Pastry Heaven

Gutsy Cooks - Vichyssoise

2011-04-17T16:53:00.000-07:00

Raymond of Your Just Dessert has chosen Vichyssoise along with Coronation Chicken Rolls for the Gutsy Cook's Club.

I experimented a little and changed the recipe up, adding to the cream and deleting celery.

My variation:

3 cups peeled, sliced potatoes
3 cups sliced white of leak
1 1/2 quarts of chicken stock
salt to taste

(simmer the vegetables and stock for 40 to 50 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Puree the soup in the blender and then pour through a fine sieve.)

3/4 cup heavy cream
salt and white pepper to taste
2 to 3 Tablespoons of chives

(Stir in the cream. Season to taste and chill. Serve in chilled soup cups and decorate with minced chives.)

Fun, easy, and delicious! Thank you for the great choice Raymond!

CEiMB - Waldorf Chicken Wraps

2011-04-14T21:46:00.000-07:00

CEiMB - Waldorf Chicken Wraps Out of Ellie's So Easy cookbook
This week's host is Peggy of Pantry Revisited!

I cooked up a couple of chicken breasts on the stove and whipped these fun little sandwiches together in no time. What an amazing combination of flavors; so light, crisp, and fresh!

The sandwiches wouldn't stay rolled together so I had to wrap in foil to get a closed sandwich picture. Thank you Peggy for the wonderful choice this week. Friday lunch is ready and waiting in the refrigerator!

You can also download Ellie's recipe from my Food Network site by clicking here.

Check out the rest of the CEiMB group's write-ups by clicking here for the blog roll. Everyone in the group is so much fun and imaginative!

Heavenly Cake Bakers - Miette's Tomboy

2011-04-12T06:37:00.000-07:00

Post for Miette's Tomboy recipe out of Rose Levy Beranbaum's "Heavenly Cakes" cookbook.

HCB'ers Miette Tomboy

A fudgy chocolate cake, all of 6-inches around, is the perfect size dessert and one of the BEST chocolate cakes I have yet baked!
Buttercream frosting whipped into a light, fluffy consistency with vanilla bean paste and a touch of marachino syrup added for a light cherry flavor.

I used (2) 6-inch pans because my pan with the 3-inch high sides mysterously went into hiding. Rose put instructions for both single and 2-pan baking times so no worries.

What an amazing little cake. Buttercream frosting is not a favorite for me but this recipe made piping so easy. The vanilla bean seeds added to the visual seduction of the creamy, soft frosting and the first thought coming to mind is if I have any special occasions coming up to give me a reason to share this perfect miniature cake.

The rest of the Heavenly Cake Bakers are so imaginative, so go take a peek by clicking here for the blog roll.

Menu#28: Zucchini Sticks, Creamy Tarragon Chicken accompanied by Individual, Fresh Baked Rosemary Bread Rounds

2011-04-10T10:05:00.000-07:00

The Gutsy Cook's Club Menu #28 chosen by Raymond of Just Desserts has all the elements for a dinner you could entertain with pride. My husband has been working all week and now on the weekend trying to get Amazon.com lighting to work in (5) high-rises . . . by Sunday night (tonight). The Friday was horrible. He and his crew worked from 5 in the morning until midnight Friday night so work didn't restart until Saturday at noon. Saturday, I had this dinner ready for him to eat when he got home at 1 am (actually that would be early Sunday morning, right?). We are both commercial electricians by trade but Larry, over the last 20+ years, has worked into Superintendent and General Foreman, meaning he leaves when the job is done, and working because finishing the job with why systems installed did or did not work falls at his feet. As tired as he is, the best support I can give is a hot meal when he gets home. Thank you Raymond for the wonderful choice, he loved every bite!

I am finding my eye for detail and clarity is lacking when I'm tired. The chicken basking in a creme fraiche sauce with sauteed shallots, garlic, and white wine was tender and delicious. The creamy sauce was a darker brown color, because of the reduction for thickness, and a Parmesan risotto was served along side.

Dinner was:

Baked Zucchini Sticks with panko flake coating
Individual Loaves of Rosemary Bread (use double-acting yeast for fast rising; these bake in 20 minutes)
Creamy Tarragon Chicken
Parmesan Risotto

Zucchini Sticks

2 large zucchini sticks
1 1/2 cups Italian Panko Flakes
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
grated zest of 1/2 lemon
2 large eggs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Wash and dry zucchini. Cut them into sticks about 3 inches by 1-inch.

Mix the Panko flakes with the cheese, and lemon zest in a quart size Ziploc bag.

Beat the eggs in a bowl. Put the flour, salt and pepper seasoning in another quart-sized Ziploc bag.

In batches, coat the zucchini by shaking the sticks in flour, then dip in the egg bath, then shake in the Panko flake mixture bag. Set on a silicon matted jelly roll pan or Pam sprayed baking sheet. Continue until all zucchini sticks are coated.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 12 minutes then broil for 1 minute to finish crisping the coating to the right shade of brown.

Serve with a dipping sauce. I served with a Ranch dip.

Rosemary Bread

1 (1/4-ounce) packet fast-rising active dry yeast
2 t. sugar
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing and serving
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 Tablespoons dried rosemary
1 t. fine salt
1/2 t. kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

Directions:

Stir the yeast, sugar and 1/4 cup warm water (98 to 108 degrees F) in a stand mixer bowl. Let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.

Add 1 Tablespoon olive oil, the flour, 1 1/2 tablespoons rosemary, the fine salt and 3/4 cup warm water; stir with the dough hook until a dough forms.

Knead with the dough hook on medium-high speed, adding flour if the dough sticks to the bowl, about 8 minutes.

Brush a large bowl with olive oil. Add the dough, cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until more than doubled, about 1 hour.

Brush 2 baking sheets with Olive oil. Generously flour a work surface; turn the dough out onto the flour and divide into 4 pieces. Working with one piece at a time, sprinkle some flour on the dough, then fold the top and bottom portions into the middle. Tuck the corners under to form a ball. Place seam-side down on a prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, putting 2 balls on each baking sheet. Let stand, uncovered, until more than doubled, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake the loaves 10 minutes; brush with the remaining 1 Tablespoon Olive oil and sprinkle with the kosher salt and the remaining 1/2 tablespoon rosemary. Continue baking until golden brown, about 10 more minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool. Serve with olive oil seasoned with pepper.

A Black Rose Martini

2011-04-08T19:06:00.000-07:00

Mixology has just as many avenues as a person saying he or she loves to cook . . . or . . . bake. Throw in types of ingredients, cultures, ideas, what is new and fresh, comfort, or maybe you are just trying to catch up to the "new tastes" of last year; okay, I am getting overwhelmed trying to prove to everyone else how diverse a word can be. Is there below amateur for mixology? That is where my name would sit. I am the person debating over the latest vodka on the market. Oh, I have my favorites, Grey Goose and Skky vodka. Then the eye wanders over to the flavored vodka sections and I want one of everything (I already have more then I care to admit too). Sigh, I want to try mixing herbs with berries to make a simple syrup and add this to a vodka, martini style. Why am I letting a simple thought get so complicated?

Here in Washington, blackberries are ripe around August and September. The thorny vines are known as a weed and evasive. The berry at peek ripeness is simply wonderful! I am also the person playing catch-up with flavor fusing. Tonight, rosemary and blackberry are being seeped in a sugar syrup before straining. The drink:

Black Rose Martini

Blackberry-Rosemary Simple Syrup:

3/4 cup blackberries (keep a couple of berries for floating in the martini glass)

1/4 cup rosemary

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

Directions:

Bring the blackberries, rosemary, sugar and water to a boil. Mash the berries slightly, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let steep for 10 minutes. Strain out the solids and keep the syrup in the refrigerator in a sealed container.

Completing Black Rose Martini

2 parts vodka

1 part blackberry-rosemary simple syrup

1/2 part soda water

Directions:

Fill shaker half full of ice. Add vodka, simple syrup and soda water, shake for 5 seconds and strain into martini glass. Float a sprig of rosemary and (1) blackberry.

A perfect mix of sweet with rosemary and slight bite of vodka.

Who Doesn't Like a Twist to a Rice Krispie Treat?

2011-04-07T13:33:00.000-07:00

I am running on the treadmill, chanting "I really do like running, I really do like running". Who am I fooling? A black, wide rubber band wrapped around two rollers with digital controls to "really" add to my other mantra: No Pain, No Gain. I am listening to good ol ROCK on my miniature IPOD in one of those stretchy arm wraps with earplugs attached to keep the beat going while imaging myself with muscles clearly visible and flexing in my legs. I deserve a sweet and gooey treat for going through all the mental dialog and personal conniving so I had better be planning something Damn well worth the sweat! (I don't care that I will be cutting myself a 3" x 3" piece and nibbling on little crumbs that fall off the knife, knowing the crumbs are so out of bounds.) Fresh, bright, sunshine yellow lemons are sitting on my counter next to perfectly ripe, reddish green mangoes. Homemade vanilla bean ice cream with Jack Daniels swirled in just after being churned to the right thickness is waiting in the freezer, all types and colors of chocolate are sitting patiently in a dark pantry and what am I craving? A sassed up rice krispie treat. We are talking loaded with crunchy peanut butter, semi-sweet chocolate, slightly crushed and salted peanuts, local clover honey, the BIG & Fluffy marshmallows, and a few rice krispies to make sure the gooey, chewy dessert fits in my rice krispie treat category. Ingredients:

3/4 cup honey

1 cup crunchy peanut butter

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup salted peanuts

3 cups Rice Krispies

12 large marshmallows

Directions:

Melt honey and crunchy peanut butter on the stove or in the microwave. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Add the chocolate chips and marshmallows, stirring until melted. Add the peanuts and rice krispies, stirring until combined.

Spoon into a 8" x 8" pan (I did not butter my mine and had no trouble getting the treats to pop out. You can if you choose to be on the safe side.) Cut into squares.

Gutsy Cooks - Spanish Lentils and Rustic herb and cheese bread

2011-04-03T21:05:00.000-07:00

Cynthia and Sam of Edible Adventures chose the month of April's menus for the Gutsy Cook's Club and what a great start! Spanish Lentils and a Sachertorte.

My first try at lentils and I could not believe how fast this dish can get put together, cooked, and be ready to serve. I did add a twist to mine because there was a ham bone in my freezer screaming to get used. The sachertorte was passed up for this week, sorry, but a homemade blueberry crisp needed to get finished off. I also baked a rustic Cheddar and Fontina cheese and herb bread to go with the lentil soup. Dinner was spectacular!

The recipe was changed up a bit:

3 ounces slab bacon, cubed

2 medium onions, sliced

2 medium carrots, sliced

1 cup sliced celery

1 ham bone

1 16-ounce package of lentils

1/2 t. pepper

1 t. dried thyme leaves

2 bay leaves

8 cups of hot water

salt to taste

2 T. lemon juice

Directions:

In a Dutch oven (pan I am addicted to for making soups) over medium-high heat, fry bacon until lightly browned, push to side of pan.

Add onions, carrots and celery and over medium heat, cook until onions are tender, about 5 minutes.

Add ham bone, lentils, pepper, thyme, bay leaves, hot water and 2 teaspoons salt.

Cover; simmer over low heat 1 hour or until lentils are tender. Discard bay leaves.

Remove ham bone to cutting board and cut off any meat; cut into small pieces.

Stir in meat, lemon juice and salt to taste into soup.

The blueberry crisp is partnered with homemade vanilla bean custard, bourbon, and spiced pecan ice cream. I can see the dessert should be a post all its' own =). Looking forward to next week's menu of zucchini sticks and Hungarian goulash!

Heavenly Cake Baker's - Orange-Glow Chiffon Layer Cake and Devil's Food Cake w/Midnight Ganache

2011-03-29T16:27:00.000-07:00

The Heavenly Cake Baker Group is captivating, in-depth, enthusiastic, imaginative, and open to new ideas. We are also honest to the best of our knowledge for trials, mishaps, flub-ups, victories, and a finished product actually looking and tasting like the cake is suppose to. This last week we baked the Orange-Glow Chiffon Layer Cake using the batter recipe from the Bostini cupcake batter, only changing the flour from cake flour to unbleached, all-purpose flour and baking in a 9-inch spring form pan. I thought I was error free on this recipe and just noticed while typing this post how Rose tells us to put (2) cakes strips overlapping the entire outside surface. I used one, which could be the reason my Chiffon cake was a little more sunk in the middle then others.

We also whipped together a delicious True Orange Whipped Cream to be dolloped over the top of our Chiffon cake. The orange marmalade, strained, is such a great touch along with the orange zest.

I was in a slight hurry so put the strained syrup into the freezer to cool faster before adding to the heavy cream.

I have read in Hannah's blog, another amazing baker, about why using a flower nail works so well for even baking outside to center. This cake was my first time trying the flower nail for myself and I loved how well the small metal piece works to help equally distribute heat for even baking.

Loved the cake, and loved the true orange whipped cream! Check out the rest of the group's cakes by clicking here for the blog list to see just how talented this group is.

I also made the Devil's Food Cake with Midnight Ganache back on March 13th with the rest of the Heavenly Cake Baker's but did not have time to post so I thought I would now.

I shared a slice of this cake at work and the cherries were a HUGE hit, especially since mine soaked in the cognac for over 1 week. I actually prepared to make this cake WAY ahead, knowing I was going to have a crazy schedule.

The midnight ganache lived up to the name even though I toned down the deep chocolate flavor a little by using half milk chocolate with the dark chocolate and cocoa.

If a person is looking for a chocolate overload, look no further . . . The Devil's Food Cake w/the amazing Midnight Ganache is loaded with a deep chocolate flavor, inside and out! Everyone enjoyed the cake in small pieces because of the richness and I have people still talking about the cherries two weeks later.

Menu #26 for the Gutsy Cook's Club - Cassoulet!

2011-03-27T16:12:00.000-07:00

Another week has ramped up to demonstrate menu #26 of The Gutsy Cook's Club:

Roasted Beet and Feta Salad

Cassoulet

and

Dessert: Baked Pears in Marsala

We are all cooking/baking from The Illustrated Kitchen Bible by Victoria Blashford-Snell. Monica of Sweet Bites (mastermind behind the Gutsy Cook's Club) has received permission from Victoria for each host to present the recipe in his or her blog as well. If you would like to read a brilliant write-up of this delicious, savory and sweet menu, please go to The Gutsy Cook's Club Announcements segment. You will not be disappointed! Monica has posted great ideas, antidotes, and history behind the meal. I chose a light salad and dessert because the dinner is hearty and deserves colorful, bright, fresh vegetables and fruit to compliment a heavy main course. Cassoulet has enamored me since I read about the dish in Julia Child's first French cookbook published and I have only made the dish once before (not Julia's recipe but another's). The dish took 3 days total. Victoria's cassoulet took me (1) day and my only alterations were using chicken legs instead of duck; duck legs would have required an hours drive; and andouille sausage filled with chicken, feta cheese, and herbs. We loved every bite; extremely filling. The roasted beet salad was picked out of a fascination for any recipe that compliments beets. Beets are a healthy root vegetable and gorgeous for plating purposes (definitely messy as well). The dressing used to toss the salad together has great flavor and depth with just a hint of sweet from the honey. The pear dessert was chosen for simplicity, color, and plating. I chose to serve ladyfingers on the side, soaking up the Marsala sauce, waiting to be used as a scoop for the slightly sweetened whipped cream. The pears were light with a tinge of cinnamon and Marsala flavor. We enjoyed all three segments of the menu and I could see myself making each dish again.

Cassoulet

Ingredients:

2 cups dried Great Northern Beans

1 T. olive oil

8 Italian pork sausages

9 oz. pancetta, diced

2 onions, finely chopped

1 carrot, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

4 duck legs

1 sprig of thyme

1 bay leaf

salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 T. tomato paste

3 1/2 cups hot water

one 14.5 oz can chopped tomatoes

1 cup white wine

2 cups bread crumbs

1 garlic clove, minced

1 T. chopped parsley

Directions:

1) Place the beans in a large saucepan and add enough cold water to cover by 1-inch. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover, and let stand 2-3 hours. Drain.

2) Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the sausages and cook for 7-8 minutes, until browned. Transfer to a plate. Add the pancetta and cook for 5 minutes, until browned. Transfer to the sausages. Add the onions and carrot and reduce the heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, or until tender. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Set aside for 1 minute.

3) Preheat the oven 425 degrees F. Prick the duck skin all over with a fork and put on a rack in a roasting pan. Roast for 30 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer the duck tothe sausages and reserve 2 Tablespoons of the fat in the pan, Reduce the oven temp to 275 degrees F.

4) In a large flameproof casserole, layer half the beans, the onions and carrot, sausages, pancetta, duck legs, thyme, and bay leaves, followed by the remaining beans.

5) Dissolve the tomato paste in the hot water, then stir in the tomatoes and their juices and the wine. Pour over the beans. Cover and bake for 2 hours. Remove from the oven and uncover. The cassoulet should be thick, but moist. Taste and season with salt and pepper and add a little hot water, if needed. Return to the oven and bake, uncovered, for 1 hour more.

6) To make the topping, mix the bread crumbs and garlic. Heat the reserved duck fat in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the crumbs and cook, stirring often, about 7 minutes, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Stir in the parsley. Remove the cassoulet from the oven and stir. Sprinkle the bread crumb topping over in a thick, even layer, and serve hot.

Roasted Beet and Feta Salad

Ingredients:

6 small beets, scrubbed but unpeeled

2 T. olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 red onion, thinly sliced

4 oz. arugula

4 oz. feta cheese, cubed

2 T. chopped mint

For the Dressing

1 T. balsamic vinegar

1 T. Dijon mustard

1 t. honey

3 T. olive oil

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the beets in a roasting pan. Add 1/2 cup water and drizzle with the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the pan with aluminum foil. Roast about 1 3/4 hours, or until tender.

2) Uncover the beets and let cool. Peel and dice the beets.

3) Whisk the vinegar, mustard, and honey together in a small bowl, then whisk in the oil. Combine the beets, onions, and dressing in a bowl and toss. Sprinkle the arugula, feta, and mint over the top. Toss gently, and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Baked Pears in Marsala

Ingredients:

6 firm, ripe pears, such as Bosc, peeled, halved, and cored

1 cup dry Marsala

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 t. vanilla extract

one 3-inch cinnamon stick

1 cup heavy cream

2 T. confectioner's sugar

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Place the pears in an ovenproof dish, cut side up, and sprinkle with the Marsala, sugar, and vanilla, then pour in 1 cup of water. Tuck in the cinnamon stick.

2) Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes, basting occasionally, until tender.

3) Meanwhile, in a chilled bowl whip the cream, gradually adding the confectioner's sugar until firm peaks form. Serve the pears warm (or cool to room temperature and refrigerate until chilled), in their syrup, with the whipped cream.

What a whirlwind of a month. Thank you for letting me host the menus for the month of March. What a great experience this was!

Gutsy Cooks Club - Menu 25 - An Asian Inspired Dinner

2011-03-20T07:31:00.001-07:00

The Gutsy Cook's Club is at week 25, hence menu #25, and an Asian theme. Cooking out of Victoria Blashford-Snell's cookbook, The Illustrated Kitchen Bible, each of the Gutsy group members take turns assembling menus for each week from the recipes presented in a 544 page collection of recipes from around the world.

This weeks Menu:

Sesame Shrimp Toasts found on page 50;

Thai Noodle Stir-fry found on page 200; and

Sweet and Sour Chicken found on page 303. With permission retrieved by Monica of the blog SweetBites (creator of the Gutsy Cook's Club), I will be posting the recipes below.

Before I continue with posting the recipes, I would like to add that I actually followed each recipe down to the tablespoons and only altered ingredients when adding more soy sauce and fish sauce. I am notorious for playing with recipes and changing them to my own tastes but this time I wanted to see if the recipes chosen pulled their own weight in flavor. To my surprise, we enjoyed each one immensely. My intent is not to sound negative about Victoria's cookbook but some recipes in the past seem to be bashful in the seasoning/flavor department.

