Lisa is a Baker

TWD: Brrrrownies!!

2010-07-13T20:25:00.003-04:00

Short and sweet this week just like the recipe that Karen from Welcome to Our Crazy Blessed Life chose for our Tuesdays With Dorie recipe this week!

If you love Junior Mints...if you love York Peppermint Patties then this is THE brownie recipe for you! I know it's up my alley--I welcomed the excuse to have to buy Peppermint Patties! Half the bag is now in fridge for snacking!

Dorie explains in her book that her son's liking of YPP ( forgive abbreviation, but I'm posting this from my iPhone... Tricky keypad)

the recipe came together so easily--though when I baked it, some of the white mint made like lava and bubbled up to break the surface... But regardless of looks, these were indeed refreshing as the old peppermint patty ad claimed ("when I bite into a York peppermint patty, I get the sensation of cool gale force winds whipping through my hair!!"...or there was another ad with a guy pretending to ski jump on his coffee table...anyone remember??)

anyway, these were awesome!!! Great moist texture...I'd make them again in a heartbeat!!

NOTE: how can I upload a photo from iPhone to blogger???! I can't seem to get my brownie photo into thus post !!! Grrrrrrr....(grrrownies!)

TWD: Raisin Swirl Bread

2010-06-15T00:00:00.001-04:00

Susan of Food.Baby chose this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe--(a club dedicated to baking and blogging through her book Baking: From My Home to Yours)--and what a choice she made! (ok, let's face it, it's not like any of the Dorie recipes are bad choices...) I guess I always especially like the ones that make me feel connected to childhood/young adulthood spent in the kitchen.

Nothing does that for me--as I'm sure with so many others--than the smell of bread baking. I was excited to try this recipe--and it came together so easily!! I made the dough Saturday night...up to the 'freeze for 30 min' which is when I put it in the fridge to hang out for the night. I left it in a nicely shaped rectangle....

And Sunday morning I found this

Ya, that dough goiter hanging off the left side of it wasn't there the night before...but it rolled out nicely and after some shoving I got it into the pan!

I have made bread before, but never made raisin/cinnamon swirl! So festive...Here is where I admit I'm a raisin snob at times. In fact, I used less than half the raisins called for in the recipe--just enough to complement every piece cut, but not enough to overload it. (I'm always on the lookout for the ever elusive "cinnamon" bagel...no raisins, just cinnamon. I have only rarely found it!)

I froze half the loaf for making Father's Day French Toast! Dear Husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the rest..."this is awesome" was the exact phrase from DH..and our little one even had some, and from the flailing hands and feet from the high chair, and the hands opening and closing to beckon for more, I think it was a thumbs up!

It was a pleasure to make--and to bring the smell of my mom's kitchen into my kitchen, which I just love doing. Music and smells are what brings me back to a moment in time..how I measure my history. (Which is why I just emailed my high school reunion committee a whole playlist of songs from 1986-1990...our 20 yr reunion is this fall and they asked for song suggestions...I gave them everything from that era from B-52 Love Shack to Young MC It Takes Two to Bon Jovi's Livin' on a Prayer..and everything in between (that means you Milli Vanilli, MC Hammer, Ton Loc, and Paula Abdul!) I hear some of these songs and I'm immediately in a car with my best friend from high school, and we are driving to football games...or basketball games.....or dancing at school or CYO dances ---looking for whomever was Crush Boy at the moment to make an appearance....and when I hear songs like The Lady in Red or Hold onto the Night, I have an urge to go blend into the wall or run off to the bathroom for fear that I'd be the loser without the dancing partner!)

And so with kitchen smells it's the same. As the bread was baking I was transported to the kitchen in our house I grew up in....Mom would make multiple loaves of bread usually at Thanksgiving and Christmas..she'd make enough to cover us through dinners, the leftover turkey sandwiches, morning toast (we so loved our toast in our house! Both French and good ol' toast-r-oven kind!) And any snacks in between. I love when I bake yeast recipes because I smell it, and Mom, who has been gone over 12 years now, seems to be no further away than just the other room...maybe in the dining room trying to find the "good tablecloth", or counting out silver, or in the Breakfast Room setting up the "kids table", and all the while singing along with Nat King Cole or Bing Crosby or Frank Sinatra or the Carpenters or show tunes....I hope one day my Littlest Baker smells bread baking and thinks "Home. Mom." I may not ever know about it, but I hope it's a connection made one day over time and space....(though I fear it won't be nice as the picture I have in my head ...My son will probably say something like, "I smell bread baking -- you know, that almost-burned smell--and I think of my mother...swearing that she left it in the oven too long..or not long enough...and in the background--I hear her singing along to bad 80's music....ahh, home. Mom..."

TWD: Tender Shortcakes

2010-06-08T00:00:00.000-04:00

First a story about this week's recipe host/selector, Cathy of The Tortefeasor...

Cathy and I met 1990 (aka freshman year of college) and have been great pals ever since...now going on (gasp) 20 years??! Wow, ok, that really makes me feel old...many beers ago...

Cathy and I have been through a lot together--including (I think) at least 1 class together (right Cath, or am I imagining you were in an English class with me--the British female professor...the one who'd make us put the chairs in a circle and discuss the book of the month/week/semester/whatever..the one who called on that guy "Mahhrk" a lot? (aka "Mark"...but not the way she said it!)

Anyways, so regardless of curriculum, Cathy and I have gone through ups and downs....we have shared laughs and tears both good and bad...during college I can't begin to say how many belly pains I have had because of Cathy and I building upon each other's jokes and stories and putting us into hysterics with our housemates...I came out of college with a tight group of friends...friends who I know will have forever. Friends who I know I can call (or tweet...or text...or Facebook 'friend') and know they will be there.....Cathy is one of those few who I know I am bonded to forever. Let's face it, you don't go through the rise and fall of Zima together and not become bonded for life.

And after college, we have seen each other through questions like 'what will you do after graduation" to "where will you live.." to "who will you marry"...to "what will your baby be named"...and now that she introduced me to TWD questions like "did you bake this week?" or "could you find that ingredient in Alabama, because I could not in Connecticut..." And I know years from now the question will be "so where do we all retire to?" I can't wait until I am sitting next to Cathy at Bingo one day when we are old and grey....then catching the Early Bird Special somewhere...and then reminiscing for the 1000th time "remember the time we cooked Thanksgiving dinner for our parents senior year??"

And in between now and then, Cathy and I are now going through a new curriculum together: Tuesdays with Dorie. Cathy told me all about the club and her blog two summers ago--no more than a few weeks after I decided to start baking more, and tried my hand at my first scratch cake (recounted on my now-defunct first blog). Though let's face it, Cathy is ten times as dedicated as I am with it and 20 times as witty and interesting with her posts! I always look forward to them. Whereas the miles between her and I are far, TWD keeps us in closer touch than usual, and brings us closer together. So I thank this blog for that.

So back to baking--this week was Cathy's choice. Tender Shortcakes. What a perfect selection to kick off Summer! We have had wonderful sunny weather recently (with some gross humid days mixed in) here in the Northeast....and Sunday after the humidity lifted with a passing thunder storm, I dove in and made the shortcakes.

They came together easily--Cathy, I can't thank you enough for an easy-peasey recipe! (obviously, thanks to you too, Dorie!) I didn't even have to plan to get the butter to room temperature! (love the "chilled butter" recipes!)

I opted to add the cinnamon and nutmeg, called for in the sidebar of the recipe....if I see any spin on recipes that adds those spices, I tend to go for it immediately. I started forming them...and then I forgot that it said if you go for the cinnamon route, to add some vanilla into the dough...."Doh!!" I forgot! So I tried to get it back into the cakes not yet formed...so I start to blend it in then, "doh!" I panicked thinking if I add to it and remix the dough, it means I would have over-handled the dough..Dorie says not to do that...You can see here the first row has pre-vanilla cakes, the bottom row has 'post-vanilla' cakes....and since I was at the bottom of the bowl, the unmixed flour started appearing...(I did half the recipe by the way, and it yielded six cakes) Forgive yellow hue to all photos...with my flash it was too bright, without it, it looks like this...darn energy-efficient bulbs...

So onward...and when they came out after 15 minutes, give or take--Voila!!

So here's the confession...I don't like strawberries...growing up, when we would have strawberry shortcake, I would opt for the spongecake and whipped cream, hold the berries. I decided to use the lesser of the berry evils for me, and went with raspberry and blueberry (I love blueberries, but better when they are baked in a cobbler or crisp. I know these 2 berries do not get as juicy as the strawberry, so not as perfect for shortcakes, but I had to go with what I thought I would eat! Dear Husband prefers those two berries as well, so it made it easy--and quite patriotic I might add.)

These cakes are AWESOME. Tender, indeed--and I love the added dimension the cinnamon provides. Especially since I mostly was eating just the cakes and whippped cream. Easy recipe+yummy recipe=repeated recipe!!

I know I'll make these again a few times this summer--even if I don't get into strawberry shortcake,I know guests will love it with these shortcakes!

Cheers, Cathy! Thanks for introducing me to Dorie! Thanks for a fabulous recipe pick!! Miss ya, babe!

TWD: Coconut Banana Ice Cream Pie

2010-05-25T00:00:00.001-04:00

"See you in another life, brotha"

Well I've made just about as many resurrections on Dorie as....the man in black/smoke monster on Lost.

But here I am, trying again to work a little slice of baking into my little world filled with my ever-growing Littlest Baker. I must admit, I get selfish of my free time and ensuring that it goes to him...working all day I usally count the minutes til I can shut down and drive home and the weekends are all about either playing (or taking turns with daddy playing with him so we can clean the house!)

Yet I do so enjoy making new things and this Tuesdays with Dorie group, and carving out some 'me' time in between nap time will be good for me...so I'm back...again!

So this week Spike of spike.bakes (who is super cool in my book by the mere fact that there is a photo of Buffy and Spike in last week's post) chose Dorie Greenspan's Coconut Banana Ice Cream Pie...page 350 of Baking..From my Home to Yours.

What a perfect dessert this was to assemble as it had to be done in phases...quite inducive to napping schedules. No baking involved. You need only melt some butter and brown some coconut (which took longer than I thought it would to brown by the way...maybe I had it too low for fear of it burning too fast..oh ya, or maybe because I had it in a little saucepan, not a sautee pan as called for ..had to switch about 5 min into staring at still white coconut). So you get the crust together (coconut/butter/butter cookies) and press into pie plate and freeze for at least 30 min...then later on during naptime #2 I was able to blend the banana and ice cream and rum

I made this on Sunday--in preparation for the finale of Lost....I was so happy that this week was a tropical flavored dessert as it went so well with the Hawaiian location and all! Thanks, Spike! Anyone who knows me knows I'm into my tv shows (what few I have these days)...and who doesn't like a good 'theme' night. So in honor of the end of Lost, I made Shepherd's Pie (rather than go a tropical dinner route, I went the "pun" route as Jack Shepherd is a main character). After dinner Dear Husband and I enjoyed a slice o' banana coconut---and chocolate (a main flavor left out of the title, by the by) pie! Down the hatch it went! Though it was hard to get past the lump in my throat from tearing up the entire episode....It was a worthy finale of the show, I thought. Lots of hub-bub about disappointed fans...but I was not at all.

Sorry for the awful photography...but it's Monday night, I did not take photos when I first served this, so that's the pie without the banana top garnish..in awful artificial lighting...I'm keeping it frozen and serving one slice at a time, so I decided to forgo the sliced banana topping....If there is an award for worst photo, I think I just won it this week. Thus I had to open with a more attractive photo.

So with that, I hope to continue on and be here next week for white chocolate brownies...

See you in another (blog), brotha

oh, speaking of brothers...one of mine has a birthday today! Happy Birthday, Bri!

TWD: Swedish Visiting Cake (aka Gimme Gimme Gimme a Cake After Midnight)

2010-04-13T00:00:00.002-04:00

And here I thought ABBA was the best thing to come from Sweden!!

Thank you, Nancy, from The Dogs Eat the Crumbs who chose Dorie's Swedish Visiting Cake as this week's recipe! I'd like to think I would have baked along this week no matter what, but the fact that one of my very very fave TWD bloggers chose it led me to know there was NO WAY I was skipping this week! Nancy/n.o.e I was SO happy to bake along with you this week! :) I always love visiting your site-even though unfortunately I've not visited m/any TWD sites lately due to time working mommy constraints...but look at this face...HERE'S why I don't post or read so much anymore..forgive me, fellow bakers??)

but truly, I always find myself relating to Nancy's posts and thinking "I think she and I would get along so well!" :)

Back to the Swedes: This cake is amazing. It's perfect in its simplicity. It is supposed to be made in a cast iron skillet--and I bought a dark blue/white glazed one not to long ago (it's so much nicer than the terrible photo shows...) But I realized that mine is a bit over the 9" called for in the recipe, so you'll see my edges were well done...but the texture in the middle? Spongy without being soggy...perfectly moist (thanks to a melted stick o' butter!)..the almond flavors are so full, yet not overpowering (gotta love anything with almond extract!...Or I do anyways!) Perfect for tea/coffee in the morning...or in the afternoon, or over after dinner conversation!

The story here is you can start it when you see folks coming up the street, and the cake will be ready by the time you get around to having dessert. Love that kind of story behind a traditional recipe!

You start with a great little tactic that Dorie uses in one of my other fave recipes, the French Yogurt Cake, wherein you blend the lemon zest with your hands into the sugar to make the sugar fragrant prior to adding in other ingredients (oh, and by the way, this was a one-bowl, no electric mixer needed recipe--another reason to love this!!) Once you do that you've done the "heavy lifting" of this recipe--all else you have to do is add the eggs, extracts, flour and melted butter.

Nancy, you are the reason I have another top Dorie recipe! I know that when I go visiting, or expect visitors, this will be one of those things I can whip up (I already know the recipe by heart, which is even better!) THANK YOU THANK YOU! I needed another "French Yogurt Cake" type dessert and found it!

Dear Husband thought it was fabulous--but asked "so I don't suppose this is good for me in any way?" Once I shared there is a cup of sugar and stick of butter his fears were confirmed...so we may have to freeze half of it to prevent the 2 of us from eating this whole thing in record time!

I can't wait to make this and impress folks with it! I will try different pans next time--or adjust recipe to fit properly into a 10" skillet...

I have awful photo this week...it was either snap and post, or no post at all...and considering 2 weeks ago I took extra time to snap photos in the daylight, and then did not get my act together to write the post on the coconut cake we all baked--ugh..meant I missed a Tuesday posting...So even though it does not count, just for the record, here is my dandy coconut cake from a couple of weeks ago! Anytime I can take out the Kugelhopf pan is a good time!

For more on the Swedish Visiting Cake, including recipe, visit Nancy's blog...and for more takes on the cake, visit the sites listed in the blogroll of us Dorie Greenspan faithfuls!

TWD: Thumbprints for us Big Guys

2010-03-09T00:00:00.000-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was chosen by Mike of Ugly Food Dude, who picked a great hazelnut-based cookie filled with raspberry jam...

Question: mine came out anything but a cookie I would call for a 'big guy'--they were super miniature..I took a teaspoon of dough, used the end of the wooden spoon, all as detailed in directions, and yet I can't say that they looked anything like the picture in Dorie's book...were there camera tricks..smoke & mirrors?? Or is the 'big guys' supposed to mean some sort of grown up recipe/flavors, not the size of the cookie? (but still..the photo in the book seem much larger)

Regardless, I was happy to try something I never would have done otherwise on my own--my problem is that I overbaked the dough...so I have the other half of the dough in the freezer for a rainy day--when I will reduce cooking time by enough to not have the cookies come out with a burn sort of taste....

Mike, thanks for picking a great recipe--even overdone they were pretty good and I'm looking forward to making the 2nd batch soon!!

Oh--and I tried raspberry jam in some, blueberry in some others...some, as you see in the photo cracked, but the jam was thick enough that it did not leak out too much!

Apologies for a lack-luster boring post..I am half-asleep, dead tired right now..just wanted to be sure I got this posted on Tuesday!! Even though I ruined them, I was glad to bake along this week!

My first "occassion" cake

2010-03-01T21:52:00.007-05:00

We had my son's baptism this past weekend...finally...and I am happy to report that I faced down the scary "special occassion cake" demon and I went ahead and made the cake for our 30+ party myself. (How can I look anyone in the face and tell them I have a baking blog--and then ORDER a cake from a bakery? Just could not bring myself to do it)

I knew that it would come out looking quite home made--which it did...but it TASTED AMAZING! I used Martha Stewart's One Bowl Chocolate Cake, and my dear friend Cathy gave me the link to use for the buttercream frosting! I had the ultimate one-two knockdown punch going..everyone loved it! And I think it looked rather charming--if only because you can tell that it was home-made. It was a labor of love--I had so much fun planning this very special day and am still smiling at what a perfect day it truly was.

TWD: Honey-Wheat Cookies

2010-02-22T21:40:00.010-05:00

Wow, three weeks in a row with a Tuesdays with Dorie recipe completed and posted!

This week, I was happy to do the recipe for a few reasons-

1. It was chosen by Flourchild, whose blog I try to keep up with (but apologize that I have not lately, but now that I'm back posting--I hope to follow through and be back READING other blogs as well!) She is one of about 4 'followers' I have for my blog...and I can't help but think she meant to bookmark someone else's--but I truly appreciate her willingness to "follow" me on this poor excuse of a blog!

2. It did not have chocolate. I wanted to know I could branch out and enjoy a cookie that did not involve chopping, melting, or otherwise using (let alone eating) chocolate

3. It would be three posts/recipes in as many weeks...after a very long "maternity leave" (if only my maternity leave at work was as long as the one I took from this baking club!)

So...I put the dough together over the weekend and baked the Monday night. I was so proud of myself to be baking something that seemed very much un-Lisa like. I must admit reading the recipe I had hesitation....honey...wheat germ (I mean really, "wheat germ" and "cookie" in the same breath?)

My expectations were varied. One minute I thought "why am I doing this recipe" and the next I would think "wow, what if this becomes a new favorite!"

And so I baked 2 dozen, froze the rest of the dough for a rainy day....

tried them....

and as it turns out....

I have not found a new favorite.

I promise I'll bring them to work so I can try them with some tea in the afternoon, and maybe their appeal will change. They are not bad, they just are not for me. I know many will like this recipe, and my hats off to them, and I wish my taste buds have evolved past the age of about 11, but when i comes to sweets, I don't think they have! (Case in point: I thought to myself how much the rolled out dough, once rolled in a bath of wheat germ look so much like small Dunkin Donuts Munchkins--the coconut ones! But that very well could be because I gave up all things Dunkin for lent and I tend to see munchkins and donuts now in everything I see (see: "Whatever it is I think I see becomes a Tootsie Roll to me")

So here's what I keep thinking...it's the whole letter of the law/spirit of the law routine. Are these a 'cookie' --sure, in that they are a round baked good, made with flour, sugar and other add-ins, and they can be eaten in 1-3 bites....but these fall short in that I'm not stealing tastes of the batter, nor thinking "wow, I can easily eat a whole cookie sheet of these" or "I better buy more milk." Am I glad I made them? Yes. Will I eat most of them? Of course, because really even a so-so cookie is still a cookie! And some day I'll circle back to the dough in the back of the freezer and give it another try and maybe feel differently.

Thanks, Michelle for picking this recipe!! It was fun to bake along with you and all the other folks once again this week!

TWD: "My Best Chocolate Chip Cookies"

2010-02-16T16:22:00.004-05:00

Short post so I can get it posted before Tuesday becomes Wednesday.

