I'm Right About Everything

Book Review: Lady in Waiting

2011-02-07T21:57:00.005-06:00

I received the book Lady in Waiting by Susan Meissner to review a couple of weeks ago. Knowing that I was leaving for Hawaii in a couple of days, I regretfully just put it right into my carry on bag so I would have something to read by the pool. OMG! I wish I hadn't saved it! It was so so good! I loved that it intertwined the modern day story of Jane Lindsay and her struggles with her marriage, and the classic Tudor story of Lady Jane Grey. This is a somewhat Christian book, but it didn't have overt themes at all.

The story about Jane Lindsay and her troubled marriage is something that I think just about everyone can relate to. Nobody's marriage is perfect, everyone has doubts at some point or another. Marriage is really hard work and you can't be lazy about it. Jane learned that--she not only learned how to fix her marriage, but how to fix herself.

I've always been a sucker for books that take place in England, so of course I loved that parts about Lady Jane. It was fascinating to read about the Tudor period. I loved reading about the different fashions and the way things were done back then. While I would never want to live in that period, I still love reading about it. I loved reading about Lady Jane grow up and realize that while she thought her whole life had been decided for her, she had been making decisions the whole time--she was in charge of her own fate.

I highly recommend this book. I read it in about 3 days by the pool. It was a light quick read. It was really wonderful! Click here to read chapter one.

And for the FTC I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-11T11:32:00.003-06:00

Well it's a new year and hopefully I will get back into the swing of blogging. Things got so hectic with the holidays and the end of the year deadlines and the baking and cleaning and wrapping and shopping. I was so glad to send the kids back to school and get back into a routine. I haven't made any real resolutions for 2011, but I do have some goals. I'm hoping to get some projects done around the house (and now that I have a new miter saw, hopefully once it gets a little warmer, I can get them started!). I'm hoping we all stay healthy. I'm hoping I lose some weight (although doesn't everyone say this?!). I hope your holidays were wonderful and that your 2011 is off to a good start!

Holiday Wish List Contest

2010-11-23T22:56:00.002-06:00

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme

TodaysMama (link to: http://bit.ly/tmwishlist) and GameStop (link to:http://bit.ly/gamestop10) are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What is your holiday wish for your family? to have a healthy and safe 2011.

2. What is your Christmas morning tradition? The kids look at their Santa presents first and then we start the presents. Once presents and stockings are opened, we have a nice breakfast.

3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be? One year of traveling around the world.

4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money? Instead of writing names on the presents, we pick a theme each year and that's what I write on them instead. It's always a surprise then who gets which present. We've done Disney characters, cartoon characters, ice cream flavors, and colors. Each year we have fun trying to pick the new theme. This year is islands!

5. What games did you play with your family growing up? Yahtzee, Rook, Monopoly, Life

6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood? The present writing thing is what my dad did for presents.

7. Where would you go for a Christmas-away-from-home trip? Someplace warm--a Caribbean island probably.

8. Check out GameStop (link to: http://bit.ly/gamestop10) and tell us, what are the three top items on your GameStop Wish List this year? PS3, Kinect, and Rock Band 3.

Fiber One Review

2010-11-20T13:37:00.002-06:00

I was given the opportunity to review Fiber One Bars recently. I used to eat the Oats and Chocolate all the time for breakfast a few years ago. But I think I ate them so much that I grew tired of them. And then I never really looked at that aisle in the grocery store anymore. So imagine my surprise when I went shopping and there were tons of new flavors!I decided to try the Carmel ones and because I loved the Chocolate ones so much, got some of them too. I still love the Chocolate ones, but the Carmel ones just didn't do it for me. They were a little too plain. I think if you combined the too and had carmel and chocolate drizzled on top and chocolate chips in the bar, that would be the ULTIMATE bar. I would eat that every morning for breakfast in a heartbeat.

Product was provided by Fiber One through My Blog Spark.

TWD: Caramel Pumpkin Pie

2010-10-19T13:15:00.004-05:00

I love Pumpkin Pie, but only if it has lots of whipped cream. I like pumpkin in general, just not plain. Because pumpkin is so good for you, we've been trying to learn to like it more and eat more of it. So when Janell of Moretnesen Family Memoirs chose Caramel Pumpkin Pie, I knew I would make it--just not the whole thing!

I cut the recipe in half and got two 4" mini tarts and a little creme brulee cup of dough and filling. The kids didn't like it at all--which is funny because they loved the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies I made a couple of weeks ago--but Tim and I did. The filling was so simple and the crust of course awesome. I'd make this again. In fact, I might make a full version for Thanksgiving depending on where we end up!

FFWD: Vietnamese Spicy Chicken Noodle Soup

2010-10-19T13:10:00.002-05:00

I know it's not Friday, but Tuesday, but we didn't get a chance to make this until Sunday night, so I'm just posting it now. Tim loves Pho. It is one of his favorite foods. The kids and I, not so much. So I was going to skip this, but he wanted to make it so I left it to him. He cut the recipe in half and made it for himself on Sunday night while the kids and I had chicken and rice casserole. It was a pretty simple recipe, he didn't have any problems with it and really enjoyed it. I'm not sure if he liked it as much as a couple of the little restaurants he goes to sometimes, but he did like it. He would definitely make it again!

French Fridays with Dorie: Gougeres

2010-10-01T20:41:00.002-05:00

It's here! I am so excited that French Fridays with Dorie is here! I love Dorie. I love Baking From My Home to Yours. But I was burned out on baking. I'm hoping to jump back in this month, but we'll see. The first recipe was the first recipe in the book, rather fitting I think! I used a gruyere cheese that I picked up at Whole Foods that was being sampled and was delicious!

These were so simple to make and they were so delicious. We had them with soup at dinner. The kids didn't really like them, but Tim and I did, and I will probably give some to the neighbors tomorrow so that they can be enjoyed!

I built shelves!

2010-09-19T20:20:00.002-05:00

I needed more space in my craft room, but didn't have a lot of options, except for wall shelves. I saw these gorgeous shelves over at Beneath My Heart and knew that I HAD to make them. I am so glad I took the plunge! I made two 33" shelves and two 36" shelves. I had Home Depot cut my boards down and got my molding and corbels there too. I built the first two and had Tim hang them. They almost didn't get up. We had a lot of issues getting them up. I built the next two and hung them myself, and they went up without a problem. Go figure. I used Rustoleum Semi-gloss Black spray paint and because I wasn't happy with the texture after the spraying, I used a glossy polyurethane that I had left from doing the dresser. I think overall I spent around $80 for the four shelves.

The above picture is the wall space over my green dresser and next to my sewing armoire. I have a bunch of patterns in the purple basket and the bins next to it hold all my buttons and the buttons I just got from my grandma's house.

That is the wall above a second dresser that holds fabric and completed projects. To the left is a bookcase that I am going to paint black and to the right is my scrapbook table. One of those purple baskets holds unused yarn and the other holds the odds and ends from completed projects. I bought the purple baskets at Target--I'm so happy I found them. They work perfectly with the purple walls!

Sangria Jello Shots

2010-09-01T20:21:00.003-05:00

I don't have a picture of these because we had them at a BBQ. Tim can't have anything carbonated, but loves Sangria. I was having trouble finding a good recipe, so I made these instead. They were great! I made mine in little plastic shot glasses that had lids that I got at the liquor store instead of cutting squares.

SANGRIA JELLO SHOTS

1 3/4 cups Sangria
1 1/2 cups Limeade
3/4 cup Cointreau
4 packets Knox Gelatin (one whole box - can be found in baking aisle of grocery store)
zest of one lime for garnish

Instructions: Mix the first 3 ingredients in a small saucepan. Add gelatin and let sit for 3 minutes while gel softens. Turn on heat to medium and heat for a few minutes until gel is completely dissolved. No need to boil or get very hot. Pour into a 9" square pan that has been lined with plastic wrap. Chill covered overnight. To "unmold", remove plastic wrap, turn jello-cocktail over onto cutting board and cut into 35 equal sized pieces. Top each piece with a small bit of lime zest. Place on tray and serve immediately.

Before and After

2010-08-30T14:53:00.003-05:00

I bought this dresser a couple of years ago at a neighbor's garage sale for $15 I think. I use it up in my craft room to hold all my fabric. It's a really nice dresser--really made well. I finally got around to fixing it up! I sanded it, primed it, and then painted it with some spring green paint that I got for free from Glidden a long time ago. I let Gabby pick out the paint because we were going to redo her room with some stripes or polka dots. Rather than paint, we opted to do vinyl, so I had this can sitting around. I wasn't sure how far it would go, so I made the legs of the dresser white. And when I was done painting the drawers, I blocked off a rectangle and painted it with chalkboard paint so that I could label the drawers. I love how it turned out! So bright now!

Sorry!

2010-08-25T13:22:00.003-05:00

I have been MIA for the past 6 weeks and I am so sorry! My grandpa had a heart attack a few days after my last post, and we spent the next 10 days in the hospital. He finally passed away on July 21 and then we had to deal with the arrangements, the wake, the funeral, etc. And a few short days later we went on a family vacation. Every year we go to Ludington, MI with all my mom's brothers and sisters. It was bittersweet this year with Grandpa not being there, but it was a nice break. Things have been so crazy since getting back to town, that I just haven't had a chance to bake. To be honest, I haven't really had the desire to bake either.

The kids start school tomorrow, so hopefully I will be able to get back into a routine. I'd like to move to a new direction of crafting. I've been crafting for awhile and my sister and I are thinking of opening an etsy shop, so we'll see how that goes!

TWD: Brrrrrownies

2010-07-13T19:12:00.002-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Brrrrrownies chosen by Karen of Welcome to our Crazy Blessed Life. I love brownies. I love Peppermint Patties. These were a very welcome treat. Tim and I both loved them. They were easy to make, but not real pretty. They did bake an extra 12 minutes. They probably could have used another 5-10 minutes, but I wasn't home to take them out, Tim was and he was afraid of burning them. Then I compounded the problem by taking them out of the pan too soon. They were a little gooey, but totally fantastic!

TWD: Dressy Chocolate Loaf Cake

2010-06-23T18:02:00.002-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Dressy Chocolate Loaf Cake chosen by Amy of Amy Ruth Bakes. I haven't tried it yet, but it came together no problem. I used Strawberry Jam instead of Raspberry since my kids seem to think they hate raspberries right now. I froze mine and plan on bringing it on vacation next month, so we'll see how it goes then. But it looks good. And the little bits of cake I trimmed off were tasty and the little swipe of frosting I had from the bowl before I cleaned it, was real good too.

TWD: Raisin Swirl Bread

2010-06-17T20:42:00.003-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Raisin Swirl Bread chosen by Food.Baby. Seeing as how I am the only person that likes raisins in the family, I left the raisins out. I did put in the optional cocoa powder and thought about putting in chocolate chips, but after reading that people had problems with the bread falling apart where the raisins were, I left them out. The bread is really good. It reminds me of a piece of cinnamon toast like we had when I was little except less messy. This was really good. I loved it slathered with butter and plain both!

TWD: Tender Shortcakes

2010-06-08T19:57:00.003-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Tender Shortcakes chosen by Cathy of The Tortefeasor. I am usually a huge fan of strawberry shortcake, but these shortcakes were not that good. They were too biscuity and not sweet enough. I guess I grew up with shortcake either being those little premade shortcakes from the grocery store, or angel cake, or pound cake. It was nice to try something new, but I'll be sticking with angel food or pound cake in the future.

TWD: White Chocolate Brownies

2010-06-01T18:30:00.003-05:00

This week Clara at I Heart Food is in heaven. She has been waiting forever for someone to pick the White Chocolate brownies and this week, we made them! Marthe of Culinary Delights chose these brownies. I only made a half batch because Tim doesn't like fruit in his desserts, Gabby doesn't like raspberries, and I don't need a whole batch of brownies tempting me. I went ahead and kept the almonds in it, since Gabby wouldn't eat them.

I had some issues with the brownies. They went together beautifully, but when I baked them, they weren't even close to being done at the 30 minute mark. I checked them every 5 minutes and after 45 minutes, I had to take them out or else ruin the meringue topping. The edges of the brownies were finally done, but the middle was still a little gooey. The meringue turned really quick. A few hours later, and it was ugly. It still tasted fine, but I was surprised it did. My other problem was that the meringue didn't "adhere" to the brownies at all. It just slid right off.