Our menu starts with an Appetizer, the Sesame Shrimp Toasts.

Ingredients:
9 oz. medium shrimp, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 scallions, roughly chopped
one 1/2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and shredded (I used fresh ginger puree)
1 t. soy sauce (I used 1 T.)
1/2 t. sugar
1/2 t. Asian sesame oil (I used 1 1/2 t.)
1 large egg white, beaten
1/8 t. freshly ground black pepper (I was pepper happy and used about 1 t.)
3 large slices firm white sandwich bread, crusts trimmed (I used 4 slices)
2 T. sesame seeds (I used toasted sesame seeds)
vegetable oil, for deep-frying
fresh cilantro, to garnish

Directions:
Prepare ahead: The toasts can be prepared to the end of step 2 up to 4 hours in advance, ready to be fried just before serving.

1) Combine the shrimp and scallions, white and green parts in a food processor and process until they form a paste. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the ginger, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil. and enough egg white to bind the mixture together. Season with the pepper.

2) Spread the bread thickly with the shrimp paste. Cut each slice into four triangles. Sprinkle the sesame seeds evenly over the top.

3) Pour enough oil into a deep-fryer or skillet to come halfway up the sides, and heat to 350 degrees F (180 C). In batches, add the toasts, shrimp sides down, and deep-fry for 2 minutes, until the shrimp paste is puffed. Carefully turn them over and deep-fry until the toasts are crisp and golden brown.

4) Using a slotted spoon, transfer the toasts to paper towels and drain briefly. Serve hot, garnished with coriander.

Note: Good with sweet chili sauce and chilled sake or a cold beer.

Next, Thai Noodle Stir-fry:

Ingredients:
6 oz. cellophane (mung bean) noodles
3 T. peanut or vegetable oil
3 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
1 onion, sliced
4 oz. shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 lemongrass stalk, peeled and bottom part minced (I used ground, dried lemon stalk)
1 t. peeled and finely grated fresh ginger (I used pureed ginger)
1 fresh hot Thai red chile, seeded and minced
1 head of bok choy, shredded
2 T. soy sauce (I used 3 T.)
1 T. Asian fish sauce (I used 1 1/2 T.)
1 t. sweet chili sauce (I used 1 T.)

Directions:
1) Soak the noodles in a bowl of very hot water about 10 minutes, until softened. Drain well and rinse under cold running water. Cut into manageable lengths with kitchen scissors.

2) Heat 2 Tablespoons of the oil in a wok over high heat. Add the chicken and stir-fry about 3 minutes. or until lightly browned. Transfer to a plate.

3) Reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining 1 Tablespoon oil. Add the onion and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add mushrooms, bell pepper, lemongrass, ginger, and chili, and stir-fry about 2 minutes, or until the bell pepper softens.

4) Add the bok choy and stir-fry for about 2 minutes, or until wilted. Return the chicken to the pan and add the noodles. Pour in the soy sauce, fish sauce, and sweet chili sauce, and toss everything together over the heat for 2-3 minutes, or until piping hot. Serve hot.

Last, Sweet and Sour Chicken:
Ingredients:
For the Batter:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 t. baking powder
1/8 t. salt
1 cup lager beer

For the Sauce:
1/2 cup chicken stock
3 T. soy sauce
3 T. rice vinegar
2 T. ketchup
1 T. honey
one 3/4" piece fresh ginger, peeled and shredded (I used fresh ginger puree)
1 t. cornstarch dissolved in 1 T. cold water (I used 2 t. cornstarch in 2 T. cold water)

4 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
vegetable oil, for deep-frying
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 T. unsalted cashew nuts or whole blanched almonds
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
8 scallions, cut into 1 inch lengths
1/2 cup cubed fresh or drained canned pineapple

Directions:
Prepare ahead: Steps 1 and 2 can be completed several hours in advance.

1) To make the batter, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the center, add 1/2 cup of the beer, and whisk, gradually adding the remaining beer. Let stand for 30 minutes.

2) To make the sauce, stir the stock, soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, honey, and ginger in a small saucepan over low heat until the honey is melted. Stir in the dissolved cornstarch and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring often, until just thickened. Set aside.

3) Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F (95 C). Fill a wok halfway with oil. Heat to 350 degrees F. (180 C.). Place the flour in a bowl. In batches, toss the chicken in the flour, then coat in the batter and add to the hot oil. Deep-fry about 3 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a baking sheet lined with paper towels and keep warm in the oven.

4) Pour all but 2 T. oil from the wok and return to high heat. Add the cashews and sit-fry for 30 seconds. Transfer to the baking sheet. Add the red pepper to the oil and stir-fry 2 minutes, or until crisp-tender. Add scallions and pineapple and stir-fry for 1 minute.

5) Pour the sauce into the wok, add the chicken and stir until coated. Transfer to a serving platter, sprinkle with cashews, and serve hot.

Check out the rest of the Gutsy Cook's Club members dishes by clicking here.

Gutsy Cooks Club - Sunday Dinner

2011-03-13T20:50:00.000-07:00

I have such fond memories of Sunday dinners growing up. My Mom is an amazing cook/baker and an inspiration. Granted, I think we compete on who has the most cookbooks BUT I have her beat, hands-down,on printed out recipes organized and put into binders for when I have no idea what to make for dinner, dessert, side dishes, breakfasts, etc. I am dying to go to Arizona just so I can mark up a few of her cookbooks, which Mom would probably not mind as long as we were making food together.

I get to host the Gutsy Cooks Club for the whole month of March and this week's menu (menu 24) was picked with Sundays in mind. The recipes are chosen from The Illustrated Kitchen Bible by Victoria Blashford-Snell. I chose Ficelles (long and skinny baguettes), Irish stew and a French Apple tart.

The Irish stew was modified by adding more herbs (sweet basil, 4 branches of fresh thyme, and a little rosemary) along with using pork tenderloin instead of lamb shoulder (I forgot to buy the lamb). Monica over at Sweetbites created the Gutsy Cooks Club and has the recipes posted for the Irish stew and the Ficelles on her blog. I will post the French Apple Tart recipe below.

I have never made a layered stew before and after making this one, I am excited to try different variations because we really enjoyed how well the stew turned out. The Ficelles fresh out of the oven had a wonderful aroma and were perfect still warm with butter slathered on, served with dinner.

The apple tart recipe was changed to individual miniature tarts and I added about 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon between all 4 tarts. Dorie Greenspan's recipe of sweet pastry dough in her cookbook Baking From My Home to Yours worked perfectly as the base of these cute little tarts.

French Apple Tart

1 refrigerated pie dough round for 9-inch pie

3 T. butter

1 lb 10 oz. McIntosh apples, peeled, cored, and chopped

2/3 c. sugar

2 T. Calvados or brandy

grated zest and juice of 1/2 lemon

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

3 T. apricot preserves, warmed and strained.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Fit the pie dough into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, fitting it tightly into the corners, and trim the excess dough. Prick the dough with a fork. Line with wax paper and fill with baking beans. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, until the dough looks set. Remove the paper and beans and bake until lightly browned, about 5 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the McIntosh apples and cover tightly with a lid. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes, or until broken down into a chunky sauce.

Strain through a coarse sieve into a bowl, then return to the saucepan. Stir in all but 1 Tablespoon of the sugar, the Calvados, and lemon zest. Cook and stir over medium heat about 5 minutes, until quite thick.

Spoon the applesauce into the tart shell. Arrange the Granny Smith slices in concentric circles over the applesauce. Brush with the lemon juice and sprinkle with the reserved sugar.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the apple slices are golden and tender. Brush the top with the warm apricot preserves. Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove the sides of the pan. Serve warm or cold. Good with vanilla ice cream or creme fraiche.

The dinner turned out beautifully! Check out the rest of the Gutsy Cooks to see each of the variations!

Craving Ellie in My Belly: Aromatic Beef Stew with Butternut Squash

2011-03-09T21:43:00.000-08:00

CEiMB is Aromatic Beef Stew with Butternut Squash over whole wheat coucous. Kayte of Grandma's Kitchen Table is the host and a wonderful blogging friend! Kayte, I have never been a squash person and this stew changed my whole outlook on the vegetable. Squash is a vegetable isn't it?

I couldn't find just whole wheat couscous but there is a brand called Far East putting out a product called whole wheat couscous with roasted garlic and olive oil. The couscous package took all of 10 minutes from start-to-finish to assemble.

A definite repeat recipe! Go to Kayte's blog and give her a high five for picking out this recipe (Ellie Krieger too since this is her recipe from the cookbook So Easy) then get into your kitchen and try it for yourself! I bet you absolutely LOVE IT! The recipe can be found here.

Check out the rest of the CEiMB bloggers for each and every variation along with phenomenal photos.

HCB-Decadent Raspberry/Chocolate Genoise AND TWD's Corniest Corn Muffins

2011-03-07T21:58:00.000-08:00

If pictures say a thousand words then this blog better start talking. I spent 3 days doing this cake in sections so I could fit it in and TAH DAHHHH . . . Here it is! Heavenly Cake Bakers has baked yet another fabulous concoctions, of light and airy chocolate cake, cocoa syrup, raspberry puree, and a chocolate/raspberry ganache. Boy, are there a kitchen sink FULL of dishes.

Further down the post is Tuesdays with Dorie - Corniest Corn Muffins chosen by this week's host (drum roll please) Jill of My Next Life.

Since I am in a hurry, the pictures will have to do the talking.

Below we have eggs whipped into a frenzy, filled full of air.

I was worried when I added the chocolate ganache to the whipped eggs but the process worked; never have I made a cake with all of 4 ingredients and had this fluffy result.

The raspberry/chocolate ganache has both dark and white chocolate grated to fine chunks.

Heavy cream and raspberry puree with the raspberry syrup previously cooked down from 1/2 cup to 2 Tablespoons is heated to a boil.

The syrup is poured onto the chocolate chunks while the processor whizzes along, making this delectable ganache.

The raspberry/chocolate ganache is chilled to thicken and cocoa syrup is coated on to layers that have been previously split into two, creating a 4 layer cake.

The result is a light, airy, moist chocolate/raspberry flavored cake. I did not find the raspberry as dominate a flavor as I was expecting. Still, a delicious and VERY charming cake to present and eat. Next week, we have another chocolate cake to present for the HCB'ers.

Now on to our host Jill and the TWD group. Corniest corn muffins!

I added fresh chopped thyme and sweet basil to the dry ingredients and lots of corn overall. More like 1 1/2 cups instead of the 1 cup called for. The muffins were served with a beef/butternut squash stew. Results: Absolutely Delicious and a Winner!

The only negative? Mine did not bake up as high and pretty as Dories but whose complaining?

Thank you Jill for hosting and check out the other TWD'ers muffins to see all the variations one recipe can present!

The Gutsy Cooks and Sweet Melissa Sunday for Breakfast and Dessert!

2011-03-06T08:30:00.000-08:00

Sweet Melissa Sunday and The Gutsy Cooks Group are sharing a post this morning. Leslie with Lethally Delicious picked an amazing Chocolate Pudding for SMS. I have the dessert posted further down =).

I get the pleasure of hosting for the month of March at the Gutsy Cooks Club and my choice for this weekend is homemade English Muffins and Eggs Benedict. I have made English muffins before and already know the muffins are pretty easy to make. My husband is usually the one to make eggs Benedict in our kitchen, so he helped with the poached eggs. We cheat a little with the eggs and I am going to share what we do.

I enjoy making English Muffins. In fact, the first time surprised the beegeebees out of me because I had no idea English Muffins were cooked on a griddle. You can bake the muffins in the oven but the griddle is much more fun.

Victoria Blashford-Snell's recipe for English Muffins in her cookbook, The Illustrated Kitchen Bible is:

3 cups bread flour, plus more for kneading (I use my KA mixer to knead the dough for 10 minutes)

1 teaspoon instant yeast (I use 1 pkg of fast rise instant yeast)

1 teaspoon of salt (I use 1/2 teaspoon of salt)
1 1/4 cup tepid water

2 Tablespoons butter, melted

2 Tablespoons of semolina (I use yellow cornmeal)

Directions:

Mix the flour, yeast, and salt in a bowl. (I put the ingredients in my KA mixer and use a paddle attachment to combine.)

Make a well in the center and pour in the water and butter. Stir to make a slightly sticky dough.

Knead the dough on a floured surface for about 8 minutes, until smooth and elastic. (I change out the paddle for the dough hook attachment and let the mixer knead for 10 minutes.) Shape into a ball, place in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap. Let stand for 1 hour in a warm place until doubled.

Line a baking sheet with a kitchen towel and sprinkle with most of the semolina. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead. Divide into 10 balls. Place the balls on the towel and press into thick disks. (I roll the dough into 1/4" thickness and use 3" rounds to cut my dough.) Sprinkle with the rest of the semolina. Cover with another towel. Leave for 20-30 minutes, until risen.

Heat a frying pan with a lid. (I use a griddle at 325 degrees. I cook 2 minutes per side, then turn the heat down to 300 degrees and bake for another 6 minutes per side, watching to make sure the muffins do not get overly brown.)

In batches, place the muffins in the pan and cover. Reduce heat to low and cook for 10-12 minutes, until they puff up. Flip and cook for 3-4 minutes, until golden.

Now for the Eggs Benedict:

I use a fast blender method for Hollandaise Sauce. The recipe is from Julia Child's very first French cookbook (Mastering the Art of French Cooking, pg. 81) and has "never" failed me. The sauce takes all of 10 minutes, tops, to put together.

According to Julia, this very quick method for making hollandaise cannot fail when you add your butter in a small stream of droplets.

(Makes about 3/4 cup of sauce.)

3 egg yolks

2 T. lemon juice

1/4 t. salt

Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter

Directions:
Put all the ingredients, EXCEPT the butter in the jar of the blender. Put the butter in a small saucepan and heat it to foaming hot.

Start blending your egg yolk mixture at top speed for 2 seconds. Cover, and still blending at top speed, immediately start pouring on the hot butter in a thin stream of droplets. (You may need to protect yourself with a towel during this operation.) By the time two thirds of the butter has gone in, the sauce will be a thick cream. Omit the milky residue at the bottom of the butter pan. Taste the sauce, and blend in more seasoning if necessary.

Victoria's recipe for Eggs Benedict is as follows:

8 large eggs
2 T. distilled white vinegar
4 English muffins
butter, for spreading
1 cup warm hollandaise sauce

Directions:
Fill a large frying pan with water to a depth of 2-inches. Add the vinegar and bring to a simmer over medium heat. When tiny bubbles appear at the bottom of the pan, carefully crack 4 eggs, one by one, into each pan.

Cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and let stand for exactly 6 minutes. Remove the eggs using a slotted spoon, and drain on paper towels.

Meanwhile, split each muffin in half and toast. Butter each muffin half and place 2 on each serving plate. Top each half with a poached egg and spoon the hollandaise over the top. Good with ham or crisp grilled bacon on the side.

Now, our version:

My husband, Larry, makes the eggs Benedict in our kitchen. He cooks very little but for some reason, he has always been drawn to perfecting this breakfast dish. Who the heck am I to complain about amazing and perfect eggs Benedict? My job is to make the hollandaise sauce and English muffins if I have the extra time.

We use either thin ham slices, crab meat, or shredded chunks of moist, smoked salmon.

Here is our secret weapon for perfect poached eggs. A $10 egg poacher pan we bought at Wal-Mart several years ago. You put about 1 inch of water in the pan and bring to a boil. Larry sprays PAM in each egg cup then adds the egg. The eggs poach with the lid on for 3 minutes.

He then takes a toothpick and runs it around the edges of the cup so the eggs pop right out.

Sorry for the dark picture but you can see our steps. TOAST the muffin halves first, a little sauce next, then the poached egg.

Put the salmon over the egg, then more sauce, and finally a little chopped parsley. AMAZING crispy, creamy, lightly lemony, slight salty with the smoked salmon. The egg yolks ooze out over the sauce, making a thick and creamy gravy. This has to be my all time favorite breakfast dish!

I had so much fun hosting and taking photos this week! Thank you Gutsy Cooks!!!!!

NOW on to Sweet Melissa Sunday if you made it down this far! Leslie, I really enjoyed how easy the recipe was to put together. Thank you for hosting and the delicious choice!

Heating up heavy cream with half the sugar was a snap. Pour half of the cream over the chocolate chunks, let sit 5 minutes, stir till smooth, add the rest of the heavy cream, and stir. Now add this slowly to your egg yolks with the sugar, vanilla, and salt. Strain mixture into a pouring cup.

Fill your ramekins, add boiling water to fill half way up the ramekins, and bake for 50 to 55 minutes.

My pudding is pretty thick and I am waiting to see if everyone else's pudding was as thick. Loved the deep chocolate flavor! Add homemade whipped cream with vanilla sugar. A great dessert to an Eggs Benedict breakfast. Thank you Leslie and please check out the rest of the SMS bakers for all the variations of this recipe. YUM!

Craving Ellie in My Belly - Banana Splits with a Warm Topping

2011-03-03T00:01:00.000-08:00

CEiMB is always full of surprises for me. Ellie puts together fun dishes full of great ingredients and we are eating less calories to boot. I am amazed, when looking at a recipe, how short the list of ingredients may be yet the flavor still packs a punch. This dessert was no exception.

Before I continue, A BIG thank you to the CEiMB group for letting me host this week. Since starting my job, already 4 months ago, I have been missing-in-action and I have missed and thought about everyone here often. Blogging can feel special and words take on so much meaning. Okay, before I start hugging the monitor, I will continue =).

I used pineapple chunks instead of shredded pineapple, lowfat frozen vanilla yogurt, and divided the recipe in half since ice cream is one of my biggest shortfalls when eating. I could totally see myself making 3 banana splits, sneaking one in the kitchen, and walking into the living room carrying two like nothing ever happened and eating the dessert with Larry (hubby).

What was not to love? Warm pineapple topping, fresh bananas, and frozen yogurt. Delicious and easy to make!

Here is Ellie's recipe copied from the Foodnetwork site:

Banana Splits with Pineapple Brown Sugar Topping

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Servings: 6

1 (15-ounce) can crushed pineapple, in natural juice (I used pineapple chunks, all I had on hand)

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 Tablespoons light brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 ripe, firm bananas

6 scoops vanilla light ice cream or frozen yogurt, 1/4 cup each

6 fresh mint leaves, optional

Directions:

Combine the pineapple with juice, lemon juice, sugar and cinnamon in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, uncovered, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved and the juice is reduced somewhat, about 3 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.

Cut the bananas in half crosswise. Cut each banana half lengthwise, being careful not to cut all the way through. Split the banana halves open and place each one on a small dessert plate. Top each banana with a scoop of ice cream then about 2 1/2 Tablespoons of the warm pineapple mixture. Top each with a mint leaf, if using, and serve.

Enjoy!

Gutsy Cooks and HCB'ers share a Sunday

2011-02-27T19:10:00.000-08:00

Heavenly Cake Baker's baked one of the most amazing Sticky Toffee Puddings I have ever tasted. A moist, flavorful, a lightly spicy cake, with a decadent lemon toffee sauce, creme fraiche with lemon juice and zest, and toasted pecans. As the fork tines slid into the cake, I knew making this recipe was worth every second.

What was an opening surprise for me was the 8 ounces of stout beer and moist dates. You soak the dates in the beer then puree both together in a food processor. I wasn't sure what to expect since stout beer is a distinguished flavor all its' own.

Then you have the toffee sauce. A lot of fresh lemon juice gets added in to give a citrus edge.

Matched with creme fraiche and toasted pecans, this is one dessert I will remember for a long time.

The Gutsy cooks have been extremely busy as well. Cynthia and Sam are the hosts for this month in the Gutsy Cook Club and chose a main dish of chicken biryani and a dessert; pear, mascarpone, hazelnut tart. I made the Indian chicken biryani, but I followed Monica's wonderful advice over at Sweet Bites; I am so glad I did because after a little research, this is what I found: Aayi's recipes: Hyderabadi chicken biryani recipe! Authentic Biryani from India. Aayi does not give specific measurements for all her ingredients so each person gets to approach the recipe accordingly. Lets just say, I can't wait till next weekend to make this again!