This week's recipe for us Tuesdays With Dorie bakers were Dories Best Chocolate Chip Cookies....and wow were these ever good....I love a crispy cookie--and chocolate chip to boot? Bring it.

I made mine with store bought chips---but only because I really wanted to size up the cookie--and to me I need to try all batters with the same chips to really measure up which 'cookie' I like.

I did however use the finely chopped walnuts called for, and I am not one for nuts in my cookies--but using such finely chopped walnuts was a welcome addition!

I would make these again...and again....the only caveat is to chill the dough prior to baking-I had not done that and these suckers spread out BIG time...I think I'd gain a chewier cookie if I chilled the dough for awhile first, but like I said I loves me a crispy cookie, so I had no problem polishing off way too many of these!

Thanks to Kait of Kait's Plate for this week's recipe pick! :)

TWD: Rick Katz's Brownies for Julia

2010-02-09T00:00:00.012-05:00

Hey, check it out folks! Dorie is opening up a cookie bar in NYC!! Right now she and her son have a pop-up shop within Mizu Salon, but plan is for their own storefront in NYC! Sigh...I never missed working in NYC more than I do right now!

I can't tell you how glad I am to be finding some little time to myself in the kitchen during the weekend napping of the Littlest Baker. And to have Brownies be one of the very first returning recipes I get to do for Tuesdays With Dorie?! Perfection! Thanks to Tanya of Chocolatechic for picking this recipe!!! Her blog is one I love to visit--and look forward to reacquainting myself with now that I'm back among the living/blogging! Her photos and write ups are both equally fabulous!!! It's no surprise she would pick such a classically chocolate recipe! You can't make brownies without chocolate, so perfect choice for our 'Chocolatechic' gal!

Brownies have crept up there in the line of 'favorite desserts' for me...they are neck and neck now with the simple, classic, chocolate chip cookie (and hello, take 2 guesses what next week's recipe is for the Dories?! Yep. That's right....I'm so excited!!)

Back to brownies-to me, no one had better home made brownies than my beloved great-aunt Margaret. She was the baker in our extended family, and although we lost her in the early 1980's, in our family her name is often mentioned whenever we speak of apple pie, brownies, tapioca, and any number of other yummy goodies she would drop off. As a kid, nothing was better than playing outside, and seeing her vanilla colored Duster take the ride up our driveway.

If it was an unexpected drop-by, we always knew it meant Aunt Margaret had something warm and gooey and tasty to share with us that was just baked. To this day I can't see a pie basket without thinking of her. My gram (her sister) gave me Aunt Margaret's cookbook and I cherish it to this day.

It's pages are worn--or more specifically the dessert pages are well worn/spilled on/etc. There were recipes stuck in side clipped from old Redbook magazines, or ripped from the newspaper, and even some things written in pencil inside the front pages....(Gotta love a cookbook from the 40's that uses lard in some cases--and talks about the "new" product on the market (Crisco) that could be used in its place! ha!)

Tangent, thy name is Lisa.

Ok, so bottom line, my Aunt Margaret made the best brownies.

I've been striving to find recipes that stand up to hers (because what I don't have is the recipe she used--it must have been done by heart, or by some other recipe card long lost...) I thought the ones we did with the espresso coffee added (Katherine Hepburn Brownies) were great in texture--to me they were not right in taste as I don't want coffee interrupting my way to finding the chocolate. (note to self I meant bake these again to try without the coffee).

So far, my favorite was a recipe for super duper fudgy brownies that I was told about last year that hit the ball outta the park...across the street, and probably broke a window somewhere.... They were for any fan (like myself) of that fudgy/moist texture...that you can break open, then stick back together, hold upside down, and they'll stay. Not wet and gooey-but between that stage and the cakey brownie.

The brownies we made this week--Rick Katz's recipe--are just as delightful. They are for those who like an inbetween of fudge-vs-cake. I think the 9x9 pan helps them keep a fudge-cake balance..(fakey? cudgey? what would you call that?)

What I can't tell is exactly how long I need to bake them next time. The baking time called for yielded soupy middle...so I kept putting it back for a few minutes...then Dear Husband wanted to get AT&T on the horn to get us signed up for DirecTV....but the baby needed attention, so then I took the phone to talk to the gal and I ended up turning the oven way down, and walking away for a good 15 min...then I just turned the oven off (because I was STILL on the phone with them) and let them stay in the warm oven. I thought they'd be in ruins, but when I was (finally) off the (half hour+) phone call, I took them out and tested the middle...seemed ok. And come to find out these were done to perfection! It will be tricky trying to time it next time, and I'll have to consult the other Dorie bakers to find out what time worked for them. (Also-no greasing was called for?? I threw parchment paper into the pan b/c I wasn't sure what to do-if it was a forgotten step in the cookbook, or if they really did not need greasing..having never made brownies without some sort of liner or butter in the bottom of the pan, I took the cautious route)

All in all a great week---made brownies, enjoyed them while watching one of the best episodes yet of Lost....and now officially have posted a 2010 TWD recipe!!

Having limited time, I only took the finish photo--and that was about 3 days after I baked them...so forgive me the lack of a good 'play by play' blog this week!

Thanks, Tanya!

Is this thing on?? (a.k.a "Is There Anyone Out There?")

2010-02-01T21:54:00.014-05:00

So...every week for the past several months, I think "this is the week...." and Tuesday comes and goes so fast (let alone the other six days of the week!!) and I admit defeat...and then think "maybe NEXT week..."

Turning the page on yet another month made me think "now or never"--let alone feeling the worry of being deleted from the club's blog roll! (Maybe I already am??) But I'm going to give it the college try...I'm back among the Tuesdays with Dorie throng! I knew it when I read the February recipes that February will be the month I get back into the swing of it!!

But understand it's been with good reason that I made such a break from the kitchen and our TWD baking club! And here he is!!

So since I'm not making this comeback on a Tuesday, I AM still posting a Dorie recipe-but not one from our 'bible' "Baking: From my Home to Yours"--instead I'm sharing one of her recipes that she wrote up in the Dec 09 issue of Bon Appetit, and one that I tried over the holidays! It was amazing!! In the issue, she made Pecan Sticky Buns with a spiced dough base--a dough that she describes is just as luxurious as brioche dough (brioche being the norm for her pecan sticky buns), but not as rich, and amped up with some spices. If you are even THINKING about trying this-do it. It was the first time I attempted Pecan Sticky Buns, and although it was a longish process, it was so.worth.the.ride....oh my Goodness...not since the French Pear Tart have I felt that feeling of "wow, did I REALLY make this??!"

Here's the play by play!!!

Once made and risen, here is the spiced dough all rolled up and nowhere to go!

wow, they could be twins....

Rolled up and cut up....ready for next rising....

the dough was all nestled, snug in their beds-while visions of sticky buns danced in their heads...
Above is post rising, pre baking...

....and here is post-baking, pre 'flipping' (and I really need to learn a graceful way of flipping a 9x13 glass dish upside down onto a cookie sheet..)

Post the stressful flipping...

Voila! mmmm...these were so amazing..I can't even begin to tell you. I felt SO PROUD to have made something so involved.....We did not finish them all only because I KNEW that they must have a week's worth of sugar/fat content in just one...(ya, one what? One BITE maybe?!)

Heaven on a plate!

THANK YOU DORIE! I'm loving that spiced dough and will use it for more things for sure!!

TWD: Flaky Apple Turnovers

2009-09-15T13:02:00.013-04:00

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....

TWD: Chocolate Souffle!!

2009-09-08T21:42:00.013-04:00

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!!

Ina's Asian Grilled Salmon

Melissa D'Arabian's (the newest Food TV star) Salmon Cakes and Lemon-Thyme Orzo

Melissa D'Arabian's Chicken A L'orange with Fennel Cabbage Slaw and Crispy Potatoes

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....)

Bingo!!! THE definitive chocolate cake recipe!

2009-08-21T22:28:00.019-04:00

OK, so I have not been doing much blogging in light of the birth of my our little one--five weeks old this past Wednesday! I will say I DID make the banana bundt cake that everyone made a few weeks ago and LOVED it...but did not take photos...so I never made it an official posting!

Long before joining Tuesdays with Dorie baking club--and since joining--I have often lamented that I have not found 'THE' chocolate cake recipe that offers a 'box cake' moistness...

NOTE; this in no way is to offend Dorie Greenspan--my take is I am just not making her recipes for chocolate cake up to her standards! So THIS recipe I have found is super easy, (i.e. "dummy-proof") and gave me the cake texture I've been seeking....so just to be sure I point out that I'm sure if I had the exact technique that Dorie has, I would deem HER chocolate cake recipe the 'one'!)

The search is over (cue Survivor), I found the recipe today and I AM SO EXCITED! Well, actually I did not find it today, I had heard of it for some time..

Fellow TWD blogger, Nancy, of The Dogs Eat the Crumbs, told me in a comment in February to try Martha Stewart's 'One Bowl Chocolate Cake. It's taken me until NOW to do so.

The occasion was Dear Husband's birthday. He LOVES chocolate cake--problem is he does NOT love frosting..therefore, it leaves little room for error when doing scratch cakes. When a cake lacks moistness--I just slather on more frosting and drink more milk. He, on the other hand, has been stuck with many a dry mouthful of chocolate cake, and I'm sure has wished on many an occasion that I just do the 'box cake' and be done with it. And I almost did this year..almost!

Knowing the Birthday Boy does not enjoy frosting on cake-and knowing we were having our friends over for dinner led me to determine that cupcakes would be best--I could frost some, and leave others as they are.

I found Martha's One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes, which is basically taking the cake recipe and halving it. It's not only the BEST texture and moistness--it's the simplest recipe! Sift all dry ingredients in the mixer bowl..then add the liquid ingredients, mix until blended and presto! Cake batter! Indeed its simple nature made this a very "baby-friendly" recipe! I stopped and started about 3 times and never worried that I lost my place in the recipe! Plus, if needed I could do some of it with one hand while I held him in the other arm (I actually cracked 2 eggs with one hand with no shrapnel!)

And so now I've got it--THE recipe for a perfect chocolate cake--and in plenty of time for Jason's first birthday!

Next time I think I'll branch out and fill some with whipped cream a la "Hostess" and maybe do some peanut butter frosting/filling a la "Funny Bones." But for now, I'm just thrilled with having a go-to chocolate cake recipe! Thank you, Martha--and thank you Nancy for turning me onto it!

TWD --a bit on hold for now in light of the new arrival!

2009-07-28T00:00:00.000-04:00

Here he is...our first born...Jason!
Born July 15
9 lbs 1oz
22"

We're doing GREAT but I am just not sure when I'll get back to the next recipe--but I intend to be back in the Tuesdays with Dorie fold as soon as I can!

In the meantime, in lieu of a food creation, I give you a photo of our blessed creation! So in love with this face..I can't even tell you...!!

:) Lisa

TWD: Tribute to K.Hepburn Brownies

2009-07-07T00:00:00.002-04:00

This week in the Tuesdays With Dorie bake-it-and-blog-it club, the recipe was chosen by the winner of the logo design contest! You see her winning design here on the side of my blog--It perfectly represents Dorie--the combo of France, baking, etc! I love it! The winning artiste is Lisa from Surviving Oz and she chose for this week's recipe the one on page 96 of Dorie's Baking: From My Home to Yours "Tribute to Katherine Hepburn Brownies"

Just a reminder for those 'just joining us'--the Tuesdays With Dorie (TWD) club is a group who are baking our way through this cookbook. Every week a new (dessert) recipe. I've been out of it the past few weeks...so have not participated lately but was glad to hop back in the saddle with brownies!

I tried a brownie recipe-not one of Dorie's--back in April and it was a huge success according to Dear Husband (who just loves chocolate). Brownies are a fave in this house--so I was excited to try this interesting spin on them, in which Dorie adds both coffee and cinnamon to the batter. It also calls for nuts, which I normally omit in brownies--though I found new compromise by using finely chopped walnuts (vs coursely/rough chopped) and I think it added some welcome texture and flavor to this rich brownie.

They came together rather easily--I love the 'mixing bowl' recipes (vs hauling out the electric mixer). My pan is 9x9, not 8x8, so I kept checking them not knowning how the baking time would be affected--turns out I baked it about 5 min less than what was called for in the book, and they were baked to perfection!

I LOVE the texture of these--fudgy and moist! They really are an ideal brownie when it comes to texture and the chocolate taste/etc. The recipe is supposedly a fave of Kate Hepburn's (whose movies I just adore....and referenced in this post!) But, overall, for me, let's just say the coffee is not my cup of tea. They are basically 'coffee brownies' which is not a bad thing, but I was hoping for more subtle taste.

I can't wait to make these again and will admit I'll do so by removing the coffee/cinnamon combo and doing a classic walnuts/brownies. I think they'll rival the ones I made back in April for sure!

I would make the coffee flavored ones again, perhaps for entertaining or hostess gift for a dinner...they are really good, and its a neat twist, but it's just I'm a purist (read: boring, mainstream) who just likes her brownies chocolate, once in awhile with nuts and nothing else needed but a glass of milk.

Here is the other project I have going! The nursery is coming along!! 8 days until the due date...doctor appointment is tomorrow, I hope for progress, but seeing as I keep hearing "You haven't dropped yet" my guess is I'll be going past the due date..we shall see!

My very fave part of the nursery is the custom-made vinyl lettering/quote I ordered. I asked for the opening line of the best book ever: Goodnight, Moon and I think it came out great! It was hellish to get the thing up straight, but I am glad that I didn't give up (usually projects like this do not work for me..there was a very good chance the lettering would all have not stuck...or a letter be ripped/peeled off...but happily it's all up there-and looks like it'll stay too!!

Once the baby is here we'll know if we need a pink or blue rug/curtains/etc. In the meantime the next phase is framing up images/covers from favorite storybooks I remember loving when I was growing up. Books like Make Way for Ducklings; One Morning in Maine; Frog & Toad are Friends, the Little Engine the Could--I'm still deciding on the 'finalists'. I wanted a nursery that wasn't to 'theme' ridden, so figured just a few well placed framed children's book covers that were family favorites and this quote should do the trick! It's sort of a tip of the hat to my late mother, who was a librarian, loved kids books--and children in general--who had 5 kids of her own (I was 4th) and relished her role as 'Nana'. My baby may not know Nana in person--yet will be read all the stories that nana would surely have shared with them, just as she did with all of us.

TWD: Parisian Apple Tartlet!

2009-06-09T00:00:00.001-04:00

Well this is part 1...as my camera was accidentally put away in the 'on' position (such a Lisa thing to do, I can't even begin..) and so as I bake my apple tartlet now (Monday, 9:20pm) I cannot take any photos....I have enough puff pastry to do 'round 2' Tuesday night, so I shall try to follow up later tonight (Tue) with actual photos of a tartlet!

So as I wait for it to come from the oven I will comment that this recipe--for the Tuesdays with Dorie baking club--was chosen by Jessica from My Baking Heart. Visit her site for the recipe!

This one is super easy--though next time I shall make it more challenging and will try to make my own puff pastry. I found some great recipes here and there, and it just sounds like such a wonderful 'baking' sort of recipe to say that I have done...

But this week it was thanks to store-bought puff pastry that made the recipe so simple. Pastry, apple, brown sugar, pads of butter, oven. Done.

Dorie recommended using 100% butter pastry, and thanks to those in TWD, I came to find out that good ol' Trader Joe's sells it! Dear Husband and I LOVE Joe. The only bad thing is the closest stores to us are at least 30 min away. So we tend to go once a month or so and stock up. I took a special jaunt there Sunday and was thrilled to find the Puff Pastry there. My Plan B was the Whole Foods in that same town (again, the closest one to us). But happily Joe came through. Not only that, but the 'sample' of the day was the Joe Joe's cookies (basically Oreo type cookie). Somehow I passed the sample counter...uh...3 times I think? Each time taking a cookie. I figured the baby belly I've got going on would mean no one would cut me off...and I used 'strategery' and only went back up to the counter for subsequent visits when the employee left her post so that she did not see the pregnant lady chow down on 4 cookies (because I just lied--it wasn't 3 times that I went up to the counter, it was 4! But I more than made up for it-- because I ended up just buying a box)

while I'm at it, here is an image of the pastry I found there:

The dinger just went off--they look so great!! Reminds me of a nest--which makes me think these would be neat for an Easter or Spring timed special dinner! Time note: I set it first for 15 min, so I could check on progress...apples were not done, so I threw another 7.5 min on timer. ONe thing I did notice was the sugar/butter dribbled off the top and onto the sheet on one of them, did not stay on the pastry. I guess I'll take that one, give Dear Husband the 'good' one....They are sitting out now as I know I'll scald my tongue off should I attempt to eat now.

(Dessert Break...)

Verdict: we love these! They are the perfect portion, and would compliment many type of meal! I will try to make again Tues evening so I have actual photos-but I must say this was one of the Dorie recipes where what came out of my oven actually really did look like the photo in the book!

What lovely timing..a Parisian recipe on the heels of the French Open! Congratulations Roger Federer!! (my very very fave!)

TWD: Cinnamon Squares

2009-06-02T00:00:00.001-04:00

This week, in the Tuesdays With Dorie baking club (in which we are baking our way through Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours) Tracey of Tracey's Culinary Adventures chose the recipe on page 210-211--CINNAMON SQUARES!

In reading the TWD comments/questions on this particular recipe there seemed to be a lot of folks who do not like the combo of cinnamon and chocolate. It made me wonder if it would be another recipe like last week when, to me, the combo of brownies and chocolate chip cookie dough were two powerful forces that combined to a not-so-perfect dessert. (I liked it, but reported back that I thought the 2 amazing recipes sort of canceled each other out). Would this week's flavor combo--two other favorites of mine namely chocolate and cinnamon fall to the same fate?? The answer is....sort of. I'm on the fence, and think I need a reality check.

Let's back up to a year ago, before I joined Tuesdays with Dorie. I loved to bake, but kept things to a simple repertoire...though I did branch out and try my first 'from scratch' cake just prior to joining TWD. This led me to want to bake more, and perfect timing, it was very soon after that my college roomie Cathy approached me about TWD.

So I think that the past 2 recipes I have been hard on Ms. Greenspan--saying that desserts aren't ones I 'loved'--when really, when I step back and think about it, they really are amazing recipes. I think with desserts like the Pear Tart and the French Yogurt Cake, or Banana Cream Pie, and some of the others we've done--that have sent me off for days saying how amazing they are, that they are the 'best' recipes yet, and other such praise, that when a recipe does not garner THAT over-the-top reaction, I tend to say "eh, it's good, it's ok" as I did last week--and was about to this week! I tasted the cinnamon squares again tonight, with the mindset of me 365 days ago--and know that I really like these--and that I would make them for guests for sure.

I thought that I need to come up with a rating scale...because basically let's face it, when you get an "this is good" in a Dorie recipe, it would translate to anyone else used to the norm brownie and cookies made-from-a-box as "amazing/great/out of this world." I think I'm becoming spoiled by some of the more fanciful desserts Dorie's book has sent my way?!

So although I did not do cartwheels in the kitchen (which probably would have been a bad idea--if not impossible-- at 34 weeks pregnant), I DID in fact really like the cinnamon squares. Are they a French Pear Tart? No--but they're not supposed to be either.

I can see having these squares at the end of meal, when coffee drinks are being poured as the flavors certainly lend themselves to a cup of coffee (no doubt in part because of the espresso powder we added.)