So I wouldn't make these again, they just weren't that good and weren't worth all the trouble. Be sure to check out the rest of the Tuesdays with Dorie folks to see how they fared!

TWD: Banana Coconut Ice Cream Pie

2010-05-25T15:48:00.003-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Banana Coconut Ice Cream Pie chosen by Spike of Spike Bakes. I don't have pictures yet and haven't even tasted it, because I am bringing it to a birthday party on Saturday. It was very easy to make though and it looks delicious. I was supposed to use a deep dish pie pan, and I thought I had one, but couldn't find it so I used this casserole dish that I usually use for sheperd's pie. The crust therefore went up real high and the filling didn't go as high, so I think I will use whip cream on top of it.

TWD: Burnt Sugar Ice Cream

2010-05-04T19:48:00.002-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Burnt Sugar Ice Cream chosen by Becky of Project Domestication. Normally burnt anything doesn't sound that appealing, but since caramel is really just burnt sugar, I knew I would love this. Being a total ice cream aficianado didn't hurt either. (I would like to apologize for the photo, I let Tim take the picture and it was the last of the ice cream. I had visions of taking a picture of it in a cone, and it just didn't happen.)

This ice cream was very creamy. Tim thought it was a little grainy, and the kids didn't even get to try it, so no opinion there. It took awhile to thicken the custard up, but once it did, it was like a thick pudding. I churned it the next day and I let it go for like 30 minutes and it didn't make that much. Usually my ice cream base at least doubles once it's churned and this time it didn't get quite so voluminous. I highly recommend this. It would be great between the cookies of the Dulce de Leches. Unfortunately I didn't think of it until just now after the ice cream was gone.

TWD: Chockablock Cookies

2010-04-27T20:53:00.003-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Chockablock Cookies chosen by Mary of Popsicles and Sandy Feet. I have been on a cookie baking binge the last few days. We have a bake sale for Cub Scouts this week, and then TJ is making his First Communion in a couple of weeks, so I'm sticking tons of cookies in the freezer for these two events. These cookies couldn't have come at a better time.

These cookies just scream HEALTHY to me. They have dried fruit and nuts and coconut and are just so granola-y. The recipe called for a cup of dried fruit and I used a Trader Joe's Dried Fruit Golden Berry Blend. It had golden raisins, cherries, cranberries, and blueberries. It also called for nuts and I used cashews. I liked these cookies! I'm not a fan of coconut, so next time I might leave these out, but they were definitely good.

TWD: Sweet Cream Biscuits

2010-04-20T17:06:00.003-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Sweet Cream Biscuits chosen by Melissa of Love at First Bite. I like having a week that isn't a dessert. I'm not the best biscuit maker, but I think this attempt came out better than past ones, due to all the other bread I've been baking. These were still definitely too flat, but a great tip I read after was to bake them close together so they can't spread out and have to go up. So I'll definitely try these again using that tip. I was going to make chocolate gravy to go with these, but I'm on a new diet and I just couldn't bear to do that to myself. I did turn some of the "puckier" ones into croutons and Gabby was extremely disappointed when they were gone.

Book Review: Hand of Fate

2010-04-13T20:24:00.002-05:00

I got a kindle for Christmas, so I haven't been reading a lot of real books lately. As much as I love my kindle, especially for traveling, I do miss the feel of a book in my hand. Anyways...I am reviewing the book Hand of Fate by Lis Wiehl. It is the second book of the series, so I was a little concerned I would be "lost" or feel like I was missing something, but I wasn't. The book was a good mystery/thriller with just a hint of a God theme. It was enjoyable. I believe in God, but I've read some books that really seem to lose the point of the book by overshadowing all the religious talk. For someone who isn't religious, it can be a real turn off. But this book was so subtle about it, that you didn't feel it was being shoved down your throat. I think non-believers would enjoy it just as much as believers. I look forward to going back and reading the first book in the series and any future ones!

TWD: Mocha Almond Marbled Bundt Cake

2010-04-06T19:47:00.002-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Mocha ~~Walnut~~ Almond Marbled Bundt Cake chosen by Erin of When in Doubt Leave it at 350. I subbed almonds for walnuts because that's what I had on hand. I also opted to cut the recipe in half and make 6 mini bundts so I could eat one and ship the rest to my lucky cousins. I was so excited that my bundts all came out of the pan perfectly. I may have gone a tad overboard with the flour pam since last time I had so many problems getting them out. I also subbed milk chocolate for dark chocolate since I didn't have any dark on hand. Because of that, the chocolate flavor was VERY subdued. These were ok, but since Gabby is allergic to nuts and Tim and I are trying to watch our diets, things like this aren't fully appreciated. It would probably be perfect for a brunch or coffee talk with the girls though!

TWD: Dulce de Leche Duos

2010-03-25T12:07:00.003-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Dulce de Leche Duos chosen by Jodie of Beansy Loves Cake. I had a jar that I had only used a spoonful of the heavenly Dulce de Leche out of, so it was kismet that it was this recipe this week and I didn't need to go buy any ingredients. Or so I thought. I made the cookies and they came out lovely (except for 2 kind of smashed up on one side from the side of the cookie sheet). I started pairing them up like shape to like shape and started filling them, when I ran out of Dulce de Leche. No big deal right? I'll try a few with my trusty Dark Chocolate Nutella knock off spread. OMG big mistake. They were awful with the chocolate filling. Almost inedible. So I got just a few sandwich cookies made, put the rest in a bag in the freezer and will finish filling them when we get back from Hawaii. I ran a few errands and came home and the cookies were GONE. Not a crumb left. And of course I hadn't taken a picture yet. I swear my family is trying to drive me crazy!

TWD: Soft Chocolate and Raspberry Tart

2010-03-16T08:10:00.003-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Soft Chocolate and Raspberry Tart chosen by Rachelle of Mommy? I'm hungry! It was a lovely tart, really quite pretty and quite tasty. I promise.

But you see, I was going to make it over the weekend and bought all my supplies on Thursday. Then late Friday morning, I got the call. I was subbing for bunco and needed to bring a dessert. Ok then! I rushed to make the crust since I knew it has to sit in the freezer for awhile. In my rushing, I didn't realize it, but I used my 11" tart pan. I had no problems with the crust. I was a little short with the raspberries, so I threw some frozen blueberries in to fill in the empty spots. If I had known I was using an 11" pan, I would have doubled my chocolate part, but that was when I realized it was 11". I made do and baked it and went to bunco. And on my way there, realized I didn't get a picture. Oops!

TWD: Thumbprints for Us Big Guys

2010-03-09T19:52:00.003-06:00

I've missed the last two Tuesdays with Dorie because my father in law unexpectedly passed away before I made the Honey Wheat Cookies and we've been so busy dealing with the funeral and trying to find a will or insurance policy and a house that was *thisclose* to qualifying for the show Hoarders. *Stepping onto my soapbox* If you own any assets or have kids, please please please get a will done.

But I am back this week and hopefully back on track. This week was Thumbprints for Us Big Guys chosen by Mike of Ugly Food Dude. There were a lot of complaints of the dough being crumbly, so I added a little bit of milk to the dough and yet it was still really really crumbly and dry. I used strawberry jam on some and some fake nutella (just plain dark chocolate spread) on others. They were way too plain and dry tasting. I think these are quite possibly the worst cookie I've ever made. Sorry! Next week is a Soft Chocolate and Raspberry Tart, which I am looking forward to!

TWD: My Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-02-16T20:30:00.002-06:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is My Best Chocolate Chip Cookies chosen by Kait of Kait's Plate. I love Chocolate Chip Cookies. I have a pretty fail safe recipe that everyone loves, but I like to try new things. But when I read the Ps and Qs about these, I got a little nervous. Everyone was having problems--they were all coming out too thin and crispy. So I added a tiny bit more flour--I didn't measure it, but a 1/4 cup at most more. The kids and I made it on Valentine's Day so we made part of it into a heart cookie cake. We had some leftover and made some actual cookies, but of course the little piggies ate them before I could take pictures.

The cookies were not thin at all. They came out like a normal cookie. The cookie cake was obviously not thin either, but I didn't cook it quite long enough so the middle was a little gooey. Gabby didn't like it that way, but I didn't mind it that way at all. Tim wanted frosting added, so we got a can of Pillsbury Easy Frosting, which was good and worked easy. I wanted to write Happy VD on it since that is all that would fit, but we elected just a heart instead. These were good, but my normal recipe is better.

I don't have a black thumb after all!

2010-02-09T20:51:00.002-06:00

For Christmas, I got an Aerogarden with various herbs. They are all flourishing, except for the chives which haven't grown at all. But that's ok because I don't like chives. I've always had a black thumb, but apparently I can grow these! So we have a huge abundance of Basil, Thyme, Mint, Oregano and Dill. I don't know what to do with it all!!!

We did use some of the basil on our homemade pizza. But what to do with the rest? I'm going to make some herb bread tomorrow I think using some thyme. It seems so silly to freeze it or save it. I want to use it fresh! Does anyone have any ideas on how to use it?

TWD: Rick Katz's Brownies for Julia

2010-02-09T20:46:00.003-06:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Rick Katz's Brownies for Julia chosen by Tanya of Chocolatechic. Apparently February is chocolate month at TWD! These are an ooey gooey brownie that are just so so delicious! I baked these a lot longer than what was called for, but they were still super gooey--almost too gooey. When I cut them up for the kids to have dessert, they were almost soupy. I stuck them in the fridge for us to have later and an hour later they were better. They are a very rich brownie. Definitely something I'll make again! I think you could add nuts or espresso or cinnamon or chocolate chips or anything really to these!

TWD: Milk Chocolate Mini Bundt Cakes

2010-02-02T08:00:00.001-06:00

It's my turn! It's my turn! This is so exciting! The kids and I have been planning this for weeks now. They were so excited to help pick the recipe. We were actually going to pick the Cocoa-Nana Bread from last week, but alas it wasn't meant to be. I'm glad we picked the Mini Bundts though.

Now, I know mine aren't the prettiest little cakes. I had some issues getting them out of the pan--I guess I didn't spray them enough and only 1 came out complete. I also had issues with my glaze, and apparently I wasn't the only one. It tasted fine, but it wasn't real pretty. Since Gabby is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts, I opted to use caramel bits instead for the swirl. And OMG, it was a great choice! It really added an excellent flavor. I highly recommend these--they don't require crazy ingredients, they are simple to make, and substitutions are great in number! Be sure to check out everyone who baked with me this week at Tuesdays with Dorie!

TWD: Cocoa-Nana Bread

2010-01-26T20:42:00.003-06:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Cocoa-Nana Bread chosen by Steph of Obsessed with Baking. I am so glad this was chosen! It was actually on my short list of choices for when it is my turn, which just happens to be next week!

It's funny I love bananas, but all my life, I haven't liked banana bread. The first time I had some that I liked was last summer when we made another Dorie Chocolate Banana Bread. And this one was just as good. The kids both loved it and have begged me to make it again. It was so moist, so delicious. My only complaint, and I think it had to do with not leaving it in the oven long enough, was that when I sliced it, the closer I got to the middle, the weaker the slices were. They broke and crumbled more easily. But I think if I had left it an extra 5-10 minutes, it would have been fine. Definitely make this one!

TWD: Chocolate Oatmeal Almost Candy Bars

2010-01-19T12:35:00.003-06:00

I'm back on the Tuesdays with Dorie wagon! This week is Chocolate Oatmeal Almost Candy Bars chosen by Lillian of Confectiona's Realm. I made a few changes to the recipe due to Gabby's allergies. I substituted Butterscotch Chips for the peanuts in the bottom layer and left out the raisins and peanuts in the topping. I also only made a half batch, since I am trying to stay on the diet bandwagon. These are fabulous and definitely worth it!

Winner!

2010-01-18T11:46:00.001-06:00

And the winner is.....

Kakihara! I love the image of the cans popping open in the hot car!

Thanks everyone for the great ideas. I'm going to try some of these with the kids over the next few weeks!

Giveaway Time!

2010-01-13T16:19:00.004-06:00

Let's start off 2010 with a giveaway from Pillsbury! I received a package of Crescent sheet coupons and 3 cute little platters--which were perfect since I have so few platters! I used the Crescent rolls to make an appetizer inspired by their Crescent Wrapped Brie--a Garlic Cheese Roll Up. These were so so simple and tasty! I got this fabulous Garlic Cheese spread at Costco and used one of the packages(comes in a pack of 3). I spread it on the Crescent Rolls, rolled them up, and sliced them into little rounds. I baked them for 12 minutes and they were fabulous!

