Tuesday, September 15, 2009

TWD: Flaky Apple Turnovers





Quick post as I am taking the Littlest Baker to the doctor today...2 month check up and (gasp!) shots!

recipe: Flaky Apple Turnovers from Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours (via baking club Tuesdays With Dorie (aka TWD).

chosen by: twd club member Julie of Someone's in the Kitchen

verdict: delicious!!!!! love these...love the dough-though it was super crumbly maybe I did not do the cutting in of butter too well?? I had to add some H20 to it.

photos: as seen below...I tried to add a cut-out apple shape to the tops of these, but it puffed up..hopefully you see what I was going for...


Ok, off to get the apple of my eye (pun intended) up from his nap...if only he was old enough to have some of these sweet treats as a way to console him after the 4 vaccinations! Someday....

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

TWD: Chocolate Souffle!!




Well I did it...albeit the post is not appearing until late Tuesday--I actually baked one of our Tuesdays With Dorie weekly recipes!! Feels good to be back...at least for now! once I am back to work i am not sure how well I'll keep up.
This week I give a shout-out to my nearly 8-week old who let mommy run around like a maniac in the kitchen this afternoon whilst he played on his play mat, staring up at his favorite toys hanging from above him. He loves that play mat ALMOST as much as the ceiling fan in his room...Now the fan--there's his favorite thing in the world. They always seem to have a great dialogue together...the Littlest Baker stares up at the fan, 'talks' and laughs...the fan whirring around back at him...they really do get on famously. If only he looked at me the way he does Hunter Douglas....sigh..(What is it with kids and ceiling fans? I am beginning to think there are some sort of hidden subliminal messages, known only to infants transmitted by these fans.) Here is the li'l guy:



I must admit it was this weeks Tuesdays With Dorie recipe totally lured me back in...this week the recipe was chosen by Susan of the blog: She's Becoming Dough-messtic. (Chocolate Souffle, page 406 in Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours) What self-respecting baker wouldn't want to try their hand at making a chocolate souffle?! I am happy to report it came out absolutely decadent, fabulous...it was "beyond'..it was 'bananas" (as Rachel Zoe would say Anyone? anyone?)

Dear Husband and I feel it shoots up to the top of the Dorie list of recipes I have done-the French Pear Tart and banana cream pie have a rival for SURE! I was the only one who enjoyed it warm as I had to make it during the window of opportunity I had earlier in the day. But "fallen souffle cake" was enjoyed by us both tonight after our dinner!

It came together easily...my only hiccup was I burned the top of it. I tried to take a photo of it risen right before I took it out but it didn't come out as I did w/ the door closed, so you see more of MY reflection than the darn souffle! But if you look carefully, you see the nice dome I was able to get on it...it started deflating by the time I took the photo that is at the beginning of the post! (FYI the light you see is not my flash--the flash was off..it's the light in the corner of the oven).


FYI, for the foodies out there who are fans of Food TV-I've made some pretty darn good dinners here and there during maternity leave...not many, and Dear Husband has been my hero when it comes to him arriving home after painting all day and still cooking up dinner for us as my day and nights are spent totally tending to our son...My intentions are always there, but I am at the beck and call of our Little Baker--who at 7 weeks seems to have developed some sort of digestive issues...gassy...spitting up..things that we have dodged until now but add more time to the feeding process--and to the 'calming down' process as he is mr fussy these days due to the aforementioned issues.

When I nurse him I seem to always be tuning into Food TV...so here are recipes I have tried over the past 7-8 weeks! ALL of which I recommend!!

Melissa D'Arabian's (the newest Food TV star) Salmon Cakes and Lemon-Thyme Orzo
Then one day in the mail came my Bon Appetit...and I realized that I had all the fixins for one of their "Fast-Easy-Fresh" recipes--and I gave it a whirl! Can I just say there is nothing more satisfying to me than going through a recipe and realizing that I had all the ingredients?! So Dear Husband was surprised when he came home to Panko-Crusted Chicken with Mustard-Maple Pan Sauce

Speaking of Bon Appetit, FYI Dorie has a "brioche-made-easy" recipe in this months B.A mag! I can't wait to try!)
I hope to return for next week's recipe Flaky Apple Turnovers! Fall is around the corner!! My favorite time of year!! (only this year my least favorite..Oct 12 I return to reality and work...and try not to have a breakdown over leaving the Petit Baker with daycare....)