This recipe came together rather easily--I must admit I love the 'just mix in a bowl' (or 2 as this case) as it means I don't have to deal with the big Kitchen Aid. You basically make the cinnamon cake batter, pour half in a square pan, top with chocolate chips and cinnamon-sugar-espresso powder combination and then top with the 2nd half of the cake batter.

It called for an 8" square pan, and I only had 8.5" so I baked it under the time called for.

After cooling out on the cooling rack, I put together the frosting....
"Look, ma, 1 hand!"--a.k.a me stirring while I snap an action shot:

And with a few swoops of the spatula--voila!

Changes to recipe:
I found I had only 2 oz left of 'bittersweet' chocolate--so my recipe for the frosting is mostly 'semi' sweet chocolate w/ just 2 oz of bittersweet (and the layer of chocolate that is in the middle--bittersweet was called for, but its all semi-sweet.) Still tastes fine by me..though I tend to have a sweet tooth.

So, Dorie--if you are out there in blog-land, I apologize for my lackluster report last week--and for almost doing the same this week. These really are fun, tasty gooodies that I would serve again. If anything it's because some of your other recipes I have had the good fortune of baking from your book are THAT amazing that it spoiled me for some of the others that are fine, just as they are. (There I go quoting Bridget Jones's Diary again...oh that Darcy)

AND IN OTHER NEWS....
Had my baby shower this past weekend--was fabulous!! Had lots of family and friends, and my sisters and sisters-in-law threw me a great celebration! The only photo I have right now is one of me and my 2 sisters, back at my house at the end of a long--but fabulous--day! So 6 weeks and counting...after this weekend it's really hitting home: there really is a baby moving into the house!!

for the TWD bakers!

2009-05-26T17:12:00.002-04:00

I went to see a movie this weekend and saw this preview! Can't wait!!
(see post below for the recipe of the week post-Chipster Topped Brownies!)

TWD: Chipster-Topped Brownies

2009-05-26T10:30:00.004-04:00

Wow, I almost forgot today is Tues, not Monday! Posting 'late' for me--though it's still morning here in CT, usually I have this thing done the night before, ready to post at midnight...talk about a flashback to getting a paper done the day it's due!

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie baking recipe was chosen by Beth of Supplicious --Chipster-Topped Brownies....Reading this recipe I knew it was a recipe I would have tried anyway as it combines two of my very (VERY) favorite baked items--brownies and chocolate chip bar cookies...it has a brownie bottom and, as the name suggests, chocolate chip cookie dough on top!

The recipe came together rather easily, and I must add I am proud of myself that I even included the walnuts in the brownie batter, as called for (as for me, walnuts are not necessary...I love my brownies pure and simple and un-cluttered). I told myself "If I have them, I'll use them...I'm not going to buy them just for this"....I must say I love my pantry now that I am involved in our TWD club--it means that now I have a constant stash of chocolate (though never the kind I need--I still had to go out and get unsweetened) and a decent stash of various nut products---some unopened, others half-gone, stored in various zip lock bags. I found pecans...almonds (slivered almonds as well as sliced..) peanuts, and I found a bag of 'finely' chopped walnuts. The recipe called for 'roughly chopped' (or something similar) I believe--but I LOVE that I had the finer diced version as it meant the walnuts would not be dominating the bites of brownie.

It's basically making 2 recipes--as you have to make the brownie batter, then start over and make the chocolate chip cookie dough. (Note to self: buy extra bowl for KitchenAid mixer so I have a spare to use straight away rather than washing/drying/etc and then starting over...)

I was so tempted to stop when I saw the brownie batter in the pan...I do so love brownies! Here is the cookie dough plopped on top (I almost left like this thinking it would just melt evenly in the oven..but I didn't want to chance it, so got out the offset spatula and did as told):

The glitches I had here came with the baking time...I baked it just about 50 min and found I had a fabulous looking outer crust--nice and golden. But....the knife test came out smeared in cookie dough (and some brownie...unless it was melted chocolate chips?)

So I threw foil over the top and baked another 5 minutes--still had the issue...baked 5 more and then worried that the brownies would be terribly overdone, so I bailed and took it out, as I knew the majority of the pan was done, it was just that middle that seemed to keep it's gooey texture.

I love the new 'trick' I learned (not new at all to veteran bakers, but to me it's a godsend). The last time I baked brownies--the.best.ever--I discovered the parchment paper liner technique allowing you to lift them out easily (especially for a 'corner' lover like myself! When you cut them in the pan -vs-lifting out on handy parchment and cutting out of the pan, many times the corners won't really come undone all the way and get left behind. But with parchment--it all stays intact!

Here is what I mean...look at that tasty corner, just waiting for me! Parchment paper rules.

After it cooled to room temp I cut them all up--and found the very middle had a 'middle earth' area that was still undone. The top was great, the bottom part of the brownie was great, but the top half of the brownie and the bottom half of the cookie dough was still unset! ??? I just did away with those few pieces and had plenty to go around!

Here are the throw-away pieces from the very center of the pan.

You can see the divot in the middle that I made when I was testing for doneness...

And here is a close-up of a still unfinished dough:

So Dear Husband came around, asking how everything was going and I summed it up with the following: "two worlds are colliding in here....brownies and pan cookies....either it will be a match made in heaven, or utter chaos" Would you like to hear his reply? "That's what your brother said when we started dating.." (Background=Dear Husband and I have only been together for 6yrs--married for 3, but he and my brother have been the closest of friends since grammar school. So for us to get together was definitely a Seinfeld moment where my brother's "family" and "friends" worlds were all of a sudden colliding before his eyes)

Dear Husband and I share a love for brownies and bar cookies....love, love them. With that said, we did not LOVE this recipe. I liked it a lot, I find myself nibbling on them throughout the day and going back for more, but I keep thinking "these would have been great brownies" or "I should make bar cookies."

So unlike the success of Dear Husband and I combining into a better 'one', for me, when it comes to brownies and pan cookies, they each operate better as a solo gig and never the twain shall meet. For me, neither really 'shines' and they cancel each other out. They're good and all, but I think my expectations were set a bit high...

TWD: Fresh Mango Bread

2009-05-19T00:00:00.000-04:00

Well this week I am back from 2 weeks off of blogging...and must say I was pleasantly surprised by this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, Fresh Mango Bread, chosen by Kelly of Baking with the Boys!

Mango is a funny fruit to me. It's one of these fruits I rarely have, but not for any true reason...I like the taste of it and all, and when I do have mango (usually in the form of a tropical drink of some sort, admitedly) I think to myself, "Now why don't I eat mango more?" Same with kiwi, pineapple....the more tropical fruits. Most likely because they are all products of some far off sunny spot, far from the Northeast corner of CT.

Still, for some reason I was not so sure I would like this bread--the raisin, the fruit....I must admit now I am really not very sophistique when it comes to my baked sweets...I had my doubts...Yet I am pleased to announce my horizons have been broadened...because this bread, something I thought was more in line of a dish my mom would have loved truly grew on me! (uh-oh, does this mean I'm a grown-up?)

Oh--and speaking of growing...it did just that in the oven...grew and grew and when I checked on it 60 minutes in it had spilled over the top and onto the baking sheet (thank you Dorie for telling us to put it on a sheet! I know it was to prevent burning--but in my case it saved me from a mess in my oven!)

I was so upset my camera's battery needed to recharge...I have no snaps of the bread taking over the cookie sheet, spilling over the top of the bread pan! It did look pretty cool...(ok, so maybe I'm not so grown up?!)

I charged it up in time to show the cut away photo above....the only photo I have as its 8:40pm on a Monday and I must get this posted for Tues!

Notes overall--mine was finished in about 70-75 min...and still it was a bit done more than I expected. After checking on it an hour (when I saw the blob had emerged to take over my oven) it was already pretty brown...but the flavor is amazing!

Dear Husband was not convinced it was up his alley on Sunday night (I made it Sun afternoon). He is not a 'raisin' fan and suggested next time maybe omit the raisins...but he liked it, didn't love it. Then Monday night --just 2 minutes ago actually--he was eating it while I typed this and JUST said, "I think it's even better today." And I got all excited saying how thats EXACTLY what Dorie had mentioned in the footnotes of the recipe! We loved this recipe-- and nary a bittersweet chocolate chip in sight! Now that's a week to remember.

TWD: Chocolate Cream Tart

2009-04-28T00:00:00.000-04:00

It's that time of the week again...and lately that seems to mean me in kitchen...unwrapping bars of chocolate...chopping it.......tempering eggs to make a custard....(mind you, I am not complaining, we've just had our run of custard and chocolate recipes lately!)

This week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe was Chocolate Cream Tart, chosen by Kim of Scrumptious Photography.

I love chocolate cream pie...love, love it. And it's the kind of dessert I rarely buy, or order out...I was really looking forward to making this week's dish, seeing the posts on P&Q on TWD site-and hearing from fellow bloggers like Nancy, who promised this recipe would not disappoint.

The only thing I fear is I'M the one who will disappoint....Confession: I didn't make the tart crust for this....what's worse, I didn't make the crust at all..I used the frozen one that's been in the freezer the better part of 6 mos! It was another hectic weekend in the house, my 4 siblings came to town, some with niece/nephew in tow, and we were hopping back and forth between my house and my brother's a few miles away. He was putting up a basketball hoop in his driveway for his three kiddos, and needed help putting the finishing touch--backboard--up onto the pole....Some folks swung by our house as Dear Husband and I wanted to show off the progress we've made on the various paint jobs he's done around the house. So as much as this recipe called for a crowd, I did not make it until it was back to just the 2 of us on Sunday.

Since I am still "wishin' and hopin' and prayin'" for a large capacity food processor to tun out tart dough and other fun pastries (Yes, I know I can make in the mixer..but it never quite comes out the 'grainy' texture I look for) I flaked out (pun intended I suppose!) yet again and went for the frozen pie shell in the freezer that was begging to finally be used. "Use it to save it" as my grandmother would say...and so I did. It also meant I can take this recipe in piecemeal--focus on the filling, get it right, and then next time incorporate a home made crust.

The filling was amaaaazing! I loved this...It came together super easily and I'm a whiz now at the temper, stir and boil routine! Bring on the custards!
I put the filling together on Sunday morning and did the saran wrap on top-and-cool in refrigerator route most of the day. Here is the saran-wrapped filling:
Meanwhile, I baked the empty shell and it hung out on the counter until after dinner when I put it all together with the whipped cream...(is there anything more lovely than home-made whipped cream?!)

So here is the finished product....
I got a bit messy with the topping...not the best presentation (I urge you to visit other TWD bloggers for more creative takes on this!)
I'll definitely make this again--and we are enjoying it tonight, on day 2, so the whipped cream held up in the fridge....so I think it does not necessarily need to be eaten that day, as suggested.

Dear Husband (my chocolate connoisseur) admitted that with such a rich filling, a chocolate crust might actually have been too much chocolate for him, so he voted to go with a pie crust next time (I just vote that next time I make the crust..I feel like a farce using the store bought shell!)

So there you have it...not the best post I've ever had either...I'm rather distracted now that I have 'wi-fi' in the house and a new work laptop...I've got one eye on this post--and the other on my poor Yankees....looks like Detroit is not any better luck for them than Beantown was....Sigh...

Tuesdays (Sans) Dorie

2009-04-21T00:00:00.001-04:00

Yes, I had designs on doing my own brioche..using Dorie's recipe, using half for the raisin pinwheels the other half of the dough for the brioche-bread pudding...Then the weekend totally went out of control...I scaled down to: "I'll go buy some brioche and just do it that way.." but then the more I thought about it, the more I thought I could not be trusted with bread pudding in the house--CHOCOLATE bread pudding at that...and I have a major date with the chocolate cream tart next week and was loving the torte last week...what's a mom-to-be to do when she's gaining weight every week as it is?! Plus, the big thing is I feared I had no one to share it with beyond Dear Husband, and I wasn't so sure it was up his alley.

So, I was going to forgo all of baking this week. Then I thought that I wanted to make my guy something special seeing as we celebrate 3 year wedding anniversary Wednesday...(here we are 3 yrs ago, April 22!) and because he worked super hard out in our yard all weekend (Spring was in the air all weekend up in CT this weekend! It was sunny and in the 70's! Gorgeous!) Dear Husband LOVES dark chocolate...I thought cake at first but THEN I remembered seeing the recipe for "Perfect Chocolate Brownies" as I browsed through Phe-Mom-enon's blog last week!

It wasn't a cheap recipe by any means, as I took this opportunity to finally upgrade my cocoa powder from the rather pedestrian Nestle (forgive me expert bakers for being so mainstream!) to something better. The spree did not end there as the recipe called for 11oz dark chocolate...the higher end the better...and at about $1/ounce it did not come cheaply....but I wanted to give this recipe the best shot.

And I'm so glad I did!! Because the result were the.most.amazing brownies I have EVER had!

I did not take photos of it in progress as I was trying hard to follow the recipe (there are very specific instructions to ensure your brownies are not 'cakey' and are moist and 'fudge-like' so I had to focus all energies on that!)

Find recipe here which will take you to the day PheMOMenon posted the recipe, adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking (not only is her post that day about these perfectly heavenly moist brownies, but about her new gig as a writer for Examiner.com as the Salt Lake "Baking Examiner"! Impressive!) It's a rather easy recipe to get together--no electric mixer needed--just double boiler, bowls and the yummy ingredients. I am not one for nuts in my brownies, but these are SO incredibly dense and fudgy that they could very well compliment them...but for me they are perfect!! :) So a shout-out to the Phe-Mom-enon for sharing this recipe! I'd like to think it means that one I will have a child who brags, "MY mom makes the BEST brownies!"

TWD: (Three-Hour and) Fifteen-Minute Chocolate Amaretti Torte

2009-04-14T00:00:00.004-04:00

This week on Tuesdays with Dorie--the baking club made of the most fabulous members who follow a new recipe-a-week from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From my Home to Yours--we made a chocolate torte, chosen by club member Holly of Phe/MOM/enon (another clever blog name!)

Now..it's actually called "Fifteen Minute" Chocolate Torte--but you're on the blog of someone who can never make a 30-minute meal in under 60 min....so seeing as I made this, on Monday night, while trying to make dinner....well, let's say I started it between 5 and 6pm and Dear Husband and I did not cut into until about 9pm. (OK, I "get" that the 15 min refers to the prep time to get it into the oven---but let's be real too, the recipe starts off assuming you have ALREADY melted and cooled the bittersweet chocolate...so I think its a bit of a misnomer...but hey, it's probably the most amazing torte I've ever had, so in the words of "Fish" (from Ally McBeal, not Barney Miller) "bygones")

But first a story--so way back during my holidays growing up, there was always that time of the holiday dinner where the kids had gotten up from the (kids') table and were already running every which direction, the adults were chatting...men in dad's study by his TV, and ladies around the dining room table getting out the desserts and finishing up the dishes. It's about this time I would sometimes be collared and by my mom as I ripped through the kitchen to chase someone, or run from someone and my mom would say "Go and tell your father to bring out the liqueurs"--and she'd say the word "liqueurs" with a neat sort of French accent, stressing the second syllable...always making me think that perhaps she was being fancy and did not want to say the mundane word, "liquor"...come to find out that liqueurs were indeed the a special 'type' of liquor--the after-dinner cordials...and they lived up to their fancy sounding name with their fancy and unique bottles...and the fancy pieces of mini stemware from which the ladies would sip them....So I'd go tell Dad, and sometimes help him carry in everything from his wet bar in the study to be placed out for the adults to pour along with their desserts. Everything from "the tall one" (Galliano---which was a yellow color that always reminded me and my siblings of the the amber colored liquid Actifed cold medicine we'd have to take whenever we had colds). I'd admire "the globe" (Chambord) and "the monk" (Frangelico) amongst the other random offerings like "B&B", Crown Royal, white schnapps, and all the other whiskeys/bourbons/etc...And, of course, the subject at hand today: the boxy one with the square top, aka: Disaronno.

And into the dining room buffet or table they would all be lined up with the desserts for all the aunts/uncles/grandmothers to choose their 'poison.' I can hear my great-aunt Agnes now asking my dad, "John, can you pour me a Tia Maria...." And while dad tended to the drinks, mom tended to putting out the desserts...and in the midst of Aunt Margaret's pumpkin pie, apple pie...cookies, etc was always a mysterious tall red tin of cookies. I'd always want to try one, but I'd get close, take a whiff and run the other way. Our family eventually just called them the "booze cookies" as we were told they were made with what was sitting on the table in that square bottle...so we would blow them off (yes, I was young, I thought it was gross...now, had someone told me they tasted a lot like "Stella D'oro Breakfast treats" back in the day, I would have been all over them!)

So I grown up seeing that red tin...which later stood in our kitchen cabinet and was used for other food storage..and to this day we'll kid about the "booze cookies" that we all avoided like the plague not liking the smell of them. (Remember, this was a LONG time ago...fast forward to these days--when prior to pregnancy I will definitely enjoy my coffee+amarettos!)

It was a 'flashback' for me to read that the same di Saronno amarettini cookies were in Dorie's recipe this week. Yet now, 30 some years later, when I WANT to find these darn things, I could not. I finally settled on another brand of mini amaretti cookies from another Italian distributor...but I really was hoping to get back to my 'roots' and find that red tin. I'm determined to find it again and have it at MY next holiday gathering.......where I will also be serving this melt-in-your-mouth decadent chocolate torte!

Yes...back to the torte....as I said, I threw it together on Monday night....because it took me until Sunday to find the cookies! (Thank God--no pun intended--for Easter. I think that was why I found them randomly at a shop that would not normally carry them..they had a display of cookies out for the holiday). So I don't have any photos of the torte in the making, but here it is out of the oven....

And here is my cream+chocolate sitting ready for the big stir...

and here is the glaze that went on top after it cooled...all lookin' glossy-like and yummy!

I threw the glaze on the cake at 8:30.....

and by 9pm after the required 30 min 'chill' to set the glaze, we were digging in.

FYI,I passed on making the whipped cream as I could not stand the thought of another kitchen clean-up after finally cleaning up from dinner +torte making. So I chickened out and took out the RediWhip! Plus I plan to freeze half of this as there is no way we can allow ourselves to eat this whole thing, but we could so very easily!

Here was the scene of our taste test. I cut out a small piece and plated it. Threw on some dots of whipped cream...took a fork to it, as did Dear Husband...we look up at each other, mouths full, eyes W-I-D-E open and we both just started to chuckle a laugh, shaking our heads as if to say, "there is no way we can be left alone with this thing..." I told him my plan was to freeze half and he agreed.

I can't tell you how much enjoyment we have out of these recipes each week! And I just love the fact that it seems the majority of the time, he is always telling me "this one is my favorite so far!"

Check out Holly's blog for the recipe--and check out all the blog members of Tuesdays With Dorie in the blogroll! I assure you, you'll find better bakers than I who probably did really fun things this week with mini tortes, or a different spin on the batter/glaze...I tend to do mine 'by the book' for the first go-round...

TWD: Banana Cream Pie!!! (aka: Gilligan & Skipper, this one's for you!)

2009-04-07T00:00:00.000-04:00

So every time I hear Coconut Cream Pie or Banana Cream Pie I think of Gilligan's Island. Though I think the coconut variety is what was mentioned most, when she wasn't convinced she was Ginger, or singing with the Honey Bees, or switching personalities with The Professor in some crazy contraption, or doing a soft shoe dance in a talent show, Mary Ann was always walking around handing out a pie of some sort for the boys.

This week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe, chosen by Amy of Sing for your Supper, was Banana Cream Pie.