So I will be giving away the same platter set and coupons! Pillsbury and Blogspark will send a random drawn winner the prize package(coupons only good in US). So to enter tell me your favorite way to use Crescent Rolls, besides as rolls.

Drawing will end on January 17 at 9pm central time. Good luck!

Bad Blogger

2010-01-05T16:45:00.003-06:00

I am such a bad blogger. I haven't posted in almost a month. We have just been so swamped! I was barely cooking anything in December unless it was something quick from the freezer, let alone baking. I made a couple of batches of Christmas cookies, but that's it. Between being busy with the holidays and doctor's appointments and MRIs and all that, I just didn't have the time or desire to be in the kitchen. But I am going to readdress that. I found some pictures that I took a loooong time ago and will start posting those things and then get back into Tuesdays with Dorie!

TWD: Sables

2009-12-08T11:57:00.002-06:00

I'm back baby! I took most of November off because we were sick, then we were in Aruba for Thanksgiving. So now I am hopefully back in the swing of things. This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Sables chosen by Barbara of Bungalow Barbara. These are light buttery shortbread cookie and oh so good. They are a little on the plain side, but I spread them with some Chocolate Caramel Spread(like Nutella) that I got at Cost Plus and that made them to die for. There are a lot of different options to play around with, they are very versatile. I highly recommend them since they are so easy!

TWD: Sugar Topped Molasses Spiced Cookies

2009-11-10T21:18:00.003-06:00

November is a crazy month, so instead of having specific recipes due on specific dates, we have all month to do the recipes as we wish. So this week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Sugar Topped Molasses Spiced Cookies chosen by Pamela of Cookies with Boys. I have never used molasses. But as you all know, I love cookies, so jumped on the chance to make these. I have to admit, when I was mixing these, I almost threw them away because they smelled so bad. I used the best kind of molasses, but it still takes some getting used to. I am so glad I kept them! The cookies were really good. They came out huge--I definitely could have gotten a lot more cookies out of it, but divided it as Dorie suggested. I am the only one eating these, so I am going to try popping them in the freezer and then mailing them to my cousins and see how they fare.

Book Review: The Well Behaved Child

2009-10-26T19:41:00.002-05:00

I love reading. I typically pick some kind of fiction, but every now and then will pick up a non-fiction book. I was chosen to give my first ever book review! My kids are typically pretty good kids. They fight with each other, don't pick up unless I threaten them, and are occasionally bad. But overall they are great kids. So I chose The Well Behaved Child Discipline that REALLY works! to see if I could learn anything new to try.

I'll be honest, this book started out pretty crazy. One of the first things the author, John Rosemond, states is that ALL kids are bad. I simply don't agree with that. There are of course some kids who really are bad kids, but there are way too many kids who are good kids. But I plowed through that insane part and I am so glad I did! There were some excellent ideas.

I've already tried one and so far, it is working! TJ has been sleeping in either Tim's or my (although it's 99% Tim) bed most nights of the week. He has a "tummy ache" or a "bad dream". I really don't buy it. He's healthy and frankly, I don't think he has that many bad dreams. So I told him that from now on when he sleeps in one of our beds, he can't use electronics the next day. So far in the week I have implemented it, he has only slept with Tim 1 night and not at all with me!

We are going to be implementing a couple of other strategies and hopefully they will be as successful! If you are having problems with your kids, big or small, I think this book is worth a read.

TWD: Sweet Potato Biscuits

2009-10-22T21:27:00.002-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Sweet Potato Biscuits chosen by Erin of Prudence Pennywise. Growing up I hated sweet potatoes. My mom would make this Sweet Potato Casserole every Thanksgiving and I would turn my nose up and ignore it. And then one day a few years ago I was having lunch with my mom and she got Sweet Potato fries with her lunch. So I tried one. And OMG I have been a sweet potato convert ever since. I love sweet potato fries, sweet potato casserole, golden mashed potatoes(regular and sweet potatoes mixed), roasted sweet potatoes.... you get the idea. I was excited about these biscuits and then I read people were having problems with rising. I tried to avoid overmixing. But I still got flat little biscuits instead of puffy perfect biscuits. They were still good, especially with the cinnamon honey butter Tim bought at Costco a couple of weeks ago, but they didn't look very pretty.

TWD: Allspice Crumb Muffins

2009-10-14T10:00:00.002-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Allspice Crumb Muffins chosen by Kayte of Grandma's Kitchen Table. I love making muffins. I love the kids being able to eat something good and relatively healthy for breakfast. TJ loved these, Gabby not so much. I thought they had a great texture and taste, but were sorely lacking. They needed some chocolate chips, blueberries, or nuts. Something to jazz them up. They were just too plain. I'll definitely try making them again adding something extra.

TWD: Split Pudding

2009-10-06T21:09:00.002-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Split Pudding chosen by Garrett of Flavor of Vanilla. I love pudding so I was pretty glad to be making this. I especially like the timing of this since I had extra ganache from last week to reuse. I didn't do this in the food processor because last time I made something liquidy in it, it was a disaster. Frankly, I don't think the food processor was made for liquids. I just whisked it for the beginning part. After it thickened up and it was time to add the butter and vanilla, I threw it in the Blend Tech and finished it up in that. It worked beautifully.

I opted to serve it in wine glasses and martini glasses so it would look pretty. For some reason, the plastic wrap left weird marks on the top. It also separated funny once I started eating it. I'm not sure why, but the vanilla part seemed to slip right off the top of the chocolate. Frankly, I wasn't that impressed with this. The vanilla alone was fine. The chocolate alone was fine. But together it was just meh. I probably won't be making this again, but oh well.

TWD: Chocolate Crunched Caramel Tart

2009-10-03T21:00:00.003-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Chocolate Crunched Caramel Tart chosen by Carla of Chocolate Moosey. With Gabby being allergic to peanuts and tree nuts, I chose to leave out the peanuts so she could have some. And because I left them out, she chose not to eat any. ARGH!

I couldn't think of anything crunchy to replace it because I've been pretty tired lately. So we were crunchless. The caramel came out beautifully this time around and so did the ganache. No problems what so ever with either of them. The tart crust on the other hand....

For some reason, my crust completely stuck to the foil protecting it on two of the mini tarts. I managed to pull it off and then finished the baking. The caramel kind of held the broken up bottom together. It wasn't the prettiest tart, but it still tasted good! These tarts were really really good. I think they would be great with any kind of nut added. I will probably make these again!

TWD: Cottage Cheese Pufflets

2009-09-22T13:14:00.002-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Cottage Cheese Pufflets by Jacque of Daisy Lane Cakes. I thought I took pictures, but apparently I didn't. I plugged my camera in to upload my pictures and there were none of the Pufflets. Which is fine, since they were pretty ugly; tasty, but ugly.

I abhor cottage cheese. I hate the taste. I hate the texture even more. But I didn't want to skip yet another week, so I made them. And OMG I am so glad I did. They were soooo good. They were best when they were fresh out of the oven. Cold they weren't very good. Nuked in the microwave was better than cold ones. But fresh from the oven? OMG delicious! The dough was very sticky, which made them difficult to make. And although they were tasty, I don't think I'll be making them again.

My new love: MAC!

2009-09-17T17:37:00.002-05:00

I've worn Mary Kay makeup exclusively for the last few years. I used to be a consultant and even when that stopped, I still had a closet full of stuff to use. Well that stash is drying up, and even what is left, is not usable or anything I'm interested in anymore, so I have begun to shop for cosmetics again. I started with new mascara and found some Max Factor that I liked ok. Then I decided that I NEEDED a red lipstick. So I went in search at Ulta and Sephora for the perfect red lipstick. And I couldn't find any. Then I went with my neighbor to Macy's and hit the MAC counter. And I foud the perfect red lipstick. And let me tell you that lipstick really IS perfect. I put it on at about 11 am the other day and it was still going strong at 8pm. It was amazing. The girl warned me when she was ringing me up that once you go MAC you never go back, and I'm afraid she may have been right!

TWD: Flaky Apple Turnovers

2009-09-16T17:00:00.002-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Flaky Apple Turnovers chosen by Julie of Someone's in the Kitchen. I know this is a day late, but all day yesterday I thought it was Monday and then this morning I woke up thinking it was Thursday. It's going to be a long week since a lot of the kids' activities start up this week. I swear I have something every single day this week!

The kids love apple pie and warm cinnamon apples, TJ especially. I had extra apples and they both loved them. TJ didn't really like the dough part of the turnovers, but oh well. Gabby has been eating them for breakfast, snacks, and dessert, so they are obviously a hit with her. I think they would be fabulous with vanilla ice cream. I liked it better with the caramel sauce then plain. I think chopping up some caramels into little pieces and adding them to the apple mix so the insides were ooey gooey would be good too.

Soft Pretzels

2009-09-09T21:45:00.004-05:00

I love soft pretzels. Auntie Annie's is my favorite mall salty treat. They are so buttery and yummy. So when I saw this recipe on Smitten Kitchen, I knew I HAD to make them. These were really good. Not quite as good as Auntie Annie's, but definitely better than the frozen ones you get at the store and heat up in the microwave. I froze a bunch of them and then reheat them in the oven for a few minutes every now and then. They reheat wonderfully!

Soft Pretzels
Adapted from Martha Stewart

Makes 16 full-sized or 32 miniature

2 cups warm water (100°F to 110°F)
1 tablespoon + 2 tablespoons sugar
1 packet active dry yeast
5 to 6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons canola or other neutral oil
1/4 cup baking soda
1 large egg
Coarse or pretzel salt

Vegetable-oil cooking spray

1. Pour warm water and 1 tablespoon sugar into bowl of electric mixer fitted with a dough hook* and stir to combine. Sprinkle with yeast, and let sit 10 minutes; yeast should be foamy.

2. Add 1 cup flour to yeast, and mix on low until combined. Add salt and 4 cups more flour, and mix until combined, about 30 seconds. Beat on medium-low until dough pulls away from sides of bowl, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add another 1/2 cup flour, and knead on low 1 minute more. If dough is still wet and sticky, add 1/2 cup more flour (this will depend on weather conditions); knead until combined, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a lightly floured board, and knead about ten times, or until smooth.

3. Pour oil into a large bowl; swirl to coat sides. Transfer dough to bowl, turning dough to completely cover all sides. Cover with a kitchen towel, and leave in a warm spot for 1 hour, or until dough has doubled in size.

4. Heat oven to 450°F. Lightly spray two baking sheets with cooking spray (parchment paper, ungreased, also works). Set aside. Punch down dough to remove bubbles. Transfer to a lightly floured board. Knead once or twice, divide into 16 pieces (about 2 1/2 ounces each) or 32 if making miniature pretzels, and wrap in plastic.

5. Roll one piece of dough at a time into an 18-inch-long strip. [I find the pretzels much easier to roll on an unfloured board, oddly enough, but see what works for you.] Twist into pretzel shape; transfer to prepared baking sheet. Cover with a kitchen towel. Continue to form pretzels; eight will fit on each sheet (you may need a third sheet if making miniatures). Let pretzels rest until they rise slightly, about 15 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, fill large, shallow pot with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil. Add baking soda (and step back, it foams up quickly) and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Reduce to a simmer; transfer three to four pretzels to water. Poach 1 minute on each side. Use slotted spoon to transfer pretzels to baking sheet. Continue until all pretzels are poached.

7. Beat egg with 1 tablespoon water. Brush pretzels with egg glaze. Sprinkle with salt. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on wire rack, or eat warm. Pretzels are best when eaten the same day, but will keep at room temperature, uncovered, for two days. Do not store in covered container or they will become soggy.

TWD: Chocolate Souffle

2009-09-09T21:11:00.002-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Chocolate Souffle chosen by Susan of She's Becoming Doughmesstic. I've made chocolate souffle before, but not Dorie's. Last week we had hardwood floors installed in the living room and dining room and had almost all of the main floor repainted, so this is a little late.

I decided to make individual souffles since last time I did one large souffle. I should have gone with the large one. I burned the babies. They were still ok, but would have been better had they been cooked for the right amount of time.

