuts and a newspaper. By the time he returned home with the goodies, my brothers and I were usually awake and anxiously waiting for dad's return. Mom would start the coffee and the house would instantly smell like a Sunday (if that's even possible). We would spend the next hour or two reading the paper and savoring our weekly doughnuts. In reality, us kids would fight over who could read the comics first and scarf down as many doughnuts as mom and dad would allow. While such a simple memory, it is one I will never forget. Because for those few moments on a quiet Sunday morning, we not only savored our pastries, but we also spent time together as a family.

Now that I'm an adult, doughnuts aren't really working with the metabolism, if you know what I mean. Consequently, they rarely make it into the meal rotation. However, when the lovelyPeabody and Tartelette recently announced that they were hosting a Time to Make the Doughnuts event, I was hooked. All the memories of the simpler days of my childhood came rushing back. As I have changed over the years, so has my taste. Whereas in my youth I would have chosen a creme-filled chocolate bar, I opted to now make doughnuts that one might consider requiring a more discriminating palate. Spiced Potato Doughnuts. Don't let the name fool you. These are plenty sweet, but also offer plenty of spice as its name implies.

Spiced Potato Doughnuts
from Gourmet

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups mashed cooked baking potatoes, like russets, (about 1 pound)
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest, if desired
1 teaspoon vanilla
Vegetable oil, for frying

For the coating:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, or, to taste

Into a bowl sift the flour, the baking powder, the salt, the cinnamon, and the nutmeg. In a small bowl whisk together the eggs, the butter, the sugar, the potatoes, the milk, the zest, and the vanilla until the mixture is combined well, add the potato mixture to the flour mixture, and stir the dough until it is just combined.

Chill the dough, covered, for 1 hour, or until it is cold and can be handled easily. Roll out half the dough 1/2-inch thick on a well-floured surface and with a 3 to 3 1/2-inch doughnut cutter cut out doughnuts, reserving the center pieces. With the other half of the dough either cut out round doughnuts in the same manner or shape the dough into crullers.

For the crullers, roll the dough into a 1/2-inch-thick rectangle about 14 by 5-inches and cut into 5 by 1/2-inch strips. To form each cruller, twist 2 strips of dough together, and pinch the ends to secure them. Fry the round doughnuts, the reserved doughnut centers, and the crullers in batches in 2 inches of 375 degrees F. oil, or until they are golden, transferring them as they are fried to paper towels to drain.

Make the coating: In a shallow bowl stir together the sugar and the cinnamon.

While the doughnuts are still warm, roll them, 1 at a time, in the sugar mixture, coating them well. The doughnuts keep, wrapped in plastic wrap, for 1 day.

Don't Cry for Me, Onion-tina!

2008-02-02T21:20:00.000-08:00

Life is like an onion. You peel it off one layer at a time, and sometimes you weep.

~ Carl Sandberg, poet

I absolutely cannot stand cutting onions. It's not so much the process itself, but the byproduct of the act. Big crocodile tears. Whenever I cut an onion, no matter the variety, my eyes start to burn and then uncontrollably start watering. The irony of it all lies in the fact that the very item that literally brings me to tears also gives me more satisfaction and comfort than many other foods. Onion soup is by far one of my favorite meals. The flavors are so simple, yet so bold at the same time. In my world, onion soup is always (and without exception) topped with crispy bread and good-quality cheese that ends up looking like ooey gooey ribbons from the heat of the soup. Whether having a lighthearted dinner with friends or sitting back for a quiet night in, onion soup adds a feel-good vibe to any moment that very few meals can produce. For this month's Monthly Mingle, hosted by Meeta from What's For Lunch Honey?, the theme is comfort foods. I don't really have a go-to recipe for onion soup, so decided to try a new one I found that includes a little bit of port and cooking a parmesan rind in the soup. I must say that this recipe is my new favorite and has pretty much earned itself the go-to position when it comes to onion soup. No crying here now.

Classic Onion Soup with Gruyere
from Robin Miller

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 large yellow or Spanish onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 large red onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup port wine
6 cups reduced-sodium beef broth (I used 6 tablespoons Better Than Bouillon Beef Base combined with 6 cups of tepid water)
1 (2-inch) piece Parmesan rind
Reserved bread from bread bowls or 4 slices sourdough baguette, about 1-inch thick and lightly toasted
8 slices Gruyere cheese

All the ingredients, just add water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and preheat broiler.
Melt butter and oil together in a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions and sugar and cook 10 minutes, until onions are tender and golden brown. Add thyme, bay leaves, salt, and black pepper and stir to coat. Cook 1 minute, until fragrant. Add port and simmer until liquid is absorbed. Add broth and Parmesan rind and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low, partially cover and simmer 20 minutes.

Remove bay leaves and Parmesan rind and ladle soup into oven-proof bowls. Place bowls on a baking sheet. Place reserved bread rounds or a sourdough round into each bowl and top bread with Gruyere cheese. Broil 2 to 3 minutes, until cheese is golden and bubbly.

Pucker Up!

2008-01-28T07:23:00.000-08:00

The Daring Bakers are at it again. Today the blogosphere will be hit with hundreds of lemon meringue pies made 'round the world. Hang on to your taste buds because this one packs some flavor.

Thanks to our host, Jen from The Canadian Baker, for challenging the Daring Bakers to complete a pastry crust, lemon curd and the pièce de résistance—meringue. I had never made a lemon meringue pie before, but had dabbled a few times with meringue itself. Not usually much of a pie person, I rather enjoyed this dessert. Not too tart, not too sweet and a little bit of whimsy make this a great idea for entertaining.