It was almost the pie that never was....I can't believe how close i came to not even trying this...how close I came to never knowing what a knock-out-of-the-park (on baseball opening weekend yet) it was!

To make a 'long story longer' as a friend of mine says,here we go: I was doing so well baking ahead in March, but then April snuck up on me. I was out on Saturday most of the day so when Sunday came around I was out of the house by 8am to do the dreaded grocery shopping, unpacked it all then went back out to make Mass,for a change, for Palm Sunday...ran over to Kohls afterwards to see about any sales in the maternity dept as I find myself with absolutely nothing to wear to work to cover this this baby belly of mine....and then came home and thought the defeatist words, "I guess I can skip this week.." Mind you, I had already bought the heavy cream and the bananas and some extra eggs---and had all the other ingredients, the list was pretty simple this week. I even had purchased ---as a back-up in case my dough did not come out---Pillsbury 'roll out and bake' pie dough. But still, what really was stopping me was the thought that I would make the pie--and either (a) most would go to waste because it's just Dear Husband and I in the house...or (b) I would eat way too much of it BEFORE dumping the rest...

Fast forward (over a quick nap on the couch) to 3:30 Sunday when we get a call from my sweet nephew--inviting us over for dinner....the wheels start turning in my head.....I look at the clock close to 4...and wondered, "can I really do this?" What I realized was the invitation to dinner=seven people (brother, sis-in-law and their 3 kids--hoping they would try it!) to eat the pie-vs-two. It meant I would also be confined to just ONE piece so as not to tip the scales at my monthly check up on Wednesday (more than I will as it is!)

I have no photos of the pie-in-the-making because I was doing it in such a rush. Probably a good thing because it was not a pretty sight. And yes, I cut to the case and DID use that Pillsbury dough/crust!

It was the Battle of '09: Lisa-vs-Time. I won, but not without casualties. The kitchen counter looked like a war zone. Oh the humanity....as the haze of cornstarch and confectioners sugar cleared, into view came the eggshell shrapnel.....the flood---(water everywhere on one counter from the part where I cooled the pan of custard by putting it into a bowl of water which was hastily filled too high) Weapons strewn about in form of whisk, wooden spoon, and about 3 different rubber spatulas...teaspoon measuring spoons...sour cream residue in the tablespoon....3 soulless banana peels left on the field...empty carton of heavy cream...sifter, strainer PLUS an insert from our salad spinner (the brown sugar would NOT strain through anything else--so I picked the colander thingy from the inside of the spinner to do the job...it worked!)...And there, at the end of the counter, the only one left standing besides me--my trusty Yellow Kitchen Aid having gone a round with the whipped cream, still plugged in, whisk attachment still attached over an empty stand as the bowl had long been taken from it...it was the only one left in an upright position as if to say, "That's all you got? Bring it." As I gave her yellow back a pat, I told her she done good...we would live to fight another day. And in the end, a pie sat sitting in the fridge...and by 5:45 we were off to big brother's house with it in hand.

Now, back to actual 'baking' feedback. Based on other P&Q posts on twd site, I had a similar experience with the custard....I thought all was lost as I continually whipped it...and whipped it...waiting for it to boil. It was a bit frothy from the get-go from pouring in the milk--it stirred up some bubbles, not 'boiling' bubbles) It was not boiling, then all of a sudden I saw a thick edge start to form and freaked out thinking it was curdling and I just wasted a chance at my banana cream pie dessert. So I lowered the heat, whisked it more and then this great smooth custard formed. But it never boiled...? I kept it on the heat a bit longer, then threw in the vanilla and let it sit for the 5 minutes...then put it into a bigger pan of water (thus the overflow flood on the counter).

I gave up on the pan as every time I stirred it it would spill out more water. So then figured I'd just fill the sink a bit with cold water, threw ice cubes into it and put the pan in to cool its jets while I whipped up the cream. The whipped cream was not super 'smooth' I think I over whipped it...it was a bit porous..Not sure how to explain it...but it did not look like the nice smooth cream I was hoping for--but still, it tasted right, and at this point I was not hoping to win any 'presentation' awards knowing that I had to fit my 9" crust into a 9.5" pie plate as it was...I missed out on a nicer thicker crust too.

Now as for taste. My brother has three great kids (12, 10 and almost 9)..all of whom were very willing to try this. After dinner was cleared I doled out the pieces to them all...kids got their first, followed by adults. By the time I went to sit down to start eating my piece, I looked across the table and my 2 nephews (the 12 and 8yr old) were already scraping the edge of the forks on their empty plates to get the last bit of whipped cream/custard! That was all I needed to tell me it was going to be a great pie! And indeed it was! Next time I'll do my own crust, but it's the custard that makes this. My sister-in-law picked up on the cinnamon and nutmeg right away. It definitely adds a nice depth to the taste and shows off the bananas well.

I am SO HAPPY I made this, and even happier when I heard Dear Husband say to that he'd love to grab the last piece that was left in my pie plate and take it back home with us because it was one of the best desserts he's had yet! He was still talking about the pie Monday morning as we both got ready for work...saying "who knew a dessert without chocolate could taste THAT good?" Gilligan & Skipper would have loved it!! My kitchen has been put back together, so bring on the amaretto torte next week!

Here is the photo of the aftermath..with Dear Husband's piece he saved for Monday night's NC game. As I 'go to press' (and pre-publish Mon night) he is hoping for a Tar Heels win...we shall see!

TWD: Blueberry Crumb Cake

2009-03-24T00:00:00.005-04:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was chosen by Sihan, of the blog, Befuddlement. I urge you to visit her blog for the recipe, because you won't be disappointed!

I am such a sucker for anything slightly resembling a coffee cake....My 2 sisters and I get this from our Mom, of that I am sure. She was a big fan of coffee treats/coffee cakes. Back in the day it was Viking...then it was Entenmann's..and sometimes a Sara Lee..and other times Mom would whip up her own quick breads--orange, lemon---the almond was my favorite because it reminded me of Stella D'oro breakfast treats (ANOTHER fave of mom's).

These days my sisters and I will let each other know if anyone spots a Sara Lee Butter Streusel Coffee Cake--that was 'THE' coffee cake for the 3 of us--we could polish off an entire cake on a Sunday morning easily!

To this day when my sisters and I gather, we usually make a point to set the meeting time for late morning--I think it's because we all know it means an extra pot of coffee...and treats of some sort!

I wish I had a gathering planned when I made this blueberry crumb cake, because it would fit the bill so perfectly!

I made it a few weeks back upon seeing that fresh blueberries were on sale at my grocery store. Everything came together so easily for the batter--this and the yogurt cake were such simple recipes that taste like they take more effort than they truly do!

I took for granted that I had walnuts in the house--and found that I actually barely had any--only had 1/2 of what the recipe called for--so I used half walnut-half slivered almonds for the topping--came out great!

The only downfall was the top came out baked a bit more well-done than I wanted...I sacrificed the edges and topping to be sure the middle was baked through. It was not burned by any means, but it just meant the pieces closest to an edge were drier than I wanted.

I brought half into work, and Dear Husband and I enjoyed the other half. Everyone seemed to really like this one..

I can't wait to make this summer when I can get out and pick some blueberries locally ...I have a favorite blueberry cobbler recipe--so this will be a nice spin on another blueberry recipe when I end up with more blueberries than one can shake a stick at and am looking for something beyond muffins and cobbler!

It's been starred in Dorie's cookbook for me now...2 weeks in a row, 2 home run recipes!!

TWD:FRENCH YOGURT CAKE (sans marmalade)

2009-03-17T00:00:00.001-04:00

This week, on Tuesdays With Dorie--follow Lisa as she goes hunting to 4 stores for lemon marmalade....and a small container of 'plain' yogurt that is not 'Greek'...

OK, so the official name of the recipe this week was French Yogurt Cake with Marmalade Glaze ....but I fell short both the 'yogurt' and 'marmalade' ingredients..but thankfully I still came up with a great tasting cake!!

I made this a few weekends ago when we found ourselves with a cold rainy day here in the Northeast...

I decided it was an opportune afternoon for a cozy treat. I trekked out and basically hit any epicure/grocery store I could find and sought out the 'lemon marmalade'....guess what folks, it's just not in these here 'parts.' I found lemon curd, orange marmalade-but never marmalade of the lemon persuasion. If that wasn't bad enough, the only plain yogurt I could find was in those huge tubs...no store had just 'plain' yogurt in the handy single-serving portions...there was every other flavor you can think of (and some I would rather not think of)....I saw Greek yogurt in those smaller size containers, but knowing that Dorie ALSO has a version of this that uses Greek yogurt made me think it is not the same flavor as 'plain.' I did not want to buy the big tub o' plain, because I knew I'd have little use for the majority of it as the recipe did not call for all that much (and I do have a habit of buying a special ingredient for a recipe that I only use a small amount of, leaving me with a lot of waste/leftover that I tell myself I will use, but never do...) So after about 4 stores I made 2 executive decisions:

1- use a lemon juice+confectioners sugar glaze recipe Dorie mentions in the 'Bundt Cake' section of the book (I think it was under the Banana Bundt Cake recipe, just fyi)

2- don't go buying the huge container of plain yogurt--go with my favorite Stonyfield Organic Vanilla yogurt....vanilla -vs- plain isn't all that 'off'

The cake came together rather easily....QUESTION: I had some slivered almonds that I ground in the processor as the recipe calls for, but the almonds still had the 'brown' outer to it--was that right? I'm thinking I should have used the almonds that have all that outer layer off of it...because my batter looked rather freckled due to that...but hey, if you ask anyone (except Jan Brady) freckles aren't all THAT bad....they add character.

So the cake came TOGETHER easily...but did not want to lift out of the bread pan easily....I was so disappointed....I think I may have tried to get it out of the pan too soon....guess I was too excited. So some chunks from it were left over in the bottom...I tried to scrape it out and 'patch' it back to the underside of the cake....thankfully this was not going to be served to any guests!

BUT it did mean I was able to 'test' the cake sooner than I thought...I grabbed some from the remnants in the pan and was DELIGHTED at the taste!!

I whipped up the lemon juice-confectioners sugar glaze for the top and it settled in nicely to the texture of the cake...

This will MOST DEFINITELY be a go-to recipe for me (I will make at Easter no doubt!) I can't say I taste 'vanilla' all that much, so don't think my substitution of vanilla yogurt for plain made a bad influence....

The recipe this week was chosen by Liliana of My Cookbook Addiction (one of my favorite blog names in our Tuesdays With Dorie community!) Visit her blog for fantastic creations, and for this recipe!!

Once again, thanks to the organizers of the this blog--and Dorie of course--I whipped up something I probably would not have found if it was not for this cookbook, and it has fast become a favorite recipe....funny, this and French Pear Tart stand out in my mind lately for my favorites...what is it with the "French" named recipes?? Je nais se quoi! (did I spell that right?)

Hope everyone enjoyed this cake as much as we did...I can't wait to make it again!!

PS: Happy St. Patrick's Day! I made the best Irish Soda Bread this weekend!! I will post photos/recipe later this week!

TWD: Caramel Crunch Bars

2009-02-24T00:00:00.001-05:00

Whitney of What’s Left on the Table chose Caramel Crunch Bars this week for our Tuesdays With Dorie baking!

Now the thing is..I made these 3 weeks ago, which is good for a procrastinator like me; however I'm beginning to think I should have WROTE 3 weeks ago as well as I am trying to refresh my memory of anything in particular that I can lend to those who made/will make these!

I whipped them up in the hopes that I could bring them for dessert when, on Superbowl Sunday (ooops, will the NFL allow me to say that? I guess I meant "the BIG game"), my brother called up and asked if Dear Husband and I wanted to come hang at their house. I was making chili as well, so tried to throw these together at the same time. The chili made it to the party, but the dessert was not 'set' enough to bring along. So, I wrapped and froze most of them that night, and made sure to keep some out for taste testing! (Side note because I love this story: turns out a dessert was not needed...because I showed up to see a cake being frosted at my brother's house by my sister-in-law and her 2 youngest. Apparently that morning when they were at church they were told that it would have been Nana's--my mom's--70th birthday that day, Feb 1st. So they told my sister in law that they should bake a birthday cake for her. I can't tell you how it melted my heart when I walked in and they said "We made a cake for nana!" Mind you, these 2 youngest of my brother's 3 kids are ages 8 and 9, and never met her as she passed away before their time--but the fact that they have all this love for her through our stories and talking about her...does it get any better than that?? Sure they wanted a cake too, but they were so sincere about her birthday that I kid you not, it really was about nana as much--if not, more-than the cake.)

So back to caramel crunch bars--these are a super easy, super quick dessert you can throw together--and great dessert for a crowd --as they're made in 13x9 pan. (Just leave time for the 'setting' of the chocolate). Everything--from what I can recall--went fine putting the recipe together--here they are right out of the oven:

I loved the bittersweet chocolate with the caramel--great combination. My husband was a big fan. He probably liked them more than I, only because I am not a huge toffee fan (the whole thing with sticking to and in my teeth is my issue--which plays into my love-hate relationship with the Butterfinger. I love the taste, but hate the feeling of the sticky build up of candy in my teeth...)

And, allow me to share this...only because I am so excited about it....Some years ago I tried to start knitting..and it failed miserably. I picked up the needles again about 2.5 yrs ago, made a scarf for me, and one baby blanket for my nephew, and then I let it go again....thinking how I really WANTED to do something more involved (socks..a hat...mittens), but somewhat convinced myself not to even try because I may not be able to do it. (Why I am a defeatist like this at times is beyond me).

Well, fellow bloggers, bakers, (and the only other reader--probably you, dad!) perhaps it was the fact that I conquered the fear of making caramel for our TWD Floating Islands--or maybe it was finally NOT avoiding a recipe that used a candy thermometer on that frosting last week..whatever it was, I found myself up early, marched over to the cedar hope chest where I keep my knitting stuff, took out a beginner baby hat pattern and accompanying circular needle that I bought ages ago, and I knit my very first baby hat! It took a few hours because I had to start over at one point (any knitters out there? I did not realize until a few rows of stockinette stitch that when knitted in the round it's simply "knit" ALL rows-not every other row...how easy is that?!) So that set back did put me off a bit, but thankfully I figured it out in time!

I have come to realze I like knitting for similar reasons I like baking....it is a set recipe (pattern); with very measured ingredients (specific needle size; gauge)...and if I follow it to the letter, one step at a time, it turns a 'daunting' task (baby hat; French Pear Tart; Floating Island; pair of socks) into a reality! Now, perhaps once I get comfy with it, I'll start doing my own alterations on yarn and patterns/etc (as I will do with baking now and then when I realize I don't have the ingredients called for -i.e. using Oreos instead of cake crumbs for the cake last week). But for now, I am also fine in a comfort zone of just following something by the letter. I made a hat and I can't believe something so small has made me feel so good about myself! I swear I felt like yelling up and down the street to the neighbors "I belled the mouse!!! I belled the mouse!!" (any Looney Toons fans out there will 'get' that reference)

Here is the big project from Saturday to go along with the REALLY big project-in-the making! I am just about half way through this pregnancy! 20 weeks tomorrow out of 40!

The blue yarn was the only bulky yarn I had, so don't think the color means anything specific! We are still waiting to find out the gender until its born in July....so if it's a girl, then I'll throw a pink pom-pom on top of it by next winter! :)

TWD: Devil's Food White-Out Cake

2009-02-17T00:00:00.003-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie Recipe was chosen by Stephanie of Confessions of a City Eater...and it is not just 'any' recipe-it's the one from the very cover of our 'bible' here on TWD!

(NOTE: mine won't look like that, I'll tell you now...'close' but not quite up to Dorie standards!)

There's always a story...and here 'goes.

So I baked the cake layers on Friday night...and come to find out the baking sheet called for (it said to bake the layer pans on a cookie sheet) decided to warp in the heat of the oven (what the...?! Now I know it happens at high heat, but why this happened at a mere 350 surprised me.) So, what it meant is I had lopsided cake layers b/c the sheets tilted. I rotated half-way through hoping I could counter act this, but the damage was done I'm afraid. See??!

So then from Friday night to Saturday morning I went through my options;
- keep in 2 layers, rather than splitting each horizontally in half, but it would leave me with no cake layer to 'crumble' for the outer finishing touch (refer to book photo-there are three "1/2" layers, the 4th half-layer is then crumbled and pressed into the frosting
- try to cut the least 'slanty' one so I had the cake crumbs to add to the outer frosted finish cake, leaving me with one thick layer, one thin layer for the inside
- make a 'box' cake quickly just to have a 'crumble' cake for the outer
- None of the above, improvise, darnit--you're a creative person!

So it was then, around 12 midnight as I was mindlessly flipping channels thinking about my cake that I came up with the "save." I've got one word for you: OREOS.

So my plan became:
- keep in 2 layers, don't try to cut each uneven layer into more uneven half-layers, and make a 2-layer cake with crumbled Oreos for the outside finishing touch! Oreos being black and white perfectly fit into the theme of the cake....and not only that, but I actually had Oreos in the house! (I've been making so many Dorie treats that I have not bought cookies in ages--but I saw the 2-fer sale on them last week and grabbed them in a moment of weakness!)

So then Saturday morning was for the frosting...it seemed to take awhile for the sugar concoction to get to the right temperature..I waited and waited...my egg whites sat patiently waiting for me to give them a spin when the temp was almost 'there' so I could time it right...and I was so worried about the egg whites being done too SOON that I did not pay attention to them being done too LATE! The temp hit the appointed number and my egg whites were not ready! So then I tried to play with the heat on the sugar/water and urged my egg whites along (I'd like to think all the "c'mon! hurry up!!" yelling I did at the Kitchen Aid and egg whites did the trick!)

And so all's well that ends well..here is my yummy (and W.O.W is this frosting AMAZING!!) frosting!

I assembled the cake, frosted and threw the crushed oreos on the outside, and held back doing anything with the top..at first..

And then, because I made it on Valentine's Day, I got out my chocolate chips in regular and 'mini' size and played around a bit...here is the finished product! (Heart w/ arrow through it...or so I hope it looks that way to everyone..because it does to me! At other times, at a glance, I can't help but think those mini chips almost look like rosary beads..but really, it's a heart/arrow!)

Here is a cut slice--see? Just not that attractive--but the taste made up for the lack of 3 perfect layers. I think in hindsight the thinner layers and more frosting in between would have made it amazing..so I will try again someday and cut the layers, but I still THOROUGHLY enjoyed (and still am enjoying now on Monday night) this cake. And being a fan of Oreos, I like having them on the outside for some different texture..

Dear Husband loved the cake, so it's another winner! He's not a fan of frosting on cake type of guy, which I have come to accept (Yet I still don't understand because to me, nothing beats that perfect forkful of cake & frosting!)

I have to say this cake came out better than the chocolate cupcakes back in October, so I am one step closer to finding 'the' perfect chocolate cake (being devil's food though, not quite the perfect 'moist' cake I keep seeking). So all in all, we loved it. And again, this frosting: heavenly! I will use it for future recipes I am sure!! I truly could not stop licking the bowl...

And thanks to Nabisco, for saving the day...Oreos always were my favorite (store-bought) cookie!!

I think I shall call this version my "Dor-eo" cake!

Who needs Easter eggs?