What I've Been Working On

2009-09-09T21:01:00.003-05:00

So this summer I've done some crafting. We redid TJ's room and I made a quilt, I made another quilt out of the kids' jeans that no longer fit, I made some wreaths. I am on a real fun kick.

Here are some of the projects:

This ribbon wreath was so simple to make. I bought wired ribbon and a metal ring and just tied the ribbons around it. So Cute!

The kids and I are obsessed with the new show Glee. They've watched it at least 20 times since it first aired last May. So for tonight's premiere, I made them those super cute shirts. I used my cricut to cut out a stencil from freezer paper and then fabric painted them and this morning they were done.

Back to School Winner!

2009-08-28T14:47:00.000-05:00

And the winner of the Pillsbury prize pack is....

drum roll please....

Amy!

Email me your info and your prize package will ship out! Thanks!

TWD: Creamiest Lime Cream Meringue Pie

2009-08-26T20:15:00.004-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Creamiest Lime Pie chosen by Linda of Tender Crumb. I'm not a huge lime fan, but I love pie. I decided to halve the recipe, which is a good thing since the kids don't like it and I don't need tons of sweets lying around.

I couldn't find mini pie pans, I swear I thought I had some, but apparently not. So I used my mini tart pans. It worked great! It would have been nice to have some crust up the side, but oh well.

These are definitely creamy and a little tart. I used my blow torch on the meringue. I love that torch! I don't think I will make this again, unless it is a special request, but I am glad I did it!

Back to School Giveaway!

2009-08-25T11:26:00.002-05:00

So school starts next week and with it comes all the crazy schedules. I haven't been doing a ton of cooking this summer--I just get too hot standing over the stove and can't stand to turn the oven on if at all possible and Tim handles the grill, so it's been a pretty uneventful summer food wise. But I want to get back into the swing of things and will be trying out a ton of new recipes.

So to start the school year off right, I am doing a MyBlog Spark giveaway! The prize is a coupon for a free sample of Pillsbury simply…™ refrigerated cookies as well as a prize pack that includes a cookie jar, a really great canvas grocery tote and a grocery list notebook for your next shopping trip.

To enter answer this question: How do you keep your cooking simple?

Contest ends on Thursday at 10:00pm central and winner will be announced on Friday!

TWD: Applsauce Bars

2009-08-25T11:20:00.002-05:00

I swear I posted this last week. Apparently, blogger ate my post. Last week's Tuesdays with Dorie was Applesauce Bars chosen by Karen of Something Sweet by Karen. My kids love applesauce and TJ especially loves all things apple. So I was sure these would be a hit. They were very easy and the kids loved them. We shared with the neighbors because frankly, I can't handle having lots of sweets sitting around, and they loved them too. My only complaint, was there wasn't enough glaze. I would definitely double the glaze next time.

TWD: Brownie Buttons

2009-08-11T21:42:00.004-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Brownie Buttons chosen by Jayma of Two Scientists Experimenting in the Kitchen. Last week was the Banana Bundt cake chosen by Mary the Food Librarian. Last week we were on vacation, so I made the mini bundts on Friday since we were leaving on Saturday. And then I had to get everything ready and forgot to take pictures. So while there are no pictures, don't let that stop you from baking the bundt cake. It is a cross between banana bread and cake and is oh so delicious. We ate them as snacks and as breakfast. They were delish.

Unfortunately, when we got home I got bronchitis. I made the Brownie Buttons and I *think* I took pictures. But since I am alternating resting and coughing up my lungs, I will have to check my camera in the morning.

The funny thing about the Brownie Buttons was that they turned out REALLY orange flavored. I used the zest from about half an orange, so I guess my oranges were gigantic ones since the flavor was so prevalant. And that is really strange since usually when I do fruit things for Dorie recipes, I usually need way more that what she used. Tim and TJ didn't like them because they were too orangey, but Gabby and I love them. Next time I make these, I will probably use either no orange or way less orange.

TWD: Vanilla Ice Cream

2009-07-28T17:36:00.002-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Vanilla Ice Cream chosen by Lynne of Cafe LynnyLu. As you all know, I LOVE LOVE LOVE ice cream. And there is just something so refreshing and wonderful about a good creamy vanilla ice cream.

This could very well be the best vanilla ice cream I have ever had. The kids said that it was better than Oberweis ice cream. I used a vanilla bean and it just adds so much deliciousness to it. So much better than using vanilla extract. I am definitely going to be making this again--as vanilla and with stuff added too. I can't wait!

Daring Bakers July

2009-07-28T15:56:00.004-05:00

The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

I love Gale Gand. I used to watch her Food Network Show Sweet Dreams I think it was called, and drool over her creations. Her cookbooks are on my birthday wishlist. So having these picked was awesome. Not so much for my diet of course, but I pawned them off on a neighbor who was having a baptism party. The tray was empty by the end of the night. These cookies were very time intensive, but really not difficult. I loved them. They were soooo good. My only problem really was the marshmallow cream got a little stiff by the end so those cookies weren't so pretty. Overall, these were fabulous, and I quite possibly could make them again.

The only thing I did differently on the Mallows was on the cookie base. The recipe calls for you to shape it into a disk, which I tried and it didn't work. I'm not sure what the problem was exactly. So I reshaped it into a log and put it back in the fridge for awhile and then sliced it into little circles. It worked really well that way.

I didn't get a chance to make the Milano cookies unfortunately. Time just got away from me. I haven't actually been doing a lot of cooking or baking all summer long. We've done a lot of grilling and I'm trying to use up all our freezer food, so we've been having a lot of mish mash meals.

Mallows(Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies)
Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website

Prep Time: 10 min
Inactive Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 10 min
Serves: about 2 dozen cookies

• 3 cups (375grams/13.23oz) all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (112.5grams/3.97oz) white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter
• 3 eggs, whisked together
• Homemade marshmallows, recipe follows
• Chocolate glaze, recipe follows

1. In a mixer with the paddle attachment, blend the dry ingredients.
2. On low speed, add the butter and mix until sandy.
3. Add the eggs and mix until combine.
4. Form the dough into a disk, wrap with clingfilm or parchment and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
5. When ready to bake, grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper or a silicon mat.
6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
7. Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness, on a lightly floured surface. Use a 1 to 1 1/2 inches cookie cutter to cut out small rounds of dough.
8. Transfer to the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.
9. Pipe a “kiss” of marshmallow onto each cookie. Let set at room temperature for 2 hours.
10. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or silicon mat.
11. One at a time, gently drop the marshmallow-topped cookies into the hot chocolate glaze.
12. Lift out with a fork and let excess chocolate drip back into the bowl.
13. Place on the prepared pan and let set at room temperature until the coating is firm, about 1 to 2 hours.

Note: if you don’t want to make your own marshmallows, you can cut a large marshmallow in half and place on the cookie base. Heat in a preheated 350-degree oven to slump the marshmallow slightly, it will expand and brown a little. Let cool, then proceed with the chocolate dipping.

Homemade marshmallows:
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 3/4 cup (168.76 grams/5.95oz) sugar
• 1 tablespoon powdered gelatin
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 2 egg whites , room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. In a saucepan, combine the water, corn syrup, and sugar, bring to a boil until “soft-ball” stage, or 235 degrees on a candy thermometer.
2. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and let dissolve.
3. Remove the syrup from the heat, add the gelatin, and mix.
4. Whip the whites until soft peaks form and pour the syrup into the whites.
5. Add the vanilla and continue whipping until stiff.
6. Transfer to a pastry bag.

Chocolate glaze:
• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate
• 2 ounces cocoa butter or vegetable oil

1. Melt the 2 ingredients together in the top of a double boiler or a bowl set over barely simmering water.

Milan Cookies
Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website

Prep Time: 20 min
Inactive Prep Time: 0 min
Cook Time: 1 hr 0 min
Serves: about 3 dozen cookies

• 12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups (312.5 grams/ 11.02 oz) powdered sugar
• 7/8 cup egg whites (from about 6 eggs)
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons lemon extract
• 1 1/2 cups (187.5grams/ 6.61 oz) all purpose flour
• Cookie filling, recipe follows

Cookie filling:
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 orange, zested

1. In a mixer with paddle attachment cream the butter and the sugar.
2. Add the egg whites gradually and then mix in the vanilla and lemon extracts.
3. Add the flour and mix until just well mixed.
4. With a small (1/4-inch) plain tip, pipe 1-inch sections of batter onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, spacing them 2 inches apart as they spread.
5. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Let cool on the pan.
6. While waiting for the cookies to cool, in a small saucepan over medium flame, scald cream.
7. Pour hot cream over chocolate in a bowl, whisk to melt chocolate, add zest and blend well.
8. Set aside to cool (the mixture will thicken as it cools).
9. Spread a thin amount of the filling onto the flat side of a cookie while the filling is still soft and press the flat side of a second cookie on top.
10. Repeat with the remainder of the cookies.

TWD: Brioche Plum Tart

2009-07-14T17:35:00.002-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Brioche Plum Tart chosen by Denise of Chez Us. I have never made Brioche, but it is on my list of things to make in my lifetime. And we love plums so I was pretty happy with this choice. I didn't know if I would be able to find plum jam and figured if I couldn't I would get something else like peach or strawberry or mixed berry and go from there. But surprisingly, I found some plum jam at Meijer.

This calls for a 9" tart pan, and I only have mini ones and an 11" pan and since I was bringing this to a baptism party, I figured go bigger. So I used more jam, and had no problems making the brioche part work. I used WAY less plums. So I don't know if Meijer has gigantic plums or what, but I only used like 6 I think. Which pleased TJ since he wanted to eat the rest of them.

The brioche part was really simple to make. I made it on Friday afternoon and left it in the fridge overnight. Saturday morning I put it in the pan, cut up the plums and then baked it. It was so easy! I did tent mine a few minutes early based on what others had reported. And if I remember correctly, I even cut short the time after I tented it because it was bubbling over (thank goodness I had it on a cookie sheet!)

I had a piece of this, but the plums were a little tart for me. I think if they had been sweeter or I had used a sweeter fruit it would have been better. When I left the party, it was about half gone, so people did try it and like it!

TWD: Tribute to Katherine Hepburn Brownies

2009-07-07T21:25:00.002-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie was Tribute to Katherine Hepburn Brownies chosen by Lisa of Surviving Oz, who was our Logo Design Contest Winner. These are a very thin ooey-gooey brownie. They call for a touch of cinnamon, coffee, and walnuts. I opted to omit the coffee and the walnuts so they would be more enjoyable for the kids.

These are definitely gooey, but they still held their shape once they were cut and served. The chocolate chunks sort of held their shape which was great. I love a little chunk to my brownie. The kids had theirs with vanilla ice cream and I had mine with ice cream and caramel sauce. It was to die for. Well worth the extra treadmill time!

Potato Chip Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-06-24T10:24:00.002-05:00

This is another thing I made yesterday that I don't have a picture of yet. I was very intrigued by putting chips into a cookie, let alone Salt and Vinegar Chips, but I was willing to do it since this is the year of trying new things! I got this recipe over at Vanilla Kitchen and let me tell you, it is fabulous. I opened the chips and we all hated them, but in the cookies, they can't even really be tasted except for the crunch of the chips.

Potato Chip Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup crushed(not too fine) salt and vinegar potato chips, I used Kettle brand
1 cup mini chocolate chips

In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Mix well.

In a separate bowl, combine butter and sugars at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla. Gradually add in flour mixture and combine well.

Stir in the potato chips and chocolate chips by hand.

Place in fridge to chill for an hour.

Once dough is nice and chilled, use a mini scooper or your hands to form 1" balls. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2" apart--they will spread when baking.

Bake 14-18 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool completely on baking sheet.

Makes 2 dozen.

Dark Chocolate Cheesecake Ice Cream

2009-06-24T10:20:00.002-05:00

I don't have a picture for this yet, because I just made it yesterday and with the exception of the 2 bites I had right after(to make sure it was good of course, purely scientific inquiries, not for my own benefit) I haven't had any. Josh(my trainer), has me on a limited dessert program, and last night wasn't a dessert night. But some facebook friends were asking for it, so without further ado here it is:

Dark Chocolate Cheesecake Ice Cream
3 oz dark chocolate
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 cup heavy cream
1 cup half and half
8 oz cream cheese softened

Melt chocolate over double boiler or in microwave and let cool to room temperature. In blender or food processor, combine all ingredients, including melted chocolate. Process until smooth. Churn in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.