Lemon Meringue Pie
from Wanda's Pie in the Sky by Wanda Beaver

Makes one 10-inch (25 cm) pie; I made 12 mini pies

For the Crust:
3/4 cup (180 mL) cold butter; cut into ½-inch (1.2 cm) pieces
2 cups (475 mL) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (60 mL) granulated sugar
1/4 tsp (1.2 mL) salt
1/3 cup (80 mL) ice water

For the Filling:
2 cups (475 mL) water 1 cup (240 mL) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (120 mL) cornstarch
5 egg yolks, beaten
1/4 cup (60 mL) butter
3/4 cup (180 mL) fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon zest
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract

For the Meringue:
5 egg whites, room temperature
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) cream of tartar
1/4 tsp (1.2 mL) salt
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) vanilla extract
3/4 cup (180 mL) granulated sugar

To Make the Crust:
Make sure all ingredients are as cold as possible. Using a food processor or pastry cutter and a large bowl, combine the butter, flour, sugar and salt. Process or cut in until the mixture resembles coarse meal and begins to clump together. Sprinkle with water, let rest 30 seconds and then either process very briefly or cut in with about 15 strokes of the pastry cutter, just until the dough begins to stick together and come away from the sides of the bowl. Turn onto a lightly floured work surface and press together to form a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 20 minutes.

Allow the dough to warm slightly to room temperature if it is too hard to roll. On a lightly floured board (or countertop) roll the disk to a thickness of 1/8 inch (.3 cm). Cut a circle about 2 inches (5 cm) larger than the pie plate and transfer the pastry into the plate by folding it in half or by rolling it onto the rolling pin. Turn the pastry under, leaving an edge that hangs over the plate about 1/2 inch (1.2 cm). Flute decoratively. Chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line the crust with foil and fill with metal pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden. Cool completely before filling.

To Make the Filling:
Bring the water to a boil in a large, heavy saucepan. Remove from the heat and let rest 5 minutes. Whisk the sugar and cornstarch together. Add the mixture gradually to the hot water, whisking until completely incorporated. Return to the heat and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. The mixture will be very thick. Add about 1 cup (240 mL) of the hot mixture to the beaten egg yolks, whisking until smooth. Whisking vigorously, add the warmed yolks to the pot and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until
mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in butter until incorporated. Add the lemon juice, zest and vanilla, stirring until combined. Pour into the prepared crust. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming on the surface, and cool to room temperature.

To Make the Meringue:
Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Using an electric mixer beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar, salt and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Add the sugar gradually, beating until it forms stiff, glossy peaks. Pile onto the cooled pie, bringing the meringue all the way over to the edge of the crust to seal it completely. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden. Cool on a rack. Serve within 6 hours to avoid a soggy crust.

Weeknight Dinner with No Drama

2008-01-20T21:18:00.000-08:00

Recently, I asked for dinner suggestions from some fellow cyber foodies. BMK suggested a great Martha Stewart recipe for Chicken with Tomatoes and Mushrooms. She said it was one of her new favorites. Glancing at the list of ingredients, which is short, I admit I didn't anticipate this one to knock my socks off. But, I'm pulling the crow out of my mouth as I type this because this dish was actually extremely flavorful. I did add a little bit of Italian seasoning (but I think it would have also been find without that addition) and sprinkled some freshly grated Parmesan (I love me some cheese). It's a solid meal that I definitely could see making again for a quick weeknight dinner. If you need to get a little more mileage out of the meal, I think it would also go well on a bed of pasta.

I encourage you to head on over to BMK's blog, Reservations Not Required, for the recipe.

What's for Dinner?

2008-01-17T22:02:00.000-08:00

It's an age-old question that we have all asked of someone else at one point in our lives. Sometimes its hard to find inspiration and easier to just take the path of least resistance by serving up one of my go-to dishes.

But, that's boring. And one of the reasons why I blog about cooking is to challenge myself to get creative in the kitchen.

I pour over my many foodie magazines and scour the internet looking for that one recipe that speaks to me. Tonight I decided to not work so hard at it and randomly picked an ingredient as a theme for dinner. Ginger. Once I decided, it actually didn't take me long to choose these two recipes. Prep time was brief and the number of ingredients was very manageable, with most items already in our pantry and fridge. While my pictures turned out a bit yellow (I'm currently using a point-and-shoot number and quickly finding that I need to reconsider my equipment), the food was bright and elegantly understated. No muss, no fuss. Just robust flavor.

Chicken with Ginger
from Martha Stewart

1 three-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch-thick matchsticks (1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup sliced scallions

Soak ginger in cold water 10 minutes; drain.
Heat oil in a skillet over high heat; brown chicken in two batches, 6 to 8 minutes. Set aside.
In same skillet over medium heat, cook ginger, onion, and garlic, stirring until browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar; cook over high heat until thick, 3 to 4 minutes. Add chicken; stir to warm. Remove from heat; stir in scallions.

Ginger-Sesame Bok Choy
from Martha Stewart

1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
5 thin slices peeled fresh ginger
4 to 5 heads baby bok choy, (1 pound), each halved lengthwise (I ended up using one large head of regular bok choy, since the baby heads in my store looked a little wilty)

In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Set aside.

In a large skillet with a tight-fitting lid, bring 1 cup water and ginger to a boil. Add the bok choy; reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook until leaves are vibrant green and stems are fork-tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain well; discard ginger.

Transfer bok choy to a serving platter; drizzle with the vinegar-soy mixture, and serve immediately.

Happy New Year

2008-01-02T21:23:00.000-08:00

Some say that eating black-eyed peas on New Year's day brings the diner good luck and financial gain for that year. Fact? Folklore? All I know is that I can always use more luck and money. So who am I to question tradition? As I eat another spoonful in hopes of enriching my future, I wish you all the best for a happy, healthy and prosperous 2008.