Aayi's ingredient list is as follows (adapted and changed just a tidbit):
1 cup sliced onion (fried in oil till crisp)
1/2 pound of boneless skinless chicken (I used 1 full pound)

Chicken Marination:
3 T. chopped coriander leaves
2 T. chopped mint leaves (I used dried)
1/2 t. ginger paste (found at Safeway by fresh mushrooms)
1/2 t. garlic paste (found in same place as ginger paste)
3 green chilies (I chopped mine; bigger pieces then diced)
1/2 t. red chili powder
4 cloves powdered (I used 1/2 t. of cloves-next time I will use a little more)
1" cinnamon powdered (I used 1 1/2 t. ground cinnamon)
1/2 t. cumin powder (will add 1 t. next time)
1/2 t. coriander powder
1/2 cup thick yogurt (I used Greek yogurt and more like 3/4 cup)
salt

Method:
Add all the marinade ingredients and 1/4 cup fried onion to chicken pieces and leave it aside for about 1 hour in refrigerator.

For Rice:

1 and 1/2 cups Basmati rice (par-boiled, long grain Basmati is the best)

1/4 cup onion

3 cups water

2 cloves (I used 1/4 t. ground cloves)

1" cinnamon (I actually used a cinnamon stick)

2 cardamon

2 bay leaves

1/2 t. ginger paste

1/2 t. garlic paste

1/2 t. green chili paste

1/4 t. turmeric (I believe for the yellow coloring of the rice.)

Ghee (clarified butter; amazing stuff!)

Salt

Method:

Heat ghee and add cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaves, ginger and garlic paste, green chili paste, turmeric, onion and fry for a few minutes. Now add the rice and fry for 2-3 minutes. Then add salt water and let it cook (I let the rice cook uncovered for 14 minutes).

Putting Everything together:

Heat ghee in a thick bottomed pan and add marinated chicken. Fry for about 2 minutes. If chicken leaves some water, that is fine.

Spread half the quantity of rice, followed by 1/2 the quantity of fried onion. You can add 1/4 cup water just to make sure the rice is completely cooked.

Spread remaining rice and then onion.

Cover the pot with lid and cook on a medium low flame (I have an electric stove so went with medium low heat) for about 30 to 45 minutes. (I cooked mine for 40 minutes.)

I served the chicken biryani with baked artichokes and our dinner was perfect, filling, and delicious! Not the prettiest plated dish but taste made up for looks.
I made the raspberry souffles from last week's menu, using the rose water. My raspberries actually tasted like raspberries; surprising for being in the middle of wintertime.

My first time making anything with Rose water. I have seen plenty of recipes but I have always chickened out. To be absolutely honest, after trying the finished, chilled raspberry souffle, I am not a fan of the flavor. The first taste was raspberries then a lingering rose flavor. Maybe the dislike comes from being a new taste for me but I didn't care for it. The little souffles turned out adorable and I will make these again, only with plain water or maybe a raspberry liqueur.

The longest part of the recipe was making the puree and chilling the souffles. Pretty easy and definitely beautiful to present.

FFwD - The Month of February - Short Ribs in Red Wine and Port

2011-02-26T04:51:00.001-08:00

French Fridays with Dorie is such a fun group to be a part of. No one is required to bake every single week, in fact, you can bake along as little or as much as you wish. This week was short ribs in red wine and port. Sounds delicious, know?

P.S.: By the way, I have missed the whole month of February's recipes for FFwD and I don't know if anyone noticed but the recipes for the month, put together, make (1) amazing dinner . . . which is what I did. February 4th: Basque Potato Tortilla, February 11th: Orange-almond Tart (I made Pear-Hazelnut Tart variation), February 18th: Pancetta Green Beans, and February 25th: Short Ribs in Red Wine and Port.

My short ribs came (5) to a package so I had to decide between less or more then the called for (12) short ribs in the recipe. I went with (15) because I just couldn't resist. Leftovers sounded wonderful!

My pictures were all over the place for clarity; which was not noticed until after dinner was eaten and the pictures were downloaded to the computer. I have no clear pictures to show you of the wine/port/vegetable/herb mixture. I do have the ribs just out of the oven from broiling with the glaze applied.

Out of all (4) recipes, my two absolute favorites were the green beans with pancetta and the pear-hazelnut tart. Bob Mills sells packaged, ground hazelnuts and since hazelnut flour was in my pantry, this is what I used for the tart.

The basque potato tortilla is delicious and easier to make then I thought. We used mushrooms, onions, and potatoes. Leftovers made the perfect warmed up breakfast. Dorie was absolutely right about using a cast iron skillet for great results.

Oh the green beans! Loved, loved, loved the green beans. My first time ever using walnut oil drizzled over all. Just a little bit was plenty and the pancetta made the whole dish taste so much more with the salty, slightly crisp, and just a little nutty. A definite make again recipe. So good!

My only picture of the gremolata, an amazing flavor accompaniment, adding another level to the short ribs. I had no idea tangerine and beef went together so well. I used chopped parsley instead of the cilantro mainly because that was what we had on hand.

Dorie, every recipe I have tried in your new French cookbook has been a treat and fun to plan and put together. I already have a list of recipes to re-make, trying your variations you put to the side of each recipe. You Rock!

CEiMB- L.O.V.E. Wrap Sandwich and Spicy Crab-Papaya Salad

2011-02-24T19:36:00.001-08:00

Joanne of the blog Apple Crumbles was the host of this week's choice for Craving Ellie in My Belly: Lettuce, Onion, Vegetable, Egg Salad (L.O.V.E.) Wraps.

I was truly surprised over the flavors in this wrap! First of all, I already LOVE egg salad but had "no" idea I could get away with just 4 teaspoons of mayonnaise and 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard - still having great flavor and texture. I already had whole wheat pita pockets so I used those instead of the wraps; after eating the sandwiches and finding out how messy the pita pockets were, wrap bread it will be next time.

We also made Spicy Crab-Papaya Salad to go with the wrap for dinner. I bought fresh, "LIVE" Dungeness crab to make the salad and actually had to chase the crabs down as they seemed to enjoy scurrying around my deck. I think I squealed more then they would have if they could.

Fresh Dungeness crab is AMAZING! I had no idea fresh crab tasted that great. WOW! The salad is fresh, light, and does not overpower the light flavor of crab meat. The recipe came from a Cooking Light magazine; since the website Project Foodie prints all recipes from this magazine, I thought I would post the recipe here.

Spicy Crab-Papaya Salad

4 servings (1 cup each)

1 1/2 c. diced, peeled papaya

1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions

1/4 cup finely chopped celery

1 finely chopped jalapeno pepper

1 pound lump crab meat

3 T. canola oil

2 T. cider vinegar

2 t. sugar

1 t. Dijon mustard

1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper

1/8 t. salt

Directions:

Combine papaya, green onions, celery, jalapeno pepper, and crab meat. Combine canola oil, cider vinegar, sugar, Dijon mustard, freshly ground black pepper, and salt, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle vinegar mixture over crab mixture; toss. Chill.

I wish you could see this crab moving and know how crazy this feels picking up a wiggling creature when so many of us are used to asking someone behind a counter to clean and package our food. The fisherman selling the live crab said to boil them in salt water for 22 minutes. We did and the meat came out perfect.

My only frustration was finding ripe papayas in the middle of winter.

I boiled eggs and the crabs at the same time, making dinner efficient and, like most of Ellie's recipes, fast.

I thought I would share another up close and personal picture of my live dinner. He backed himself up into the bag he originally found his way out of. Larry couldn't believe the phone call on his way home asking him to help chase dinner. I told him if he would put the crabs in the boiling water, I would be happy to clean them.

Gutsy Cooks: Dirty Risotto

2011-02-21T21:15:00.000-08:00

The Gutsy Cooks are making Mushroom risotto only I altered the recipe and made Dirty Risotto. I hope the group will forgive me for playing this much with the recipe.

I love risotto but rarely make it so every time I do, it feels like the very first time. I made a Cajun meatloaf and a vegetable saute to go with this dish, making a filling and packed full of flavor dinner. We loved every bite. I posted how I made the risotto recipe below. Thank you

Cynthia and Sam for the great choice. I am dying to make the raspberry souffles and will shortly.

Dirty Risotto:

5-6 cups chicken stock
2 tbsp butter
6 oz. mild or sweet Italian sausage, removed from casing (about 3 small links)
4 oz. bacon, roughly chopped
1 small onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 jalapenos, de-seeded, minced
6 oz. mushrooms, roughly chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
1 1/2 cups rice, Arborio or Long-grain
3/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp minced fresh parsley

Directions:
In a small pot, heat chicken stock to a simmer and turn down to keep warm.
Melt butter in a large, deep skillet or stock pot.
Brown sausage and bacon in butter over medium-high heat, breaking sausage up into chunks.
Add vegetables, onion through mushrooms, to browned meat and cook until softened.
Taste vegetables and season with salt and pepper.
Stir in rice and allow to brown lightly.

Pour in wine and stir until almost absorbed. Turn heat down to medium.
Using a measuring cup add hot chicken stock to rice mixture a little at a time, stirring, until almost absorbed.

Once rice is tender, turn off heat and stir in cheese and parsley.
Taste again and season with salt as needed.

I also baked a Hot Buttered Rum Cheesecake with a hot buttered rum sauce. I'll post the recipe shortly. Delicious!

Sweet Melissa Sunday - Chocolate Rumm Truffles

2011-02-20T17:01:00.000-08:00

Sweet Melissa Sundays is here and Nina of Nina's Cupcakes is our wonderful host for this week! I love that Nina chose Chocolate Rum truffles just because I felt in the mood to make truffles.

The truffles went together super fast last night. Just melt butter and bittersweet chocolate over simmering water until melted. Add egg yolks and rum, I used 10 Cane rum, and whip until shiny and smooth. Now refrigerate; I did, overnight.

My coatings were fun to pick out this morning. I used crushed Skor toffee bars, crushed peanuts, a powdered chocolate for sprinkling on espresso drinks, pearl sugar, and colored sprinkles. I put each truffle in its' own miniature cupcake liner and now I can share with friends and family! Thank you for a great choice this week. Make sure and check out the other SMS bakers to see imaginations at work.

I also made my famous homemade chicken fried steak and gravy, eggs over easy, and toast with blueberry peach jam for breakfast.

I am also working on making a Hot Buttered Rum Cheesecake with dark Appleton Rum, freshly grated nutmeg, cinnamon, and ground cloves. A hot buttered rum sauce will be drizzled over each slice. If all turns out well, I will come back and post the results along with the recipe!

SMS-Hazelnut Raspberry Layer Cake; HCB'ers-White Velvet Cake with Milk Chocolate Ganache; ABC'ers-Evie Lieb's Processor Challah and Football Food

2011-01-09T19:29:00.000-08:00

GUTSY COOKS post is coming shortly.

I LOVE the color of this cake! How pretty and what a great cake this would be to bake for Valentine's Day. Candy Girl chose the new year's recipe from Sweet Melissa Sundays short list left to bake. Candy picked a fun cake called Hazelnut Raspberry Layer Cake.

Seedless raspberry jam, fresh raspberries, and Chambord liqueur give this cake an amazing raspberry flavor.

I have learned a long time ago to shorten the baking time from whatever is listed in Melissa's cookbook. I have no idea why oven times are so different compared to Melissa's. I baked my cakes for 20 minutes.

The raspberries we found looked beautiful and using such bright colored berries seemed to cheer the whole kitchen up.

The cake has a light crumb with a deep hazelnut and raspberry flavor. I am not a buttercream frosting person and yet this particular buttercream frosting flavor works for me. Dumping a bowl of fresh raspberries and Chambord into the buttercream was kind of fun.

Thank you Candy for such a delicious and pretty dessert to start the year off right!

Heavenly Cake Bakers

The Heavenly Cake Bakers cake for this week is the White Velvet Cake with Milk Chocolate Ganache.

The cake itself was easy to assemble and bake. The ganache went swimmingly until I added that last tablespoon of butter. My ganache then turned into a pourable, yet slightly thick, frosting.

The chocolate flavor in the ganache was delicious. The velvet cake baked up nice and fluffy but I was a little surprised at how mine turned out a little crumbly when I cut into the cake. Maybe I didn't wait long enough for the cake to be completely cool.

Overall, this is a good cake recipe but with so many other to-die-for cake recipes I have tried from Rose's heavenly cakes cookbook, I may leave this one as we enjoyed it but now I want to see if she has one even better to bake in the near future.

Avid Cake Bakers - Evie Lieb's Processor Challah

I adore Flo Braker and every recipe I have tried out of her cookbooks has been a winner in my kitchen. Her Challah bread, made in a food processor, is no exception. Fun and easy to make is a great way to describe making and baking this loaf of bread.

I have never made a two-tier braided bread before and had fun assembling the loaf.

I am a week behind in posting about baking the processor Challah but I did make the bread over a week ago. Sometimes, finding the time to sit and blog can become a rarity; I am here now =0).

Thank you for such a delicious choice for January 2011~! We loved every bite.

FOOTBALL SUNDAY food - Stuffed Sweet Onions Toluca

4 Sweet onions about 4 to 6 inches in diameter

4 ounces chorizo

4 ounces lean ground beef

1/4 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

4 slices Muenster or Gruyere

4 flour tortillas

1/2 c. salsa

1/2 c. guacamole

1/3 c. sour cream

Directions:

Remove a slice from the top (stem end) of each onion so it sits flat. Starting at the opposite end (root end), hollow each onion, leaving about a 1/2-inch thick shell. Place onions in a steamer basket. Place in a large pot over boiling water; cover and steam 20 minutes. Remove; cool until easy to handle.

Meanwhile, for filling, in a medium saucepan, cook and stir chorizo, ground beef, salt (optional), and pepper about 10 minutes or until meat is brown. Drain in colander.

Arrange onions in an 8x8x2-inch baking pan. Spoon meat mixture into onions. Top each with a cheese slice. Also, wrap the tortilla shells in tinfoil. Bake both the stuffed onions and wrapped tortilla shells in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.

Remove both from the oven and raise the oven rack to about 6 inches from heat element. Broil onions 2 to 3 minutes or until cheese begins to turn light brown. Place one tortilla on each plate and top with an onion. Serve with salsa, guacamole, and sour cream.

Heavenly Cake Bakers-Chocolate Velvet Fudge Cake

2010-12-05T22:37:00.001-08:00

I assumed settling into a new job would get easier. A month later, I may know more but I feel like I know less. It felt so "good" baking this last weekend. Kind of like going home after a long time away. What a great ice breaker baking the Chocolate Velvet Fudge cake for the Heavenly Cake Bakers. I loved making the chocolate paste with boiling water and Valhrona cocoa powder. What a dark and rich base! The batter had a wonderful thickness to it but my cake baked for a little less then 50 minutes with me using a 10-cup Bundt pan. Rose's baking directions stated 50 to 65 minutes. I am definitely not complaining. =)

I sprinkled vanilla infused powdered sugar over the top and served slices with whipped heavy cream infused with vanilla bean paste and sprinkled with mini-chocolate chips. What a perfect dessert to go with a nice Sunday dinner~.

Breakfast Frittata and the Gutsy Cooks

2010-12-05T21:12:00.000-08:00

Who, besides me, gets a brain freeze on the weekend when the word "breakfast" is uttered? If I do not prepare what I am fixing for breakfast at LEAST a day in advance, Saturday morning I just want to pull the covers up over my head.

Whenever I need an extra boost of help, I go to Gale Gand and her BRUNCH! cookbook. She has never let me down. I take one of her recipes as a base and ad-lib away; which is what I did with her frittata recipe.

Red pepper Gouda, sharp Cheddar cheese, Fontina, wilted baby spinach, sauteed green bell pepper and 4 ounces of Pancetta, 1 cup of cooked spaghetti, along with Gale Gands base recipe for a Frittata (okay I played with the base recipe too) all when together for an amazing breakfast. I even heated up some marinara sauce to serve over the top!

I LoVe baby spinach!

Gale's base recipe for a Frittata is this:

6 eggs

1/4 c. heavy cream or whole milk

1/4 t. salt

1 t. freshly ground black pepper

2 T. grated Parmesan cheese (This amount is my change)

Filling ingredients:

I used 1/2 c. red pepper Gouda, 1/3 c. sharp Cheddar cheese, and 1/3 c. creamy Fontina, along with sauteing 4 ounces of diced Pancetta and 1 seeded and diced green bell pepper. Left over spaghetti was in the refrigerator so I added 1 cup of cooked noodles. I also added 1 cup of fresh baby spinach to the sauteed Pancetta and bell pepper just long enough to wilt the leaves.

2 Tablespoons of butter and store bought Marinara sauce is also used.

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix the eggs with a fork. Blend in the cream, salt, pepper, and Parmesan. Add in your filling ingredients and stir to blend.

In an 8-inch nonstick saute pan, heat the butter over medium heat until it foams. Pour in the egg mixture and start to cook it. After about 2 minutes, stick a wooded spoon into the egg at the edge of the pan, lift up the cooked egg, and let some of the uncooked egg mixture seep underneath. Make a hole in the center of the frittata to let some of the uncooked egg seep under.

Turn the heat down to low, place a rounded lid on the pan (make sure you allow room for the egg to puff up), and cook until the egg mixture is completely set, about 10 minutes. Once the frittata is cooked all the way through, flip it out onto a serving platter, using a spatula or knife to loosen it from the pan and letting it fall onto the platter browned side up. Serve hot, cut into wedges with a little warmed marinara sauce. Easy and Delicious!

The GUTSY COOKS Week 1 of December! The menu? I goofed! Instead of making Raymond's choice of recipes: Chicken a la King, Spinach Timbales, and Kasha Pilaf, I made the week previous' recipes of: Minestrone and Roast Beef Tenderloin with Red Currant Jus from the cookbook The Illustrated Kitchen Bible. Raymond from Your Just Dessert choose the month of December's menus and I am going to play catch-up this week to make the RIGHT recipes. I can not believe I goofed but I will try and get the menu made by Tuesday. Yeesh!

I seriously altered the recipe and used salt pork, onion, and garlic first.

Baby Lima beans replaced white kidney beans (cannellini beans), along with extras like dried basil, baby spinach, and corn. I also doubled the recipe so I would have enough to freeze for future dinners.

The minestrone turned out amazing and packed full of delicious flavor!

The soup was topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. A meal all on its' own.

The roast beef tenderloin jus was tender and the jus drizzled over the top with crispy bacon, Port wine, beef stock and currant jelly was perfect together. It is hard to imagine Port and currant jelly being cooked down, creating a winning combination but the currant added a sweet depth. Bacon goes without saying.

I made creamy mashed potatoes infused with crisp bacon and green onions along with steamed corn, creating a hearty Sunday evening dinner.

For the Mashed Potatoes:
2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
4 cloves garlic, peeled
5 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/2 cup low-fat milk, warmed
1/2 cup low-fat sour cream
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper

Directions:
In a large pot, immerse the potatoes and garlic in water.
Boil until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 30 minutes.
Fry the bacon in a skillet until crisp; drain on paper towels.
Pour out all but 1 teaspoon of the bacon drippings from the pan.
Add the green onions to the drippings, and saute until soft but not brown. Return the bacon to the skillet and stir to combine.
Drain the potatoes and garlic and return to the pot.
Mash the potatoes with the milk, sour cream, salt, and pepper. Stir in the bacon and green onions.
Reheat, if necessary, before serving.

Heavenly Cake Baker's - Swedish Pear and Alomond Cream Cake

2010-11-15T00:01:00.000-08:00

The Heavenly Cake Baker's is an amazing group! I continue to be challenged on just about every recipe we have tried. On November 8th, the HCB group made the Swedish Pear and Almond Cream bundt cake and I missed out baking it. All I saw was beautiful, moist cakes on all the member's blog sites and I couldn't quit thinking about baking one of my own.