2009-02-11T09:43:00.014-05:00

Maybe it's the springtime rainbow colors...or maybe it was something about the heart shape that just is pleasing--though I expect it's really the simple fact that they are chocolate cupcakes that caught my eye..Whatever it is, this MS Living cover photo stopped me in my grocery cart tracks this week, and now I REALLY want to give these a try....I've already emailed my 9 year old niece that she and I need to put this on a 'to bake' list! I thought of her right away when I saw it--probably because the heart shape form of cupcakes in happy colors remind me of her happy go lucky, silly, and loving spirit. Here she is at my wedding in '06--see what I mean? Happiest girl in town...

Her 10th birthday falls on Easter this year--so the wheels are turning already---I think this year calls for coloring cupcakes along with the eggs!

TWD: Floating Island

2009-02-10T00:00:00.001-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, Floating Island, was chosen by Shari of one of the many great blogs in our club here--Whisk. If you have not yet read her blog, I urge you to--the food, the photos, everything about it is amazing! I will look forward to seeing her photography of her islands--no doubt hers will be a work of art. Mine were a work of 'art' but more the work of a kindergartner, especially the haphazard manner in which the caramel was 'drizzled' (more like "how the caramel came off the fork best I could do before it solidified and formed more spider webs around my counter!)

Ok, story time. I need to share that Floating Island has intrigued me for years...decades even. You see, one day when I was probably 14 or so, my mom told me a great Hepburn-Tracy movie was on TV and so we watched it together...Desk Set. I love this movie...love, love it. Maybe because it took place in a NYC TV company (outside shots are NBC/Rock Center, but the movie called it some fake name like FBC)., or maybe it was the fabulous clothes of 1950's....it involved Christmastime (and one fun scene of a rockin' office Christmas party). Plus, the jobs they had I thought were so neat (reference department for the TV studio). And of course, the great dynamic of Tracy-Hepburn is in full form. It's just a movie as nice and fluffy as meringue we made this week!

So in one scene, Spencer T's character ("Richard Sumner") gets stuck in the rain on the way home in the city, and he's with K.Hepburn ("Bunny Watson"). Sumner can't find a cab and so rather than have to walk the rest of the way, Bunny invites him up to dry his clothes while she made dinner (and being a 1957 movie-that's really what she meant--come up, dry the clothes and I'll fix you something to eat. I know, shocking, huh?!)

ANYWAY, (really this relates back to the dessert!) after she sets up a cozy dinner on a card table, by the fire in her fab NYC apartment, he asks her what's for dessert and she replies "floating island" and he is excited and repeats back, "floating island!!" (side note: his voice in that one line cracks me and my sister up all the time. Something about his tone there is funny...at least to us.) So it was the first and probably only time I have ever heard this dessert mentioned...and ever since then, the countless times I've now seen the movie, I've always wanted to find out what it tastes like.

The photo here shows them eating Floating Island --and then unexpectedly, her friend Peg visits...followed (once again, unexpectedly) by her on-again-off-again boyfriend Mike. It turns into a cute scene where they're trying to explain why they both are sitting there in robes having a dinner for 2.

So a few weeks ago the following conversation between my sister and I occurs:
Lisa: "Maureen, guess what recipe is on the agenda for Tuesdays with Dorie this month!?"
Maureen: "What? I dunno.."
Lisa: "Floating Island."
Maureen: "Floating Island!!" (right on cue, in the S.Tracy voice)

I wanted Mo to come over and try, but the 35+ minutes apart we live combined with the fact that I didn't make it until Sunday meant she missed out this time. But I vow to make it for her next time she comes over! Plus, I might as well get the kinks out of it first!

Funny, though, because now that I have made it myself, I wonder how Bunny Watson made it so darn quickly in the movie..she must have had the components done before, and she just assembled it then and there....because she had no time to be stirring up the creme anglaise, that's for sure...

So, because it reminds me of that movie, Floating Island has always sort of meant to me a classic dessert that went by way of the dodo bird, hats & gloves, double strand pearls and chiffon cake. One of those dishes the wives would whip up after a beef wellington for a house dinner party...as they cooked/baked in pearls, and aprons over party dresses.

So the first step here was the creme anglaise...English Cream for you non-Frenchies. This was easy and yet...not. I whisked the yolks and sugar until they were thick...then poured in the boiling milk as instructed and put it all on the stove, but it just about boiled at 170 or so degrees. I saw the bubble, turned it down to low...stirred...and stirred...and it didn't get past 160 or so, so I gave up after seeing it wanted to curdle...so I took it off the stove at a lower than called for temp, as I THINK 160 is at least the temp to get out any salmonella...(or I certainly HOPE so!)

I read in another cookbook to cook to 165 and strain into a bowl set into a larger bowl of cold water. I hope the less-than-180 degrees would not ruin anything...and I did the cold water for good measure. Here it is, after straining, set in a cold water bowl/bath.

After dinner cleared up, I started the islands...beating the whites...waiting for that nice glossy finish...

And then the simmering part came. Not sure if I had the milk 'simmery' enough at first, but I think I did it right..??

As I was mixing the whites for the islands, it occurred to me that I should have made these last Wednesday, and had a theme night, watching Lost while I enjoyed the floating islands! But then I started making the islands, with the 2-spoon method...and they were coming out all uneven and not so professional looking...so then I decided that no, perhaps "Gilligan's Island" was a better fit for my wacky looking archipelagos!

But hey, islands, nonetheless.

Then came the caramel..which did not take 6-8 minutes, but I think it was because I did not have it turned up enough? Because once I gave it more gas after 10 minutes had gone by and nary an amber look in sight, all of a sudden it went from this

to this

to THIS, in a flash!

It solidified almost immediately....not fun.

(NOTE: the islands were chilling for about an hour before I started the caramel/etc...so there was a time lapse here to let the islands get 'happy' as Emeril would say, in the fridge.)

And...finally...here we have it! An island fit for anyone from Spencer Tracy; Jack&Sawyer, or even Marianne & Ginger! Forgive the messy application of the caramel..I tried to do my best while it started solidifying again! It basically looks like someone scribbled all over my island...but in the meantime all I could see around the counter/sink/etc were these strands of caramel 'cobwebs'....I just gave up after doing one. Dear Husband sat this dessert out, so I have 5 more meringues in one container and a bowl of creme anglaise in the fridge. As for the caramel, I bought the fake store-bought stuff as back up, so that will go on my island tomorrow. I only made six islands...and at that I know I can't possibly have them all, so it's kinda bumming me out wasting it...but wow, is it amazing! (Hey, Mo, you sure you can't swing by this week? We can throw on Desk Set and enjoy!)

And enjoy, I did! Soooooo....gooood. This creme anglaise should be outlawed...it's just that good! Gee, so much for eating better in my 17th week of pregnancy..if I keep it up, I will have a baby with a sweet tooth, and whose first word is "Dorie!"(which is fine by me!)

TWD: World Peace Cookies (aka Give Peace a Chance)

2009-02-03T00:00:00.006-05:00

Well I"m back in the swing of it with TWD (I have 2 out of 4 of the Feb recipes done already..my new year's resolution is to post more often!)

This week on Tuedsays With Dorie, Jessica from Cookbook Habit chose Dorie's World Peace Cookies....their name meaning exactly that--Dorie points out that they are so scrumptous, that if only everyone would have some, then it would pave the way to a happier, better world for all.

Reading the recipe I knew I'd love these...These may look like 'chocolate chocolate chip' cookies to you...but oh no...the texture is more shortbread than a traditional 'cookie', and once you bite in, get that rich chocolate, you then are struck ever so subtly, by the secret ingredient...salt. Nothing over the top, just some gentle sea salt to make you stop, savor, and go back for more.

Now, back to bringing about world peace via cookies. Mr. President, if I may suggest you bring these to every summit meeting, I think Dorie just may have a point here. Bring them along, tell two friends..."and they'll tell two friends, and they'll tell two friends, and so on, and so on, and so on..."

But I digress...so the dough for these cookies is easily put together...it is, as the recipe says, quite crumbly, which made shaping into 'logs' more like "shaping into planks" because it was crumbly and lots of patching had to be done. No rolling into nice round shape here, they rather took on a squared shape, as my slice and bake cookies have in the past.

Here is the dough 'pre-shaping'

After the 3 hr of chillin' I was ready to slice 'n' bake!

And, in a short time, voila!

Being a sweet and salty fan, I immediately fell for these cookies...they are AMAZING!! I felt the need to throw an email to my pal Cathy at 9pm one night just to tell her that I had baked them, and that they were incredible. (I agreed that once they hit room temp they were best, but after 1-2 days in the sealed container, I did not think the taste really held up..they were still darn good, but I thought they aged quite quickly...maybe those types of cookies normally do?)

The sweet and salty combo reminded me of the reason I loved the Chocolate Chunkers so much! These received the Seal of Approval from Dear Husband, but he pointed out that he is STILL waiting for me to re-make those Whopper cookies...sorry dear, but stay tuned, I promise, I will start cooking up some reruns soon!

TWD, French Pear Tart (aka: I can't believe I made something so delicious!!)

2009-01-06T00:00:00.001-05:00

Well it's a big week here in Tuesdays with Dorie, as this week our recipe was chosen by the baker extraordinairre, la grande dame herself, Dorie Greenspan! Her choice was her French Pear Tart. It's a big week in this household as well, more on that later! First, let's talk tart:

Now with all the blogs in the roll, not sure that she'll find her way through to my little world, yet even still, just the thought of making a recipe this week that was chosen by Dorie herself sort of made me feel like she was coming over to the house to share it--like I was making it FOR her...I was really looking forward to tackling the tart and kept my fingers crossed the whole time that I would have a decent photo for this week!

I am jumping to the end because I am giddy over the outcome--I swear, I have never baked anything that tasted as good as this tart. That almond cream and the tart crust combo...it's superb...it's sublime...it's perfect! I can't believe I made this! I really was proud, I have to say!

Now, backing up a bit--It was a fun recipe to make, and I did so on Sunday late afternoon...I liked the back and forth and pauses in between--made for an easy time actually. While the shell baked, I put together the almond cream. While the shell cooled, I made Dear Husband and I dinner...and while we ate dinner, meanwhile the shell, the cream and the pears were turning themselves into one big meld of yummy goodness in the oven!

The only substitutions I made were a 9.5" pie plate in lieu of a tart pan, and the stand mixer in lieu of food processor for the pastry dough. (I had dough issues with the food processor and dough making during rugelach week--it's just not quite big enough I think is the issue). I may have overworked it a bit as I would not call the texture 'granular' when it came out of the bowl and putting it into the pie plate...but the end result was tasty once put together with the other elements. I loved how the almond cream puffed up a bit and just hugged the pears....I'm sorry, I know I sound like a broken record (or 'skipping CD' for the younger crowd), but truly this is a bit of heaven on earth.

The pears were a slight issue--only because my canned pears were quartered, not halved...so it made for smaller pieces. I tried to arrange them best I could in the spoke-type formation, and I think next time I would put more on top, maybe in a different pattern so every bite is sure to get a good ratio of pear to the almond cream (have I mentioned the almond cream? Someone, please pass me the almond cream...)

Dear Husband was quite thankful for the tart this week after having to sit out my very first cheesecake last week, and so I was thrilled that he loved this as much as I do. Honestly, I can't see anyone 'not' liking this.

Dorie, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your book, your ability to make things seem so easy and un-intimidating to try and for this tart! I can already see myself impressing people with this next time we have friends over! As I type this up Monday evening, we have just enjoyed Day 2 of your formidable French Pear Tart! Vive la almond cream!!

I CAN'T BELIEVE WE MADE THIS, PART II:
(a.k.a Lisa is a Baker--with a Bun in the Oven!)
I am happy, thrilled, scared a bit, and just overall excited to report, that God willing, come July 15th (or thereabouts) Dear Husband and I will be parents!!! I'm 13 weeks along, and New Year's Eve we had a 12 week ultrasound and marveled at the little one growing in me (I guess one plus about being over 35 and labeled "high risk" are the extra ultrasounds I receive!) So our holidays were extra special this year as we had fun spreading the happy news, were so overwhelmed with everyone's excitement for us, and an already merry time of year was extra-merry. And so far, knock wood, I've not been nauseous--just super tired! (thus the reason for the post when I was MIA a month or so back! I was dead on my feet and had no energy!)

TWD: Cheesecake! (aka: Eat Your Heart out, Golden Girls!)

2008-12-30T00:00:00.001-05:00

Anne Strawberry, thank you for choosing Tall & Creamy Cheesecake (Baking, from my Home toYours, Dorie Greenspan) for our last recipe of 2008 on Tuesdays With Dorie! I was excited to try it, yet fearing "can I really tackle this?" I don't know why it was such a big mystery before...maybe due to the fact that it is a favorite of so many...that it became worthy of a chain of restaurants bearing its name....Yet it turns out, I followed Dorie's instructions to the letter, and darnit, I made a good gosh darn cheesecake!

I chose Dec 23rd to put it all together, not only because I did not have to work that day, more because Dear Husband DID. You see, my dear lactose intolerant mate would have probably bust an intestine seeing the lineup of the ingredients....4 packages of cream cheese...heavy whipping cream...sour cream...the man would have spontaneously combusted just looking at all of that lined up on the counter! He can regulate having dairy by doing the lactaid milk, or taking the lactaid pills before eating pizza, or lasagna....but THIS?...NO amount of medicated preventative medicine in the cabinet would have saved his digestive system. He can take LOOKING at the finished product and appreciating in the way of: "it looks good---for those of you lucky enough to digest dairy." But I thought to spare him the whole ingredient list and showing him all that went into it (kind of like not wanting to know what goes into hot dogs or sausage, I suppose?!) Of course what he didn't see was me eat a piece of it Christmas night--with a side of egg nog! He would have accused me of showing off (but oh how I adore you, my lactose-loving digestive system!!)

I followed the recipe for the filling exactly--and opted for a package of Nabisco chocolate wafter cookies as the crust--which was sooo gooooood!! I'm not one for too many flavors in the 'cake' part, so liked having a nice chocolate base for the crust. Great compliment.

VOILA! A cheesecake fit for the likes of Blanche, Rose, Dorothy & Sophia!!

I had to show this next photo only because it hit me going through my pictures how the top of the cheesecake's color looks just like the kitchen table! Even down to the bubble 'knot holes'! Maybe I'm the only one amused with that...anyway...humor me:

TWD: Grandma's All Occassion Sugar

2008-12-09T20:38:00.012-05:00

Ok, speed baking.... Read post below to see why this is being posted so late on a Tues!

Dateline: Tuesday, 8:30pm. I procured the baking powder tonight on my way home, and threw these together...I did slice & bake route so I can properly test the dough (must compare to mom's old sugar cookie recipe and just want a 'control' group of cookies..plus, let's face it--cut-outs at 9pm on a Tuesday? Nah, I don't think so.) So here I am at the computer to at least start my entry while the dough is chillin'!

The dough came together super easily, and I tried to follow through and not over mix the flour/dry ingredient step...by 7pm the dough was put in the fridge and I was put in front of our TV as we ate and watched Jeopardy! (we live SUCH an exciting life--and yes eat in front of the TV way too often he and I. It wasn't even a good episode...no good TV/pop culture subjects, and there was a run-away winner...those smug 'returning champions...')

I'm looking at the clock--time to go preheat the oven and slice!..be right back!

Dateline: Tuesday, 9pm: The dough chilled for for 1hr 45 min and it was perfect for slicing--nice and firm, just like the store-bought Nestle/Pillsbury dough you cut up...only...mine wasn't round--the slices came out oval. Not sure what happened there, I think when I wrapped, I sorta flattened at the same time. Oops. Alas, no time to lament, I cut 'em, threw red/green sugar on 'em, (and cinn/sugar on a select few), threw 'em onto cookie sheets, and popped up here to continue the blog entry while I hope for the best during the first half of baking.

Ding! 9:05....Time to rotate the cookie sheets to opposite racks in the oven, hold on.

9:07pm. So the only thing I was bummed as I cut them was there were slices with some flour 'shrapnel' that did not break apart...most likely due to my stopping the mixer a bit TOO soon?

I curtailed my baking session and only cut up 1 log..got about 22 cookies out of that half. No re-chilling needed, it really was a great slice-n-bake consistency!

DING!! It's 9:11 They're done...time to taste test!

9:30: Final Judgement: well, other than the shape looking odd for Christmas cookies, they came out really tasty. I would make the dough again--it's slightly 'thicker' butterier than my mom's traditional sugar Christmas cookie dough (which probably was not 'her' recipe, but the one we used each year...so I call it hers!) These are a bit thicker. For me, I am a fan of crispy cookies, not 'cakey' cookies...If I want cake, I'll make a cake. I think there's just more butter going on in them. With that said, it did not stop me from popping 4 of them in the past 5 minutes. I may make as a head-to-head comparison with the other sugar dough from the old days to really compare.

Well, that's it folks, 2.5 hrs to spare, my post has been submitted! Thank you Ulrike of Küchenlatein for choosing such an easy recipe--one that can be made/posted in under 3 hrs on a Tuesday night!! :) Now, I'm off to have a couple more of my "Easter Egg" Christmas Cookies!

ok, truly...I'm still trying!

2008-12-09T07:15:00.001-05:00

OK, I've been awful with Tuesday posts, this I know...but there's a reason that has been taking up tons of time and mostly energy and sucking me away from baking... More on that in a few weeks...BUT the thing that really gets my parchment paper in a bunch is I WAS going to bake Sunday night, opened the pantry for the brand new container of "Baking Powder" that I grabbed from Trader Joe's the day before (my old one expired and I had thrown it out). Well, come to find out what I bought was NOT baking powder afterall. Now who, I ask you, WHO PUTS BAKING SODA IN A CONTAINER SHAPED JUST LIKE TRADITIONAL BAKING POWDER?! Yes, come to find out, I grabbed baking soda by mistake because I glanced at the shape of the container and did not read carefully...shame on me, but c'mon Joe, this is total BS (and for any kids out there in Blogger Land, by that I mean "baking soda"..)

Dear Husband looked at me, an emotional wreck..it was 7pm on a Sunday...offered to go out and get the right ingredient, which was just so sweet that I had to say no. (Though I think he his real motive was he wants these sugar cookies!)

Monday was no-go I had to work late...BUT then again..Tuesday is a long day--perhaps if I can get out of work on time...Who knows, maybe I'll get a post in by 11:59pm of the sugar cookies if I can make them quickly tonight!

I do plan to do major power baking (or should I say POWDER baking)---I've got a work cookie swap to plan for next week so there's no way I can go without baking for that!

Signed,
Lisa is a (poor excuse for a) Baker

PS: Please, powers that be at TWD, don't take me off the blog roll yet--I promise, I'll be better in living up to my baking potential!!

TWD: Arborio Rice Pudding

2008-11-18T00:00:00.003-05:00

I was so happy when I saw this would be on tap for this week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe! I LOOOOVE rice pudding...love, love it. I have not made it in ages--and what I do remember in making it involved putting it in the oven, in a pan of water...It was one of my mom's recipes that I have since lost track of...(anyone ever make it that way?) Another thing I know about rice pudding--many times the recipe calls for raisins. I was pleasantly surprised that Dorie did not call for them in the main recipe (though I know she had some spin-off recipes in the margins), because, to be honest, I would have left them out anyway--so this way I didn't feel like I was flaking out on Dorie's creation! Mom used to make 2 batches--one with, and one without!

I decided this was the recipe I would break out my new copper pot that I bought several months ago now, and had not yet used. It's the only copper one I have, and I just love it. I guess I was waiting for 'the' perfect recipe to christen it, and this ended up the perfect size pot for this recipe...I felt like I was "really" cooking when I used it!