Smoked Sausage and Black-Eyed Peas

from Emeril Lagasse

1 pound smoked sausage
1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 medium)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
4 cloves of garlic
5 sprigs of fresh thyme
4 bay leaves
3 teaspoons finely chopped parsley
8 cups chicken stock
1 pound black-eyed peas
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon chopped green onions

In a large pot, over medium heat, render the sausage for 5 minutes. Stir in the onions, salt, cayenne, garlic, bay leaves, thyme and parsley. Saute for 5 minutes, or until the onions are wilted. Stir in the chicken stock, peas and garlic. Bring the liquid up to a simmer and cook for 1 1/2 hours, or until the peas are tender. Spoon the peas and sausage in the center of a shallow bowl. Garnish with green onions.

No Fork Required

2007-12-26T01:26:00.000-08:00

With all the baked goods and sweets passed around this time of year, I am on sugar overload. I've fed my face with candy, cookies, cake, whatever came my way the entire month of December. So when I came across the chili cook-off, hosted by Tami at Running with Tweezers, I welcomed the change in diet. A hearty bowl of chili fills you up and, depending on the recipe, is chock full of protein. My favorite way to make it is with a lot of meat, a lot of beans, and a lot of veggies. On more than one occasion, I have made a recipe called Boilermaker Tailgate Chili that I found on allrecipes.com. I've made many tweaks to adjust for my family's personal taste, but still use the recipe as the foundation so I have to give proper credit. With it's meaty texture and just the right amount of spice, it has become a family favorite and always pleases even the pickiest of eaters.

Adaptation of Boilermaker Tailgate Chili

2 pounds lean ground beef

1 pound bulk Italian sausage

1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, drained

1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained

2 (15 ounce) cans chili beans in spicy sauce

2 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

1 large yellow onion, chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1/4 of an Anaheim pepper, seeded and chopped

4 teaspoons beef base

1 cup beer

1/8 cup chili powder

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon paprika

2 teaspoons white sugar

1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese

Heat a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Crumble the ground chuck and sausage into the hot pan, and cook until evenly browned. Drain off excess grease.
Pour in all the cans of beans, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Add the onion, celery, green and red bell peppers, Anaheim pepper, beef base, and beer. Season with chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, oregano, cumin, basil, salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, and sugar. Stir to blend, then cover and simmer over low heat for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
After 2 hours, taste, and adjust salt, pepper, and chili powder if necessary. The longer the chili simmers, the better it will taste. Remove from heat and serve, or refrigerate, and serve the next day.
To serve, ladle into bowls, and top with shredded Cheddar cheese.

Sugar and Spice is Very Nice

2007-12-25T18:55:00.000-08:00

Cinnamon is one of those versatile spices that is used for both sweet and savory dishes. From chocolate desserts to lamb dishes, and everything in between, cinnamon is quite an adaptive little number. My favorite way to eat it is a fairly traditional and simple approach—combined with sugar.

When Sunita from Sunita's World announced cinnamon as the featured spice for her monthly challenge, I immediately knew what kind of dish I would submit. Something that was sweet enough to play off the spicy cinnamon flavor. How about coffee cake?

Coffee Cake with Crumble Topping and Brown Sugar Glaze
Slightly adapted from this original Emeril Lagasse recipe.

Cake:
1 stick plus 2 teaspoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Crumble Topping:
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Brown Sugar Glaze:
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish with 2 teaspoons of the butter.

In a large bowl, cream together the remaining stick of butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating after the addition of each. In a separate bowl or on a piece of parchment, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add to the wet ingredients, alternating with the sour cream and vanilla. Pour into the prepared baking dish, spreading out to the edges.

To make the topping, in a bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter, and mix until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the topping over the cake and bake until golden brown and set, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes.

To make the glaze, in a bowl, combine the sugar, vanilla, and water and mix until smooth. Drizzle the cake with the glaze and let harden slightly. Serve warm.

While quite tasty and barely a crumb remaining, I do have a few suggestions and rants.The original recipe called for two apples, peeled and cubed. I didn't have any onhand, so I omitted them. While my version tasted fine, I think the apples would have added a nice texture. Also, I felt the brown sugar glaze was a little overkill (even for me). Instead, I would add chopped pecans on top of the crumble topping before baking and leave it at that.

Yule Want A Bite of This

2007-12-22T00:49:00.000-08:00

If forced to self-evaluate, I would venture to say that I am a stronger cook than baker. But, I enjoy pushing my comfort level in the kitchen and recently joined up with some fellow food-lovin' bloggers in an online baking group affectionately called Daring Bakers.

And "daring" is a perfect way to describe this group. While pastry-chef skills aren't required to participate, gumption is. This is a good thing because I am just a regular gal who happens to enjoying making food just as much as I enjoy eating it. Each month, one member is charged with presenting a new baking challenge to the group. That person communicates what items are required of the task and where participants can customize to show their personal style. On a specified day each month, members blog about that month's challenge, sharing experiences and trading tips.

I encourage you to check out some of the talented bakers in this group. Visit the Daring Bakers' blogroll for the official member list and links to each person's blog.

This month's challenge, chosen by the group's founders Ivonne and Lis, was to make a yule log or Bûche de Noël. Growing up, my only exposure to a yule log was on the TV on Christmas eve. A looping tape of a burning log playing against a background of Christmas music. I promptly Googled the term to see what I was really in for.

It took me 8 hours from start to finish, but I completed my first challenge with only minor moments of drama:

One of the requirements was that you had to decorate your log with candy mushrooms made from meringue or marzipan. I chose meringue and ended up having to redo them, as they collapsed shortly after coming out of the oven. I think I didn't whip the whites long enough before piping them. The second batch were much better.
I also go into a fight with my yule log while trying to piece together the "branches." It cracked in some places and crumbled a bit in others. Frosting is a baker's best friend, though, I soon found. After carefully covering all the seams, you would never know that the log had some flaws.