I bought the ingredients last week. All I had to do was assemble. I was wondering how everyone achieved getting the pears covered with cake since the recipe calls for only a 1/4-inch groove to be made for the almond cream, then the layer of pear slices on top.

I was the one to be shocked when pulling the cake out of the oven. No pears visible!

The cake is moist, the almond and pear combination delicious, and I will be re-baking the recipe again. We really loved it! I am actually thinking about "not" sharing but that wouldn't be very nice =).

This week is a free choice week so check out what other HCB'ers did for their choices by clicking here for the blog roll; you will not be disappointed. I never am; happy baking!

SMS - Strawberry Muffins with Fresh Lemon and Rosemary along with Gutsy Cooks

2010-11-14T11:41:00.000-08:00

Sweet Melissa Sunday's is such a fun group! I love everyone here. I have felt terrible because I am still adjusting to my new work schedule and I seem to be bombing everything else. My kitties don't even know me right now =).

This weekend is my birthday weekend so Larry and I went to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert in Seattle Key Arena Saturday afternoon.

We sat close to the bottom row of the arena and towards the back. When fire shot out, we could feel the heat from where we sat. I felt bad for the people towards the front because I know they were cooking. Amazing show! Laser lights, fireworks, flames, hair flinging and the music, Wow! Loved it!

Know what else we loved? The Strawberry, Lemon and Rosemary Muffins! My choice for this week. Rosemary has a distinctive flavor all its' own so I wasn't sure if the flavor would over-power the fruit but we were pleasantly surprised. I am hoping you were too.

Here is Melissa's recipe for the Sweet Muffins with strawberries, lemon zest and Rosemary:

Ingredients:

2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 T. plus 1 t. baking powder

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1/2 t. kosher salt

8 T. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1/3 c. firmly packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/4 c. heavy cream, at room temperature

1/2 cup minus 2 T. whole milk, at room temperature

(You can use more or less milk according to the juiciness of the fruit)

1 1/2 t. freshly grated zest of a lemon

1 cup strawberries, cut into 1/4 to 1/2 - inch pieces

1 T. vanilla sugar or granulated sugar for sprinkling

(To make vanilla sugar, combine the split and scraped pod and seeds of 1 vanilla bean with 8 cups of sugar. Rub them together with your hands. Store in an airtight container.)

Directions:

Position a rack in the center of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with muffin papers (or butter and flour the cups or spray with nonstick vegetable cooking spray).

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, and salt. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, and eggs until smooth - -no lumps. Whisk in the heavy cream and milk until combined.

3. Add the lemon zest and 3/4 t. finely chopped fresh rosemary to rub into the flour mixture with your hands, releasing the oils and breaking up the bits. Add the fresh strawberries and gently toss with your fingers to combine. Make a well in the center of the bowl. Pour the butter mixture into the center of the well and, using a rubber spatula, gently pull the flour mixture into

the center of the well until just combined.

4. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each cup until full. Bake for (I bake for 18 to 22 minutes) but Melissa states to bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until golden and a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack and sprinkle with sugar. Let cool to warm.

I sprinkled the vanilla sugar on the muffin dough before inserting into the oven. I also baked 6 LARGE muffins and 13 mini-muffin caps. We loved the flavor and texture.

Too cute! Thank you everyone for baking along with me! I can not wait for next week's Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie!

Check out the rest of the SMS baker's muffins by clicking here for the list of blogs. =)

Gutsy Cooks

I am a whole week behind BUT I wanted to show off the Spanish Vegetable Tortilla and the Cod in Tomato Sauce! Jenn, Monica of Sweetbites co-anchor, chose the month of November's recipes and I "will" catch up.

I LOVED both dishes! The Spanish Vegetable Tortilla was altered a little by me doubling the amount of the broccoli, peas, and adding in 1 cup of sauteed mushrooms. What a delicious tortilla. Mine baked a little darker then the photo in The Illustrated Kitchen Bible but did not taste over cooked. Relief!

Doesn't all the ingredients together look fresh, chunky, and delicious?

My only downside is the filling tasted a little to eggy for us but the rest was perfect!

Then there was the fresh fish, Rockfish to be precise! So good for us and I never get enough fish in my dinner menus for the week. I try but for some reason the idea of fish always slips past me.

LOVED, loved, loved the fresh Roma tomato sauce with sauteed onions, white wine, and seasonings. Would definitely make this again! Thank you Jenn for the great menu choices!

SMS- Ginger Custard Pumpkin Pie

2010-11-07T15:57:00.000-08:00

Sweet Melissa Sunday! I just had to bake along with Debbie of Every Day Blessings! Debbie hosted this week and what a great choice - a Ginger Custard Pumpkin Pie.

I am late posting today but in my defense, I had to work this weekend and also baked my baby sugar pumpkins last night to make my own pumpkin puree. The pie just finished baking and I had a warm sliver so I knew what I was typing about =). YUM!

Isn't the pumpkin puree pretty with little brown flecks from being baked?

I used a pie crust recipe from the Pie and Pastry Bible by Rose Beranbaum for the crust. I LOVE her cookbooks too. Butter ready to go into the food processor with the pastry flour.

While my crust was chilling, we simmered the crushed cinnamon sticks and chopped, fresh ginger.

Okay, maybe I can share a boo-boo. Everyone needs a laugh once in a while. I was buzzing along, straining my ginger and cinnamon pieces out of the cream BEFORE adding to the whipped eggs and egg yolks, Melissa says to do the straining after but I just couldn't, THEN Guess WHAT?

I poured the custard into the pie shell and put the pie into the oven. No pumpkin puree. Panic sets in the minute I leave the kitchen. I run back, grab the pie out of the oven, pour the custard out and my pie shell starts to slide and cave. I whip the pumpkin puree into the custard sauce, re-direct the shell as best I can and put back into the oven, hoping for the best. So here we are, looking pretty good for what COULD have happened. =)

Thank you Debbie for hosting this week. Go see Debbie's site here for the recipe and to check out her delicious pie. Also check out the other SMS baker's pies if you really want to get hungry enough to bake one of your own!

CEiMB - Mushroom, Onion and Basil Pizza

2010-11-04T20:02:00.000-07:00

This post is going to be fast. Craving Ellie in My Belly is such a great group of people and I have been enjoying cooking along with the group immensely. This pizza is no exception! I made my own pizza crust and used fresh tomatoes instead of sun dried. So GOOD!

My MISHAP was baking the pizza a little too long. The crust, infortunately, became REALLY brown on the outside. The rest of the pizza was perfect.

Thank you Joanne of Apple Crumble for such a delicious choice this week and for hosting. You ROCK! Go see her pizza and if you want the recipe, click here. (Still Joanne's site)

SMS - Goat Cheese, Olive and Thyme Muffins, combines with the Gutsy Cooks Oxtail Stew and Polenta - Plus Some

2010-10-31T09:24:00.000-07:00

It is Hanaa's week to host for Sweet Melissa Sundays! Hooray for Hanaa of Hanaa's Kitchen! Such a wonderful baking friend and always helpful with cooking/baking tips and knowledge. Hanaa chose Goat Cheese, Olive and Thyme Muffins. Since I have missed the last two weeks with the Gutsy Cooks, who also post on Sundays, I caught up by making a full dinner by combining the menus from both groups. Hopefully I am not confusing anyone here =).

I stuffed my muffin cups with batter since I decided on baking a full batch. Melissa says the recipe only makes 12 muffins but the last 3 times I have baked this recipe, using the different add-in ingredients, the recipe has made more like 18 muffins.

Melissa's baking time is a little too long, according to my oven. The muffins were done in 18 minutes.

The filling with goat cheese, olives, and rosemary is delicious! I wish I had added more rosemary because the fresh herb seemed to get lost in my muffin.

Thank you Hanaa for the easy and delicious choice. Look at other SMS's bakers twists on the recipe by clicking here or go to Hanaa's blog here for the recipe. Now, ON TO GUTSY COOKS!

I may not have been posting the blog BUT I have been cooking right along with the Gutsy Cooks. My excuse, after looking for work in the Northwest for the last 10 months, I have officially started a new job and what a relief~! I am exhausted getting by at 4:15 a.m. and not getting home till after 7 p.m. but I will take the schedule any day over the stress of job hunting.

Now on toooo this week's menu chosen by Monica as the last week of October: Oxtail Stew with Wine and Herbs over Polenta. The recipes are found in The Illustrated Kitchen Bible by Victoria Blashford-Snell and to get the recipes, you will need to buy her cookbook. The author has not given permission for the host to post the recipe. Dessert is last week's Vanilla Custards.

My first time EVER trying oxtail anything. I went to my local butcher, the only place out of 4 major grocery stores to carry oxtail, and the butcher only had 1 package weighing 2 pounds. They sell out on a regular basis - who knew? I ordered another 5 pounds to be picked up next Friday, encase we loved the stew. My husband and I enjoy trying new dishes and this is definitely new for the both of us. I already had beef soup bones with lots of beef still attached so I made up the difference of 4 1/2 pounds with beef.

The recipe calls for fresh thyme and rosemary, a drizzle of honey, salt and pepper for seasonings.

Chopped onions, carrots, fennel, garlic cloves (I added 4 minced) and 2 hot red chiles are all sauteed until tender (about 5 to 6 minutes) then add with the browned oxtail tail and beef bones. A bottle of hearty red wine Cabernet Sauvignon was added as the liquid base for the stew to slowly braise in.

2 1/2 hours later, the oxtail stew came out of the oven and smelled amazing with all the slow roasted vegetables and meat. The sauce had a deep brown color and the flavor picked up all the fresh herbs, vegetables, and meat to make an amazing gravy, poured over the polenta with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

I was raised around brown and white rice, potatoes, and pasta for versions of side dishes. Polenta is a newer dish for me, in fact, this recipe will be the third time I have made polenta. We like it but the texture is still an adjustment.

The verdict is we LOVED the oxtail stew. Oxtail meat does not taste like beef and pulling the meat off of the bone takes a little doing. Definitely tender but a different texture and the meat can kind of a sweeter, different taste that I liked but just can not put my finger on to compare with anything else I have eaten. I am curious to see what others already know about the meat so I can get a better idea of what is normal to expect.

Then there is the vanilla custard. I baked the custards in a water bath the same as the coconut custards we tried earlier ONLY this time I baked the custards a LOT longer. The custards baked along with the oxtail stew but only for 40 minutes at 300 degrees F.

What is not admire and enjoy as a true comfort food the a custard whose base starts with a fresh vanilla bean, simmering in heavy cream and whole milk? Whipped egg yolks and honey are whipped into a thick frenzy and the simmered and soaked vanilla bean mixture is slowly added. Pour into 6 oz. ramekins, set in a water bath containing boiling water and slowly bake until set. Did I mention what is not to like? What a relief to have several dishes turn out right.

I feel terrible saying such a think BUT the empanadas and coconut custards did not turn out and I was having a little trouble pushing myself to keep trying the next recipes. Now, I am glad we did! Thank you Monica, the creator of the Gutsy Cooks group, for choosing all the recipes for the month of October. Last night's dinner kicked butt and was delicious!

Here is the photos of the Empanadas and White Bean Soup for the week of October 17. I really added twists to the bean soup. First I did not blend the beans up in the puree. Also, I simmered the beans with a smoked ham hock. I later took the bone out, pulled the ham and added the pulled meat back into the simmered beans with celery and carrots. I omitted the Pancetta, even though I bought it because, well simply stated, I forgot.

I am not sure if this soup counts since I deviated a LOT from the recipe but we loved it.

The empanadas are a different story. I made a big mess trying and we really did want to like these. The dough is what caught us up and I already changed up the filling ingredients. I just could not do Tuna. The thought made my tummy flip-flop.

Maybe I rolled the dough to thick but the flavor was bland and dry.

I used diced pork with the chopped tomatoes and 2 tsp.'s of tomato paste along with a jar of chipotle corn salsa.

The filling was okay but the whole empanada was hard to eat more then one. I pulled out more salsa for dipping, still we did not eat even half of them. I felt bad posting a negative response but I think being part of a group is knowing that we all have different tastes and this just didn't hit ours.

I do want to try empanadas again, with a different dough recipe, since this was also a first for me to make and the idea was a wonderful one. Thank you Monica for widening our horizons in the kitchen!

The Aroma of Homemade Bread Fresh from the Oven ~ Rosemary-Garlic Focaccia Bread

2010-10-23T20:25:00.000-07:00

I miss my Mom's homemade bread days. Coming home from school, running through the front door, the aroma of fresh baked bread would hit you head on. Nothing else registered in my mind but the thought of a thick slice coated in butter and eagerly shoved into my mouth. Feels like yesterday. Mom did not have a fancy mixer or bread machine either. Wooden spoon, large bowl and muscle.

If I bake bread, you will see the KA mixer or a handy bread machine for the dough mixing part. Not the baking. I like to add fresh herbs to my bread dough before the dough bakes and I like to shape my loaf. There is a LOT to be said about baking bread on a bread stone in the oven. The process is still SUPER easy.

My whole house smelled of freshly minced garlic and rosemary. The next morning, I could still smell fresh baked bread. The texture is light and the flavors are bold and a wonderful crust.

Here is the recipe:

Rosemary~Garlic Focaccia Bread

(adapted from Healthy Cooking)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup warm milk (70° to 80°) ~ I used whole milk but any percentage will work

1/4 cup water (70° to 80°)

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 egg, room temperature

2-3/4 cups bread flour

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons salt, divided

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

4 teaspoons olive oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary

Directions:

In bread machine pan, place the milk, water, butter, egg, flour, sugar, 1 teaspoon salt and yeast in order suggested by manufacturer. Select dough setting (check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water or flour if needed).

When cycle is completed, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Punch dough down. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Shape into an 11-in. circle; place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Using the end of a wooden spoon handle, make several 1/4-in. indentations in dough.

Brush with oil. Sprinkle with garlic, rosemary and remaining salt. Bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cut into wedges.

CEiMB -Chicken Pot Pies and a Tuscan Salad

2010-10-21T05:18:00.000-07:00

I have had the pleasure of cooking along with wonderful people who care about eating healthier, one of several reasons for cooking with the "Craving Ellie in My Belly" group, and this week is my week to host. Hooray!!!

I chose Ellie's You and Me Chicken Pot pie with a phyllo dough topping , loads of vegetables, all combined in a delicious sauce.

Instead of butter moistening the phyllo dough, Ellie calls for olive oil, then a sprinkling of fresh Parmesan cheese over the top. Pop the dishes into the oven and 30 minutes later we are ready to eat.

I used to be alarmed at using phyllo dough. So fragile looking. If I take my time, moisten as I go, the phyllo dough is work-able.

Verdict: A dinner I will be adding into my list of go-to recipes. We loved it. I did substitute sweet onions for leeks but I can see the potential for adding any type of vegetables and meat (or no meat if you wish).

The You and Me Chicken Pot Pie recipe is posted on the Food Network site here.

I also made a Tuscan Salad to go with the pot pies.

The recipe is adapted from Giada De Laurentiis:

Tuscan Salad

Ingredients:

* 8 ounces green beans, cut into 1 to 2-inch pieces (about 2 cups)

* 1 head Romaine lettuce, torn

* 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

* 1/2 cup pitted black olives

* 1/2 sweet onion, cut into slivers

* 1 lemon, juiced

* 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

* 1 teaspoon kosher salt* 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

* 1 ounce shaved Parmesan (about 1/2 cup)

Directions:

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the green beans and stir. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until beans are slightly tender. Transfer the cooked green beans to a bowl of ice water and let cool for 3 minutes. Drain the green beans.

In a large bowl, combine the green beans with the lettuce, cannellini beans, olives, and red onion. Toss to combine. Drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Top with shaved Parmesan and serve.

French Friday's with Dorie ~ Spicy Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup

2010-10-15T13:06:00.000-07:00

French Friday's with Dorie has been a great experience in diversity of recipes for the last three weeks. This week: Spicy Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup.

I have made Pho from scratch, a LONG process, and Dorie's soup is much like chicken Pho, except MUCH faster to assemble. Oh, and I have never added coconut milk to Pho before and yet Dorie calls for it.

I did not have coriander seeds, so used powdered coriander to compensate along with pink peppercorns instead of white.

All the ingredients went together quickly and brought to a boil.

The chicken breasts with skin and bone were added in to simmer then removed and the meat picked apart from the bones. After cooling down, the chicken meat was shredded, the noodles were cooked and cilantro was chopped. Added all three of these ingredients to the soup and simmered for a short amount of time. Added lime juice at the end.

Verdict: We loved the flavor of the creamy noodles, light coconut base, spices, and chicken. I did not have bean sprouts or fresh basil leaves on hand (forgot to buy them) but I did have chile oil, hoisin sauce, and lime wedges. A definite addition to my kitchen dinners! Now I would like to try the Curry version of this same soup. My husband loves curry. Thank you Dorie for another great selection this month!

CEiMB ~ Apple Brown Betty and A Savory Stuffed Pumpkin Dinner

2010-10-14T06:36:00.000-07:00

Craving Ellie in My Belly Thursday is here and what a dessert! Apple Brown Betty, chosen by this week's host: Jessica of Learning to Love Vegetables.

The recipe for this delicious dessert is found on Food Network's internet site but I did alter the recipe by doing 2 changes.

Change #1: I used all natural, unsweetened applesauce with my apple slices instead of apple cider which made for a thick filling.

Change #2: I replaced 2 of the Golden Delicious apples with 2 Granny Smith apples for a slight tart flavor.

The apple brown betty was served with low-fat vanilla ice cream while the brown betty was still warm. Delicious! Thank you Jessica for hosting. If you would like to see the rest of the group's desserts, click here for the blog roll.

I also stuffed and baked baby sugar pumpkins, each pumpkin weighed about 2 pounds, and what a delicious dinner filled with chunky vegetables, potatoes, and chicken. All covered in a golden, flaky crust of puff pastry. Very easy recipe to approach and fun for entertaining!

Savory Stuffed Pumpkins
4 sugar pumpkins (no more than about 2 lb each)
4T butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped or diced
2 large russet potatoes(about 1lb-ish, of red or Yukon Gold)
3 stalks celery, diced
1/2 cup sliced carrots(I used babies)
12 oz fresh mushrooms, chopped
1 chicken, turkey, pork or veggie stock
1 cup heavy cream
about 3 cups left over mildly seasoned chicken (or saute 2 chicken breasts cut into cubes and add)
1-2T fresh sage, rubbed and chopped
kosher or sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 package puffy pastry sheets, thawed but cool or dough for 2 pie crusts, rolled into 2 rectangles
olive oil
1 egg white, beaten(optional)
4 sprigs fresh rosemary(optional)

Directions:

Wash outsides of pumpkins and wipe dry with paper towel. Score around the top portion of each pumpkin with sharp knife and remove top with stem. Scoop out seeds and clean.

Lightly brush insides of each pumpkin with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake at 350 for about 30-35 minutes until pumpkins have darkened and meat has slight give when pierced with a fork.

Meanwhile, in large, heavy pan, melt butter and add potatoes. Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Let cook about 10 minutes, stirring often, until potatoes start to change color, slightly. Add celery and carrots and continue to cook another 10 minutes or so.

Potatoes should be started to get just a little tender and very slightly browning. Add onion, garlic and mushroom and cook about 10 minutes more. Add stock, chicken, cream and sage and stir well. Simmer about 10-12 minutes, stirring often, to thicken sauce.

Season with salt and pepper. Fill each pumpkin with the meat/veggie mixture. It's okay to take it almost to the top!

Roll each dough just enough to be able to cut 2 circles big enough to fit the pumpkin openings, and have about 1/2 inch extra to press down over the top of the pumpkin. Poke a couple small holes in top of dough and brush with beaten egg.

Bake at 400 for about 30 minutes, or until pastry dough is browned and crisp.
Remove from oven and place one sprig of rosemary in top of each pumpkin to create "stem", if desired.