TWD: You're a Honey of a Peach Ice Cream

2009-06-16T13:49:00.003-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Honey Peach Ice Cream chosen by Tommi of Brown Interior. Now I LOVE ice cream. I mean REALLY love it. In fact, you could probably say I have an ice cream addiction. I usually make ice cream about once a week. And even if I don't love it, I will still finish it. I only threw away one batch of ice cream because it was just too malty. I'm sorry to say, that this is the second batch to be thrown away.

I love peaches. I've had some excellent peach ice cream. This ice cream was just not worth the calories. When I first tried it, it was just ok. I left it in the freezer a couple of days to see if the flavor improved, and it didn't. Nobody liked it here, so we won't be making this again, sorry Tommi and Dorie!

Daring Cooks June!

2009-06-15T18:05:00.002-05:00

I love Chinese food, in fact the whole family does. We have one favorite restaurant that we go to about once a month and we order dumplings for our appetizer and fight over the extras since nobody wants just one. I was so excited to see Jen from use real butter picked Chinese Dumplings. I chose the pork filling since it sounded delicious and also seemed to be the one we could all agree on. I'm not going to lie to you, the rolling out and pinching was hard. Like super hard. I think I rolled them thin enough, none of them tasted too doughy anyways, but when I would put in the filling, it would sometimes seep out the sides. And the pinching didn't always work out real well. Sometimes I just squeezed them shut as best as possible.

This made a LOT of of dumplings. We had enough for one meal and froze enough for probably 2 more meals. We chose to do the pan frying this time and will probably do the steam method next time. They are difficult, but delicious and well worth it. Although, I'll be honest, next time I might try just using a wrapper just to try it out. Oh and the kids and I didn't like the dipping sauce. Tim loved it and added some wasabi to spice it up.

Chinese Dumplings/Potstickers

pork filling:
1 lb (450g) ground pork
4 large napa cabbage leaves, minced
3 stalks green onions, minced
7 shitake mushrooms, minced (if dried - rehydrated and rinsed carefully)
1/2 cup (75g) bamboo shoots, minced
1/4 (55g) cup ginger root, minced
3 tbsp (40g) soy sauce
2 tbsp (28g) sesame oil
2 tbsp (16g) corn starch

shrimp filling:
1/2 lb (225g) raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, and coarsely chopped
1/2 lb (225g) ground pork
3 stalks green onions, minced
1/4 cup (55g) ginger root, minced
1 cup (142g) water chestnuts, minced
1 tsp (5g) salt
3 tbsp (40g) sesame oil
2 tbsp (16g) corn starch

dough: (double this for the amount of filling, but easier to make it in 2 batches - or just halve the filling recipe)
2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (113g) warm water
flour for worksurface

dipping sauce:
2 parts soy sauce
1 part vinegar (red wine or black)
a few drops of sesame oil
chili garlic paste (optional)
minced ginger (optional)
minced garlic (optional)
minced green onion (optional)
sugar (optional)

Combine all filling ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly (I mix by clean hand). Cover and refrigerate until ready to use (up to a day, but preferably within an hour or two).

Make the dough, Method 1: Place the flour in the work bowl of a food processor with the dough blade. Run the processor and pour the warm water in until incorporated. Pour the contents into a sturdy bowl or onto a work surface and knead until uniform and smooth. The dough should be firm and silky to the touch and not sticky.[Note: it’s better to have a moist dough and have to incorporate more flour than to have a dry and pilling dough and have to incorporate more water).

Make the dough, Method 2 (my mom’s instructions): In a large bowl mix flour with 1/4 cup of water and stir until water is absorbed. Continue adding water one teaspoon at a time and mixing thoroughly until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. We want a firm dough that is barely sticky to the touch.

[EDIT: 5/26/09] There have been two complaints posted about a dry dough and I realize that this rests in the problem of measuring flour which has a different density and hence weight for 2 cups depending on how you scoop it. That is why I also list the weight: 250g. Flour tends to settle over time, so when I scoop it out, I shake several cups' worth back into the container before taking a final scoop of soft, fluffy, flour and I get 250g for 2 cups. When you knead the dough, if it feels hard and dry, then you can add more water. [Warning: it will NOT be a soft bread dough, so don't expect it to be, but it shouldn't be a brick either.] It is perfectly fine to use more than the 1/2 cup listed in the recipe as everyone's climate and flours vary. Use your judgment - this is what being a Daring Cook is about. We are trying to cultivate a sense of intuition so that recipes are general guidelines from which you can expand your own style.

Both dough methods: Knead the dough about twenty strokes then cover with a damp towel for 15 minutes. Take the dough and form a flattened dome. Cut into strips about 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide. Shape the strips into rounded long cylinders. On a floured surface, cut the strips into 3/4 inch pieces. Press palm down on each piece to form a flat circle (you can shape the corners in with your fingers). With a rolling pin, roll out a circular wrapper from each flat disc. Take care not to roll out too thin or the dumplings will break during cooking - about 1/16th inch. Leave the centers slightly thicker than the edges. Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of each wrapper and fold the dough in half, pleating the edges along one side (see images in post for how to fold pleats). Keep all unused dough under damp cloth.

To boil: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add dumplings to pot. Boil the dumplings until they float.

To steam: Place dumplings on a single layer of napa cabbage leaves or on a well-greased surface in a steamer basket with lid. Steam covered for about 6 minutes.

TWD: Parisian Apple Tartlet

2009-06-09T20:40:00.003-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie was the Parisian Apple Tartlet chosen by Jessica from My Baking Heart. We love apple pie and warm cinnamon apples and things like that. So when I read this week's choice I got excited. And then I realized just how simple it is and fell in love even more.

This was by far the simplest Dorie recipe yet. I used Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry because I had a sheet left and really didn't feel like going out and hunting down Dorie's preferred brand. It tasted fine using the non-all butter one. I'm sure Dorie's brand would have been good, but you know me, I like easy. I actually ended up making 5 tartlets. The recipe is only for 1, but I knew at least 3 of us would be wanting one and I didn't have a use for extra Puff Pastry, so I just made extras. It only took 2 apples to do all 5 tartlets. Overall this was really good. TJ didn't like the puff pastry part, but loved the apples. I think a little cinnamon sprinkled with the brown sugar would have been tasty. The kids had theirs with cinnamon ice cream and said it was delish. Unfortunately for me, they polished off the ice cream so I didn't get to try it that way.

TWD: Cinnamon Squares

2009-06-02T08:17:00.003-05:00

I missed last week's Tuesdays with Dorie because we were in Myrtle Beach and I was sick before we left. But since it looks OMG good, I will be making it this week for a Girl Scout Picnic. This week's choice was Cinnamon Squares chosen by Tracey of Tracey's Culinary Adventures.

I wasn't sure about the cinnamon and chocolate together but figured how bad could it be? They are both delish, why wouldn't they be tasty together? This came together sooo easy, which I loved. I waited what felt like forever to frost them and then eat them. I swear when something smells really good coming out of the oven, it seems to take forever until you can eat it. This tasted like cinnamon toast with chocolate frosting. They were good. I think the chocolate layer in the middle should have been thicker though. Mine seemed too thin. Overall, these were excellent!

TWD: Fresh Mango Bread

2009-05-19T22:48:00.004-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Fresh Mango Bread chosen by Kelly of Baking with the Boys. When we were in Grand Cayman in March we ate dinner at the Ritz Carlton one night (which by the way if you go to Grand Cayman 7 at the Ritz has to die for Mango Bread and Steaks, but is pricey!). Anyways, they served Mango Bread instead of the typical basket of rolls. We were a little unsure about it at first, but OMG! It was soooo good. So when I told Tim I was making Mango Bread, he got all excited. This bread was fabulous. I ended up making one regular loaf and a mini loaf because I had so much batter. I gave the mini loaf to our next door neighbors, and TJ got mad at me because he loves it so much.

As for the recipe, I don't know if I used super strength limes or what, but the lime flavor was really strong. So was the ginger. So next time, I will cut these flavors down somewhat. Also, the recipe calls for 1 mango. It took 3 mangoes for me to get 2 cups, so I don't know if I used puny small mangoes, or if Dorie's were just ginormous.

TWD: Tartest Lemon Tart

2009-05-12T16:08:00.002-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Tartest Lemon Tart chosen by Barb of Babette Feasts. I like fruity desserts, but I don't think I've ever had anything lemony really, except maybe some lemon bars. When I saw this picked, I was glad because I am getting a little tired of chocolate. It's spring I want sunshine, warm weather, and citrus-y stuff!

I made 4" tartlettes, beacuse Tim wouldn't eat any and I wasn't sure if the kids would. I just made 2 of them and then with the extra filling, made two little cups of lemon brulee. I'm not sure if I had wussy lemons or what, but with the exception of one or two bites, it wasn't super-pucker your mouth tart. The little brulees were absolutely horrible. I'm not sure if they didn't cook enough or cooked too long or sat in the fridge too long or what, but I took one bite and threw the rest away. The tart was good--especially with lots of whipped cream on it.

TWD: Tiramisu Cake

2009-05-05T17:13:00.003-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie was Tiramisu Cake chosen by Megan of My Baking Adventures. I am a fan of Tiramisu. I won't choose it every time we go out or anything like that, but I do order it occasionally. So I was excited about this cake. But the kids and Tim ABHOR coffee and anything that has even a hint of mocha flavor. Which can sometimes be a blessing--like when I would buy French Silk or Cappaccino Chip Ice Creams and would get to eat the whole thing on my own over several weeks. But with a cake that has a short term shelf life, is not such a great thing. So I decided to halve the recipe and enjoy it myself.

Which didn't go so well. Everything was a cinch to make. As you can see I made 2 small loaf sizes. And so I stacked them. Why I didn't split them and make 4 layers, I will never know, but it was a big mistake. About 30 seconds after I took the above picture it wobbled and I screamed Oh My God it's going to fall! And then it fell over. So I made it into a trifle. It was good, especially the cake part, but I'm not going to make it again since I'm the only one that will eat it.

TWD: Chocolate Cream Tart

2009-04-28T15:01:00.002-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Chocolate Cream Tart chosen by Kim of Scrumptious Photography. After Daring Bakers last week and some other stuff I've been baking and my deathly training sessions (I swear my trainer is trying to kill me, not get me in shape), I wasn't sure if I was going to make it at all.

But then I decided to just make half. And then Tim asked what it was and said not to halve it, to make the whole thing. So like a good wife, I did. Everything went together no problem.

I did use semi-sweet chocolate instead of dark because I know my kids won't eat it if I used dark chocolate. Although, since they didn't eat any of it anyways, I could have done the dark. Oh well.

When I first took the crusts out of the oven, I thought it was going to be kind of like a brownie. Not so much. I really didn't like the crust at all. I don't know if it was just too done or if I just didn't like it. The chocolate filling was delicious. I have some extra that I think I will pop in the ice cream maker later today.

I would probably make this again, but use Dorie's regular tart crust instead of the chocolate one. Check out everyone else's tarts and you can get the recipe at Scrumptious Photography!

Daring Bakers Cheesecake

2009-04-27T08:48:00.004-05:00

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

I love cheesecake. I love the creaminess. I love the millions of options you have. It is so versatile! So when I saw this was the challenge I got super excited. But we weren't given anything but the basic recipe and told to play around. I knew I wouldn't want to just play with ONE flavor. Where's the fun in that? So I made a list of all the cheesecakes I was going to make mini sizes of. Unforunately, I didn't get them all done, but I did get most of them done.

So these first pictures are of the Orange Cheesecake with Dark Chocolate Fudge swirls and Chocolate Covered Orange Peel. Making cheesecake just wasn't enough of a challenge for me this month *eye roll* so I made Chocolate covered orange peel. It was just ok. The stuff Tim brought home from London in my treat box was much better. I don't think I'll be making the orange peel again.

I made 2/3 of the recipe and then split it into thirds: Orange Chocolate, Chocolate Chocolate Chip, and Chocolate Oreo. This gave me 3 4" springform pans (1 of each flavor) and 2 cupcake sizes of each flavor. There was still a little bit of batter and cookie crumbs left, but not much. For these three I used crushed Oreos as the crust. To make the Orange Chocolate, I subbed orange juice for lemon juice in the entire recipe and then when I divided it up, I added in some orange juice and 2 tsp of Grand Marnier. I'm not sure how much orange juice went in I just kind of poured some in--it was probably a little less than 1 orange squeezed. I poured that batter into the pans and then put a few spoonfuls of Dark Chocolate Fudge Ice Cream topping into it and swirled. I was going to make my own, but was running out of time, so just used store bought.