Here are the variations I made:

Added Grand Marnier to the buttercream.
Sprinkled a thin layer of hazelnuts before rolling up the genoise.
Added cocoa powder to my buttercream before frosting to make it look more like wood.
Dipped the underside of my mushroom caps in melted chocolate to give the look of mushroom gills.
Garnished with chocolate leaves made from painting melted chocolate onto washed lemon leaves, and then peeling off when cooled.

Plain Genoise
3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
pinch of salt
¾ cup of sugar
½ cup cake flour - spoon flour into dry-measure cup and level off
¼ cup cornstarch
one 10 x 15 inch jelly-roll pan that has been buttered and lined with parchment paper and then buttered again

Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.

Half-fill a medium saucepan with water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat so the water is simmering.
Whisk the eggs, egg yolks, salt and sugar together in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer. Place over the pan of simmering water and whisk gently until the mixture is just lukewarm, about 100 degrees if you have a thermometer (or test with your finger - it should be warm to the touch).
Attach the bowl to the mixer and, with the whisk attachment, whip on medium-high speed until the egg mixture is cooled (touch the outside of the bowl to tell) and tripled in volume. The egg foam will be thick and will form a slowly dissolving ribbon falling back onto the bowl of whipped eggs when the whisk is lifted.
While the eggs are whipping, stir together the flour and cornstarch.
Sift one-third of the flour mixture over the beaten eggs. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the flour mixture, making sure to scrape all the way to the bottom of the bowl on every pass through the batter to prevent the flour mixture from accumulating there and making lumps. Repeat with another third of the flour mixture and finally with the remainder.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
Bake the genoise for about 10 to 12 minutes. Make sure the cake doesn’t overbake and become too dry or it will not roll properly.
While the cake is baking, begin making the buttercream.
Once the cake is done (a tester will come out clean and if you press the cake lightly it will spring back), remove it from the oven and let it cool on a rack.

My genoise cooling its jets before getting dressed.

Coffee Buttercream
4 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
24 tablespoons (3 sticks or 1-1/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
2 tablespoons rum or brandy

Whisk the egg whites and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Set the bowl over simmering water and whisk gently until the sugar is dissolved and the egg whites are hot.
Attach the bowl to the mixer and whip with the whisk on medium speed until cooled. Switch to the paddle and beat in the softened butter and continue beating until the buttercream is smooth. Dissolve the instant coffee in the liquor and beat into the buttercream.

Meringue Mushrooms
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
½ cup (3-1/2 ounces/105 g.) granulated sugar
1/3 cup (1-1/3 ounces/40 g.) icing sugar
Unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting

Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Have ready a pastry bag fitted with a small (no. 6) plain tip. In a bowl, using a mixer on medium-low speed, beat together the egg whites and cream of tartar until very foamy. Slowly add the granulated sugar while beating. Increase the speed to high and beat until soft peaks form when the beaters are lifted. Continue until the whites hold stiff, shiny peaks. Sift the icing sugar over the whites and, using a rubber spatula, fold in until well blended.
Scoop the mixture into the bag. On one baking sheet, pipe 48 stems, each ½ inch (12 mm.) wide at the base and tapering off to a point at the top, ¾ inch (2 cm.) tall, and spaced about ½ inch (12 mm.) apart. On the other sheet, pipe 48 mounds for the tops, each about 1-1/4 inches (3 cm.) wide and ¾ inch (2 cm.) high, also spaced ½ inch (12 mm.) apart. With a damp fingertip, gently smooth any pointy tips. Dust with cocoa. Reserve the remaining meringue.
Bake until dry and firm enough to lift off the paper, 50-55 minutes. Set the pans on the counter and turn the mounds flat side up. With the tip of a knife, carefully make a small hole in the flat side of each mound. Pipe small dabs of the remaining meringue into the holes and insert the stems tip first. Return to the oven until completely dry, about 15 minutes longer. Let cool completely on the sheets.

My little mushroom forest. If you look close, you might just see a Smurf.

Filling and frosting the log

Run a sharp knife around the edges of the genoise to loosen it from the pan.
Turn the genoise layer over (unmolding it from the sheet pan onto a flat surface) and peel away the paper.
Carefully invert your genoise onto a fresh piece of parchment paper.
Spread with half the coffee buttercream (or whatever filling you’re using).

A sprinkling of chopped hazelnuts before rolling adds a nutty crunch to the final product.

Use the parchment paper to help you roll the cake into a tight cylinder.
Transfer back to the baking sheet and refrigerate for several hours.
Unwrap the cake. Trim the ends on the diagonal, starting the cuts about 2 inches away from each end.
Position the larger cut piece on each log about 2/3 across the top.
Cover the log with the reserved buttercream, making sure to curve around the protruding stump.
Streak the buttercream with a fork or decorating comb to resemble bark.

Transfer the log to a platter and decorate with your mushrooms and whatever other decorations you’ve chosen.

Chocolate-painted lemon leaves cooling.

Nuts for Pistachios

2007-12-19T19:02:00.000-08:00

My favorite thing about pistachios (besides being tasty) is their visual appeal. I hand-shelled this bowl as I prepared to make some pistachio shortbread. It caught my eye because the color of the nuts just popped against the white of the bowl and the counter, the chartreuse green complemented by strokes of light-purple contrast. Offering a delicate and subtle flavor, pistachios are one of those rare foods that are appropriate for sweet and savory dishes alike.

Chocolate-Dipped Pistachio Shortbread

Adapted from this Martha Stewart recipe.