HCB'ers Day ~ Molten Chocolate Souffle and Lava Cakes

2010-10-11T14:57:00.000-07:00

A chocolate dessert that did not send me over the edge, with me talking to myself for several days; what a treat! Heavenly Cake Baker's has definitely helped me grow and widen my horizons with new kitchen skills. If sighing over frustrating mishaps ever becomes a language, I am already fluent.

I used to whip open Rose Beranbaum's Heavenly Cakes cookbook with excitement. Now I approach the cookbook cautiously, open slowly, and let out a HUGE sigh of relief if the recipe is 3 pages or less.

I used the Baker's spray and was relieved to see the spray finally work for me. I have tried the Baker's spray before with disastrous results. The lava cake batter was fluffy and the ganache centers looked so good resting on top.

I was surprised how puffed up these little souffle cakes were first out of the oven. Like a souffle, the little cakes also shrink right up. I was not over excited about the chocolate flavor and my ganache was not oozing out like Roses'. I did like how fast these little cakes went together and nothing stuck to the bottom of my cake cups . . . I am still not over the caramel issue from last time. Looking forward to next week's quick bread. Happy baking everyone!

Gutsy Cook's Club ~ A Roulade and Quindim

2010-10-10T14:07:00.000-07:00

Gutsy Cook's Club is here! Our second posting and we have a delicious, fluffy, moist and flavorful roulade filled with fresh baby spinach and sun dried tomatoes. The original recipe filling was ricotta and arugula. I had baby spinach and sun dried tomatoes already.

For dessert, quindim. According to Victoria, author of The Illustrated Kitchen Bible, quindim is a sweet and rich dessert made popular in Brazil. Filled with coconut milk, coconuts bits, and toasted coconut, we have a light and airy custard.

The roulade could not be quicker and easier to bake up then this recipe. The base is a seasoned roux, the same start as for a tasty gravy or sauce, with Parmesan cheese, eggs (separated so the egg whites can be whipped into fluffy white peaks), and a smidgeon of Dijon mustard. The filling consisted of ricotta with a sprinkling of fresh nutmeg, layered with baby spinach and julienned sun dried tomatoes, then rolled up into the pretty roulade above.

I served the roulade with a double-cut, bone-in elegant pork chop and garden salad.

My only change for the roulade would be to not go as crazy with the julienned sun dried tomatoes. I sprinkled a heavy layer so cutting the roulade into slices was interesting.

The quindim I was going to skip all together but hubby asked why? this morning and I stood there just looking at him. I had no answer. So unlike me too.

For anyone who made the quindim, tell me if yours baked through. Mine did not and I found out too late. After the dessert had chilled for 3 hours. I have a wonderful sugar crust on top but once broken through, I have thick liquid. A delicious tasting thick liquid BUT not the creamy custard I pictured.

I even toasted my coconut flakes. Check out the rest of the Gutsy Cooks to see their versions of this two wonderful recipes by clicking here for the blog list.

I thought I would share the double-cute elegant pork chop recipe because the flavors are brilliant together. You have a tender pork-chop baked in a sweet, tomatoey sauce.

Elegant Pork Chops

(recipe adapted from the original by Virginia Miller, home cook)

4 double-cut, bone-in pork chops

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 cups brown sugar

2 cups low-sodium soy sauce

1 T. molasses

1 3/4 cup ketchup

1 1/2 cups chili sauce, such as Heinz (I can my own so that is what I used)

2 T. French dressing

2 T. Dijon mustard

Directions:

Put pork chops into a baking dish and season with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, whisk 1/2 cup brown sugar, soy sauce, molasses, and 1 cup water and pour over meat. Cover with plastic wrap and let pork chops marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Drain pork chops and transfer to a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Whisk together remaining brown sugar, ketchup, chili sauce, French dressing, mustard, and 1/3 cup water in a small bowl. Pour sauce over pork chops and bake, turning pork chops and basting with sauce occasionally, until pork chops are tender and sauce has thickened, about 45 minutes. Let pork chops rest for 10 minutes before serving.

SMS ~ Cashew Brittle with a Little Espresso Ice Cream

2010-10-10T08:46:00.000-07:00

Crazy weekend so my Cashew Brittle chosen by Stephanie of Ice Cream Before Dinner for Sweet Melissa Sundays is going to be rather speedy. So not my style =). Thank you Stephanie for hosting and the choice. My first try at brittle of any type and I was surprised at how quick this candy is put together.

I have oodles left over and now kind of wished I only made half a batch . . . but the cashew brittle is definitely tasty. I bought my cashews in the bulk section so I can buy exactly what I needed.

I also made up a batch of Espresso with a Twist Ice Cream. The twist is the lemon sugar syrup added into the cream at the end. For the recipe, either go to Stephanie's blog or buy Melissa's cookbook. Check out the other Fab SMS baker's brittle by clicking here.

GUTSY GOURMET IS POSTING SHORTLY, see you soon, Shandy

French Friday with Dorie ~ gerard's mustard tart w/dinner

2010-10-08T00:01:00.000-07:00

The kitchen is uncomfortably warm. The oven has been baking away for over 3 hours. Both Shadow and Fluffy are fully extended on the couch "and" ottoman with paws curled over their eyes while they nap. The aroma of a warm tart crust fresh from the oven fills the house. Tomorrow is French Friday with Dorie and our second choice for the month of October; gerard's mustard tart.

Many thoughts circulated through my head while looking at the recipe for this savory tart last weekend. Two types of mustard, one grainy; leeks and carrots, julienned and steamed; and a filling resembling a quiche. Creme Fraiche is already waiting in the refrigerator. What could the tart possibly taste like? Is mustard going to be the dominant flavor? Dorie says to add according to taste. I was not sure what the taste should be. Then there is the dinner menu; one of my favorite past times, meaning get out old and new recipes to find ideas to match the tart.

An hour later, recipes spread across the couch, ottoman, floor, on top of the cats (they love playing hide-and-seek with loose paper), my menu was assembled on my menu notepad.

I am sticking with Dorie's exact measurements for the ingredient list along with baking the tart shell from page 498 of our French Table cookbook. I am also baking Dorie's Banana Cream Pie out of Dorie's Baking from my home to yours cookbook (I missed the week the banana cream pie was baked in TWD.).

Dinner for Early Evening:

Dorie's recipe of gerard's mustard tart

Feta-Stuffed Shrimp

Sirloin Steaks with Blue Cheese and Mushroom Wine Sauce

Roasted Broccoli w/Herb Lemon Butter

Dessert:

Dories recipe for Banana Cream Pie

Feta-Stuffed Shrimp

(adapted from a recipe by Paula Deen)

Ingredients:

8 jumbo shrimp

1/3 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

1 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons finely chopped roasted red pepper

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup butter plus 3 tablespoons, melted and divided

1 large egg yolk, beaten

1/3 cup white wine

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.
Lightly spray a shallow baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
Peel shrimp, leaving tails intact. With a sharp knife, carefully slice the spine of shrimp from head to tail, cutting almost all the way through the shrimp; remove the dark vein, and rinse shrimp. With your fingers, carefully spread apart the shrimp, and flatten the halves on a flat surface. Set aside.
In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs, parsley, red pepper, garlic, feta, lemon zest, lemon juice, ¼ cup melted butter, and egg yolk; stir well.
Spoon about 1 tablespoon of bread crumb mixture onto each butterflied shrimp, mounding the mixture, if necessary.
Place the stuffed shrimp in prepared dish.
Pour wine and remaining 3 tablespoons melted butter around shrimp in baking dish.
Bake for 20 minutes or until shrimp are pink and firm.
Transfer shrimp to serving plates, and drizzle with pan juices.

Issues along the Way:
*My crust baked up to more of a chocolate brown, just past golden, and I had yet to add my filling. I made a foil circle and covered the edging while baking the tart filling. Worked out perfect.

*I was planning on making this dinner Wednesday night before I realized the tart dough is chilled for 3 hours, assembled and chilled again, then baked and cooled before adding the filling. For pre-planning purposes, the tart shell dough is a breeze for baking the next day.

Verdict: The mustard was not over-powering. We were pleasantly surprised at how mellow the flavor actually was. The crust was crisp and flaky while the filling was firm and moist. We both loved it!

I can not wait to try the mustard tart recipe again with fresh tomatoes. I already bought them to try this weekend.

Dorie's banana cream pie filling was quick and easy to put together. I wasn't sure about the sound of cinnamon with banana but the flavors mingle perfectly. Hubby had two pieces after dinner. Where he fit them, I am not quite sure. =)

We both are up at 4 a.m. so a special dinner can make the long day melt away.

Thank you Dorie for choosing another dish that will not be forgotten in our kitchen.

CEiMB - Tomato~Tortilla Soup and a Healthy, Colorful Dessert

2010-10-06T21:39:00.001-07:00

Craving Ellie in My Belly was such a warm and comforting choice for this week: Tomato~Tortilla Soup chosen by Mary of Popsicles and Sandy Feet.

We used fresh lime juice and baked our own tortilla chip strips, so easy too! Brushing a little canola oil over tortilla rounds, cutting into thin 1/4-inch strips, and baking for 12 minutes could not be easier.

You can get this recipe at the Food Network site here.

My only changes was adding corn to the soup. I used my immersion blender, making easy work of mild pureeing. You want small chunks of tomato. I also served multi-grain, toasted baguette slices with the soup for dipping. Delicious! We loved every bite Mary; thank you for hosting this week and picking such a perfect Fall dinner dish.

For dessert, I served Mixed Berries with Greek Yogurt~Limoncello Cream.

Mixed Berries with Greek Yogurt -Limoncello Cream

(adapted from Epicurious.com)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup chilled whipping cream
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1 T. sugar
2 tablespoons Limoncello (lemon liqueur)
2 cups assorted fresh berries (I used fresh blackberries and strawberries)

Directions:

Combine whipping cream, Greek yogurt, sugar, and limoncello in large bowl. Beat until soft peaks form.

Put a dollop on each serving of mixed berries.

TWD ~ Double Apple Bundt Cake and ABC Orange Chiffon Tweed Cake with Milk 'n' Honey Sabayon

2010-10-04T21:40:00.000-07:00

Tuesdays with Dorie has arrived and we are enjoying a moist slice of warm double apple bundt cake with a dollop of applesauce.

Lynne from the blog Honey Muffin is hosting this week, which means you can get Dorie's recipe for the double apple bundt cake at Lynne's blogsite OR buy Dorie's Baking from my home to yours cookbook =).

The recipe went together quickly. I used my homemade spicy apple butter, shredded 2 medium apples as stated by Dorie, but omitted the raisins. Apples and spice circulated throughout the house while the bundt cake was baking. I drizzled a cream cheese icing over the top and served a slice of the moist and tender cake with a dollop of store bought applesauce.

Thank you Lynne for choosing this week's TWD delicious recipe. A perfect Fall treat!

The first Tuesday of each month is the ABC Baking Event from one of Flo Braker's wonderful cake recipes out of her Baking For All Occasions. This month's choice kicked my butt!

Most of my photos are even too dark. I halved the recipe for the cake and made miniature pumpkin shapes in a baking pan with removable bottoms. I had leftover batter after filling fifteen pumpkin shapes so poured the rest of the batter in individual tart pans. Lets just say we will "never" use an angel food fluffy type cake in a miniature anything next time.

I have a new kitchen toy and I have no idea how I ever lived without this wonderful creation. A serrated edged peeler. Flo is right, no pith; a perfect peel of zest and glides with ease.

The milk n' honey Sabayon sauce is what completely did me in! I made the sauce twice . . . meaning 12 eggs later I said FINE. I will put this in the refrigerator and fix it tomorrow. By the way, I baked the cake and sauce over a week ago and have been fiddling with it since. The next morning, I added a LOT more heavy cream and whipped the bajeebees out of the sauce.

Lets just say the sauce and I came to an agreement. I had a "thick" cream but not a spoonable, stand-alone cream. I cookie sprinkled, frosted, and finally, as you can see in the first (dark) photo, went with a bowl of cream and the miniature cakes for the umpteenth try at plating.

4 days later I was making tweed cake ice cream sandwiches, using the milk n' honey Sabayon as the ice cream filling.

Halving the recipe took away too much of the orange flavor. The end result had my eye twitching. Reworking the dessert and making a frozen treat with this recipe is the only way I enjoyed it. Although, after messing with this for over a week, we aren't speaking.

Check out everyone else's beautiful works of art with this dessert by going to Hanaa's Kitchen for the blogroll.

Heavenly Cake Bakers ~ Caramelized Pineapple Pudding Cakes

2010-10-04T08:16:00.000-07:00

After 4 days of assembly, where to begin?

A title should go first: Caramelized Pineapple Pudding Cakes assembled with a Classic Brioche by Rose Beranbaum of Heaven Cakes.

Our group is headed up by Marie of the Heavenly Cake Bakers. She took on the task of baking her way through Rose's cake baking book full of imaginative and amazing desserts, hoping to learn and grow along the way. I have joined in only 2 months ago and have already learned how to handle my frustration MUCH better. =)

Each step went smoothly. The end and assembling is what caught me up. Actually the caramel becoming a HARD ROCK was a large part of it.

I would also like to state, I started losing interest on the last day and forced myself to finish because the waiting periods between each step meant 4 days to make this small dessert. There was no big process until the end and yet I felt like I was suppose to be the Energizer bunny with this.

Here we go; Day 1: The sponge for the brioche dough. I am obsessed with weighing all ingredients now. A new skill learned!

Also Day 1: The dough is mixed and now rises for 1 1/2 hours.

The dough has risen and now will go into the refrigerator for 1 hour. Then deflated and refrigerated for another hour.

Still Day 1: The dough is patted into a rectangle (sticky) and folded into thirds, much like a business letter. The process is done twice. The dough is refrigerated overnight.

Day 2: Remove and deflate the dough. Shape into a rectangle, press and roll 3 turns. Set in prepared pan to let rise for 1 1/2 hours.

Brush with egg glaze and bake.

I must not have sealed my dough roll all the way. I had a large bulge on the right top.

The bread is beautiful inside and tastes slightly sweet, very soft, and tender. I really enjoyed working with the brioche.

In fact, I can see baking this recipe again. Loved eating the leftovers toasted with homemade spiced pear butter.

Day 2 still. Cutting into cubes. In hindsight, my first mistake starts here. I had a heaping 4 cups, or so I thought. Not enough cubes at the end.

The cubes will air dry overnight.

Day 3: Making the creme anglaise. A simple and tasty process.

I should have known I did not have enough bread cubes when all my cubes fit snugly in a 9 x 9 baking dish, ready to soak in the creme anglaise sauce overnight. I did flip my bread cubes 4 hours in to make sure both sides were moistened.

Day 4: (Sunday) We start with the caramel. I would like to mention now, I measured the temperature as stated before removing from the stove. I removed the caramel 5 degrees early so the sauce could finish cooking without going over.

As soon as the caramel was poured into the souffle cups, the sauce hardened into a solid mass; never to soften again, even after baking.

I cut up my fresh pineapple and started making the sugar syrup for the pineapple quarters to roast in.

The roasting process took me about 35 minutes. My second point of confusion was how long to roast the pineapple and thicken the syrup. The quarters did not feel tender when poked with a skewer for quite a while. In the meantime, the syrup thickened.

I have yet to mention this: My souffle cups were wider then Rose's BECAUSE I had exactly the right amount pineapple slices to cover but the hole in the center was large enough for a full quarter piece.

Another Point: I only had enough bread cubes to make one layer.

I have a large assortment of individual souffle dishes, all holding the same amount of liquid. I did not read 3 by 2-inches until now. I would have saved myself a big headache at the end if I had not spaced this off.

I had about 1 cup of creme anglaise sauce leftover from draining the breadcrumbs. I thickened the sauce, waiting for assembly.

Here we are again!

First, the caramel on the bottom was still hard and I unmolded IMMEDIATELY from the oven.

Second, I was hoping the bread cubes would puff up while baking, they don't.

Third, I should have cut more bread cubes.

Fourth, the syrup needed to be reheated because it hardened into a solid sticky mass and is MUCH darker then Rose's.

Verdict: I loved the brioche! My husband is the only pineapple fan and I must have been expecting too much out of this dessert. The syrup is overwhelmingly sweet and sweet is all I tasted along with pineapple. My husband loved the flavor of the pineapple, eating his portion along with most of mine. He would have been fine with just one but ended up on sugar overload =).

Did I mention I LOVED everything about the Brioche? I really do!

I now need to go see how the other's in the HCB'ers group faced this manipulative dessert by clicking here for the blog roll.

SMS - Coconut Pecan Frosting on Carrot Cake Cookies with Cream Cheese Drizzle (Gutsy Cooks posted earlier this morning)

2010-10-03T09:19:00.000-07:00

Sweet Melissa Sundays is being hosted this morning by one of my favorite food blogging friends: Eliana of a Chica Bakes! Here blog site is almost as adorable as she is. I love her warm and genuine personality portrayed and written in such a positive light everytime I visit her blog. She is ALWAYS so supportive. I couldn't wait to make the Coconut Pecan Frosting with her this week. Not a big surprise about the choice since I KNOW Eliana LOVES, loves, loves coconut =). Hugs Eliana, you rock!

The coconut pecan frosting turned out so thick and finger licking delicious! Okay, you may not see coconut in this picture of delicious frosting . . . Eliana, I love you but girl, my coconut loving taste bud must be missing.

When I was a little girl, a treat was Mom and Dad bringing us home a coconut and letting us open the top holes to drain the coconut water out then crack it open and spend at least an hour prying the snow white coconut flesh out, then peeling the brown skin off the back of the coconut meat. I have no idea what happened along the way. Maybe I only like coconut fresh out of the shell?

I was going to bake carrot cake whoopie pies but instead I baked Carrot Cake Cookies, filled them with Melissa's Pecan frosting and drizzled with cream cheese and honey over the top. We carefully brought out Grandma's fine China and served the cookies with tea.

Grandma's fine china is a treat because Grandpa brought the dish set back from Japan as a wedding present to his new wife. After my grandpa pasted away, Grandma split the set up among 2 of us girls. I have her teapot, creamer and saucer set. A treasure to be loved!

The Carrot Cake Whoopie Cookie recipe came from the old Gourmet website (a moment of sadness, RIP).

1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup coarsely grated carrots (2 medium)

1/2 cup raisins (2 1/2 ounces)

For cookie top drizzle or filling

4 ounces cream cheese

1/8 cup honey

(I have been bitten by the fresh nurmeg Bug! Whenever a recipe calls for nutmeg, I get so excited to be able to whip out my fresh nutmeg and grate away, watching the little flakes float over my dry ingredients.)

Directions:
Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 375°F.

Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

Beat together butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in carrots and raisins at low speed, then add flour mixture and beat until just combined.

Chill dough in freezer for 15 minutes.

Drop 1 tablespoon batter per cookie 2 inches apart on silipat mats and bake on baking sheets, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until cookies are lightly browned and springy to the touch, 12 to 16 minutes total. Cool cookies on sheets on racks 1 minute, then transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.

Check out the recipe for the frosting on Eliana's website by clicking here OR buy Melissa's cookbook; haven't we convinced you yet?

Gutsy Cook's Club - 1st Post~Potato Skins w/Cheddar and Bacon and Baked BBQ Wings w/Blue Cheese Dip

2010-10-03T08:39:00.000-07:00

The Gutsy Cooks Club is finally here! Monica of Sweet Bites is behind the creation of our global cooking club, cooking and baking our way through The Illustrated Kitchen Bible (1,000 family recipes from around the world). We choose dishes to create a meal and each member has the choice of doing all the dishes (up to 3) or just one per week.

Menu for the month of October was chosen by Monica and here is Menu #1:

Potato Skins with Cheddar and Bacon.

Baked potatoes are wonderful as is but when you remove the white potato and mash with ingredients like golden cooked bacon and shallots, cream, butter, Cheddar cheese, and scallions; you have a twice baked masterpiece.

Changes from my kitchen:
o~Sprayed each baking potato with olive oil and sprinkled salt over-all before baking.
o~Baked the potatoes at 350 degrees for 1 hr and 20 minutes.
o~Omitted parsley and added scallions.