I must note that I think I enjoyed this recipe partly because it is a fave of mine, partly because I was able to admire my copper pot whilst making it, and partly because the recipe actually was a nice and "quiet" one. No going back and forth with melting things on the stove, to going to a Kitchen Aid, sifting, etc. This was a low key, simmer and stir, and phase out while you stare into the milk, looking for the rice to surface. It was a nice change of pace.

BUT--it was not without its hiccups. The only glitch came when I had the feeling after the 30+ minutes on the stove it was still not thick enough, but I gave up and poured it into the bowl, threw the Saran Wrap on top as instructed to prevent skin, and put it into the fridge...Then I went right to the computer, and consulted the notes left on the TWD site, to see the post by Dorie herself, warning of the "fatal" misprint about how long to let it simmer...No, not 30 minutes--more like 50 minutes! So I rushed downstairs (after my very soupy version was sitting in the fridge for about 10-15 min) and dumped the bowl back into the pot, let it simmer 20-25 minutes more, and it finally did in fact absorb 80-90% of the liquid--disaster averted! Believe me, I would have been CRUSHED if I didn't do this recipe correctly, I had such high hopes!

So here is my rice pudding--in 'Round 2' on the stove (note bowl w/ ripped off Saran Wrap to left!)

Quick note--I found I had to stir it almost constantly towards the end of the simmering time--otherwise a skin would form...

So back into the fridge it went...and later that afternoon while it set, I cracked open my new Everyday Food and decided to make the Lighter Chicken Enchiladas---yum!! They came out awesome! (Of course, I'm partial to anything covered in melty cheese....)

So Saturday evening, Dear Husband and I enjoyed enchilada dinner, compliments of Martha's Everyday Food, and topped it off with Dorie's rice pudding--which was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! How proud I was that the best rice pudding I've had was by my own doing! I can't ever see making the chocolate version-and my chocoholic husband actually noted the same thing...maybe one day I'll say I'm a believer (cue The Monkees), but I don't feel I'm missing anything right now. For me, all I needed was the classic vanilla rice pudding, and the only other requirement for me is a happy sprinkle of nutmeg on top (Much like my theory on egg nog, it's all about the nutmeg!)

Dorie, thanks for a winner! And thanks for posting about the typo and saving me from rice soup! I would have been so disappointed as I was so excited to try this!

If you want the recipe, visit Isabelle of Les Gourmandises d'Isa. She chose this great recipe this week! She's got some amazing looking photos of her creations on her blog too--hello puff pastry! And you can hit a button on it to translate it into English (though I'm having fun trying to read it in French, just to see what vocabulary I remember from all those classes in high school and college. Turns out, sadly, I can't say I retained a lot--sorry, Mrs. Beaulieu!)

Hope everyone was able to enjoy this recipe and avoid any soupy under-simmered pudding. If you didn't I urge you to try it again--it's worth it!

(PS: "Melty" came up in my spell check as misspelled?! Hey, it may not be a formal word, but darnit, I'm keeping it in--how else can you describe the Monterey Jack atop my enchiladas?! Though, "nog" came up too, so that just makes me think blogger needs an updated dictionary! Especially for kitchen/cooking/baking words!)

I'm a TWD Slacker this week..

2008-11-11T09:56:00.004-05:00

Ok, so after all my excitement over baking that Kugelhopf bread-cake hybrid, and after purchasing my fancy pan for it....I didn't get to making it being out of town 4 days last week, plus having a weekend filled with little things to do that prevented me from caring for the rising of the dough......but I WILL make this later this month! I am determined!!

In the meantime, having no Kugelhopf to share, I give you "Hassel-hopf"...

TWD: Rugelach

2008-11-04T00:00:00.010-05:00

This week on a "very special" Tuesday's With Dorie...Lisa faces her demons of pastry dough...Will they ever come to terms and get along? Tune in and find out what is more thinly stretched and overworked--the dough or Lisa's last nerve...

But first a word from our sponsor:

This week's recipe is brought to you by Piggy of Piggy's Cooking Journal who chose Rugelach found on page 150 - 151 of Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours...If you want the recipe, check out Piggy's blog--to read more fascinating rugelach stories/blogs than you are right now, visit TWD by clicking here!

So the second I saw this recipe was on our list, I was SO excited and was itching to try it, yet there was a little voice in my head dreading the prospect of once again facing down my demon...me on one side, a blob of pastry dough on the other....a trusty rolling pin at my side, and a lightly floured surface separating us....(was that a tumbleweed that just went by?) The clock says High Noon...and we stare each other down....

Now, if you jump to the end of this story, you'll find me there enjoying rugelach...but not without my battle scars.

What came out really did not look much like they should, and I yielded maybe half of what I was supposed to. And the dough was not fun to work with--it was really soft, even after chilling overnight. By the 2nd half of the dough I got the hang of it somewhat. (But I could not roll it out nearly to 12" circle, more like 8"...and then I didn't get 16 triangles...more like 8. Oh, and the first half of the dough I just ended up just rolling in a full-jelly roll, freezing it a bit, and then cut it in cross-sections and baking from there.. tastes the same...but again, not nearly as many rugleach from that one either). Any way you cut it/fold it/bake it, they came out VERY tasty.

So, the dough. I once again had dough woe. I tried in the food processor (not a large-capacity, but one I thought should still work ok), but it totally overmixed the dough the first time (and I say "first time" because I had to do a dough-do-over). Actually, what happened was it mixed up some of the dough ok, but then I still had huge chunks of the butter and cream cheese that were not getting broken down. So trying to incorporate those meant the rest of the dough had to come along for the ride and it was way too worked over by the time things were 'blended'--and as I wrapped it up I saw chunks of bright white where cream cheese still was not incorporated. I threw it in the fridge on Sunday night...and there it stayed. Monday.... Tuesday... Wednesday... Thursday....Just taunting me every time I went in to the darn fridge. By Saturday, I just dumped it and started over. But not before going online to see some tips for making rugelach dough with a stand mixer, which is how I did it the 2nd time around....and it came together ok, but still a challenge for me to work with when it came time to assemble these suckers. Here is my not-quite-8-inch round o' dough:

I don't know what it is, I cannot get dough to do what I want it to do--I just doughn't enjoy the process. Pies, turnovers, and now add rugelach to the mix...I rarely can get as much as they say I will because half of it will stick to my rolling pin, it rips, or I may actually make it to the width called for, but not without the last inch tissue paper thin. Pastry dough can never just be a happy, calm, easy process. And yes I KNOW the only way I can improve is to keep making it--yet I get a sinking feeling EVERY time because I have yet to have a good positive no-mess experience where I am not stringing together expletives. Bring me a bread recipe any day--but pastry is a chore.

I already am getting a combination happy yet dreaded feeling know I have to attack pastry once more for that pumpkin-pecan "twofer" pie we have on tap in a few weeks. I know already that my crust will barely reach the edges of the pie plate, I'll probably have nothing hanging over to crimp....the only thing going for me is it' s not a 2-crust pie--happily just 1 needed! This should NOT be stressful activity. But it is..Every.Time.

So back to the rugelach and happy endings: For my fillings, I used:Polaner Raspberry (And as I opened it, I could not resist saying out loud the line from their old commercial,"would ya please pass the jelly?!"...and yes, I was the only one in the kitchen at the time...I do what I need to amuse myself) I also used currants, chopped walnuts, and bittersweet chocolate as called for. I will add I think the chocolate is overpowering-and I didn't use all called for--so next time I plan to load half the dough with sugar-cinnamon, bit o' chocolate, and the other half the jelly-currant-nuts and maybe a little chocolate rather than try to go all-in, so to speak.

So there you have it. Another pastry crust showdown and I came out ok, but not without the usual stress, and frustration that now goes hand-in-hand with this process. I'll be keeping at it, I am no quitter....and maybe, just maybe, one day pastry crust and I will learn to get along and work together, and not against each other. (What a great message on election day, huh? Let's work with each other across that aisle..be bipartisan...work for the common goal of a successful pastry crust!)

Hope you enjoyed this week's installment....Tune in next week where the recipe will be Kugelhopf! I'm quite excited--here is a sneak preview for those who don't know what this is: here's a photo I found of a Kugelhopf pan similar to the one I just got the other day!! Enjoy THIS photo, because who knows what mine will end up looking like! I just find I enjoy saying Kugelhopf---almost as fun as saying Farfegnunen!

Awards to Give!

2008-10-29T20:59:00.007-04:00

How COOL is this?! I was given a really neat award today by fellow Tuesdays With Dorie blogger, Laura of She's Cookin' Now! I said it on her blog, and I will say it here: this really is a shot in the arm to a hack like me! I still am trying to figure out how the heck to upload a photo in the right spot on this blogspot thing, so really--this is wild!

As a humble recipient, I shall pass on to five other blogs that are worthy...I have a few in mind--and not all are "Tuesdays With Dorie" baking blogs (is that ok? I think it is...hope I don't blow it and have the award rescinded!? How shameful that would be!)

1. Moores of the Blue House: This is the other blog of my college housemate Cathy (of The Tortefeasor). Run, don't walk to this one for tons more genuine, real, and amusing musings of our pal, her adoring husband, and her three kiddos. (I personally recommend the Ice Cream post, and the Publix post!)

2.Matt's Kitchen : My new-found fellow TV fan on this TWD community-the guy had me at the Flying Nun post, gotta say--and Martha sealed the deal as we both are fans of Everyday Food! I know I will enjoy visiting Matt's Kitchen often!

3. Magic Sprinkles: Her name is Lisa, so I have to say her comment this week kinda jumped out at me (as if I had an unusual name?? yes, I still say to "Lisa"s that I meet "wow, that's my name too!" as if it was some odd occurance...) Anyway, she had very nice things to say about my post-then I went to her blog and saw she made flippin' Ding Dongs this week with the TWD recipe...did you hear me? DING DONGS! God I love those! (she even had the Hostess filling recipe!) Love that! And for a Daring Baker's challenge, she lived the name of the club and posted a video of her tossing pizza dough--so for that alone--let alone all the great recipes and writing--she gets an award!

And now, for two "non-baker" awards...
4. My Mom Genes: Funny how the internet brings people together--when I was getting married, I was on "The Knot" (wedding planning site, with message boards on all sorts of subjects. They also had local boards for looking for advice about local vendors/etc) I posted on the local board mostly--and found it enjoyable to keep up w/ the banter (which really was about everything else BUT the wedding--celebrity gossip, what's for lunch/dinner/etc, clothes, fashion--and of course wedding photo sharing) Then I got married, and graduated to "The Nest" where I still hung out on the local board where everyone else migrated after their wedding. There were some really funny characters and it was a fun diversion to peep in and see what people were posting about. Well The Nest changed their layout/format, we all hated it, so we 'defected' to make our own private message board on another website. So anyway, 2 gals on this local "not-so-newlywed" board have a blog called My Mom Genes that they tag-team write together. And although I have not gotten there yet with the whole "parenthood" life, I just like their open and honest posts about it--and that all is not perfect, but it is that imperfection that you still find happy, honest, and unforgetful moments. And they remind moms that hey, it's ok, you won't have it all figured out--no one really does, so relax and enjoy the ride that goes by all to fast.

5. And this gem..Wry Toast. What else could a baker love than a blog with "toast" in the title? I dont' know how he'd feel about the attention of an award, and I'm not even sure that I'll tell him right away...I may wait and see if he reads my blog and finds it first--but trust me, he is an amazing "wryter"...He has been MIA lately, but delve into "archives" and poke around--there are some fabulous posts. He lives up to the title and more with the "wry" humor, and he will keep you coming back for more..I assure you. (oh and he writes haikus a lot, which I used to LOVE to do...in fact, I may steal that from him and do a "bake-ku" every once in awhile!)

So there you have it, some favorite blogs o' mine!

*Here's the scoop on the award, and its rules--but I wont turn you in if you don't play--- no need to feel the burden of a 'chain letter', but if you do, be sure to mention the origin of the award (details below!)

"This award was created in Uruguay by a fellow blogger who makes dolls exclusively from recycled materials. Her blog can be reached by clicking here.
Pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award, creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogger community, no matter of language.
Advertise name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone
Each award-winner, has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.
Award-winner and the one who has given the prize to show the link of “Arte y pico” blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.
Share these rules."

TWD: Chocolate Cupcakes (a.k.a "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For")

2008-10-28T00:00:00.006-04:00

Greetings and Salutations! (as Charlotte says!)

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was chosen by Clara, of I Heart Food4Thought (visit her blog for the recipe!)

I must admit, I had high hopes for this one, as I have been on a quest for the 'best/perfect' chocolate cake recipe....I've tried a couple from scratch so far, so I will admit, I've not been on the quest for long--and I am sure I will get a lot of "this was your THIRD scratch cake recipe for and you think you'll just 'find' the perfect chocolate one so soon?!!?" Ya, I know, who do I think I am?!)

I started the recipe on a bright sunny Saturday morning--Dear Husband got out to do errands early and brought me back a coffee (I opted for Dunkin' Donuts-vs- Starbucks) So with large, regular, half-decaf close by, (yes, as a matter of fact, an order at DD CAN indeed be just as involved as an order at Fourbucks) I was off and running!--or baking..Operation: Dunkin' Dorie!.

Now, these are 'good' but I fear I have to keep forging ahead and looking for 'my' chocolate cake--it's in my head, and I know I'll know it when I eat/see it...These just weren't it for me...and I feel guilty saying that..?? I looked on the site, and I don't think it was a factor of too much flour or over-mixing, I do try to be careful with that...they just are not that "moist" bite that I so wanted out of them.

OH--but I nailed the ganache!! I had ganache with panache, I tell you! But then I somewhat lamented not having a more traditional frosting to help off-set the dryness of the cake part--but still, these were tasty, and nothing a glass of milk can't handle!

I decided to get festive with them--in honor of Halloween (side note to Cathy--Elizabeth would love these sprinkles!!)

Dear Husband, my chocolate loving hero and taste-tester, declared them fabulous--and he said he was ok with the texture--and his favorite thing about them is they are not too 'sweet'--as he is a fan of dark chocolate/bittersweet. So hey, another week of putting a smile on his handsome face, so I can't complain...(I threw a lot of new stuff on him the past 2 weeks--5 alone from the same magazine issue--and happily all came out pretty darn good!) but still, I'm just not settled on this being my go-to cake. I'm going to keep testing out different recipes--I know the right one is out there for me! I guess just like Dear Husband--who, being my brother's best friend, has been in and out of my life one way or another since 4th grade, but whom I did not start dating until I was in my early 30's--my guess is that recipe is sitting right under my nose somewhere, perhaps already in my kitchen cookbook archives...it'll show itself when it's time...I just know it! (Wow, this sounds like Lord of the Rings..."one recipe to rule them ALL!!" I'll keep you posted if I stumble upon it in the shire....

In the meantime, I wanted to finally acknowledge some thoughtful awards I have been given and pass them on to 2 blogs!

My first award was given by my dear friend, Cathy at The Tortefeasor and the other from Nancy from The Dogs Eat the Crumbs. I must admit, Cathy was sweet enough to pass her award onto me a few weeks ago, but then I went off MIA, and just never got around to posting about it and adding to my blog. Cathy introduced me to Tuesdays with Dorie (or maybe she just told me about her involvement, and I just jumped in and invited myself? Now I forget)...she is one of those people who when I see or talk to, we are immediately laughing no more than 2 minutes into a conversation...her writing is all at once smart and funny--2 things that no one can 'fake'. Cathy is the real deal.

Nancy's (n.o.e) blog is one of my weekly stops, and the fact that she pointed MINE out really made my day! I have found this whole TWD/baking/cooking blog community are some of the most genuine people around--so thank you again, Nancy! (I feel like Sally Field.."You like me! You really, really LIKE me!") AND I just found out that she has connections in CT--so she's ok in my book! (gotta love the Nutmeg State!!)

So I guess the rules here are I pass some on...so here I go! I am still ramping up getting to 'know' the style of various blogs...Prudy, you come to mind first, but looks like you already have these 2 specific awards. so I thought I'd spread the love..Here are some others that come to mind lately. I will add more as I get to 'know' more blogs and folks on TWD/etc! Again, I'm thoroughly enjoying this bakin'n'bloggin!

And the awards go to....

1. Eat Real by Sandy-- I LOVE that she incorporates great photos, great tips, and all around great recipes all in one! (I am sooo making those bagels!!) I bookmarked her site the minute I saw it!

2. Bun in the Oven by Annette: Maybe it's that she came to TWD a week after I did (and was sweet to thank me for commenting on her blog, adding she thought no one read it--well we do!!) Or maybeI noticed on her profile that she lives in the same CA town that a dear friend of mine lives...or maybe it's that she not only bakes but knits, AND also adds to her profile that she loves wine and photography--and is a proud Auntie---all things that I would use to describe myself! (well, no, actually I'm really NOT a die-hard knitter, I only have a blanket and one scarf under my belt, but I so WANT to be a tried and true knitter!) Anyway, I wanted to post about her blog because while reading about her, it just struck such a chord. Plus, anyone who can successfully balance baking AND knitting needs applause!! I tend to give one up for the other....

EVERYDAY FOOD...a.k.a "Martha, Martha, Martha!!"

2008-10-24T19:24:00.012-04:00

Perhaps it started because a pint-sized magazine was missing from my life. (TV Guide how I miss you so!!! I hardly know you now that the evil ones have blown you up to magazine size, and turned you into US Magazine!!)

Whatever the reason, from the first issue of Everyday Food I bought, I've been drawn into this little gem. I have probably 20 or so from the past 3-4 years, and find that I am more apt to pick this up each month than Mar-Mar's large format Living, which I tend to look through, dream about 'someday' attempting projects (like stripping antique furniture...putting together that photo album-scrapbook of vintage family shots....or making Beef Wellington--which, by the way, I vow to do one day)...but Living always ends on the coffee table.

Everyday Food, on the other hand, ends up in my KITCHEN. I always find myself flipping through saying "I'll totally make that"...."ooh, that looks good!"...."fold that page down..." I'm not afraid of attempting the Beef Wellingtons and Yorkshire puddings of the world, but really, if I am to attempt new recipes during the week, I need them to be work-week friendly....and I am never let down with Everyday Food (EF from now on). I continue to review all my old issues when I'm looking for something easy and solid. The recipes are home-made, but they cut some corners to be weekday realistic (i.e. go ahead, and use--gasp!--jarred spaghetti sauce in lasagna....jarred salsa on tacos....etc.)

I guess you can say Martha Stewart Living plays the Grace Kelly, to Everyday Food's Katherine Hepburn. One is the more soft-focus, elegant, can do, say, cook and wear no-wrong....be altogether lovely and refined and a level that few operate on (and don't get me wrong, I love Grace Kelly...and to this day want every single piece of wardrobe from Rear Window!) But then you have the more fun, frivolous, yet everyday working gal, who cuts to the chase, in a no- nonsense, get-it-done fashion. Is still classic, and genuine, yet still attainable, and someone you think you can hang out with, well, quite frankly "Everyday." (And there is no right or wrong here--they both got Cary Grant, right?!)

Last week, I whipped up the spinach-prosciutto lasagna start to finish in under an hour (not incl. the day-long thawing of the frozen spinach) It called for jarred spaghetti sauce, and "no-boil' lasagna noodles, which I am all for when it comes to quick but home-made. Two Saturdays ago, I did the chicken tacos---which called for chicken thighs to chill out seasoned in a crockpot (oops, or are they "slow-cookers" these days?) for 4 hrs--GREAT for a weekend dinner....oh, and the same weekend, I made up a huge vat of her minestrone soup, and the slow-cooker pot roast the following Monday---ALL recipes from the same (current) issue!!