1/2 cup shelled pistachios
1/4 cup baker's sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, chilled
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg yolks
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate morsels

In the bowl of a food processor, grind pistachios by pressing the pulse button a handful of times until you have very small pieces. It's important to not overdo it as you will end up with a powder. Add half the pistachios to baker's sugar and and half to the flour.
In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar on medium speed (using the paddle attachment) until fluffy. Add vanilla and salt, and beat for 1 minute. Add yolks one at a time, and beat until evenly combined. Add flour and pistachio mixture, and mix until just combined. Remove dough, form into a rectangle; wrap in plastic and chill for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a 1/8-inch thickness. Brush dough with the egg white to moisten. Cover evenly with pistachio-sugar mixture. Lightly press mixture into dough with the rolling pin. Using a small circular cookie cutter, cut cookies as close as possible to avoid waste. Place on prepared baking sheets.
Bake until edges are just lightly golden, about 12 minutes. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack.
When cooled, melt chocolate chips and dip one half of each cookie.

The original recipe indicated cooking time should be 18 minutes. This is what I ended up with after cooking for that long—burnt little discs that masked the nutty pistachio taste and simply weren't good. I reduced cooking time to 12 minutes and had much better results. Since oven temps can vary, cooking time should be adjusted accordingly.

Feed the Hungry By Increasing Your Vocab

2007-12-14T07:21:00.000-08:00

Huh? How does increasing your vocabulary help feed the hungry? The folks at FreeRice started a website with a vocabulary game where they give you a word with four possible meanings and you pick the correct definition. For each word you get right, FreeRice donates 20 grains of rice through the United Nations to end world hunger.

If you're like me and question the legitimacy of just about everything, I bet you're wondering why they don't just donate the rice in the first place if they have a bunch of rice sitting around. The way it works is that when you play the game, advertisements appear on the bottom of your screen. The money from the ads buys the rice. See where the rice goes and then help feed the hungry.

Slow Down with Slow Food

2007-12-12T21:22:00.000-08:00

Risotto is the epitome of comfort food—creamy, cheesy, yummy. But, making it is not for the fair-weather cook. You can't just crank the heat, cover the pan and walk away from the stove while your meal cooks. You have to hold risotto's hand, gently stirring and adding warm broth as you go. There are no shortcuts. But don't get me wrong. As some might like you to believe, it's not hard, it's just time-consuming. So, if your an over-achiever type and can't fathom the idea of hanging out in the kitchen, maximize your time with some leg lifts or glute squeezes or whatever while you hover over your risotto. Or, if you can, just enjoy the moment and take a few deep breaths while you savor the aroma.

Since risotto requires constant attention, I recommend chopping and measuring all your ingredients before you get started. This may not be a new practice for some, but I tend to wing it as I make my way through a recipe. It's not unusual for me to be digging around my spice cupboard looking for something I thought I had, but now can't find.

Common with most risotto recipes, this version called for butter. I am trying really hard to cut out butter fat, so just used olive oil. I didn't miss it at all and still managed to come up with a bowl of moist and creamy wonderfulness.

I should also add that I like to cook with Meyer lemons. They are sweeter than conventional lemons, so they add more flavor than tartness. If you can find them, try them.

A girl can't live on carbs alone (that's not to say I don't try), so I served this dish layering the risotto, then sauteed spinach, and topping with sliced Monte Cristo chicken.

Mangia!

Lemon Risotto
from Epicurious

6 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
3 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large shallots, chopped
2 cups arborio rice or medium-grain white rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 teaspoons grated lemon peel

Bring broth to simmer in large saucepan over medium heat. Reduce heat to low; cover to keep warm. Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons butter with oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté until tender, about 6 minutes. Add rice; stir 1 minute. Add wine and stir until evaporated, about 30 seconds. Add 1 1/2 cups hot broth; simmer until absorbed, stirring frequently. Add remaining broth 1/2 cup at a time, allowing broth to be absorbed before adding more and stirring frequently until rice is creamy and tender, about 35 minutes. Stir in cheese and remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Stir in parsley, lemon juice, and lemon peel. Season risotto with salt and pepper.

Pollo Monte Cristo
from Epicurious

1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 6 ounces each)
Herbes de Provence
All-purpose flour (for dusting)
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 shallot, chopped
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup chicken stock
Juice of 1/4 lemon
1 tablespoon butter
Julienned lemon zest (optional)

Heat oven to 375°F. Heat oil in a large ovenproof sauté pan over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt, pepper and herbes de Provence. Dust with flour; tap off excess. Cook, meaty side down, 5 minutes. Turn over; cook 1 minute. Add garlic and shallot; stir 30 seconds. Add wine; cook 1 minute. Add stock; cook 30 seconds. Add lemon juice. Transfer pan to oven. Bake until chicken is cooked through, 9 to 13 minutes. Transfer chicken to cutting board. Place pan over medium heat; simmer sauce 1 minute. Add butter; swirl pan until butter incorporates and sauce thickens slightly. Cut each breast into 4 slices; transfer each to a plate; top with sauce and garlic. Serve with spinach; garnish with zest, if desired.

Summer Fare on a Winter's Night?

2007-12-07T21:51:00.000-08:00

Nothing says summer like homemade ice cream. So, why then, is it 36° F outside and I have a hankering for ice cream? Not sure why, but I have always loved a tasty bowl of ice cream in the dead of winter. To satisfy this urge, I decided to whip up some homemade strawberry ice cream.

Strawberry Ice Cream
2 cups fresh ripe strawberries, stemmed and sliced
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup sugar, divided
1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Combine the strawberries with the lemon juice and 1/3 cup of the sugar; stir gently and allow the strawberries to macerate in the juices for 2 hours.