For the Chocolate Cheesecakes, I had used orange juice instead of lemon juice and skipped the alcohol. After I took out the Orange portion, I added in 3 oz of melted chocolate. I used semi-sweet because it's what I had. Then I divided it up and added some crushed oreos to one and mini chocolate chips to the other.

The next one was per TJ's request. At my aunt's house on Easter he had a piece of Cheesecake Factory's Strawberry Glazed Cheesecake and LOVED it. So when we were talking about it he begged me to make it.

I wasn't real thrilled with how the strawberry glaze came out. I used a recipe I found online, and of course afterwards, found a recipe for it in my Junior's Cheesecake book. D'oh! I followed the recipe exactly, except omitted the alcohol. I made the full recipe and then split it in half and added 2 or 3 mashed bananas to half to make banana cheesecake. It was too much banana. And I can't find the pictures of the banana. I don't know what happened. I ended up with enough batter to make 3 4" springforms, 6 muffin cups, and 6 giant muffin size cups full.

This is a great starter recipe. I don't know if it's my favorite, but it is definitely good! I had no problems with the water bath making a soggy crust or anything like that. I had no cracking either!

Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake:

crust:
2 cups / 180 g graham cracker crumbs
1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted
2 tbsp. / 24 g sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

cheesecake:
3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature
1 cup / 210 g sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)
1 tbsp liqueur, optional, but choose what will work well with your cheesecake

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Set crust aside.

3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.

4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

Pan note: The creator of this recipe used to use a springform pan, but no matter how well she wrapped the thing in tin foil, water would always seep in and make the crust soggy. Now she uses one of those 1-use foil "casserole" shaped pans from the grocery store. They're 8 or 9 inches wide and really deep, and best of all, water-tight. When it comes time to serve, just cut the foil away.

Prep notes: While the actual making of this cheesecake is a minimal time commitment, it does need to bake for almost an hour, cool in the oven for an hour, and chill overnight before it is served. Please plan accordingly!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

2009-04-23T15:22:00.004-05:00

I made this awhile ago and just never got around to posting it. This Broccoli Cheese Soup is fabulous. We have it often in the fall and winter. The kids absolutely love it, especially when I take the time to make bread bowls to serve it in. It is really easy to make and doesn't require a lot of forethought. There are a lot of nights where I have forgotten to take something out of the freezer to defrost and I have to scramble, and this is a good meal for one of those days.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Qty Measure Ingredient
------------------------------------------------------------
1/4 Cup Butter
8 oz pkg broccoli
2 cans chicken broth
2/3 Cup corn starch
8 oz Velveeta
1 Cup Milk
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
1 Cup Water

Instructions: Cook butter, broccoli, and chicken broth over medium heat until broccoli is tender, about 10-15 minutes.

Reduce heat and stir in cheese cubes until melted. Stir in milk and garlic powder until smooth.

In a small bowl, stir corn starch into water until dissolved. Pour into soup and cook until thick.

TWD: Chocolate Bread Pudding

2009-04-21T10:34:00.002-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie was Chocolate Bread Pudding. I was on the fence about making this because I think the only time I had Bread Pudding was as a kid and I hated it. But everyone was raving about how wonderful it was so I was going to make it. I swear I was! But the next thing I knew it was Monday and I had no stale bread and so here we are Puddingless. This week was chosen by Lauren of Upper East Side Chronicle and you can find the recipe there. Next week is Chocolate Cream Tart and I swear I am going to do it!

Deep Dark Cookies

2009-04-21T08:20:00.002-05:00

I made these Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies last Thursday for Cookie Thursday. I chose this recipe because I had extra egg whites to use up, so it was perfect. It does call for bitersweet chocolate chips, but since the kids aren't that fond of them, I used white chocolate chips instead. They were fabulous! I found this recipe over at Dinner and Dessert.

Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies

Source: from Bon Appetit June 2008

Qty Measure Ingredient
------------------------------------------------------------
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1.5 cups bittersweet chocolate chips (about 9 ounces), divided
3 large egg whites, room temperature
2.5 cups powdered sugar, divided
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions: Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray 2 large baking sheets with nonstick spray. Melt 1 cup chocolate chips in glass bowl in microwave, stirring twice, about 2 minutes. Cool slightly.

Using electric mixer, beat whites in large bowl to soft peaks. Gradually beat in 1 cup (4 ounces) sugar. Continue beating until mixture resembles soft marshmallow creme. Whisk 1 cup sugar (4 ounces), cocoa, cornstarch, and salt in medium bowl to blend. On low speed, beat dry ingredients into meringue. Stir in lukewarm chocolate and ? cup chocolate chips (dough will become very stiff).

Place 1/2 cup (2 ounces) sugar in bowl. Roll 1 rounded tablespoon dough into ball; roll in sugar, coating thickly. Place on prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until puffed and tops crack, about 10 minutes. Cool on sheets on rack 10 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool.

Yields: 24

Apple Streudel Muffins

2009-04-15T16:47:00.002-05:00

I made these on Monday morning. I made them last spring for Teacher Appreciation Week at school when we made breakfast for the teachers. They are delicious. However, I will not be posting a picture. I don't know what happened when I made these. I pulled them out of the oven and they were gorgeous. I left them to cool and came back a few minutes later and there were HUGE craters in the middle. These muffins were UGLY. But they are super tasty!

Apple Strudel Muffins

Qty Measure Ingredient
------------------------------------------------------------
2 Cup Flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Butter
1 Cup white sugar
2 Eggs
1 1/4 tsp Vanilla
1 1/2 Cup chopped apples
1/3 Cup packed brown sugar
1 Tablespoon Flour
1/8 tsp Cinnamon
1 Tablespoon Butter

Instructions: Preheat oven to 375. Grease a 12 cup muffin pan.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar, and eggs until smooth. Mix in vanilla. Stir in apples and gradually blend in flour mixture. Spoon the mixture into the muffin pan.

In a small bowl, mix brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture is like coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over tops of mixture in muffin pans.

Bake 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow to sit 5 minutes before removing muffins from pan. Cool on a wire rack.

Serves: 12
Prep Time: 20 hr
Cook Time: 20 hr
Total Time: 60 hr

TWD: Chocolate Torte

2009-04-14T12:28:00.002-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is the 15 Minute Magic Chocolate Amaretti Torte chosen by Holly over at PheMomEnon. I made a few changes to this because two of the main ingredients were Amaretti cookies(which are basically almond/amaretto cookies) and ground almonds. And I knew Gabby would want to try this and it just didn't seem fair to make something so good that she wouldn't be able to enjoy.

So to replace the almonds and Amaretti cookies, I decided to use Nilla Wafers. They grind up easily and are super yummy, so I figured it would be a good substitution. The other change I made was to use a combination of chocolates instead of all dark chocolate. The kids don't like huge amounts of dark chocolate. So I used up little odds and ends of bars I had left--it ended up a milk, semi-sweet, bittersweet combo. It was REALLY good that way! I highly recommend this torte and if you want the recipe head over to Holly's!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

2009-04-13T11:12:00.003-05:00

I love Chinese food. Often times though, I get so overwhelmed at the menu choices that I stick with something I know is good. Although, that is true at a lot of restaurants. I always want to try new things, but am so paranoid that I won't like it, that I stick with something safe. Anyways,
I saw this recipe for Sweet and Sour Chicken which is a dish I often times end up with at Test Kitchen and added it to the must try list. It was really good! It was a little too ketchup-y for me, but everyone else didn't notice. That is an easy adjustment though.

Ingredients:

3 skinless boneless chicken breast
1 egg beaten
cornstarch
oil

Sauce:
3/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
1/2 cup vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
*1/2 can diced pineapple
*1 green bell pepper

Directions:
Cut chicken in bite size pieces. Dip chicken into the egg, then roll in the cornstarch. Heat approx. 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet. Fry the chicken pieces until cooked and just browned. Mix all ingredients for sauce and pour over chicken in skillet. Cook 15-20 minutes. Serve over rice!!!

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Squares

2009-04-10T18:56:00.002-05:00

I found this delicious little treat over at Smitten Kitchen. And when I say delicious, I mean, lock the fridge so you don't eat them all before company arrives. I made these awhile ago for a family party. I cut them into teeny tiny little squares, I don't think they were quite 1" thought like the recipe called for.

These were absolutely fabulous. I was disappointed that there weren't very many left to take home from the party. The bad thing was that they were so tiny, so it felt like you weren't really eating a lot and would then eat more than you probably should have. But they are totally worth it.

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Squares
Adapted from Gourmet, December 2003

If you’re looking for a strong dulce de leche flavor in a baked good, this unfortunately isn’t it. Oh, it’s there, but it’s not front and center. It has to share the spotlight with cream cheese, and, well, I’m not sure that it wants to. But, it lingers subtly in the background and, honestly, if there was ever a way to make cheesecake more heavenly, this would have to be it.

I’m sure you’ll notice that there is some gelatin in this recipe, and think it’s odd. Heck, even Alex did, which really just made me beam with pride that he knows so much about baking right now that he knows that gelatin is atypical in (baked) cheesecakes. But, if you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. The reason why most cheesecake recipes don’t fare well as squares is that they’re too soft to easily pick up; the gelatin fixes addresses this perfectly.

Time: 9 3/4 hr (includes chilling) (45 minutes active time)
Makes 64 (1-inch) petits fours

For crust
3 1/2 oz graham crackers, crumbled (1cup)
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For filling
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (from a 1/4-oz envelope, will just about half of envelope)
1/4 cup whole milk
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 large eggs
3/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup dulce de leche (12 1/2 oz) (recipe follows)

For glaze
3 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), coarsely chopped
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 teaspoons light corn syrup

Make crust: Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 325Â°F. Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with 2 sheets of foil (crisscrossed), leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides.

Finely grind crackers with sugar and a pinch of salt in a food processor. With motor running, add butter, blending until combined. Press mixture evenly onto bottom of baking pan. Bake 10 minutes, then cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes.

Make filling: Sprinkle gelatin over milk in a small bowl and let stand 2 minutes to soften. Beat together cream cheese, eggs, salt, and gelatin mixture in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until well combined, about 2 minutes, then stir in dulce de leche gently but thoroughly. Pour filling over crust, smoothing top, then bake in a hot water bath (I was able to fit mine in a 9×13-inch baking pan) in oven until center is just set, about 45 minutes. Cool cheesecake completely in pan on rack, about 2 hours. Chill, covered, at least 6 hours.

Glaze cake within 2 hours of serving: Heat all glaze ingredients in a double boiler or a small metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring until smooth, then pour over cheesecake, tilting baking pan to coat top evenly. Chill, uncovered, 30 minutes.

Lift cheesecake from pan using foil overhang and cut into 1-inch squares with a thin knife, wiping off knife after each cut. (Don’t skip this step! A clean knife is essential for uber-neat squares.)

Note: Cheesecake (without glaze) can be chilled up to 3 days.

Dulce de Leche (Milk Caramel)

I know that most of the world makes this by boiling the milk inside a closed can, but honestly, that scares the bejesus out of me and according to the Carnation can label I pulled this technique from, is not recommended by them (likely because they do not want to get sued, but still). This method works just as well.

Pour 1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk into top of double-boiler pan; cover. Place over boiling water. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 40 to 50 minutes, or until thick and light caramel-colored.

Remove from heat. Whisk until smooth.

New Plan

2009-04-07T15:39:00.002-05:00

So I always plan the meals for the week and scribble it on a piece of paper and then half way through the week, lose the paper. But for Christmas, Tim got me this software called The Recipe Manager. I have loaded over 1000 recipes on it and still have tons of cookbooks to go through and input. But now that I have a good chunk in there, I have decided to take advantage of the Meal Scheduler! So I am planning my weeknight meals AND have taken the step to designate some special days. From now on I will have Muffin Mondays, Ice Cream Tuesdays, Cookie Thursdays, and Sunday Breads. I have scheduled all my inputted recipes in those categories out as far as they last--I have enough muffin recipe through September 2009, bread and ice cream through October 2009, and *gulp* cookies through October 2010! And like I said I haven't even finished my cookbooks. So hopefully between the blog and the Recipe Manager I will get them all done. I don't know when I'll ever get to the cakes, pies, and cupcakes, but I'm sure I'll figure it out!