This past weekend, I delved into some back-issues and found an easy Coq au Vin recipe from one of the 2007 issues I had...it was amazing! It was a cold, windy Oct night and we had a great meal!!

So, those who perhaps pass by it thinking you have heard enough about Martha,Martha, Martha! I urge you to push aside your inner Jan Brady and get over it. Give i ta try...each issue gives you a "Freeze it", "weeknights", "weekend", "lunch box", and even "dinner-for-one" recipe....and dessert!
(I have not even touched the 5,6 and 7th recipe I want to do from the current issue: all dark chocolate recipes!)

As I did the week of 4 recipes: tacos, minestrone, pot roast and lasagna, I did not think about blogging until I hit the lasagna...(when Dear Husband said, "so, tell me...is this lasagna considered "cooking" or "baking?"--will it be on your blog?) But as I was working on the 5th EF recipe in 1.5 weeks, I decided to grab a photo of it: I give you my Coq au Vin!!

TWD: Pumpkin Muffins

2008-10-21T00:00:00.001-04:00

From pumpkin muffins

Well, I'll make it short and sweet this week for a change...there are so many blogs now listed on Tuesdays with Dorie, I am sure everyone has a lot more reading these days! :)

Loving these Pumpkin Muffins, and I made them on a perfectly autumnal weekend! I even had my first Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte over the weekend--the leaves are still gorgeous, and the extra blanket is on the bed: aahhh...October, how I love thee! What a perfect time for Kelly of Sounding my Barbaric Gulp to choose the Pumpkin Muffins! (Thanks, Kelly!)

Forgive me for making them plain as can be....I'm a purist with my pumpkin--don't dig on the nuts, raisins, etc add-ins to my pumpkin baked goods. I thought about doing them by the 'book', with the nuts and golden raisins, but knew that I would end up thinking "these would be great without.." so I refrained. (Actually, that's a lie--I was going to put craisins into half of the batter, then totally forgot...but I'm not too upset about it as I would have been doing that only to try to do SOMETHING interesting in light of the fact that everyone else will no doubt be doing fabulous things with this recipe I'm sure!)

The only issues I had were (1) the batter was super-duper thick, and I guess I wasn't sure if that was right or not--but they turned out excellent muffins, so I guess it's supposed to be that way (it reminded me of the thick batter from my Bundt cake). The 2nd issue was they did not rise consistently--and it's not even like half the pan was high, the other not (which would lead me to think it was uneven baking inside the oven). I think it may have been uneven scooping in my part?? Not sure--I'll show the highest and lowest profile I ended up with--all others fall in between...

From pumpkin muffins

Dear Husband loves them without any add-ins too, and so although they may seem rather boring to some, we like them (as Mark Darcy said to Bridget Jones), "just as they are." (well, no I guess to be exact, his quote is "just as you are.." but y'know what I mean...)

TWD: Biscotti Marching Band...

2008-10-14T00:00:00.001-04:00

I am happy to be back in the swing of things with Tuesdays with Dorie especially on a week with such a great recipe that will come in handy--and one I would have picked out to make soon had it not come up in rotation! Thanks to Gretchen of Canela & Comino this week we baked Lenox Almond Biscotti....I'll tell you now, I already can't wait to make these again...and no one is more shocked as I am because I certainly did not have high hopes when I started out...

The dough started to come together fine--but by the last step it was so sticky--half was around the paddle, yet the other half around the bowl.

I have always had a love-hate relationship with doughs of any kind (except the "Play-doh" variety). Whether they be for pies, pastry, bread, I always feel like I do it incorrectly and I'm a bumbling idiot trying to roll it out, pat it out, into the desired shape/size. So I took one look in the bowl and worried that somehow I screwed up--again...then all the questions come out like "Did I over-beat?" "Under beat?" "Mis-measure anything?"

"Curses!! Why does dough hate me so!?!!!!" (because even when I'm annoyed--I can still be a poet...)

But I pushed onward hoping I could still work with it and make them into the form of "logs" like Dorie was calling for. This task took some time--because if dealing with dough wasn't bad enough, I had to deal with measurements. It's time I also admit I have no sense of spacial relation--I am not one of those who can "eyeball" an inch..or 2 inches...or 12...it doesn't stop there--I'm awful at estimating longer distances as well (this is one of the many reasons I was never a great golfer---if someone asked me how far I hit a ball off a tee--I would have no clue--50 yards? 150 yards? Hell, I dunno, if you asked me I either hit it "far" or "wicked far" or as was most often the case--it was still where it had started and went nowhere)

So when a recipe says form into logs 12"x1.5", mine will be (and were) more like 9x2.5" until I took out my trusty ruler and worked them out to be the dimension that was actually called for.

Into the oven they went...and then I had to deal with the "bake until lightly browned and spongy" part...sigh...another judgement call. I baked at the time called for, added 2-3 more minutes--the edges were brown, but the tops were still looking the same as they did when they went in. I pressed a finger onto one and I can't say "spongy" is the word that came to mind. (FYI, I'm glad I used 2 different baking sheets--and thank you to the TWD posters who warned it would spread in a major way--it certainly did)

>Here is my before-after first bake:

At this point, I still was not convinced these would ever see the light of day, but I pulled them out and let them rest for the 30 minutes called for....

..and 30 minutes later, came more measuring issues--cutting them up every 3/4"....once again, I brought out a ruler because I knew once again I can't be left to my own devices.

Oh but I still had not encountered the hardest part...no, the hardest part was trying to figure out what on earth it meant when in the instructions for the 2nd baking of the cut biscotti stated to line them all up on the sheets "like a marching band"....

....say what? I stared at the description...thinking (1) she musn't mean flat side/cut side down or she'd say that...(2) it doesn't say stand up like "dominos" (which would mean on their short-sides...which was impossible anyway with the uneven ends)...so I guessed that she meant cut them and leave spaces in between each cut piece, but don't flip them over on their sides, keep them upright. (If that's not what she meant, someone please tell me what "marching band" means....other than making them into a formation of a kaleidescope a la a REAL marching band, I've got no clue...)

=

And so I baked 15 min, and lo and behold, I ended up with practically perfect almond biscotti!!

The only pause I had eating them was the cornmeal that was called for--it sort of leaves a gritty kinda feeling behind...but nothing a swig o' joe can't wash down. Besides that, the texture was PERFECT---I don't like the super-crunchy ones that basically fall apart into crumbs before they reach your mouth, and still they were not too soft, so were good for holding up to 'dunking' Not too hard-and not too soft. Yes, I think even Goldilocks would deem these "just right"!

I will be making these again (and again..) and I think they will pack up and travel well, so to my faithful reader (that means you, Dad...) Get ready for a care package over the holidays that include some of these treats for your coffee!! :)

TWD Update!

2008-10-07T00:00:00.005-04:00

Ok, so I've been MIA the past few weeks thanks to a combination of factors. I had had a crazy work schedule preparing for a trip to Arizona..then I went ON that trip to AZ--which happily included 2 extra days down in Tucson with my Dad, which was beyond wonderful. When I got back, I was home not 2 days when I had to get a cyst removed from my foot...no worries, it's benign, but still, 5 stitches later I was not feeling up for baking and standing/etc. (Dear Husband has taken to calling me Franken-foot, as it's really scary looking wound going on--the stitches are nylon, black nylon. So on my pale-as-a-baby's-derriere-skin, it's REALLY looking rather ghoulish--I shall spare you all the Franken-foot photo!)

So, I was very bummed to miss out on a yummy chocolate cake recipe this week, but I shall return next Tuesday! (Where it's all about Almond Biscotti!)

In the meantime, I thought I'd share the last time I got my "bake on"--which was the weekend prior to aforementioned jaunt to AZ. Dear Husband and I were invited to a dinner party/overnight to Long Island, to one of my nearest and dearest--my former office mate and partner in crime at Columbia House. She and her wonderful husband met at "The House" and are now living happily ever after and had a few of us former C.H. "alumni" over for dinner. A fun time was had by all!

So, back to the baking--
I was determined to finally try my hand at a Bundt cake. Now, a bundt cake is one of those things I just love. Something about the tube-pan baking makes it just a little more 'extra' special. And then the whole drizzle of the glaze on top, and the "wonder what could be baked inside" curiosity. I have always loved the idea of them, yet have never made from scratch...actually I don't even make them from a box either.

My baking life "BD" (Before Dorie) had me storing the (then) lesser-used bake ware in the dark corners of one of the cabinets. There you will find the muffin tins, mini muffin tins, round cake pans, heart-shaped cake pan, bread pans, pie plates, weights for baking an unfilled pie crust, foil covers for a pie crust, a rolling pin cover for pie crusts, and even little cookie cutters in shapes of leaves for--you guessed it--pie crusts. I think the bread-maker is pushed waaaay back there somewhere too. You name it, I seem to have it--I just rarely USE it (which is why I love this baking club of ours!) Each time I would open up that cabinet for the muffin tin or round cake pans, I would pass over "the bundt". It has been waiting patiently for that call to glory, and the wait was finally over. I'm sure it was convinced I took it out to move it out of the way for another item, but no, this time it was for real.

I found a recipe in one of my Bon Appetit magazines for a Brown Sugar & Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake with Maple Espresso Glaze. Thanks to the Dorie-baking, I had just about all of the ingredients (save the buttermilk and maple extract) in the house (and as I would soon discover, corn syrup--more on that below).

I'm not a big maple fan, but I liked the espresso sound of the glaze, which called for instant espresso powder. (Would you believe I even had that in the house---totally unopened from about a YEAR ago when I wanted to try one of Giada's desserts..yea, that never saw the light of day--I'm an expert at buying ingredients, but I have a huge delay in actually MAKING recipes..again, that's why Tuesdays with Dorie has been so good for me!)

Because I did not want the maple flavor in the cake or in the glaze-- and coming home from the grocery store to realize that I missed that I would need corn syrup for the glaze--which I did not have--I turned to my trusty Big Red Book and scoured my Betty Crocker for a cake glaze recipe that would perhaps suffice. (When in doubt, I consult Betty). I found a confectioners sugar-and-water based vanilla glaze. I removed the vanilla extract from the recipe, replaced it with almond extract, and then shook in some espresso powder, and "presto" I had made an almond-espresso glaze!

(check out the "after" photo in the end of my slideshow below--THAT'S usually how my counters look after baking...my frantic mixing, getting the glaze 'just right' with confectioners suger flying everywhere--and even Dear Husband's sports page somehow got tossed aside up on the counter--I guess it was in my way and I gave it a fling!?!)

I have to say this was a huge thing for me--only because I am not one for improvising...I think that's why I enjoy baking, it's a strict recipe. I am getting better at the "cooking" and improvising here and there, but not as a rule. So I was turning somersaults when I dipped a finger into the glaze and loved the taste of it!

The only hiccup was transporting my lovely creation. I do not have a 'travel' container for cakes...let alone a bundt cake. I have a fancier glass cake plate (the glass pedestal w/ dome lid) but not a tupperware/travel version...Yet by a miracle I somehow got it safely to LI in the 2.5 hr drive by rigging up my own system. After 30-45 minutes of trial and error, I finally figured out how to get the dome to set over the cake, but not let the dome slide into the SIDE of the cake on any sharper turns of the car ride. (Thus it would smudge the perfectly placed glaze).

I used the glass dome to the fancy cake plate, which fit completely around the rim of a dinner plate, on which the cake sat. This dinner plate/dome then went onto a wider platter. That way, if we turned the car, the glass dome would slide on the larger platter, up until it hit up against the rim of the dinner plate (that way it hit the plate, not the cake). Whether or not I am properly explaining this system, I was so proud when we got there with a totally pristine glaze! No bumps, or smudges!

The cake is awesome, and as much as I don't want to repeat recipes too quickly, I think I'm going to make for a party this weekend at my sister and brother-in-law's house...I only had 1 piece of it in L.I because I ate so much dinner...so I'm rather anxious to try it again!

NOTES ON BUNDT CAKES: So, not knowing about these cakes, they are denser-more "pound" cake like than a birthday-cake type of thing. Also, for any other Bundt rookies out there, the batter is stiff when it goes into the pan for baking---that threw me, and I thought the consistency was way off (it didn't run/pour into the pan more than inch into it like The Blob. (Thank God for the internet--I googled 'bundt cake batter' and found that it's common that the batter will be thick/stiffer than standard cake recipes!)

Here is the Recipe as it was Printed in Bon Appetit (as I said, I finagled a bit with it, especially the Glaze)

BROWN SUGAR & CHOCOLATE CHIP BUNDT CAKE
(C) BON APPETIT MAGAZINE

Cake:
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 12-ounce package semisweet chocolate chips
3 cups all purpose flour, divided
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups (packed) golden brown sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon maple extract
4 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons (or more) whipping cream
1 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso powder

For cake:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter 12-cup Bundt pan. Spray pan generously with nonstick spray. Dust pan lightly with flour. Mix chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons flour in medium bowl. Sift remaining flour with baking soda, baking powder, and salt into another medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar in large bowl until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in vanilla extract and maple extract. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with buttermilk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Fold in chocolate chip mixture. Transfer batter to prepared pan, spreading evenly.

Bake cake until tester inserted near center comes out clean and cake begins to pull away from sides of pan, about 1 hour. Cool cake in pan on rack 30 minutes. Invert cake onto rack and cool completely.

GOOD TO KNOW:
Mixing the chocolate chips with a little flour before adding them to the batter helps the chips stay evenly suspended in the batter and evenly distributed throughout the baked cake (otherwise, they may sink to the bottom).

For glaze:
Combine powdered sugar, maple syrup, 2 tablespoons cream, and espresso powder in medium bowl. Whisk until smooth, adding more cream by 1/2 teaspoonfuls if glaze is too thick to drizzle. Spoon glaze decoratively over top of cake; let stand at room temperature until glaze is firm, about 1 hour. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and let stand at room temperature.

ps: Happy Birthday, Kristin...wherever you are...

TWD: Chocolate Chunkers!

2008-09-16T06:30:00.000-04:00

Well it's my third cookie recipe in as many weeks--which is not a bad thing...at all! Each cookie has meant a totally different experience--each lovely and delicious!!

This week's Dorie Greenspan concoction was Chocolate Chunkers, chosen by Claudia of Fool for Food.

Ok, attention ANYONE who is a fan (like myself) of a sweet-and-salty tug-of-war-kinda-snack: These.Are.For.You.

When I go to the movies I love my popcorn--but I enjoy following the salty up with chocolate of some sort. Dear Husband is quick to point out that we are opposites in our sweet-salty combo...I go for salty first, then my candy...he is the opposite--he likes his sweet first THEN his popcorn. (He is also quick to quip that he can never count on me to leave him enough popcorn when he wants to switch to salty--because it's usually half-gone by the opening credits). When I saw these cookies were on the agenda, I was so excited to try!

The raisins caused some pause, as I'm not a huge fan of them in cookies--but I went for it and wanted to make these as Dorie recommends. I also opted to chop up all the chocolate as she suggested rather than buy the chips.

The raisins caused more pause than anticipated. Almost as bad as my cake flour incident, I stared trying to figure out which ones would be best. I finally chose something that said, 'seedless raisins--plump and moist!" and added them to my cart...but then was happily surprised as I went to get my chocolate--there, in the baking aisle, I saw this little 1-cup packet of SunMaid "baking" raisins (baking raisins--who knew?!) I happily switched out the huge tub o' raisins I thought I was going to have to buy for these lovely little things called "baking raisins" (which only makes me wonder why all raisins are not created equal...)

I chopped up my chocolate diligently, using the recommended white chocolate as well as dark, and then compiled the dough, and was about to scoop them out when I got a call from my niece. I told her I was baking and within 10 minutes my sister-in-law dropped off 2 helpers!

They were bummed out they missed the fun part of measuring out everything and mixing it up--but were impressed with the cookie scoop I had--and we proceeded to scoop out a sheet....

...that was as far as they got because from there on out it was all about finding Auntie Lisa's Brady Bunch DVD collection--which I gotta say, cracked me up. Enabling those minds to be classic TV fans is something I take pride in. (And I figured any Brady they watched meant one less chance I would be asked to put on the dreaded Drake & Josh)

I told them they could watch TV while I got up every 5 minutes to scoop and bake (I have 2 ovens, so had 2 batches going at once). In between my batches as I came in and out of the TV room, I fielded questions like, "Who's older Marica or Peter?" "What happened to their other parents--did they get divorced or did they die?" "I like the stairs in that house.." "Cindy is sooo cute!" (which, in Season 1, you must admit, she really was) And they agreed that Alice is the best one of them all. PLUS they learned the theme song after about 2 episodes -- darn near brought me to tears...

So all in all, a productive day for me...doing one of my favorite things--baking--while taking on my favorite role: Auntie Lisa. And they were sent on their merry way with cookies (and the Season 1 DVD's) in hand!

Oh, ya, the cookies--I got off track again (don't say I didn't warn you). Yes, the cookies--Dorie, thank you!!! These are melt-in-your-mouth good...they satisfy any type of snack urge you may have--salty, sweet, fruity, you name it!

The only thing I'd do differently is cut down on the peanuts--or chop them up more than I did--I love the 'salty', but it was all I tasted in a lot of bites.

I also like all the 'stuff' in them (thus the "chunk" in the name), but being a huge cookie fan, there wasn't as much "cookie" as I would prefer. I'm making a mental note to try these as just white and dark chocolate chip cookies sans the nuts & raisins so I can up the ratio of chocolate cookie-to-chunky add-ins.

But I did like them a lot just as they are--they certainly lived up to the "Chunkers" name with all those flavors and add-ins! In fact, now that I think of it--Chocolate Chunkers are the Brady Bunch of cookies! A lot of pieces coming together to form one big happy cookie!

"And Ann B. Davis as Alice"

TWD: Chocolate Whopper Malted Drops

2008-09-07T10:33:00.017-04:00

It’s only been two weeks, and I’m enjoying TWD immensely (and was so excited to see that Crème Brulee is in the future for us all this month)!

As for this week--the recipe, Chocolate Whopper Malted Drops (page 85), was brought to us by Rachel of Confessions of a Tangerine Tart , ("and by the letter C.")

Well I must admit I hesitated at first when I saw “Whoppers” in the title as I am just not a fan, but knowing this is only my SECOND week here, I couldn't possibly skip a week already, so with a slight edit (using semi-sweet chocolate chips in place of the crushed Whoppers), I was back on track. I realize that means this is not the cookie Dorie intended, but wow is it amazing nonetheless! For the bittersweet chocolate I used Ghiardelli and for the malted powder I found Ovaltine Chocolate Malt Flavor.

Saturday turned out to be an inside-day due to the weather/Hanna, so this was perfect to create these. They went together with ease. The dough was indeed “frosting-like” as Dorie indicated it would be, which led to my only issue—it was a challenge for my cookie scoop as it would not push the dough out easily; it was so super-soft. It didn’t make for a neat/even lineup on the cookie sheets (it was just a bunch of blobs), but the mess is all just a part of the creative process (and because I was getting sloppy here and there it meant many a taste test was had to get the dough off my fingers! Wow was that dough good!)

In no time our rainy afternoon was uplifted with the delightful smell of chocolate cookies baking! I think I got about 50 cookies out of the dough…

Dear Husband came into the kitchen at one point as some were cooling, and I told him to try one. These tasted awesome warm!! He had been eyeing them as he loves chocolate--especially dark chocolate. Here is his reaction as it progressed: (Takes a bite) "Wow, these are good" (takes another bite) "mmm, really good..." (finishes cookie 1, reaches for cookie 2)…"they're dangerous..."