In another bowl, use a hand mixer to combine the milk and granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the heavy cream, the vanilla and any accumulated juices from the strawberries.

Turn on your ice cream maker (I use this Cuisinart model) and pour the mixture into the frozen bowl. Note: If you have a different machine, make sure you check your machine's instructions for the best results. Let mix until thickened, about 25-30 minutes.

Add the sliced strawberries during the last 5 minutes of freezing.

In contrast to its store-bought counterparts, this ice cream ends up being a light pink. It makes me wonder what the heck food companies are putting in their products.

Hated it! Can you tell?

Waste Not, Want Not

2007-12-06T23:37:00.000-08:00

It's inevitable. No matter how carefully I plan my grocery shopping, I still find spoiled produce in the back of the fridge veggie drawer week after week. This drives me batty! Not only do I end up wasting perfectly good food, but I may as well be throwing money right into the garbage can. In an attempt to avoid both scenarios, I've adopted the philosophy that I cannot purchase any new produce if I still have some left in my fridge.

So, what does this have to do with anything? When making Portobello Stuffed Mushrooms earlier this week, I somehow bought twice as much fennel as I needed. Ever since, I have been eyeing the leftover fennel in the fridge, trying to figure out what the heck to do with it. I rarely cook with it, so was kind of at a loss. I scoured the internet for culinary inspiration and finally found something that seemed to meet my needs, penne pasta with sausage and fennel. Sounds tasty to me. The recipe took a little longer than I would have liked for a weeknight, but it turned out well and provided enough leftovers for at least one more meal for two.

Penne with Sausage and Fennel
from Food & Wine

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 small carrot, finely chopped
1 small celery rib, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped sage
One 35-ounce can peeled Italian tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons chopped basil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 pound Italian sweet sausage, pricked with a fork
1 large fennel bulb (1 1/2 pounds)--halved lengthwise, cored and sliced crosswise, fronds chopped
1 pound penne
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
2 tablespoons freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese, plus more for serving

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add the onion, carrot, celery and sage and cook over low heat until the onion is softened but not browned, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and 1 tablespoon of basil and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook for 30 minutes.
In a medium saucepan of water, simmer the sausage over moderate heat until cooked through, about 8 minutes. Drain, cut into 1/4-inch rounds and add to the tomato sauce.
Cook the fennel slices in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer them to the tomato sauce. Add the penne to the boiling water and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente; drain and return to the pot. Add the tomato sauce, parsley and the fennel fronds and toss. Add the 2 tablespoons of cheese and the remaining 1 tablespoon of basil and toss again. Transfer the pasta to a warmed bowl and serve with the additional cheese.

Updated 3/2/2008
8 servings
Weight Watchers = 8 points per serving

Stuffed to the Gills

2007-12-02T22:51:00.000-08:00

Or for our purposes, stuffed in place of the gills. With these stuffed portobello mushrooms, you remove the gills to make room for all the yummy goodies. Yummy, indeed!

I am normally a total carnivore. But even I like to keep it light every now and then by going vegetarian for an evening. This is one of my favorite all-veggie recipes and this is about the third time I've made it. It's not hard, but does take a little bit of time because of all the mincing involved. It's totally worth it, though, and consistently delivers a flavorful and satisfying meal. Tonight, I served it with tomatoes on a bed of arugula, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic and seasoned with a little salt and pepper.

To make this vegan, simply substitute bread crumbs for the cheese.

Portobello Mushrooms Stuffed with Spinach, Parmesan and Fennel
from Food to Live By

4 large portobello mushroom caps (about 1 1/2 pounds total)
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for oiling the baking dish
1/2 cup finely minced shallots
1 1/2 cups finely minced fennel
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
6 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded, caps minced (about 1 cup)
12 ounces baby spinach, cut into ribbons (about 8 cups)
1/4 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 tablespoons minced fresh tarragon
1 1/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Wipe the portobello mushroom caps clean with a damp paper towel. Using a small paring knife or teaspoon, remove the gills to create a shallow depression for the stuffing. Place the portobellos on a lightly oiled baking dish and set aside.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the shallots and fennel and cook until soft, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Add the garlic and shiitake mushrooms and cook until the moisture has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Stir in the spinach and cook until it wilts, about 5 minutes, working in batches, if necessary.
Add the parsley, tarragon, and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese and stir to combine. Cook until the cheese melts, about 1 minute. Season the filling with salt and pepper to taste.
Spoon the filling into the portobellos, mounding it slightly. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of the remaining Parmesan cheese over each mushroom. (The mushrooms can be prepared up to this stage 4 hours ahead. Refrigerate them, covered until ready to bake.)
Bake the mushrooms until they are tender but not soggy and the cheese on top has browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve immediately.

Updated 3/2/2008
4 servings
Weight Watchers = 5 points per serving

All We are Saying is Give "Peas" a Chance

2007-12-01T20:17:00.001-08:00

I admit it; I'm not really a fan of peas in their standard form and find them almost annoying. Those pesky, little green balls just roll around your plate, eluding your fork with every attempt at capturing a bite. And if you happen to have them on your plate in a restaurant, you have to figure out how to tactfully use your knife or finger (gasp) to corral a sufficient amount onto your fork.

What I can get on board with is eating my peas in the form of soup. There is something very comforting about a warm bowl of split pea soup and a nice hunk of warm sourdough bread. If you've ever driven I-5 in California traveling between the north and south parts of the state, you know what I mean. Pretty much everyone I know who has wearily traveled that route has stopped at Pea Soup Andersen's at least once for a bowl of their split pea soup. And most make it a regular pit-stop on their journeys. Thus the inspiration for today's recipe ... a nod to a Central California classic.