Verdict:
o~ Wonderful recipe, packed with flavor and easy to assemble. We all enjoyed them and hubby ate 2.

Baked BBQ Wings with Blue Cheese Dip.

I baked this recipe twice. I just had to. These chicken wings have serious potential! We are a sports family. I was raised in a sports oriented atmosphere with my husband and I continuing in the tradition of baseball, football, UFC fights, etc.

Chicken wings are an art form.

With this said, I loved the blue cheese dip, I loved baking the wings after marinating, and I loved the ease BUT the first time I baked these, only 3 wingettes were eaten. The rest sat there until I took the meat off the bones and added them to a casserole dish.

Second time I baked the BBQ chicken wings, changes I made:

o~Started with 3 pounds of wingettes

o~ Changed to 1/4 c. olive oil

o~Changed to 3 T. tomato paste

o~Changed to 3 garlic cloves

o~Changed to 1/2 cup Franks Hot Sauce

o~Blue Cheese Dip was PERFECT!

What a fun first week! I have been looking forward to the Gutsy Cooks starting for about 1 month now and here it is. Check out the other members of our group by clicking here.

French Fridays with Dorie ~ Mushroom Cappuccinos with Dorie's Golden Gougeres

2010-10-01T05:45:00.000-07:00

Food Blog Grand Opening!!! Confetti Everywhere!!!! French Friday's with Dorie Greenspan is finally here! Dorie's brilliant cookbook "around my french table" is packed full of over 300 recipes and waiting for fresh new food markers to appear on each and every recipe. Whip out your mixing spoons, dust off your Dutch ovens, bring your appetite, and start cooking!

Amazon is just a click away to buy "around my french table"!

Dorie is just too cute! So are all her friends who created the French Fridays with Dorie blog site! A warm and enthusiastic Thank You to Rachel, Joel, Alison, Travis, and Laurie for creating and achieving the bright, easy to navigate, informative, and fun site!

Dorie is just as excited as the rest of us who have just tried our very first recipe. She picked our opening 4 dishes for the month of October and we are baking her first choice, one of Dorie's favorites to share with friends: gougeres!

Starting with a cream puff pastry dough, adding Gruyere and a spot of sharp cheddar;

baking into round puffs of golden, crispy perfection;

served with steaming hot cups of mushroom cappuccinos (Bouillon de Champignons Comme un Cappuccino, recipe by Michelin 3-star chef Alain Chapel);

and filled with a family recipe of Pacific shrimp salad.

The anticipation wrapped around being a part of an excited group (more like blogging family) of people like myself who cook from the heart, always excited to share with family and friends, just tickles me. Many of us have been baking together out of Dorie's "Baking from my home to yours" and have become friends along the way.

We are excited to welcome new members and Thank you Dorie for letting us share in your spotlight with the newly published work-of-art: around my french table.

Thank you!!!!! =0)

What a warm and fuzzy feeling to have on an early Friday morning.

Mushroom Cappuccinos

(recipe by Alain Chapel; printed in Oct./2010 Saveur magazine)

(Project Foodie website will also have the recipe)

"To foam the broth, use the steamer attachment on a cappuccino machine, or froth it in a blender." (Alain Chapel, Saveur, Oct. 2010; pg. 98)

Ingredients:

6 T. butter

1 lb. button mushrooms, halved

8 oz. mixed mushrooms, such as oyster, shiitake, and blue foot, thinly sliced, trimmings reserved

1 oz. dried shiitake mushrooms

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Kosher salt, to taste

Cayenne pepper, to taste

12 crayfish tails, cooked and shelled, or 4 oz. cooked lobster meat, cut into bite-size pieces

4 sprigs fresh chervil or tarragon

Directions:

Heat 3 T. butter in a 3-quart high sided skillet over medium heat. Add button mushrooms and mushroom trimmings and cook, stirring often, until they release their liquid, about 10 minutes. Add 3/4 ounce dried shiitakes and 4 cups of water; boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until liquid has reduced to 3 cups, about 10 minutes. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a 2-quart saucepan. Strain broth, pressing mushrooms with the back of a spoon to extract liquid; discard solids. Add cream to mushroom broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until flavors meld, about 10 minutes. Season broth with salt and a pinch of cayenne and set aside.

In a spice grinder, grind remaining dried shiitake mushrooms to a fine powder. Transfer mushroom powder to a small skillet over medium-high heat and toast, swirling pan constantly until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Transfer mushroom powder to a small bowl; set aside.

Heat remaining butter in the skillet over medium heat. Add mixed mushrooms, season with salt, and cook, stirring gently, until tender, 4-5 minutes.

Add crayfish, season with salt, and cook until hot. Remove pan from heat and set aside.

To serve, foam reserved broth on high speed in a blender or with the steamer attachment on an espresso machine. Mound crayfish mixture in 4 teacups or small bowls, and ladle in broth. Spoon foam on top, dust with mushroom powder, and garnish with chervil.

CEiMB - Almond French Toast Bake

2010-09-29T19:34:00.000-07:00

Craving Ellie in My Belly is packed full of all things fresh and wonderful. This week Heide of Chez Zero hosted and my husband and I enjoyed every bite of the Blueberry Almond French Toast bake.

I actually baked the breakfast treat for dinner with Breakfast sausage links.

I used 1 1/2 multi-grain whole wheat baguettes. 1 was not enough to cover the bottom of my 9 x 13 dish.

I made several other changes according to several people commenting on the recipe at the Food Network Site (you can find the recipe by clicking on Food Network.)

To keep this from being too moist, I used 6 large eggs and 6 egg whites, cut the milk down to 1 1/2 cups and added 1/2 cup of maple syrup. I also omitted ALL the dark brown sugar; by accident. I was hurrying and totally spaced!

Thank you Heide for another great Ellie recipe choice! I just know Heide will have the recipe posted on her site as well. Go check it out! =)

TWD - Tarte Fine; Finale for HCB and Paul Newman's Tortellini with Chicken

2010-09-27T18:58:00.001-07:00

Leslie of Lethally Delicious decided on the Tarte Fine on page 315 of Dorie Greenspan's Baking, From My Home to Yours for this week. Leslie chose this week's dessert out of the kindness of her heart for what her friends here on Tuesdays with Dorie could easily purchase on a budget, no matter where he or she lives. I always enjoy reading her blog because of the sweet lady she is. Today, you even get to meet her co-author Pearl, so click on over to see Dorie's recipe posted on Leslie's site along with Leslie's own Tarte Fine.

I horde Whole Food's Dufour puff pastry and have been known to pet the frozen pastry without taking it out of the freezer for several months. We never use this pastry on just any recipe . . . especially at $9 + a package. I really enjoy the buttery perfection Dufour creates in this little one sheet of pastry package.

Dorie's section to the right on "Playing Around" was put into effect when creating my apple Tarte Fine. We enjoyed the extra butter and sugar sprinkled throughout, especially since my Golden Delicious apples still had a slightly tart taste to them.

In my Heavenly Cake Baker's group, I learned to use a melon baller to scoop out the seeds in an apple. The ease, precision, and no waste has me hooked on the scoop method and I have never looked back.

I used my mandolin for slicing the apples into thin pieces; of course, I forgot to take a picture to show off the ease and efficiency when using a mandolin. Another piece of kitchen equipment I could not see myself living without.

Would you believe I added aluminum foil for the edges?

Thank you Leslie for picking out a beautiful Fall treat, centered on ease and baked with love.

For my Heavenly Cake Baker's group finale, the cake slicing and tasting. First word to come to mind is "rich", followed by "deep chocolate", then "crumbly". My step-son enjoyed his 18th year birthday cake as breakfast but what an adrenaline rush after one slice plus a cup of coffee. My slice was half of the one you see in the picture above and I could just "feel" my heart speeding along.

I did have a few air pockets in the cake. The chocolate ganache is rich and delicious too. Only half of the cake was eaten; the rest is in the freezer, waiting to be broken down into chunks and added into a freshly made container of vanilla ice cream.

For dinner we made Paul Newman's tortellini with chicken. I received Paul Newman's cookbook as a freebie when I ordered Dom Deluise's original Italian cookbook. I assumed the cookbooks would be full of cliche' recipes. I was wrong, in fact, I have been enjoying not only the recipes but the stories going along with to introduce each section or individual recipe.

The tortellini with chicken was the first recipe we have tried so far, AND I have many marked to be tried soon.

I thought I would share:
Tortellini with Chicken
(Paul Newman's Own Cookbook)

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped
2 T. butter
3 skinned and boned chicken breast halves, cut into 2-inch pieces
salt and pepper
1 T. dried tarragon or thyme or 2 T. fresh tarragon or thyme
Flour for dredging
2 - 3 cups Newman's Own spaghetti sauce or homemade spaghetti sauce
10 ounces cheese or meat tortellini, prepared according to package directions
Chopped parsley for garnish

Directions:
Saute onion in butter until limp and set aside. Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste and tarragon if desired. Dredge in flour and saute in pan used to saute onion for about 5 - 7 minutes. Add onions, spaghetti sauce, and tortellini. Stir together, heating thoroughly for 5 - 10 minutes. Garnish with parsley.

Sweet Melissa Sundays & Heavenly Cake Bakers

2010-09-25T20:38:00.000-07:00

I learned to can from my Grandma, scared out of my shoes. We didn't have much money at the time and my daughter Ashley was maybe 3 years old. I found the hot produce spots to hit from my old neighbor, Walt (who has canned for years), had $100 to our name, a Ford pick-up tank full of gas (Grandpa filled the tank) and off we went to Eastern Washington to get peaches, pears, tomatoes and whatever else I could get a hold of. I was so excited.

I have been known to be exuberant, spontaneous and over-enthused. We came home with 250+ pounds of produce. At one stop, I paid for (2) 35 pound boxes of peaches at $7.50 a box. Picked the largest looking boxes and loaded them into the truck. Went back to look at pears. In the meantime, hubby also loaded (2) 35 pound boxes of peaches into the truck. We did not figure this out until we were back home.

We get home and unload and unload and unload the truck. My kitchen and washroom was covered in boxes, stacked two high, and none of the fruit was ripe enough to can . . . except for the tomatoes (all 75 pounds of them!).

Grandma called (from 1 mile away . . . she knew a LOT of work when she saw it) to tell me that I did not save money if all the fruit spoiled instead of being canned AND that my fruit WAS going to all spoil!

I inherited her stubborn streak . . . and it was GAME ON! I lost a total of 6 peaches. I had to wait for the fruit to get ripe but when the fruit "did" get ripe . . . ALL of the fruit was ripe! I did not sleep for 3 days. It was horrible and THAT is how I learned to can.

I now know how to enjoy making a single small batch and I always laugh when I pull out "ol Faithful" my canning pot.

Sweet Melissa Sundays brought Plum Raspberry Preserves, chosen by Margo of Effort to Deliciousness, and was a breeze to assemble and using Granny Smith apples for natural pectin was a nice change of pace. I stuck to the recipe because raspberries, plums, and apples cooked down has a delicious sweet, tart flavor. I did cut my sugar down by 1/2.

The jam thickened up to a consistency where you do not have syrup and you are not cutting the jam out of the jar . . . spreadable.

I canned miniature jars (hold 4 ounces each) for Christmas presents and the rest is for hubby and I to enjoy.

The color turned out bright red with the right amount of soft chunks of fruit. Just how I like my preserves.

Thank you Margo for the wonderful run down memory lane and a delicious choice to be enjoyed now and later! You can find the jam recipe at Margo's blog or you can buy Melissa's cookbook and have ALL the recipes at your fingertips!

HEAVENLY CAKE BAKERS

Presents:

Chocolate Tomato Cake with Mystery Ganache

I dreaded this cake, I know Rose would NEVER put a sub-standard cake in her cookbook but the IDEA of tomato soup in the cake batter AND in the ganache had me worried. Especially since this was going to be my step-son's 18th year birthday cake.

Whipping the chocolate cake batter together was a rather quick session, especially after completing a 7 page dessert last week. I tasted the chocolate batter and could not detect any tomato flavor. Unfortunately, I told Larry (hubby) about the tomato part of this recipe last week and he has had the dreading look on his face since. So when I asked him to try the batter, he ~ of course ~ said he could taste the tomato but just slightly. Yeesh!

The cake baked up fluffy and had just a slight crack in the middle when removed from the oven. The layers were allowed to cool overnight and the ganache was made in the morning.

I had just as much trouble telling myself to put tomato soup in the ganache as I did the cake batter. I would now like to state for the record how the tomato soup was NOT discernible in the cake batter nor the ganache. I was relieved and excited. We have not cut into the cake yet because we took Dustin to an all-you-can-eat Asian buffet (what he asked for) and now he is too full to squeak. I will return in the morning with cut cake pictures!

TWD ~ Coffee Break Muffins, a TWD Catch-Up: Mango Bread + Pierre Herme'

2010-09-21T15:42:00.000-07:00

Tuesdays with Dorie is here and I was so prepared and yet here I am, typing this up late. I have been looking forward to this post all week, especially since I made BOTH Dorie's Coffee Break Muffins, chosen by Rhiani of Chocoholic Anonymous (recipe found on her blog), AND a catch-up recipe on page 46: Fresh Mango Bread. I could not find whose choice this recipe was but kudos for a wonderful pick.

I baked the coffee break muffins last week. I halved the recipe and added semi-sweet and white chocolate chips to the batter.

The recipe made 7 muffins. My first time using the silicon muffin/cupcake cups. Loved them; just have to remember to let the muffins fully cool in the cups for easy removal.

Terrible photo above, a little bummed because the presentation was so much fun. You'll never guess what I tried out with the muffins . . . . I can hardly type:

I tried Pierre Hermes (out of the Chocolate Desserts cookbook written with Dorie):

Hot Chocolate with Coffee and a Dollop of Homemade Heavy Cream

and

Served the Coffee Break Muffins Toasted with Vanilla Pear Butter

We are talking some serious caffeine between the two.

I love making the coffee hot chocolate. You take whole milk with a dash of water and bring to a boil. Add 5 T. espresso ground coffee and stir around for a few seconds then strain through a double cheese clothe layer inside a strainer to catch all the grounds.

Return the mixture to the stove top and mix in a quarter cup of sugar with 4 ounces of Valrhona bittersweet chocolate. After the ingredients are combined, I was to use a hand-held immersion blender for 1 minute. I added a dollop of whipped cream on top and wa laa! Delicious, rich hot chocolate. The kind where the chocolaty aroma wafts throughout the house along with coffee and brings everyone into the kitchen, excited, smiling and impatiently waiting for a cup. A new favorite in my home.

I really enjoyed the coffee hot chocolate as a treat. I just wish Pierre had come up with a fancier name =). His accent is wonderful to listen to and I can almost hear him explaining the recipe. (To get the exact recipe, buying the Chocolate Desserts cookbook through Amazon is really worth it!)

Now moving on to my catch-up recipe:

Dorie's Fresh Mango Bread.

I was scared to death baking this recipe because Larry looked at it and asked: "Can't you just say you baked this?". A traumatic moment when the only people to be eating the mango bread would be myself and Larry (to go in his lunches for work).

I omitted the raisins and used lemon zest instead of lime zest because lemon was all I had on hand.

Baking with such a juicy fruit had me worried the loaf would not bake all the way through without burning. I covered the top of the loaf half way through the baking with foil and just as Dorie stated in her recipe, the loaf was done in 1 1/2 hours.

Verdict:
Larry (Hubby for those who do not know): Are you sure this is the bread we were looking at in the cookbook? I mean, this is "really" GOOD and moist. It is not soggy, I like it. (sigh of Relief on my part)
Me: LOVED it! I really enjoyed the spices and mango, the moisture and flavor all combined into a quick bread I can see myself baking again.

The local produce men: Oodles of thanking me for bringing them more goodies, looking suspiciously at the mango bread, trying, and looking relieved they could honestly say how much they liked it. I was laughing to myself all the way back to my car.

Dorie, I am really enjoying baking my way through your cookbook. I feel like we are friends because we are sharing food experiences week after week.

HCB ~ Apple Caramel Charlotte

2010-09-20T18:57:00.000-07:00

Heavenly Cake Bakers is causing a serious eye twitch. No, that is not it. The recipe for the Apple Caramel Charlotte is causing the eye twitch. No, not true either.

6 pages of directions did almost make me run the other direction out of sheer panic but the measuring of cake pieces and assembly appeals to my love of mathematics.

The eye twitch came from being 2/3'rds the way through the project and having a disagreement with my other half (I may call him the better half when I am over it), anyways the wind fell out of my sails and that is when issues with the recipe started.

(Click) Next photo:

My half sheet pan was 16 x 12 1/4 x 2 - inch (Not the 17 1/4 x 12 1/4 x 1 - inch needed) so I calculated my measurements out to fit an 8 - inch springform pan. Made my templates and used a serrated knife to cut my pieces (except for the circle; I used kitchen cutting shears).

Next photo:

Jonathan apples were used in the recipe and I added peel to the liquid, as mentioned as an alternative per Rose.

(Later, the seeds were scraped into the apple poaching syrup and the pod was rinsed, dried, and added to a container of powdered sugar.)

Next Photo:

The layers were assembled with strained apricot preserves, frozen, then sliced 3/8 - inch thick.
Next Photo:

Still smooth waters, assembling my spring form pan circumference.

Next Photo:

ALL Hell breaks loose. I'm huffy, frustrated and windless (I am pretty sure that is a word.).

I am cooling my gelatin laden caramel Bavarian cream filling (with my edge gone, I did not see this coming) my caramel went from a LITTLE to warm to BAM!!! solid gel caramel. Instead of warming slightly, I panicked. I know, I know! In the kitchen, you take a breath . . . think about the situation . . . THEN you make a smart decision.

I was NOT suppose to panic and dump in the 2 T. of Calvados, mixing like a mad person and HOPING For a miracle. Oh wait, there is more.

I mix in the Italian meringue AND whipped cream, still hoping for a miracle. What "doesssss" happen?

I have little floating, gelled pieces of apple caramel floating in my "suppose to be" Bavarian perfection.

Next Photo:

I REALLY LOVED my pretty, slightly pink apple petals. LOVE them!

Next Photo:

I cut the charlotte and the cake stays assembled and cuts with ease.

Next Photo:

BUT we have floating caramel gems floating throughout. 3 days of work and I am not happy. I was aiming for Rose's photo in her cookbook. Honestly, I enjoyed the flavor but do not see myself making this again to rectify (1) bad move. =) We are smiling, see? =)

Next Photo:

Before glaze and . . .

Next Photo:
After Glaze.

Sweet Melissa Sundays ~ Lemon Blueberry Buttermilk Pie

2010-09-18T21:28:00.000-07:00

Good morning! Actually, as I type in front of my monitor, it is night out and I have two furious cats on my hands. Even with kitty treats and an alloted amount of soft kitty food with REAL turkey, I have been given the tail. You see, both kitties received baths and had her (both are girls) nails clipped. The goodies have been scarfed and I am looked at with both ears straight back. I do not even WANT to know what this means in cat language.

I am currently sipping a well deserved Frozen Fuzzy Navel (recipe below) as I type away while being stared at. I am pretending to not notice. The pie looks right doesn't it? I see more of a tart look going on.

The Sweet Melissa Sunday's lemon blueberry buttermilk pie was chosen by Melissa of Lulu the Baker (you can find the recipe here at her blog). I read the title of the recipe several times and the title never changed. I was dreading making this pie. I am sorry Melissa for saying such a blatant statement but there IS a positive ending.

I need to add how I always have buttermilk on hand EXCEPT for now. I used the last of my buttermilk making something, I am sure of it (and no, I have not been drinking yet). I wanted to say onion rings but onion slices soak in plain milk to rid the onions of that strong bite before dipping in batter to fry. I decided to use powdered buttermilk, shown above, for the first time. I actually lost the container I bought earlier and purchased another along the way. To my shock (I really never intended on using this but thought someday there may be a buttermilk emergency) this product tastes just like real buttermilk.