By the next day, he asked me to do (or NOT do, as the case may be) three things:
1. Please don’t bring them to work
2. Is it possible to freeze some because the 2 of us couldn’t eat this many while they were still fresh (well, we COULD….but we decided not to!)
3. Could I please NOT to make them often—because they are that good that he will eat way too many

So another rave review! He is a huge fan of brownies so I have no doubt that’s why he likes these as they have that cake-like consistency to them. (FYI, last night I grabbed 2 of them and zapped them for 5-10 seconds in the microwave and the chips became gooey again….soooo good!)

So another week of TWD brings another week with a full cookie jar--but they're going fast! I give it 7 days before we're defrosting the ones from the freezer!!

STORY OF MY FIRST SCRATCH-CAKE!

2008-09-04T16:21:00.002-04:00

AUTHOR'S NOTE: this originally appeared on my other blog--before I had this 'just-for-baking' site! Thought I'd share here..

So usually on the weekends I can be found sitting on the kitchen floor, in front of a shelf filled with old Bon Appetit and Cooking Light issues, a stack on my lap, flipping through, trying to find something different and inspired to make for dinner.

I happened to be flipping through a June 06 Cooking Light and came across the very last page, where they often have a parting recipe and lovely set-up shot of the food in all its perfectly-baked/cooked/sauteed/grilled/blanched glory. The photo totally drew me in, making me think, “wow that looks so good!” yet mocked me with it’s triple-layer cake smugness, and made me add “…but I doubt I could do THAT…”

Staring up at me, was the most pleasing looking cake, with a name both refreshing in flavor and nostalgic in style: Lime Chiffon Cake.

I don’t know if it was the “chiffon” in the name (being a retro-type of cake style...something Lucy Ricardo would make, while dressed in clothing made of material of the same name) or if it was the hot day and the thought of a lime-flavored dessert going so well after dinner (because lime margaritas and mojitos go so well BEFORE the meal, then certainly a lime-flavored dessert will complement its ending!) Anyway, I kept going back to this page—staring and thinking that perhaps this would be my very first “from scratch” cake. I have always enjoyed baking and have tried my hand at many things, but an honest-to-goodness scratch layer cake (let alone THREE layers--with a filling--not just frosting--in between) was new territory.

I quickly took inventory of provisions….when faced with a new recipe I like, I start playing the game of, “How many ingredients do I already have in the house”. The amount of time and money it will take to locate the ingredients I DON’T have rules exactly how quickly I close the magazine and move on.

As I ran through the recipe, I mentally checked off most of the ingredients…it went something like this:
Limes: “I’ve got those” (b/c of the aforementioned cocktails)
Lemon Extract --"hmm..I've got vanilla, almond, and 2-3 others--but not lemon...
Cream of Tartar--"I KNEW this would come in handy one day...I hope it's not too old.."
Can of Sweetened Condensed milk : “yep, got it—wait, or is that a can of evaporated milk that I have in the cabinet??? Darn, I always mix these up--which one goes into pumpkin pie because that's the one I have…”

(A walk to the cabinet proved I did not have the sweetened condensed milk…it also turned out that the can of evaporated milk I DID have had expired 4 months ago….probably because I buy about 4 cans every Fall of evaporated milk, thinking that I don’t have it in the house for pumpkin pies…and then as it turns out I DO have at least 2 cans already…this same exercise also occurs when it comes to canned pumpkin—so trust that at any time of year, guaranteed I’ll have 3-4 cans each of One Pie pumpkin, and of evaporated milk...but zero sweetened condensed milk.)

And so on…I made my way all the way to the bottom of the recipe and was getting excited—and a bit scared because the only things I found I needed required a simple trip to Stop & Shop. Usually, it seems there is at least one totally exotic or rare ingredient that would require half the day looking for, across 5 stores, and then finding it, only to discover I need to spend a fortune on it just for that ‘pinch’ of something for the recipe…and then the rest spoils before I'll ever need it again.

So I started reading the recipe, this time assuming I’d find some technique I’ve not yet tried or mastered that would be the clincher for scaring me off the recipe….As I went through each step I started saying to each: “ok, I can do that…yep, I can do that too..” the only tricky part ahead of me seemed to be the egg whites and being sure I beat them to the correct consistency for the chiffon (a chiffon cake is a batter made up primarily of beaten egg whites, which are folded in, and give the resulting cake a fluffy, light texture….thus the "chiffon" moniker)

Was I actually going to attempt this?! Yes. And so to Stop & Shop...where I purchased all ingredients with little to no issue.

Other than cake flour that is. See, I had no clue which brand to buy…I had "Softasilk" by Pillsbury in my hand, when this caught my eye

Here was my irrational reasoning in the middle of shopping as to which one I'd choose, Pillsbury -vs- Swans Down:
“Pillsbury has tons of products to output--whereas THIS company's only gig seems to be cake flour. Not to mention the design on the front looks like a logo/brand that has been around for decades….I bet it's a tried and true brand for real bakers....In fact, I bet there are grandmother’s country-wide who say, 'I’ve used Swans Down for 50 years—it’s the only one I use...'

"Yes," I thought, "that's the cake flour of a baker." Then I took it from the shelf, turned to see a 2,000 year-old knight in armor standing next to me in the Baking Needs aisle, who declared upon my taking the flour from the shelf: "You have chosen....wisely." (Ha! c'mon, did you really think I could get through this long-winded story without a movie quote?)

Bonus: I flipped over the box and saw "America's Favorite Cake Flour Since 1894" on the back, and that clinched it. Swans are also my favorite animal, so bonus for the good vibes from the box.

I found myself with a quiet Saturday afternoon, and I started lining up all my ingredients. I took the time pre-measure everything out, and had it all lined up ready to go. I love the mise en place technique because there is something about those small glass bowls I use to hold all the separate ingredients that makes me feel like a legit chef! I am a sucker for those things! Love that I have a set of glass nesting bowls of various sizes all the way down to a tablespoon size….it just makes me happy!

It took some time to get it all measured out, and assembled and into the oven—I had to make the filling first so it had time to set/chill for several hours so by the time the layers cooled I was good to go...had to cut out my wax paper for the bottom of the pans....and then the process of mixing the batter up and mixing the egg whites up separately took extra time b/c of having to clean the bowl in between and being sure it was totally dried/toweled off (Note To Self: It could be time to get an additional bowl for the Kitchen Aid so I don’t have to empty out, clean it, and reuse it when doing work in 1 recipe). It could have taken less time, but I was very serious: this first cake-from-scratch HAD to come out perfect…or I’d be annoyed and could find myself running from the kitchen forever, hurling cupcake pans, parchment paper and silicone mats to the curb.

In the midst of all of cleaning up while the layers cooled, I took a call from one of my two sisters--this time, Sister, the Younger. The call went something like this:
Her: “hey it’s just me…whattya up to?”
Me: “I’m baking a cake from scratch---triple layer lime chiffon!”
Her: (laughter…. laughter.....more laughter....) “WHAAAAT!? (Laughter…laughter..finally composes herself): “sorry, it’s just not the answer I was expecting…triple layer lime chiffon--who DOES that??! Where did that come from!!?”

I finally stepped back and realized that it was rather absurd…but I was determined. I figured if I made the cake now, when I didn’t have an occasion for it, then I know if I can make it when I needed it "for real." I know to start with this instead of a simple 2-layer vanilla/yellow or even chocolate is a leap, but it was what I came across....so hells bells, I'm going for it, sister.

Here it is, in all its lop-sided glory....(photo lopsided too--I took w/ my phone, so it's not good at all...I have a view of it pre-cut, but it's taking forever to download them...) This one was taken to show the inside layers...all the lime filling, and chiffon-y goodness! You can see how my cool whip topping did not keep its form too well...the lime and sugar when added to it made it sort of fall apart in consistency and all of a sudden the whipped topping was airy and 'holey'--almost disintegrating while I frosted--but it held together. The recipe called for "Fat Free" Cool Whip, but I splurged and got the 'real' kind--but next time I would probably not flavor the topping. Not only did it fool with the texture, but the cake and filling are lime enough for me.

Other than that edit, I LOVED it! I was psyched!

As for the sister that laughed at the shock of my domestic endeavor (and if she's reading this, she's mad that I'm not pointing out that she was quick to point out that she was not laughing at me as much as the shock of such a random type of cake that I was baking--so truly, she's my biggest champion in all things), she benefited as she & I went shopping the very next day and I showed up to her apartment with a section from my creation....

Score one for the happy homebaker!

RECIPE AS FOLLOWS: (c) Cooking Light (June, 2006)

Ingredients
Filling:
1 teaspoon finely grated lime rind
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

Cake:
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon cake flour
2 cups sifted cake flour (7 1/2 ounces)
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons canola oil
1/3 cup fresh lime juice (about 3 limes)
3 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon finely grated lime rind
1 teaspoon pure lemon extract
3 egg yolks
8 egg whites
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Frosting:
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons lime juice (about 1 lime)
2 1/2 cups fat-free whipped topping, thawed
Fresh mint sprigs (optional)
Fresh blueberries (optional)
Lime wedges (optional)

Preparation
To prepare the lime filling, combine 1 teaspoon lime rind, 1/4 cup lime juice, and sweetened condensed milk in a small bowl, stirring until blended. Cover and chill 3 hours.
Preheat oven to 325°.

To prepare cake, coat bottoms of 3 (8-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray (do not coat sides of pans); line bottoms with wax paper. Coat wax paper with cooking spray; dust with 1 tablespoon flour.

Lightly spoon 2 cups cake flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine 2 cups cake flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk until well combined.

Combine oil, 1/3 cup juice, 3 tablespoons water, 1 teaspoon rind, lemon extract, and egg yolks in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add oil mixture to flour mixture; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth.

Place egg whites in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar; beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Gently stir one-fourth of egg white mixture into flour mixture; gently fold in remaining egg white mixture.

Divide cake batter equally among prepared pans, spreading evenly. Break air pockets by cutting through batter with a knife. Bake at 325° for 20 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool in pans for 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pans. Remove wax paper from cake layers. Cool completely on wire rack.

To prepare frosting, combine 3 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons lime juice in a small glass bowl. Microwave at high for 30 seconds or until sugar dissolves. Cool completely. Fold into whipped topping.

To assemble cake, place 1 cake layer on a plate; spread half of filling over cake layer. Top with second layer, remaining half of filling, and third layer. Spread frosting over top and sides of cake. Garnish with mint, blueberries, and lime wedges, if desired. Store cake loosely covered in refrigerator for up to 3 days. Slice cake into wedges.

Yield
16 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 290(29% from fat); FAT 9.3g (sat 2.1g,mono 4.6g,poly 2.1g); IRON 1.1mg; CHOLESTEROL 47mg; CALCIUM 122mg; CARBOHYDRATE 44.9g; SODIUM 218mg; PROTEIN 5.3g; FIBER 0.3g

Jan Moon , Cooking Light, JUNE 2006

Hello, Dorie!

2008-08-31T15:13:00.038-04:00

Greetings!! I am happy to report in and give you my very first TWD post!

I was THRILLED that Stefany from Proceed With Caution chose a cookie recipe this week (Chunky Peanut Butter & Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters, page 73) because it gives me a relatively worry-free premiere week. I was concerned at first that my first week’s recipe would have been some involved recipe using baking tools that I would have to buy (not that shopping is a bad thing), or techniques that were new to me. Although now that I've had a chance to peruse the book, I realize that I have not a pinch/dash/smidgen/drop of intimidation with Dorie's recipes…I think Dorie has put my mind at ease that I am far better off for just attempting a recipe than to not try at all!

I am also thrilled that my foray into TWD coincides with the retirement of my bathing suit for the season as there are some very decadent recipes coming my way! Goodbye summer clothes—and hello Dorie and oversized roll neck sweaters!

So back to the baking…This particular recipe would have been among my own choices as I’ve always loved the oatmeal-chocolate chip combination…. I was excited to dig in and start!

Sunday late morning, I gathered all my ingredients, all revved up and ready to go—little miss homebaker---and then I heard the sudden slam on the brakes, the drag of the needle across the record album, as I read the dreaded words: “2 sticks of butter, room temperature”…Now you'd think that this would not have happened because the fact is my dear pal Cathy (who recruited me to TWD) had the very same issue with her first TWD recipe--one would assume I'd learn something there..but no...Yet there is some solace in the fact that even though these days we live miles apart (she in the South, me in the Northeast), things like this confirm we are still very much alike. So hey, if a recipe ever calls for cold unsalted butter, we're your gals apparently...(that, and if you ever need backup singers for drunk karaoke, we rock on the "mama-say, mama-sa, ma-ma-coo-sa"'s in You Wanna Be Startin' Something..but I digress...)

I took 2 sticks from the fridge, threw on my counter with 2 eggs, and proceeded to measure out all the ingredients into the 2 bowls to keep me occupied while I waited for the butter to get to its happy temperature (with some 'encouragement' from me and the microwave...)

BAKER'S NOTE, INGREDIENTS: I used Nestle Toll House semi-sweet chocolate chips, and as for PB, decided to go with ½ C chunky peanut butter, and ½ C of creamy…I’m not a huge fan of chunky to begin with, but didn’t want to abandon it altogether as it's what was recommended, so I compromised.

I did not refrigerate the dough at all--only b/c I read on TWD the issues folks had with it getting too hard/crumbly--though I did throw the whole mixing bowl+batter into the refrigerator in between scooping it out onto the parchment-paper-lined cookie sheets, baking, then cooling the sheets for the next round. I found my cookies were (fairly) even in size, thanks to the cookie dough scoop I have--which is probably between 1-1.5 TB)

My first batch at 7 min per rotation came out a darker brown than I wanted—so I cut it to 6 min per rotation and they came out perfect!! My recipe made close to 70 cookies.

The Reviews are in, and all raves!

"They're the best cookies I think I've ever had" -Dear Husband (truly, he said that--I was so happy!)

"is that cinnamon? There are so many flavors and layers to these cookies...these are amazing!" -Dear Sister

"I laughed, I cried...eating these is better than going to see Cats" - Daily Variety

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I love 'em and know I'll be making them often. I also froze a bunch since it made so many--I'll let you know how they freeze/thaw in a month or so! I love the crunchy outer- yet slightly chewy inside!

WHAT I'D DO DIFFERENTLY NEXT TIME:

I think the cinnamon competes a bit with the peanut butter taste...if I was to do anything differently next time, I will cut the cinnamon measurement in half

Well, that's it folks! My first week done and posted! Looking forward to reading everyone's posts/experiences! I'm glad to be aboard!

Scratch Cake #2:Chocolate

2008-08-31T08:31:00.015-04:00

After trying my hand at my first scratch cake, I thought I would try again for my dear husband's birthday...and this time--chocolate! (His favorite)

Whose Chocolate cake to bake became the next question....Dorie? Martha? and then I realized I would go back to the very basics, and take out an heirloom: my great-aunt's 1940's Good Housekeeping Cook Book.
This book has been my trusted friend for some time now. My father's Aunt Margaret was the baker in his family. After she became a widow (in the 60's), she moved in with her widowed sister (my grandmother), and ever-bachelor brother (my great-uncle Jack) in our town. On any given weekend, it was not odd to see a white Duster drive up the driveway and the 5 of us (actually 7 of us as Mom & Dad loved her goodies as much as the kids did) would be waiting to see what she'd appear with...because she never came empty handed...brownies, cream puffs, tapioca, apple pie...you name it, she baked it--and well.

She passed away when I was only in 5th grade or so...and although my grandmother was not a baker, she saved her sister's cook book-and many years later, as Gram moved into a smaller place, she asked if I wanted it....it was like being passed a family bible. It now has a special place in my kitchen and heart. You can see old oil, chocolate stains...and writing in the front cover pages for other quick recipes she did....not much is marked up in the 'cooking' pages--but the "baking" pages are filled with drops from batters long gone. The cover is worn in out of years of love of baking...and I feel so lucky to have this connection with my Aunt.

I'm getting off track, but point being, I just knew this would be the cookbook to give me THE definitive chocolate cake recipe. "If it was good enough for Margaret, it's good enough for me."

I had to melt the (Trader Joe's) Belgian chocolate over a double boiler, under very specific instructions of Sir Joe ("when water is just about to boil turn it off...wait until it is shiny and then stir to melt it...") I went through my stops and starts of: "is it shiny yet? what about now? well the BOTTOMS of the blocks are shiny, but not the top, does that mean 'shiny'?" I was able to pull it together, realize it's just melting chocolate, and so I started stirring...and soon the blocks turned into something wonderful looking:

I had already lined my ingredients up so I could move this along once the chocolate melted...and into the Kitchen Aid it went...

Overall it was a super-easy recipe...though the only glitch was that regardless of scraping down the bowl as I went along, I guess I did not realize I wasn't getting everything. Once I started pouring the batter into the pans, I saw that there was a residue left on the very bottom of chocolate and flour "cement" that went un-scraped despite my efforts..at that point, it had solidified so even if I scraped it off (more like "chipped away at it"), it wasn't going to be added into the pans...maybe I added the flour too fast? I have no clue...but I lamented for about 30 seconds, licked the bowl to realize that it still tasted chocolate enough even without a what was left behind...and so be it...as my Navy brother would say, "FIDO" (F- it, Drive On)...

Here they are, out of the oven...I was not sure of how my first chocolate cake would do, and was worried about it not being chocolate enough due to the incident with the chocolate cement--so I did not leave the frosting up to chance, and used store-bought frosting (gasp! the horror! I know, I know, I'm such a rookie, huh?) I chose dark chocolate on top--and found whipped cream 'style' frosting for the middle, which was a nice call if I do say so myself... light, airy, and broke up the total chocolate party going on with the cake and other frosting...

Once the frosting was over, I just waited for the company (my brother/sister-in-law and their 3 kids) to arrive so we could eat dinner--and then crack into the cake! The only thing with cake is you can't test it before everyone else does...you can't even steal a taste of the first piece as that one you have to hand off to the person of honor...All through dinner I was thinking that I had my target audience (my 2 nephews and my niece) and this was make or break time as Auntie Lisa's reputation as a baker...candles were lit, subsequently blown out to an off-key rendition of Happy Birthday...I cut into it, served it, and I looked around the table to see smiles and lots of "wow, Lisa, this is amazing!" I finally let myself breathe, then tried myself to find a lovely tasting birthday cake!

So in closing, this whole from-scratch stuff was a world I never dared tread before--but wow, now that I have I realize that it's not so scary at all, in fact it's "all bake, no bite". My husband is still raving about it, and it makes me happy, proud, and excited to bake more!

Cheers, Margaret.

THE END.

Bakin' n Bloggin'=Blaking??

2008-08-28T08:18:00.000-04:00

So one of my nearest and dearest, Cathy, shared with me not too long ago that she was invited to join an online baking club, called Tuesdays With Dorie.

In this club, all members purchase Baking..From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, and each week a different recipe is chosen and everyone bakes and blogs about it. The only rules are members must participate in at least 2 recipes a month. (oh ya, and have a blog...which is why I started this one, dedicated to my TWD posts!)

Hearing about this baking community dovetailed beautifully with the fact that I had JUST baked my first layer cake from scratch, and was itching to do more! I am so excited!! So, sign me up!

I will post my first recipe next Tuesday, Sept 2nd. And am thrilled that my first endeavor will be a cookie recipe!! Ahh...cookies!

So stay tuned….Wish me luck!