Savory Split Pea Soup with Ham and Pancetta
from Food to Live By

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup finely diced pancetta (about 3 ounces)
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced (about 3/4 cup)
1 celery rib, finely diced (about 1/4 cup)
2 small carrots, finely diced (about 1/2 cup)
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups dried split green peas, rinsed
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup diced smoked ham, such as Black Forest (about 5 ounces)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons sherry (optional)
fresh thyme leaves, for garnish

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook until it softens and begins to color, about 3 minutes. Add the onion, celery, carrots, and bay leaf and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables soften, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute longer.
Add the split peas, stock and 3 1/2 cups of water to the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and let simmer slowly, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes.
Add the salt and thyme and continue cooking, partially covered, until the split peas are tender and have begun to break down slightly, about 30 minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaf. If you are not planning on serving the soup at this time, let it cool to room temperature. It can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 3 days or frozen for 2 months.
Add the ham and let simmer until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Remove the soup from the heat and stir in the vinegar and sherry, if using. Serve the soup hot, sprinkled with thyme leaves.

Updated 3/2/3008
4 servings
Weight Watchers = 13 points per serving

Oodles of Noodles

2007-11-26T22:24:00.000-08:00

This is an easy one-pot meal for evenings when you want something healthy that takes little effort. You can use this dish as an excuse to clean up those miscellaneous items in your veggie drawer. Try bell peppers, cabbage, bean sprouts or whatever else strikes your fancy. I didn't have much time tonight, so I just added carrots and onions.

1 9.5 ounce package of organic wheat udon noodles
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 to 1 pound chicken, cut into bite-sized slices
2 cups chopped veggies
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 green onions, sliced on the diagonal
pinch of salt
pinch of fresh ground pepper

Cook udon noodles in boiling water for 4 to 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat olive oil on medium-high in large nonstick skillet. Add chicken and saute until no longer pink or juices run clear. Add all the veggies (except green onions), heating for another 3-5 minutes.
Remove from heat. Add soy sauce, green onions, salt and pepper to skillet and toss all ingredients together.

Updated 3/2/3008
4 servings
Weight Watchers = 10 points per serving

A Little Bit of Heaven on a Cracker

2007-11-23T18:56:00.000-08:00

I served Katie's (of Good Things Catered) recipe for Roasted Artichoke and Spinach Dip as a snack while we watched football and waited for the turkey to cook yesterday. One word: fabulous. I almost didn't bother roasting the artichokes because it sounded unnecessary at first. Follow the recipe because the roasting really brings out the flavor. Here's a shot of the finished product. As you can see, people couldn't wait to dig long enough to let me grab a picture.

Updated 3/2/2008
8 servings
Weight Watchers = 6 points per serving

Sweet and Spicy: A Great Combination

2007-11-23T18:03:00.000-08:00

Looking for an alternative to the usual white-bread stuffing, I came upon this recipe for cornbread and sausage stuffing. Besides the taste (which I'll get to in a second), what I liked most was that it was ridiculously easy to prepare. And, I made it in advance, refrigerated and just added five minutes on to the cooking time. It's a great choice if you have a busy schedule and prepare food in advance.

As for the taste, this one hit it out of the park. If you like the sweetness of cornbread, this is your new stuffing recipe. The sweet corn and spicy sausage play nicely off each other and every bite is as delicious as the next. My only complaint, and it was really my own doing, is it sucks up a lot of the broth when you cook it. So, you need to make sure it is adequately moist, or it can be a little dry and crumbly. I added some before serving, when I noticed it to be a bit dry, and it didn't absorb as much as it would have in the hear of the oven. It still tasted great and I plan to make this again. Next time, I may add some toasted pecans to add a little nutty flavor.

Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing
Recipe from EatingWell.com

1 pound sweet Italian turkey sausage (about 4 links), casings removed
2 cups finely chopped onion
1 1/2 cups finely chopped celery
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 pounds prepared cornbread, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (about 12 cups)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1 1/2-3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

Preheat oven to 325°F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Cook sausage in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, stirring and breaking up with a wooden spoon, until browned, about 10 minutes. Add onion and celery; cover, reduce heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add cornbread, parsley and sage.
Bring broth to a simmer in a small saucepan. Pour 1 cup over the stuffing mixture and toss gently (the cornbread will break into smaller pieces). Add as much of the remaining broth as needed, 1/2 cup at a time, until the stuffing feels moist but not wet. Spoon the stuffing into the prepared pan and cover with foil.
Bake the stuffing until thoroughly heated, about 25 minutes. Serve warm.

Modifications:
None

Tip:
Fresh cornbread can be a little crumbly. Prepare the cornbread two to three days in advance and it will hold its shape better when mixing everything together. If you prefer a more moist stuffing, refer to my introduction comments above for a suggestion.

Updated 3/2/2008
12 servings
Weight Watchers = 7 points per serving

Herb is the Word

2007-11-23T11:38:00.000-08:00

Each year there seems to be one popular method to prepare your Thanksgiving bird. I'm not talking about the roasting-vs-frying-vs-barbecuing debate. I'm talking about how to get the juiciest and most flavorful bird. Last year, it was maple glaze; the year before, citrus. This year was all about the herbs. Rosemary, sage, thyme, etc. We have yet to find the preferred method in our house, so tend to run with the masses on trying new flavors year after year. I found a recipe on EatingWell.com that I planned to follow verbatim. In the end, I made so many modifications that the recipe became more of an inspiration rather than providing specific directions. And an inspiration it was. The skin browned nicely and the meat had just a hint of flavor, without being overbearing. It was the perfect foundation to our herb-inspired Thanksgiving. It remains to be seen if this will become tradition, but we would definitely make this one again. Simple, fresh and savory.