I used my own flaky pastry pie crust recipe (for some reason when I use Melissa's, I end up with the melting glob in a pie plate). The lemon really stands out and tossing fresh blueberries with apricot preserves gives the berries a shiny coating. I just never thought of adding fresh, uncooked blueberries to the top of a pie before. You REALLY taste the lemon and blueberries without either flavor getting lost. My final thought (I swore I would work on typing LESS in my posts, really) is the pie tastes and looks more like a tart but maybe I am the only one with this issue. I can not wait to see everyone else's pies. Melissa at Lulu the Baker Always has amazing pictures so get your mouse over here and click HERE to check her pie out. Thank you Melissa for hosting!

Fluffy finely dry and still pretending to be indifferent.

The well deserved Frozen Fuzzy Navel:

Ingredients:

1 fresh peach with no peel. I would take out the pit too =)

3 ounces Peach Schnapps

3 ounces frozen orange juice concentrate

about 2 cups of ice

Directions:

Combine ingredients and pour into blender. Process until slushy. Pour into chilled glasses (2). Serve with long handled spoons.

CEiMB - Whole Wheat Pancakes and a Breakfast Burrito

2010-09-16T05:16:00.001-07:00

Whole wheat flour and a light and fluffy texture are a contradiction in terms from what I have experienced in past cooking. A mixture of whole wheat pastry flour with all-purpose flour created a pancake, not heavy with a strong wheat flavor, but airy with a slightly nutty flavor. Coupled with the fresh strawberry sauce and sprinkling of powdered sugar, breakfast went from being dreaded by several this weekend too Wow, these are pretty good! CEiMB is a hit again!

A back-up plan was already in progress the same morning and there may have been a verbal slippage of said back-up plan. Breakfast burritos filled with sliced ham, sharp cheddar cheese, avocado slices, black bean and corn salsa, two dollops of sour cream and a heaping spoonful of scrambled eggs ended up being served with Ellie's breakfast, chosen and hosted by Melissa of It's Melissa's Kitchen.

Ellie's recipe was easy to assemble. As shown above, the dry ingredients are in one bowl and the wet are in another; quickly combining the two without over mixing and start your skillet.

Two small piles of fluffy pancakes were side-by-side on a plate in the oven. The pancake edges no longer laid flat so the pictures show curled up, non-perfect plates of pancakes. Tummies never knew the difference. =)

Thank you Melissa for hosting this week and choosing another great Ellie recipe. The recipe can be found in Ellie's "The Food You Crave" cookbook, on Melissa's blog, and on the Food Network recipe site. Craving Ellie in My Belly will be back next week with Energy Bars. I have read great success stories about this recipe already!

TWD - Cranberry Upside-Downer

2010-09-14T12:48:00.000-07:00

Tuesdays with Dorie is here and hosted by Sabrina of Superfluous. The recipe may be called cranberry upside-downer but I did Dorie's alternative suggestion and added peaches and raspberries instead of cranberries. I also made homemade peach ice cream using my friend's Grandma's recipe (which is completely TOOOO soft for scooping yet!).

Rushing pictures is frustrating because no matter how many times I spin the plate, the ice cream is still melting and the shot is not going to improve.

Now the ice cream is hard and squishes down the cake. Maybe I should have quit while I was behind. Can I send a tast-o-gram?

The prettiest part is putting all the ingredients in the 8 - inch baking pan. The flavor for this cake is delicious with fresh peaches, raspberries and a simple syrup at the bottom, accompanied with crushed pecans. The cake was moist and the peach ice cream on top had just enough little chunks of peaches to add a nice touch. Thank you Sabrina for hosting. What a delicious choice! You can find the recipe at Sabrina's blog or buy Dories cookbook; packed full of wonderful goodies.

The peach ice cream is made by processing fresh peaches into small chunks. You do not want complete peach puree nor do you want too big of peach chunks. The chunks will harden into solid blocks of peach ice. Not fun chomping into. I love this ice cream recipe, coming from an official grandma recipe box!

Fresh Peach Ice Cream:

1 heaping pound of peaches

1 1/4 c. sugar

2 c. heavy cream

1 1/2 c. light cream (half-n-half)

1 T. lemon juice

dash of salt

Directions:

Peel and pit peaches. Put peach halves and sugar in food processor and pulse until you have little peach chunks and puree both. Pour into bowl and add rest of ingredients, mixing well. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturers directions. Makes about 1 1/2 quarts.

HCB - The Bostini ~ Simply Heaven in a Cup

2010-09-12T22:01:00.000-07:00

Free Choice for the Heavenly Cake Bakers this week? I think I had a melt down. Because I just joined this wonderful and talented group, there are very few recipes I have made out of Rose Beranbaum's baking book ~ as of yet. Then I saw the Bostini! Vanilla pastry cream, orange chiffon cupcake batter, and a delicious chocolate butter glaze; what is not to love?

A signature dessert of pastry chef Kurtis Baguley, with the orange glow chiffon cupcake batter being from Rose's own Cake Bible. A wonderful orange flavor emits from this light, tender cupcake; can you tell from the coloring in the photo above how the color is more orange then golden? Comes from all the fresh orange zest AND squeezed juice added into the batter.

Then there is the thick and silky vanilla bean pastry cream. I rarely make pastry cream just because I can NOT keep my finger or spoon out of the decadent custard. There is something to be said for taking a moist Tahitian vanilla bean, slicing the black bean down one side and scraping the fragrant black seeds into sugar, rubbing the sugar between your fingers to make sure all the precious seeds are evenly distributed ~ then ~ adding this to a good quality heavy cream, along with the, now seedless, bean pod. So good, sigh . . . a creamy custard I wish I could sit and slowly enjoy over a long period of time.

I felt like a child in a candy store. I could not wait to assemble the Bostini and yet I wanted to take my time and get this just right. I shopped for the cappuccino cups ahead of time. I started at Macy's department store to no avail and ended up using the ones shown. They hold about 6 or 7 ounces, which is what we are looking for. The cupcakes are inverted so the base is sticking slightly above the cup rim and makes a perfect opening around the perimeter for the chocolate butter glaze.

So, what do you think?

When I served the bostinis, everyone felt like they wished they could lick the chocolate glaze first when no one was looking (HUGE smile!) Okay, I wished this but I am positive everyone else was thinking it! I had so much fun baking this dessert and now I can not wait to see what the rest of the group did for their free choice week; happy baking everyone!

SMS - (Savory) Bosc Pear, Blue Cheese, and Walnut Muffins

2010-09-11T23:57:00.000-07:00

Hosted by: Andrea of Nummy Kitchen (recipe found here)

Recipe: Bosc Pear, Blue Cheese, and Walnut Muffins

Hello! Today is Sweet Melissa Sundays day to shine and share. Usually we bake something sugary sweet but this time we changed gears. Andrea chose savory muffins and what cute little muffins these are.

The muffins are quite moist just out of the oven with creamy Bosc pear chunks, toasted pecans (what I had on hand), and lots of crumbled blue cheese. I was worried about the flavor being overpowered by the blue cheese, but instead, hardly tasted the pungent cheese. Interesting.

I also wished I had added chives or green onions for color.

The recipe made 18 muffins instead of 12 and I found the muffins to be done at 20 minutes. In fact, my muffins were almost too done.

I had a complete mental block as to what I was serving my muffins with so dinner it is. I made smoky rib-eye steaks with loaded mashed potatoes and my garden vegetables, roasted with a red pepper dipping sauce.

The recipe came from a Fine Cooking magazine and takes about 30 minutes to cook and serve.

(All the ingredients in a loaded baked potato—bacon, scallions, cheese, and sour cream—are added to mashed potatoes.)

Smoky Rib-Eye Steaks with Loaded Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

2 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1-inch chunks

4 slices thick-cut bacon

2 boneless beef rib-eye steaks (about 2 lb. total)

1-1/2 tsp. sweet smoked paprika

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup whole milk

2 Tbs. unsalted butter

3 oz. grated sharp Cheddar (3/4 cup)

1/2 cup sour cream

2 medium scallions, thinly sliced

(My first crop of Yukon Potatoes and Green Beans out of my Garden)

Directions:

Arrange a steamer basket in a large pot with 1 inch of water in the bottom. Spread the potatoes in the basket in an even layer, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and steam until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat, turning once, until crisp, 7 to 8 minutes total. Transfer the bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate; discard all but 1 Tbs. of the fat from the skillet.

Season the steaks all over with the paprika, 1-1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Heat the skillet with the reserved bacon fat over medium-high heat. Arrange the steaks in the skillet in a single layer. Cook, flipping once, until deep golden-brown outside and medium rare inside, 10 to 12 minutes total. Transfer the steaks to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, transfer the hot potatoes to a large bowl. Stir in the milk and butter and mash with a potato masher until just combined. Stir in the cheese, sour cream, scallions, and salt and pepper to taste.

Slice the steaks across the grain and transfer to dinner plates. Serve the potatoes on the side with the bacon crumbled on top.

(My first try at green beans. It is funny how proud I feel, even though I do not have beans like my Grandpa used to grow.)

Andrea, thank you for hosting this week and choosing a simple, easy recipe with a new flavor twist for us. My family enjoyed these with dinner and I have some in the freezer for later. Check out the rest of our baker's muffins to see how imagination can change one recipe into so many directions! Happy baking everyone and see you again soon, Shandy.

ABC of the Month & CEiMB - Healthy versus Chocolate~!

2010-09-08T21:13:00.000-07:00

ABC of the Month is suppose to be on the first Tuesday of every month AND this month was my pick. I am actually 1 1/2 days late! I feel terrible. My choice: All-American Choc Cake with Divinity Frosting and Milk Chocolate Paint. (CEiMB is posted just below.)

I did not have two 6 x 3 - inch pans so I used three 6 x 2 - inch pans and boy am I glad that I did (the cakes puffed to the very top of all three pans). Flo Braker's cookbook, Baking for All Occasions, has us baking a dark chocolate cake mixed with 1 cup of coffee, unsweetened melted chocolate, sour cream, brown sugar and a few other ingredients to combine into one of the moistest, flavorful chocolate cakes I have ever tasted. Am I the only one that did not see where in the directions to swirl in the melted chocolate? I added the chocolate in just before the coffee and used a spatula to swirl it in.

The divinity frosting went together like a breeze and painting on melted chocolate was a wonderful visual touch. I have met my chocolate cake match and LOVE this recipe. Flo, you and Evie Lieb (mentioned in recipe dialog) are both brilliant!

Hanaa and to the rest of the group, I sincerely apologize for being late! Everyone else, Flo Braker's book is stunning and well put together. Definitely worth every penny and Amazon has used copies at great prices. With this said, on to CEiMB!

Elina of Healthy and Sane chose this week's recipe: Baked Felalfal Sandwiches (recipe found on the Food Network site here.)

I have never eaten a falafel ~ ever. No idea what one should taste like. Then I start looking for Tahini paste ( recipe calls for the sesame seed paste for the sauce). Nope! Not happening. Now what? Invent my own sauce. BTW, we like this but I definitely altered a few things, listed below.

Dinner:

**Sauteed pear Salad with Blue Cheese and Crushed Macadamia Nuts**
**CEiMB's Baked Falafel Sandwich w/Creamy Roasted Garlic Yogurt Sauce**

**Sweet Potato French Fries Roasted with Lemon Olive Oil and a Roasted Red Pepper & Cheese Dip**

Sauteed Pear Salad

(adapted from the vanillacompany.com)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 firm-ripe Bosc pears, cored, peeled and cut into slices

2 tablespoon honey

4 cups of salad greens and/or baby spinach leaves, rinsed and chilled

1/2 cup thinly sliced cucumber

2 ounces Bleu, Gorgonzola or goat cheese

1/2 cup chopped roasted macadamia nuts

Vinaigrette:

1/3 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and allow to warm. Add pear slices and saute in oil for 2 minutes on each side. Turn off heat and drizzle honey over pear slices, and gently turn pears so that it coats them on both sides.

While pears are cooking, put greens and vegetables into a large salad bowl and mix well. Add warm pears, cheese, nuts and gently mix.

Mix salad dressing ingredients, add juices from pan and pour over salad. Serve right away. (Or you can arrange salads on each plate individually instead of mixing everything in a bowl.)

Falafel Sandwich Sauce was created by mixing 1 cup of non -fat plain Greek yogurt with 1/3 cup of Roasted Garlic Hummus and 1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice. I thought this tasted pretty good.

Next change: I only baked the falafel ball for 10 minutes on each side. The comment reviews from a few other people stated 20 minutes per side may cause the falafel balls to be dry.

I used a mixed green salad combo with the tomatoes and cucumbers too. The flavor was great but the falafel balls need to be layered in the pita pocket and not all on the top, like the one I made myself. I was totally overwhelmed. Now I know.

I also wanted to share the Roasted Red Pepper-Cheese Dip. Low calorie Dip found in my Cooking Light cookbook:
Ingredients:
1 large red bell pepper
1 small onion, peeled and halved
Cooking spray
1 whole garlic head
1 cup plain fat-free yogurt
1/2 cup (4 ounces) block-style fat-free cream cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions:
Preheat Broiler.

Cut bell pepper in half lengthwise, and discard seeds and membranes. Place pepper halves, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet; flatten with hand. Broil 15 minutes or until blackened. Place in a zip-top plastic bag; seal. Let stand 10 minutes. Remove peel and discard. Set roasted pepper aside.

Reduce oven temperature to 400°.

Place onion halves, cut sides down, on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Remove white papery skin from garlic head (do not peel or separate the cloves). Wrap in foil. Place garlic on baking sheet with onion. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes; turn over onion halves. Bake an additional 15 minutes or until onions are soft and begin to brown. Place onion halves on a plate. Return garlic to oven, and bake an additional 15 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Separate the cloves; squeeze to extract garlic pulp. Discard skins.

Place roasted pepper, onion, and garlic pulp in a food processor; process until fairly smooth. Add yogurt, cheese, cumin seed, and ground red pepper; process until smooth. Spoon dip into a bowl, and stir in parsley. Cover and chill.

2 Tablespoons = 20 calories. (Great for dipping veggies in too. I used this recipe for my sweet potato FF dipping sauce.)

Thank you Elina for widening my flavor vocabulary. I really enjoyed this sandwich and loved the healthy options.

TWD - Peanut Butter Crisscrosses PLUS Dorie's Buttery Jam Cookies and a Surprise Cookie

2010-09-07T13:01:00.000-07:00

Tuesdays with Dorie was hosted this week by Jasmine of Jasmine Cuisine and what a yummy choice! LOVE peanut butter cookies! Especially with loads of crushed peanuts. I used sea salt coated peanuts along with chunky peanut butter. So Good! You can get the recipe at Jasmine's blog or BUY Dorie's cookbook, you'll love it!

I turned the page from the peanut butter crisscrosses and wow, perfect cookie partnership: Buttery Jam Cookies. Since I have written catch-up recipe on the top of the page, meaning TWD has already baked these cookies in the past, I went ahead and baked them too. I used apricot jam with large pieces of apricot chunks throughout. Buttery deliciousness!

The last cookie to go with the trio is the Chewy Nutella Crinkles!

You see, I have a large jar of Nutella and the jar was dropped. The lid shattered and I am left with all this Nutella to use up. What I am finding amazing is how many people are using Nutella in recipes on their blogs lately. As filling for crepes, in little muffins, and everything looks amazing!

The little Nutella crinkles are rolled in crushed hazelnuts then in powdered sugar. The flavor is rich and a cookie I plan on adding to the list of goodies I will be sending out over Christmas.

Chewy Nutella Crinkles

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 (11 ounce) jar Nutella

1/4 cup shortening

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/3 cup milk

1/2 cup chopped, toasted hazelnuts

2 cups finely chopped hazelnuts, divided

Sifted confectioners' sugar

Directions:

Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Combine Nutella and shortening in a large mixing bowl; beat with electric mixer on medium to high speed until combined.

Add sugar; beat on medium speed until fluffy. Add vanilla extract and eggs; beat just until combined.

Alternately add flour mixture and milk to creamed mixture, beating on medium speed just until combined.

Use a spoon to stir in 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts.

Cover and chill for several hours or until firm.

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Shape the dough into 1- or 1 1/2-inch balls. Roll the balls in finely chopped hazelnuts, then roll in confectioners' sugar. Place the balls 2 inches apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet. (The cookies will spread and crinkle as they bake.)

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until surface is cracked and cookies are set. Cool cookies on a wire rack.

Makes about 6 dozen.

Thank you Jasmine for hosting and choosing a cookie recipe!

Heavenly Cake Bakers - Financiers Gold Ingots

2010-09-07T11:51:00.000-07:00

I am going with late is better then not at all; how's that?
HCB this week is Financiers - Gold Ingots to be precise. Almonds are the highlight and I adore almonds, especially when ground into flour and made into a cookie, cake, or pastry such as these cute little ingots!

I even bought a mold just for this recipe. There was a little confusion when trying to purchase the mold (shown below) through Amazon.com. Oh, there were lots of molds to chose from but no measurements for the individual slots. I found this one by reading other people's posted comments. Took me over 30 minutes to find this mold. A treasure with a story!

Toasting almond slices then grinding with superfine sugar had such a wonderful aroma in my kitchen. I probably forgot to mention the golden ingots were baked this morning. The kitchen still smells delicious. (Ooops! I did overfill a few of the molds and many of the golden Ingots are cracked on top . . . but they still taste wonderful!)

Rose amazes me with her baking talent. I have been LOVING this book and decided to purchase her Pie and Pastry Bible this last week. I am also contemplating her Bread Bible.

Rose has been teaching me how to bake for over 10 years. The short list of rules in the front along with the special effects and techniques in the bake are constant flip-too's. I just found out about POURfect measuring spoons today and I am now going to look them up after finishing here.

I really enjoyed baking this cute little treat. Putting my silicon mold on a wire rack on top of a baking sheet does help with air flow and I can see using this idea for other baking projects. Good thing I just finished jogging on the treadmill because tea time is NOW =).

Sweet Melissa Sundays - French Pancakes

2010-09-05T09:25:00.000-07:00

Good Morning! I went on the wild side and created a savory dinner with Jaime's choice of French Crepes for our SMS weekend. Jaime's blog site, Good Eats and Sweet Treats, has the recipe for these delicious, tender, but not overly sweet crepes on her blog or we can say what we tell everyone every week . . . buy Melissa's cookbook!

My dish, if you are curious by now, is Julia Child's Timbale de Crepes (Molded French Pancakes) with a Crab creme filling and her lovely, packed full of butter, Bearnaise Sauce; but lets start with the crepes.

I used both my 10-inch and 6- inch crepe pans to assemble Julia's timbale. Melissa's crepe batter recipe is a good one. The batter swirled around and was thick enough to flip without the crepes being to soft and fragile.

I had plenty of batter to get all my crepes made.

Bought one Dungeness crab, of course we asked to have the nice lady clean said crab. My stomach does major flip flops cleaning out the crab butter.

The 10-inch crepes are cut in half and create the shape of our mold using a 1 1/2 quart mold. The smaller crepes are used for layers. The creme crab filling, using dry white wine, minced shallots, butter, milk, a little of my homemade clam juice stock, 1 egg yolk and 1/4 cup Swiss cheese is whipped together.

The Bearnaise sauce is assemble while the molded timbale bakes.

I inverted the French timbale onto a platter, layered on Bearnaise sauce and we are ready to slice into the mold, curious of how pretty this will turn out. My first time baking a mold timbale! Anticipation is so much fun.

Larry went to find wine to go with dinner and we did not have a decent white wine to accompany a seafood dish. While dinner was baking, he actually ran out and bought a nice Chardonnay.

I simply adore Julia child and the Movie Julia and Julie. That crazy Julia really knows how to make a mess in the kitchen to create the ultimate masterpiece! The dish turned out to be so good that, even completely full, we did not want to stop nibbling. Mastering the Art of French Cooking is truly an amazing adventure in the cooking world!

Thank You Monica at Sweet Bites! I won!