TWD: Banana Cream Pie

2009-04-07T08:36:00.003-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie was chosen by Amy of Sing for Your Supper. I attempted to make this pie last summer for Father's Day since my dad loves Banana Cream pie, but it didn't work out too well. I didn't have the butter or shortening cold enough, so the crust didn't work well. In fact I might have had to use a premade refrigerated one, and I think I even managed to screw that up.

The crust this time came out great. It went together beautifully. The only problem was that it shrank a little too much on one side. Some of the edges were a little darker than I would have liked but not inedible.

The pastry cream went together no problems either. I know some people had problems with it almost curdling, but mine was perfect. I loved the hint of cinnamon and nutmeg. This isn't a "traditional" banana cream pie. It isn't vanilla pudding and bananas or anything like that. I think it is much better. I did put a layer of milk chocolate on the bottom to jazz it up, but it wasn't thick enough. Next time I'll have to make a thicker ganache layer I think.

My bananas were a little lopsided and off center. When I put them on they looked centered to me, but not so much.

I didn't get a picture of it, because these are from the first night and we didn't do it until the second night, but drizzling some caramel sundae syrup and chocolate sauce on top was even better.

Overall, I think the pie was a winner. The kids weren't wild about the crust, but they never are. Tim was a little concerned when I was putting sour cream into the whipping cream, but he liked it once it was on there.

TWD: Coconut Thins

2009-03-31T11:11:00.003-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Coconut Thins chosen by Jayne of the Barefoot Kitchen Witch. My pictures will be posted later because my laptop is dying and my pictures are all on there. My new mac book should be here sometime this week though and as soon as I am able to transfer everything over, I will post them.

I was a little skeptical about these because I am not a huge coconut fan. The only thing that I really like coconut in is in Oatmeal Cookies that my mom made when we were little. Occasionally I'll have a drink with it like a Pina Colada or a smoothie or something, but it is very rare. But since I like the coconut in the cookies, I decided to go for it. Plus, I can always give them to my cousins if I don't like them(or if I like them too much and need to get them away from me fast).

I am SOOOO glad I made these! These were excellent. The nuttiness of the macadamia nuts was excellent. They were easy to make and came out wonderfully. After I ate a couple from the cooling rack, I thought, Hey! Put some chocolate spread(it's similar to Nutella, but nut free, made by President's Choice and I get it at Jewel) on them. So I did. And I fell even more in love. Dipped in chocolate these cookies are out of this world. I highly recommend them!

March Daring Bakers

2009-03-29T13:37:00.002-05:00

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.

We are a lasagna loving family, so when I saw this, I got excited. I read the ingredients aloud to Tim and he got really excited and so we made it right away. The spinach noodles didn't turn out quite right. I think I didn't roll it thin enough. They ended up being chewy and thick.

The Bechamel sauce was fine. The Ragu sauce though, OMG! It was so delicious! We will definitely be using the Ragu recipe again. I think overall the lasagna was good, but I will probably just use regular noodles instead. Making lasagna noodles was a fun experiment, but it was too much of a pain in the butt to do it again.

Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna (Lasagne Verdi al Forno)
(Serves 8 to 10 as a first course, 6 to 8 as a main dish)

Preparation Time: 15 minutes to assemble and 40 minutes cooking time

10 quarts (9 litres) salted water
1 recipe Spinach Pasta cut for lasagna (recipe follows)#1
1 recipe Bechamel Sauce (recipe follows)#2
1 recipe Country Style Ragu (recipe follows)#3
1 cup (4 ounces/125g) freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Method
Working Ahead:
The ragu and the béchamel sauce can be made up to three days ahead. The ragu can also be frozen for up to one month. The pasta can be rolled out, cut and dried up to 24 hours before cooking. The assembled lasagne can wait at room temperature (20 degrees Celsius/68 degrees Fahrenheit) about 1 hour before baking. Do not refrigerate it before baking, as the topping of béchamel and cheese will overcook by the time the center is hot.

Assembling the Ingredients:
Have all the sauces, rewarmed gently over a medium heat, and the pasta at hand. Have a large perforated skimmer and a large bowl of cold water next to the stove. Spread a double thickness of paper towels over a large counter space. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius). Oil or butter a 3 quart (approx 3 litre) shallow baking dish.

Cooking the Pasta:
Bring the salted water to a boil. Drop about four pieces of pasta in the water at a time. Cook about 2 minutes. If you are using dried pasta, cook about 4 minutes, taste, and cook longer if necessary. The pasta will continue cooking during baking, so make sure it is only barely tender. Lift the lasagne from the water with a skimmer, drain, and then slip into the bowl of cold water to stop cooking. When cool, lift out and dry on the paper towels. Repeat until all the pasta is cooked.

Assembling the Lasagne:
Spread a thin layer of béchamel over the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange a layer of about four overlapping sheets of pasta over the béchamel. Spread a thin layer of béchamel (about 3 or 4 spoonfuls) over the pasta, and then an equally thin layer of the ragu. Sprinkle with about 1&1/2 tablespoons of the béchamel and about 1/3 cup of the cheese. Repeat the layers until all ingredients are used, finishing with béchamel sauce and topping with a generous dusting of cheese.

Baking and Serving the Lasagne:
Cover the baking dish lightly with foil, taking care not to let it touch the top of the lasagne. Bake 40 minutes, or until almost heated through. Remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes, or until hot in the center (test by inserting a knife – if it comes out very warm, the dish is ready). Take care not to brown the cheese topping. It should be melted, creamy looking and barely tinged with a little gold. Turn off the oven, leave the door ajar and let the lasagne rest for about 10 minutes. Then serve. This is not a solid lasagne, but a moist one that slips a bit when it is cut and served.

#1 Spinach Egg Pasta (Pasta Verde)

Preparation: 45 minutes

Makes enough for 6 to 8 first course servings or 4 to 6 main course servings, equivalent to 1 pound (450g) dried boxed pasta.

2 jumbo eggs (2 ounces/60g or more)
10 ounces (300g) fresh spinach, rinsed dry, and finely chopped; or 6 ounces (170g) frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
3&1/2 cups (14 ounces/400g) all purpose unbleached (plain) flour (organic stone ground preferred)

Working by Hand:

Equipment

A roomy work surface, 24 to 30 inches deep by 30 to 36 inches (60cm to 77cm deep by 60cm to 92cm). Any smooth surface will do, but marble cools dough slightly, making it less flexible than desired.

A pastry scraper and a small wooden spoon for blending the dough.

A wooden dowel-style rolling pin. In Italy, pasta makers use one about 35 inches long and 2 inches thick (89cm long and 5cm thick). The shorter American-style pin with handles at either end can be used, but the longer it is, the easier it is to roll the pasta.
Note: although it is not traditional, Enza has successfully made pasta with a marble rolling pin, and this can be substituted for the wooden pin, if you have one.

Plastic wrap to wrap the resting dough and to cover rolled-out pasta waiting to be filled. It protects the pasta from drying out too quickly.

A sharp chef’s knife for cutting pasta sheets.

Cloth-covered chair backs, broom handles, or specially designed pasta racks found in cookware shops for draping the pasta.

Mixing the dough:
Mound the flour in the center of your work surface and make a well in the middle. Add the eggs and spinach. Use a wooden spoon to beat together the eggs and spinach. Then gradually start incorporating shallow scrapings of flour from the sides of the well into the liquid. As you work more and more flour into the liquid, the well’s sides may collapse. Use a pastry scraper to keep the liquids from running off and to incorporate the last bits of flour into the dough. Don’t worry if it looks like a hopelessly rough and messy lump.

Kneading:
With the aid of the scraper to scoop up unruly pieces, start kneading the dough. Once it becomes a cohesive mass, use the scraper to remove any bits of hard flour on the work surface – these will make the dough lumpy. Knead the dough for about 3 minutes. Its consistency should be elastic and a little sticky. If it is too sticky to move easily, knead in a few more tablespoons of flour. Continue kneading about 10 minutes, or until the dough has become satiny, smooth, and very elastic. It will feel alive under your hands. Do not shortcut this step. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and let it relax at room temperature 30 minutes to 3 hours.

Stretching and Thinning:
If using an extra-long rolling pin work with half the dough at a time. With a regular-length rolling pin, roll out a quarter of the dough at a time and keep the rest of the dough wrapped. Lightly sprinkle a large work surface with flour. The idea is to stretch the dough rather than press down and push it. Shape it into a ball and begin rolling out to form a circle, frequently turning the disc of dough a quarter turn. As it thins outs, start rolling the disc back on the pin a quarter of the way toward the center and stretching it gently sideways by running the palms of your hands over the rolled-up dough from the center of the pin outward. Unroll, turn the disc a quarter turn, and repeat. Do twice more.

Stretch and even out the center of the disc by rolling the dough a quarter of the way back on the pin. Then gently push the rolling pin away from you with one hand while holding the sheet in place on the work surface with the other hand. Repeat three more times, turning the dough a quarter turn each time.

Repeat the two processes as the disc becomes larger and thinner. The goal is a sheet of even thickness. For lasagne, the sheet should be so thin that you can clearly see your hand through it and see colours. Cut into rectangles about 4 by 8 inches (10 x 20 cm). Note: Enza says that transparency is a crucial element of lasagne pasta and the dough should be rolled as thinly as possible. She says this is why her housekeeper has such strong arms!

Dry the pasta at room temperature and store in a sealed container or bag.

#2 Bechamel

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

4 tablespoons (2 ounces/60g) unsalted butter
4 tablespoons (2 ounces/60g) all purpose unbleached (plain) flour, organic stone ground preferred
2&2/3 cups (approx 570ml) milk
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Freshly grated nutmeg to taste

Using a medium-sized saucepan, melt the butter over low to medium heat. Sift over the flour, whisk until smooth, and then stir (without stopping) for about 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk a little at a time and keep the mixture smooth. Bring to a slow simmer, and stir 3 to 4 minutes, or until the sauce thickens. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Season with salt, pepper, and a hint of nutmeg.

#3 Country Style Ragu’ (Ragu alla Contadina)

Preparation Time: Ingredient Preparation Time 30 minutes and Cooking time 2 hours

Makes enough sauce for 1 recipe fresh pasta or 1 pound/450g dried pasta)

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (45 mL)
2 ounces/60g pancetta, finely chopped
1 medium onion, minced
1 medium stalk celery with leaves, minced
1 small carrot, minced
4 ounces/125g boneless veal shoulder or round
4 ounces/125g pork loin, trimmed of fat, or 4 ounces/125g mild Italian sausage (made without fennel)
8 ounces/250g beef skirt steak, hanging tender, or boneless chuck blade or chuck center cut (in order of preference)
1 ounce/30g thinly sliced Prosciutto di Parma
2/3 cup (5 ounces/160ml) dry red wine
1 &1/2 cups (12 ounces/375ml) chicken or beef stock (homemade if possible)
2 cups (16 ounces/500ml) milk
3 canned plum tomatoes, drained
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Working Ahead:
The ragu can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. It also freezes well for up to 1 month. Skim the fat from the ragu’ before using it.

Browning the Ragu Base:
Heat the olive oil in a 12 inch (30cm) skillet (frying pan) over medium-high heat. Have a large saucepan handy to use once browning is complete. Add the pancetta and minced vegetables and sauté, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, 10 minutes, or until the onions barely begin to color. Coarsely grind all the meats together, including the prosciutto, in a food processor or meat grinder. Stir into the pan and slowly brown over medium heat. First the meats will give off a liquid and turn dull grey but, as the liquid evaporates, browning will begin. Stir often, scooping under the meats with the wooden spatula. Protect the brown glaze forming on the bottom of the pan by turning the heat down. Cook 15 minutes, or until the meats are a deep brown. Turn the contents of the skillet into a strainer and shake out the fat. Turn them into the saucepan and set over medium heat.

Reducing and Simmering: Add the wine to the skillet, lowering the heat so the sauce bubbles quietly. Stir occasionally until the wine has reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Scrape up the brown glaze as the wine bubbles. Then pour the reduced wine into the saucepan and set the skillet aside.