Apple-Shallot Roasted Turkey
Adapted from a recipe by the same name from EatingWell.com

1 15-pound turkey
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more as needed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, plus 3 sprigs
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage, plus 3 sprigs
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme, plus 3 sprigs
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 pound shallots, peeled and halved lengthwise, divided
1 tart green apple, quartered
4 cups chicken broth, plus more as needed

Position rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 325°F.
Remove and discard giblets and neck from turkey cavities.
Place the turkey, breast-side up, on a rack in a large roasting pan; pat dry with paper towels. Combine oil, chopped parsley, sage, thyme, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Rub the herb mixture all over the turkey, under the skin and onto the breast meat. Place herb sprigs, 6 shallot halves and apple in the cavity. Tuck the wing tips under the turkey. Tie the legs together with kitchen string. Scatter the remaining shallots in the pan around the turkey. Drizzle olive oil over the bird. Add 3 cups chicken broth to the pan.
Roast the turkey until the skin is golden brown (about 3 1/2 hours*), basting with the pan juices about every 30 minutes. For the last 30 minutes, loosely place a piece of foil over the bird, to avoid burning the skin. Continue roasting until the meat reaches 165°F. If the pan dries out, tilt the turkey to let juices run out of the cavity into the pan and add 1 cup water.
Transfer the turkey to a serving platter and tent with foil. Let the turkey rest for 20 minutes. Remove the string and carve.

* Cooking time based on a 15-pound bird. Cook your turkey according to the package instructions.

Updated 3/2/2008
Weight Watchers = 4 points per serving

Chicken Nuggets with Less Guilt

2007-11-18T13:41:00.000-08:00

If you're ever looking to satisfy a food craving, just look for a recipe from my girl, Paula Deen. Hailing from the South, Paula knows comfort food. So, last night I decided to indulge the child in me by preparing Paula's recipe for chicken nuggets with honey mustard dipping sauce. What's great about these is that they are baked instead of fried. Based on the ingredients, it's obvious this isn't the healthiest recipe in the world, but it's a good compromise when you need to feed your inner child.

Photo credit: foodnetwork.com

Chicken Nuggets with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen via foodnetwork.com

Ingredients

2 cups crushed sour-cream-and-onion-flavored potato chips
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
6 chicken breast fillets, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
1/3 cup butter, melted
Honey Mustard, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Spread the crushed potato chips in a shallow dish. Beat together the egg and milk in a shallow bowl. Dip the chicken cubes into the egg mixture and then dredge them in the chips. Place the chicken nuggets on a baking sheet and drizzle with melted butter. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until golden brown. The chicken nuggets can be frozen after baking. Serve with your favorite sauce, such as honey mustard or ranch dressing.

Honey Mustard:

Ingredients

3/4 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice or juice from 1/2 lemon
Horseradish, to taste
2 tablespoons orange juice (more or less as needed)

Directions

Combine all ingredients except orange juice; stir well. Thin to pouring consistency for dressing or dipping consistency for dips with orange juice. Cover and chill for 2 or 3 hours.

Rating:
Excellent based on taste; good based on nutrition (coating chicken in crushed potato chips cannot be healthy, but it is still better than frying processed chicken parts)

Modifications:
None

Tip:
To make a nice crust on the chicken pieces, crush the chips in a food processor. The result will be a fine powder that browns nicely in the oven.

Updated 3/2/2008
12 servings
Weight Watchers = 10 points per serving

The Most Tender Meatloaf Ever

2007-11-15T21:20:00.000-08:00

Meatloaf is one of those dishes I usually avoid. Reason being is that no matter what recipe I try, I usually end up with what can only be described as an overcooked, dry and flavorless giant hamburger patty. I came across this recipe on marthastewart.com that promised to deliver rich flavor and smooth texture. Not only was this dish very tasty, but it was extremely easy to make. Prep time took less than 15 minutes and I liked the fact that it contains pureed veggies, which helps us add more vitamins and nutrients to our diet. My perception on meatloaf has changed; I will definitely be adding this recipe to my list of favorites.

Meatloaf 101 with Mrs. Kostyra
Serves 8

Ingredients

4 slices white bread, torn into pieces
2 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and cut into eighths
2 cloves garlic
2 stalks celery, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 large egg
1 cup ketchup
3 teaspoons dry mustard
1 tablespoon coarse salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place bread in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade; pulse until fine crumbs form. Transfer to a medium bowl, and add ground beef.

Place onion, garlic, celery, carrots, and parsley in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade; pulse until fine. Add to meat mixture, using hands to mix well. Add egg, 1/2 cup ketchup, 2 teaspoons dry mustard, salt, and pepper; use hands to combine thoroughly. Place in an 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-by-2 1/2-inch loaf pan.

Combine remaining 1/2 cup ketchup, remaining teaspoon dry mustard, and brown sugar in a bowl; stir until smooth.

Brush mixture over meatloaf; place in the oven with a baking pan set on the rack below to catch drippings. Cook until a meat thermometer inserted in the center reads 160 degrees, about 90 minutes. If top gets too dark, cover with foil, and continue baking.

My Rating:
Excellent

Modifications:
I used a combination of ground beef and ground pork, about 2 1/4 pounds and 1 pound respectively. This yielded a little more mixture than anticipated so I ended up using two loaf pans. So as not to dry out the meat, I reduced cooking time to 60 minutes. This was the perfect amount of time; I suggest reducing the cooking time as indicated if you make two smaller loaves.

Tip:
Take the leftovers and make a meatloaf sandwich. Slice the meatloaf a little thinner than normal, top with some shredded mozzarella, and pop in the microwave for about 90 seconds. Put it all between two slices of your favorite bread and you have a tasty lunch!

Updated 3/2/2008
Weight Watchers = 7 points