2010-09-02T20:47:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful surprise! Monica over at Sweet Bites held a Gutsy Cooks Club Giveaway for a copy of The Illustrated Kitchen Bible by Victoria Blashford or (if I had the cookbook, which I did) a $30 gift certificate through Amazon.com and I won. I was sooo excited (I still am ~ BIG time!!!) !

Monica just started the Gutsy Cooking club and I believe there are 7 of us making up the group at this time. We cook out of The Illustrated Cooking Bible and the cooking does not officially start until October 1st; we all can't wait! If you want to join in the fun, just click on the Gutsy Cooking Club here and get the information.

Monica, I have already been shopping. I bought Dorie Greenspan's Around the French Table. For some reason, the cookbook photo transferred itty bitty. Thank you again! What a great gift!

Happy cooking and baking everyone!

CEiMB - Fettucini with Crab and Asparagus Dinner

2010-09-01T20:07:00.000-07:00

Craving Ellie in My Belly Thursday is Here!!!!!!

Dinner:

Ellie's Whole Wheat Fettuccine with Crab and Asparagus

(Hosted by Jessica of Johnstone's Vin Blanc; recipe posted on her blog.)

Roasted Beets

Applesauce Cookie Sandwiches with Dreyer's Sugar-Free Vanilla Ice Cream

Jessica, you did wonderfully picking this recipe but Ellie may have improved on the recipe by stating a REALLY important point: All Ingredients Need to be FRESH and this includes the crab meat. Canned crab meat will not give you a good flavor or texture.

Dungeness crab is not in season so I bought fresh picked crab meat in a container and was sorely disappointed but LOVED the fettuccine dish. I also used by homemade fish stock . . . an extremely easy task is making your own fish stock. Minutes to put together and slow cooks for a short period of time. You can keep fish stock in the freezer for months.

Confession time: I hide my boxes of whole wheat pasta, hoping I will forget where they are. Oh, I buy them myself because of the big ww pasta kick, thinking how great the IDEA sounds. My parents are health crazed; I need sympathy here. My whole childhood revolved around eating healthy. Protein drinks, etc. I swore Mom used to make ww pasta alone and I just found out TONIGHT by phone that Dad never liked ww pasta either and Mom had to do a 50/50 mix of ww and regular pasta for Dad to eat it. I used to think the flavor was disgusting.

(Dad, he will be 65 next month)

REVELATION: My VERY FIRST BITE of ww pasta since I left home some 20 years ago was OMG edible! I actually (hold my breath) liked it!

Fresh vegetables, fresh herbs, fish stock, lemon zest and juice and crab meat, what is not to like?

My next REVELATION: I have never eaten a beet that was not pickled. Grandpa used to grow the most beautiful beets in his garden and was always so proud of them and I never tried a one. My revelation is I roasted beets for the first time tonight and really loved them. Like nibblicious!

Now I wish I could go back and give Grandpa a hug and tell him how wonderful his beets were. Mixed sad and happy moment.

Tonight's dinner involved reminiscing with Dad, remembering childhood memories and bringing in a whole lot of love for my family. Isn't it amazing how important a role food plays in our lives?

To keep the whole meal on a low-calorie note, my dessert was the applesauce cookies, loaded with raisins and pecan chunks along with all the amazing flavor and aroma that is imprinted in our baking when we add cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Dreyer's Low-fat, sugar free vanilla ice cream is sandwiched between two golden, moist cookies. The recipe for the cookies is listed.

Applesauce Cookies

Recipe By : National Apple Harvest Festival, 1998

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup raisins

1 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 cup applesauce

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg, well beaten

Dreyer's Low-Fat, Sugar Free vanilla ice cream for sandwiching

Directions:

Preheat oven at 350 degrees F.

Sift flour, measure; add salt and spices, sift again; add chopped nuts and raisins.

Cream shortening, add sugar and beat until light. Stir soda into applesauce; add beaten egg and combine with the cream mixture.

Add dry ingredients.

Drop by teaspoon, 2 or 3 inches apart onto a greased baking sheet. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes or until golden. Put on cooling rack to cool then sandwich the cookies with ice cream and freeze.

TWD - Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread Cookies and Oatmeal Spice Shortbread Cookies and Banana Cake w/Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

2010-08-31T00:29:00.000-07:00

Tuesdays with Dorie is here! Excitement! Flag waving! Okay, maybe no flags. Donna of Life’s Too Short Not to Eat Dessert First is our host this week.

The recipe: Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Dorie also gave us a variation: Oatmeal Spice Shortbreads

I dropped the decorating ball with this batch. My kitchen sizzle was starting to fizzle. I love our baking groups but I also have my own list of "must bake" goodies and rarely do I get to do both. This last week I baked to my hearts content (literally) and learned to cut recipes in half along with freezing extras. Works great!

Dorie's recipe called for bittersweet chocolate. Brainstorm: Use my hidden stash of espresso chocolate along with bittersweet. (I know I am forgetting something.)

All the chocolate was chopped up into little chunks; mixed both shortbread recipes, rolled dough in gallon size Ziploc bags and refrigerated overnight. Took out my handy little kitchen ruler, the basic wood one we had in elementary school, and measured the dough into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Baked ALL the cookies.

There are oodles of cookies! Waited for the espresso shortbread cookies to cool then took a nibble. Immediately remembered what I was forgetting. I do not enjoy the flavor of coffee. I have coffee one morning, Sunday morning, every week and that cup is loaded with Nestle Hazelnut coffee creamer and 1 1/2 t. sugar. I sip 1/2 of the cup and talk a mile-a-minute for the next 2 hours. Weird ritual, I know, but hubby makes coffee on Sunday morning and I feel bad not having a cup. I have tried suggesting he become a tea sipper but he says all my tea cups are just too little for his fingers . . . funny ha but not funny ha-ha.

The shortbread cookies turned out cute but I guess shortbread cookies are not my thing (my first shortbread cookies). I would like to use some of the cookies in a few cheesecake crusts. I have oodles in quart size freezer bags plus Larry loves the espresso ones with his coffee. Personally, after 1 cookie and my 1/2 cup of coffee, I was dropping everything in sight. Making breakfast, I started cracking an egg open, the egg slipped out of my hand and cracked open between the stove and the counter. Interesting.

Donna, thank you for hosting TWD this week. I liked the oatmeal spice shortbread cookies and I know the cookies will be a part of some fun projects in the near future. To get the recipe, go to Donna's site and buy Dorie's cookbook.

I thought I would also share a banana cake recipe. Not to be confused with banana bread. The recipe originally came from Allrecipes.com but I altered it a smidgen. One of the changes was adding 1 teaspoon of baking powder. Makes for a light and fluffy banana cake.

Banana Cake with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

* 1 cup white sugar

* 1/2 cup unsalted butter

* 2 eggs

* 4 ripe bananas, mashed

* 2 cups all-purpose flour

* 1 teaspoon baking soda

* 1/2 teaspoon salt

* 1 teaspoon baking powder

* 1/2 cup chopped pecans

* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

FROSTING INGREDIENTS:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9 x 13 inch cake pan.

2. Cream together the butter or margarine and the sugar.

3. Add eggs, bananas, flour, soda, salt, nuts, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly and pour batter into the prepared pan.

4. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C.) for 30 minutes. Cool and frost cake.

FROSTING DIRECTIONS:

In a small bowl beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form; set aside.

In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Beat until smooth, then fold in whipped cream. Frost cake.

Heavenly Bakers - Two Seperate Desserts plus Dinner

2010-08-30T19:41:00.000-07:00

The Heavenly Cake Baker

What a fitting Name!

Recipe: Chocolate Layer Cake with Caramel Ganache

My "for real" first week with the Heavenly Cake Baker. I adore Rose Levy Beranbaum and her cakes amaze me in what looks like simple perfection. I love baking and I feel the push to always want to be better. I strive for those feelings of elation over finishing my project and/or admiring a new decorating skill, taking the first slice and realizing how moist the layers are or how silky, creamy the frosting lays, taking the first bite (or as in my case, running to get hubby to take the first bite) and realizing this is what I spent precious time assembling: Heaven!

An important point to add is I always take the second bite. Part of the cooking/baking addiction is watching expressions. Larry's facial expression when he first tastes any dish is usually spot on with what he says afterwards. He is my sounding board for input; although there have been moments when his honesty has almost gotten him hurt =). Almost. Especially when I am tired and all I want to hear is thank you for feeding me.

Love, love, love this cake. I was dreading making the recipe because I knew extra time would have to taken for the caramel ganache and boy was I right. My first batch of sugar syrup ended up burnt. The syrup is suppose to be taken off the stove just under temperature because the syrup continues cooking until the heavy cream is added. Thank goodness for air vents above the stove. Burnt sugar smells terrible!

My second batch of syrup had me gun-shy. I took the syrup off a little too early, about 10 degrees under and was worried the ganache would not thicken up. In fact, Rose stated the caramel may harden before pouring into the processor to melt the chocolate. Mine was liquid. I was thinking "this is not a good sign".

After 3 hours, I had thick soup. Refrigeration was in order. I refrigerated the ganache in 30 minute intervals until I had the right consistency. The flavor and texture of the caramel ganache was silky smooth with a chocolate caramel flavor holding depth without being overpowering. Another words, all I could say while tasting was uhmmmmmm. So Good! Then the first bite of cake. Crazy moist with a flavor that seemed to match the frosting. A wonderful crumb without being overpowering in flavor. Sophisticated and simple. Delicious!

Moving on but a week back.

Last week's recipe: Marionberry Shortcakes with Whipped Creme Fraiche

The little cakes were adorable using Rose's Shortcake recipe and my miniature bundt pan molds. The marionberry syrup is created by sugaring down the marionberries while in a strainer over a bowl. The collected juice is combined with a little sugar and a splash of raspberry liqueur. The color variation from painting the miniature bundt cakes with the syrup is beautiful. A pile of marionberries (mine were previously frozen; marionberries are past season here) were carefully placed on top along with a Large dollop of whipped creme fraiche.

I was worried the berries were going to lack fresh flavor but we were pleasantly surprised. The syrup, marionberries, shortcake and creme fraiche pull the dessert together into a pretty little package with a nice flavor and texture combination. We enjoyed the dessert but not extremely excited. Fresh berries would make this Heaven.

I accidentally dropped a few dots of marionberry juice on my kitchen rug and the color is here to stay. Marionberry makes a great dye. The dessert was a wonderful place to start in Heavenly Cake Baker. I tried getting this posted on time but 4 days later I actually was able to bake and assemble so my solution is to combine the two desserts in one post.

If you are looking to widen your horizons in the cake baking world, Heavenly Cake Baker is the place for you. If you are looking for teaching aides and a larger layer of understanding for putting together ultimate flavors, texture, crumb density, silky smoothness and consistency; this is definitely the place for you. If you are worried about a lot of dirty dishes over the idea of baking perfection, you may just want to peruse our Beranbaum desserts as we bake our way through heavenly cakes.

Will this post ever end? Almost. I thought I would also share an easy dinner recipe using a rotisserie chicken. The recipe is called Creole Chicken Soup and my family enjoys this for dinner and leftovers for lunch the next day. I enjoy the recipe because about 30 minutes is needed from start-to-finish.

Creole Chicken Soup
Ingredients:
2 T. vegetable oil
1 c. chopped onion
1 c. red bell pepper (or yellow or orange)
1 c. frozen whole kernel corn
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 cups of chipped cooked chicken (using a grocery rotisserie chicken)
1 1/2 t. Creole seasoning
1 (32-ounce) carton Swanson low-sodium chicken broth
Sour cream and chopped fresh cilantro for garnishing

Directions:
In a heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, corn, and garlic, and saute until tender. Stir in tomatoes and chicken. Sprinkle with seasoning, and saute 2 minutes. Add chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes. Top with sour cream and cilantro.

SMS - Sweet Plum Clafoutis w/Almonds plus a special cookie treat

2010-08-28T22:22:00.000-07:00

Hosted by: Michelle of Flourchild

Recipe: Melissa's Sweet Plum Clafoutis w/Almonds

(Found on Michelle's blog and pg. 30 & 31 of The Sweet Melissa Baking Book)

What a fun recipe. I found miniature cast iron skillets at Fred Meyer's store for 20% off (7.99 each) and could not pass them up. I halved the recipe, ending up with exactly 4 single servings.

The plums available at my local produce stand are HUGE. I bought 4 red plums but only used 1 1/2. The fruit is perfectly ripe, juicy and has the best flavor.

I was able to fit all 4 skillets on one large burner which I thought was pretty cute. I should have cut the plums narrower because the tops of the fruit stuck out of the batter. I also used sweetened creme fraiche for topping and the final consensus was thumbs-up. Delicious!

Thank you Michelle for hosting Sweet Melissa Sundays this week; great recipe selection!

While baking the plum clafoutis, I decided today was the day to try baking sweet potato French fries. I am NOT a sweet potato or yam fan. Several weeks ago, I tried my first sweet potato French fry, thinking bad thoughts, and was pleasantly surprised. I loved them! In fact, I was a total piggy and ate more then Larry. I know, he was shocked too. Last week, I bought 4 sweet potatoes, set to bake my own, and wasn't quite sure how to approach them. I assumed just like any other potato.

Sweet potatoes are drier and olive oil really does not coat the fries very well; meaning the diced garlic and sea salt did not stick overly well. I coated the fries fresh out of the oven with ground black pepper and basil. They were killer good! Guess who ate over half of them?

Sweet Potato Fries with Minced Garlic and Seasonings Plus Garlic Mayonnaise Dip
Directions:
3 sweet potatoes, cut into French fries about 1-inch thick
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the sweet potato "fries" on a silicon mat or foil-lined baking sheet and toss with the olive oil and minced garlic. Bake until golden, about 30 to 35 minutes.

Meanwhile combine the basil, salt, and pepper in a small bowl to season fries fresh out of the oven. In another small bowl combine the dip: mayonnaise, garlic, and lemon juice, and stir to combine.

When the sweet potato fries come out of the oven, sprinkle with the basil salt. Serve with the garlic mayonnaise along side.

Here is my other pride and joy: Cinnamon Apple Cookie Swirls. This is truly a Fall cookie. You simmer diced apples with cinnamon red hot candies and a little sugar for 2 to 2 1/2 hours; stirring every so often. You could also throw this in the crock pot for a couple of hours. The idea is to cook all the liquid out, ending with a thick apple filling.

Cinnamon Apple Cookie Swirls

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup shortening

3 eggs

4 cups sifted flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

6 apples, chopped fine

3/4 cup sugar

2/3 cup cinnamon candies

Directions:

Mix apples, sugar, and cinnamon candies in a pot over medium low heat. You want to simmer until the apple filling is very thick. This process will take about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Check and stir periodically. When thickened, set aside to cool.

When filling is cool, mixture together the cookie dough. Start by creaming the shortening in the mixer. Add sugars gradually and blend until smooth. Add egg, flour,baking soda, salt and vanilla. Roll out to 1/4-1/2 inch thick.

Spread apple filling on dough. Roll up dough with filling like jelly roll. Chill for several hours.

Slice 1/4-inch thick slices. Place on greased baking sheet or silicon mat on baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-10 minutes. Let cool on sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.

Pastry Heaven

Gutsy Cooks - Vichyssoise

CEiMB - Waldorf Chicken Wraps

Heavenly Cake Bakers - Miette's Tomboy

Menu#28: Zucchini Sticks, Creamy Tarragon Chicken accompanied by Individual, Fresh Baked Rosemary Bread Rounds

A Black Rose Martini

Who Doesn't Like a Twist to a Rice Krispie Treat?

Gutsy Cooks - Spanish Lentils and Rustic herb and cheese bread

Heavenly Cake Baker's - Orange-Glow Chiffon Layer Cake and Devil's Food Cake w/Midnight Ganache

Menu #26 for the Gutsy Cook's Club - Cassoulet!

Gutsy Cooks Club - Menu 25 - An Asian Inspired Dinner

Gutsy Cooks Club - Sunday Dinner

Craving Ellie in My Belly: Aromatic Beef Stew with Butternut Squash

HCB-Decadent Raspberry/Chocolate Genoise AND TWD's Corniest Corn Muffins

The Gutsy Cooks and Sweet Melissa Sunday for Breakfast and Dessert!

Craving Ellie in My Belly - Banana Splits with a Warm Topping

Gutsy Cooks and HCB'ers share a Sunday

FFwD - The Month of February - Short Ribs in Red Wine and Port

CEiMB- L.O.V.E. Wrap Sandwich and Spicy Crab-Papaya Salad

Gutsy Cooks: Dirty Risotto

Sweet Melissa Sunday - Chocolate Rumm Truffles

SMS-Hazelnut Raspberry Layer Cake; HCB'ers-White Velvet Cake with Milk Chocolate Ganache; ABC'ers-Evie Lieb's Processor Challah and Football Food

Heavenly Cake Bakers-Chocolate Velvet Fudge Cake

Breakfast Frittata and the Gutsy Cooks

Heavenly Cake Baker's - Swedish Pear and Alomond Cream Cake

SMS - Strawberry Muffins with Fresh Lemon and Rosemary along with Gutsy Cooks

SMS- Ginger Custard Pumpkin Pie

CEiMB - Mushroom, Onion and Basil Pizza

SMS - Goat Cheese, Olive and Thyme Muffins, combines with the Gutsy Cooks Oxtail Stew and Polenta - Plus Some

The Aroma of Homemade Bread Fresh from the Oven ~ Rosemary-Garlic Focaccia Bread

CEiMB -Chicken Pot Pies and a Tuscan Salad

French Friday's with Dorie ~ Spicy Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup

CEiMB ~ Apple Brown Betty and A Savory Stuffed Pumpkin Dinner

HCB'ers Day ~ Molten Chocolate Souffle and Lava Cakes

Gutsy Cook's Club ~ A Roulade and Quindim

SMS ~ Cashew Brittle with a Little Espresso Ice Cream

French Friday with Dorie ~ gerard's mustard tart w/dinner

CEiMB - Tomato~Tortilla Soup and a Healthy, Colorful Dessert

TWD ~ Double Apple Bundt Cake and ABC Orange Chiffon Tweed Cake with Milk 'n' Honey Sabayon

Heavenly Cake Bakers ~ Caramelized Pineapple Pudding Cakes

SMS - Coconut Pecan Frosting on Carrot Cake Cookies with Cream Cheese Drizzle (Gutsy Cooks posted earlier this morning)

Gutsy Cook's Club - 1st Post~Potato Skins w/Cheddar and Bacon and Baked BBQ Wings w/Blue Cheese Dip

French Fridays with Dorie ~ Mushroom Cappuccinos with Dorie's Golden Gougeres

CEiMB - Almond French Toast Bake

TWD - Tarte Fine; Finale for HCB and Paul Newman's Tortellini with Chicken

Sweet Melissa Sundays & Heavenly Cake Bakers

TWD ~ Coffee Break Muffins, a TWD Catch-Up: Mango Bread + Pierre Herme'

HCB ~ Apple Caramel Charlotte

Sweet Melissa Sundays ~ Lemon Blueberry Buttermilk Pie

CEiMB - Whole Wheat Pancakes and a Breakfast Burrito

TWD - Cranberry Upside-Downer

HCB - The Bostini ~ Simply Heaven in a Cup

SMS - (Savory) Bosc Pear, Blue Cheese, and Walnut Muffins

ABC of the Month & CEiMB - Healthy versus Chocolate~!

TWD - Peanut Butter Crisscrosses PLUS Dorie's Buttery Jam Cookies and a Surprise Cookie

Heavenly Cake Bakers - Financiers ***Gold Ingots***

Sweet Melissa Sundays - French Pancakes

Thank You Monica at Sweet Bites! I won!

CEiMB - Fettucini with Crab and Asparagus Dinner

TWD - Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread Cookies and Oatmeal Spice Shortbread Cookies and Banana Cake w/Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

Heavenly Bakers - Two Seperate Desserts plus Dinner

SMS - Sweet Plum Clafoutis w/Almonds plus a special cookie treat

Heavenly Cake Bakers - Financiers Gold Ingots