Stir ½ cup stock into the saucepan and let it bubble slowly, 10 minutes, or until totally evaporated. Repeat with another ½ cup stock. Stir in the last 1/2 cup stock along with the milk. Adjust heat so the liquid bubbles very slowly. Partially cover the pot, and cook 1 hour. Stir frequently to check for sticking.

Add the tomatoes, crushing them as they go into the pot. Cook uncovered, at a very slow bubble for another 45 minutes, or until the sauce resembles a thick, meaty stew. Season with salt and pepper.

TWD: French Yogurt Cake with Marmelade Glaze

2009-03-17T20:48:00.002-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie was chosen by Liliana of My Cookbook Addiction. It is definitely a nice start to spring! The recipe called for Lemon Marmelade, but I couldn't find any and knew that Tim and the kids aren't huge lemon fans, so I used Strawberry Jam instead.

There is lemon in the cake and the pairing with the strawberry was really good. The cake by itself reminded me of a lemony pound cake. One of Dorie's suggestions is to pair it with chocolate mousse, so I made that too. I misplaced the recipe after, so I have to find it again, and then will post it. It isn't a "true" mousse, more of a pudding/mousse hybrid. But it was still delicious!

The kids of course didn't like it. They are so picky sometimes it drives me nuts! Tim liked it ok, but didn't love it. I ate half the loaf before I threw the last little bit away, so what does that tell you?

I was so anxious to try it, I tore a corner off before I took the picture. As soon as I ripped it off, I went D'oh! It was just so fragrant and looked so good, I had to take a tiny chunk while it was still cooling.

TWD: Lemon Custard

2009-03-10T20:25:00.003-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Lemon Cup Custard chosen by Bridget of The Way the Cookie Crumbles. I love Frozen Custard and I thought this would be a great way to start spring. Boy was I wrong. I followed the recipe, and it wasn't nearly enough lemon. You could hardly taste it. I should have done the sugar rub she mentioned and added even more lemon extract if I wanted it to taste lemony. Oh well. None of us liked it because it was EXTREMELY eggy. I've never had flan before but the consensus among TWDers was that it was very flan like. I did take the leftover that no one would touch and stick it in the ice cream maker. I haven't tried it that way. Hopefully it will be better frozen, maybe with some frozen blueberries mixed in.

Daring Bakers February: Flourless Chocolate Cake and Vanilla Ice Cream

2009-02-28T09:08:00.002-06:00

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

So this month's flourless chocolate cake was a huge hit with Tim and I. The kids not so much because I used semi-sweet. I think it was too rich for them. They prefer milk chocolate in large doses. If I make this again I will probably either use all milk or maybe 12 oz milk and 4 oz semisweet chocolate. I did use my hear shaped springform pan since it was so close to Valentine's Day when I made this. This cake was so easy to make and I love that! It was very dense too.

I used Dharm's Classic Vanilla Ice Cream with a few modifications. I just used regular heavy cream and whole milk instead of 2%. This ice cream was fabulous. It was very creamy and the vanilla bean added so much flavor! It is definitely going to be used again. It is a great base recipe. You could do just about anything with it--add chocolate chips or caramel chunks, add a fudge or caramel ribbon, add fruit, really the possibilities are endless.

Chocolate Valentino
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated

1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.
2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).
5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.
7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration}
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C
9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C.
Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.
10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

Dharm's Ice Cream Recipe
Classic Vanilla Ice Cream
Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Recipe comes from the Ice Cream Book by Joanna Farrow and Sara Lewis (tested modifications and notes in parentheses by Dharm)

Ingredients
1 Vanilla Pod (or substitute with vanilla extract)
300ml / ½ pint / 1 ¼ cups Semi Skimmed Milk – in the U.S. this is 2% fat (or use fresh full fat milk that is pasteurised and homogenised {as opposed to canned or powdered}). Dharm used whole milk.
4 large egg yolks
75g / 3oz / 6 tbsp caster sugar {superfine sugar can be achieved in a food processor or use regular granulated sugar}
5ml / 1 tsp corn flour {cornstarch}
300ml / ½ pint / 1 ¼ cups Double Cream (48% butter fat) {in the U.S. heavy cream is 37% fat)
{you can easily increase your cream's fat content by heating 1/4 cup of heavy cream with 3 Tbs of butter until melted - cool to room temperature and add to the heavy cream as soon as whisk marks appear in the cream, in a slow steady stream, with the mixer on low speed. Raise speed and continue whipping the cream) or use heavy cream the difference will be in the creaminess of the ice cream.

1. Using a small knife slit the vanilla pod lengthways. Pour the milk into a heavy based saucepan, add the vanilla pod and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and leave for 15 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse
Lift the vanilla pod up. Holding it over the pan, scrape the black seeds out of the pod with a small knife so that they fall back into the milk. SET the vanilla pod aside and bring the milk back to the boil.
2. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and corn-flour in a bowl until the mixture is thick and foamy. 3. Gradually pour in the hot milk, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the pan and cook over a gentle hear, stirring all the time
4. When the custard thickens and is smooth, pour it back into the bowl. Cool it then chill.
5. By Hand: Whip the cream until it has thickened but still falls from a spoon. Fold it into the custard and pour into a plastic tub or similar freeze-proof container. Freeze for 6 hours or until firm enough to scoop, beating it twice (during the freezing process – to get smoother ice cream or else the ice cream will be icy and coarse)
By Using and Ice Cream Maker: Stir the cream into the custard and churn the mixture until thick (follow instructions on your ice cream maker)

TWD: Caramel Crunch Bars

2009-02-24T08:20:00.003-06:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is the Caramel Crunch Bars chosen by Whitney of What's Left on the Table? It was a little difficult at first because of the toffee bits. Do you know how hard it is to find toffee bits? Do you know how impossible it is to find toffee bits with no nuts? Tim and I had the hardest time finding any toffee, let alone any without nuts, so I made my own. Someone was gracious enough to point me to the Paula Deen English Toffee recipe and I went with it.

The toffee itself was fairly easy to make, it would have been simple had I not burned my first batch. I have one tiny pan that I should have used but used the next one up so when I put my thermometer in, the toffee didn't reach the thermometer measuring part so it burned because by the time it finally said 300, it was way past that point. So I started over. I only did half the recipe since I didn't need that much toffee and of course I left out the nuts and chocolate. It ended up being good, a tad too done, but Tim and I liked it. The kids of course, not so much.

So when I made the bars, knowing they don't like toffee, I decided to be the nice mom and do half sprinkles, half toffee. The bars turned out fabulous. I did use an 8x8 pan instead of a 9x13 since I like thicker brownies and didn't want them too thin and crumbly. I love them! They have just a hint of coffee flavor since I used instant coffee instead of espresso. Tim refuses to try one because he doesn't like coffee. TJ tried a tiny bite and spit it out because of the coffee. Gabby hasn't tried because of the coffee. So I have an entire batch to myself! Rather than eat the entire batch, I am freezing part of it to mail to my college cousins. They will appreciate my efforts I am sure!

Paula Deen's English Toffee

Ingredients

14 tablespoons (1 stick, plus 6 tablespoons) butter
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cold water
1/2 chopped pecans
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Dash salt
1 (6-ounce) bag semisweet chocolate chips or thin chocolate bars

Directions

Generously butter a cookie sheet.

Put butter, sugar, and water in a heavy pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Bring to a bubbling boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, about 10 minutes. Remove spoon from pan, and cook to a very brittle stage (300 degrees to 310 degrees F on a candy thermometer). Or, make a cold water test: candy will separate into hard, brittle threads when dropped in cold water. Remove from heat and add nuts to mixture. Add vanilla and salt. Pour onto prepared cookie sheet and spread to 1/4-inch thickness. Cool slightly, top with chocolate chips or chocolate bars, and spread as it melts. Cool completely and break into pieces. Store in an airtight container.

TWD: Devil's Food White Out Cake

2009-02-18T08:47:00.002-06:00

I know, I know, I'm a day late. But I swear I have a good excuse. Gabby is sick, I'm having some work software issues and last night TJ and I went to this church thing since he makes his communion next year. And when we got home I thought it was Wednesday since Tim was taking out the trash. But I digress.

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie was chosen by Stephanie of Confessions of a City Eater. I was surprised that this hadn't been done yet, since it is the cover cake and I figured everyone has been drooling over it like me. I was excited when it was chosen, and it just so happened to fall on Valentine's Day week, so I made this for us to have Valentine's Day night for dessert, but since I finished it early, we didn't wait! It was so good!

The recipe calls for using 2 8" pans, and I only have 1 so I just used me 2 9" pans. It worked out totally fine. Some people had problems with their cakes rising, but mine were fine. They weren't super tall, but they were fine. I did end up having to make the frosting twice, because the directions were a little vague and after waiting a long time for my syrup t reach 242F, and it not reaching it I just figured it was something I had done wrong, it looked fine, so I added it to the egg whites. It was yummy, but runny. So I started over. And waited. And waited. And waited some more. And then it finally reached the magic number and I made the frosting. And it was SO worth the wait! The final product was fabulous! I preferred the cake out of the fridge with a slight chill. Tim liked his warmed up in the microwave.

Make sure you check out everyone else's fabulous cakes!

TWD: Floating Islands

2009-02-10T20:03:00.003-06:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie was chosen by Shari of Whisk. I thought it was a good omen that our dessert was called Floating Islands and we had just gotten back from an island. I love meringue cookies and I love custard and I love caramel so I thought for sure these would be a home run.

Not so much.

The custard was fabulous. And this was by far the most successful batch of caramel I have ever made. It was a tad underdone, but I prefer it that way to burnt like all my other attempts. But the meringue islands were HORRIBLE. I'm not sure if I didn't get them stiff enough or didn't poach them enough, or what. Gabby took a teensy tiny bite and hated it. TJ wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole. It was an interesting experience, but I won't be repeating it. Check out everyone else's, especially Shari's--hers are gorgeous! Next week is the cover cake and we are having it this weekend for Valentine's Day.

TWD: World Peace Cookies

2009-02-03T15:47:00.003-06:00

The name of these cookies makes me think of Beatles' songs. I think it was appropriate to make World Peace Cookies so close to the inauguration, with all the changes and historic moments, these cookies seem fitting.

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is World Peace Cookies chosen by Jessica of Cookbook Habit. As you know I am a cookie fiend. So when I saw these on the list for this month, I was super excited. I knew it would be really hard to make them since we were in St. Maarten last week. But I figured I would make them Monday. So Monday rolled around and I started them. I really should have tried to make them before I left.

As you can see I made not cookies, but a pan of World Peace crumbs. I tried to make them into logs, but it didn't work. And not wanting to waste the deliciousness, I poured them into my jelly roll pan and baked it flat like a pan of brownies.

They came out really really tasty. They were still HORRIBLY crumby. I was able to get maybe 10 2"x2" squares. I saved the rest though and plan on putting it with some vanilla ice cream for dessert. I definitely plan on trying these again, since I can't figure out what went wrong. Definitely check out everyone else's cookies!

TWD: Fresh Ginger and Chocolate Gingerbread

2009-01-26T11:53:00.002-06:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is the Fresh Ginger and Chocolate Gingerbread and was chosen by Sherry Trifle. Unfortunately as delicious as this looked, I didn't make it. I was sick last week and we had a family party to attend over the weekend and I today I have too much last minute stuff to do for our trip and my mom is on a diet and wouldn't appreciate being left a plate of deliciousness. Be sure to check everyone's out though!

I apologize for posting this a day early, but tomorrow I'm leaving on a jet plane..... and don't know what kind of computer access I will have tomorrow.

TWD: Berry Surprise Cake

2009-01-20T14:08:00.005-06:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie was chosen by Mary Ann of Meet Me in the Kitchen. A lot of people reported problems with the diva eggs not cooperating and causing their cakes to fall quite a bit. When mine first came out it was actually a bit domed and then fell the tiniest bit to be completely flat on top. It was almost perfect, except that I don't think it got quite tall enough to really "nest" it out. I think this is probably one of the best cakes (as far as look and skill go) I have ever made.

After the cake cooled, I cut off the top with no problems. It stayed completely intact. I cut out the nest and brushed on my syrup and filled it with my filling. The only thing I did different on the filling was add 1/2T more sugar since it seemed too tart. I added my raspberries and the other half of the filling and replaced the top of the cake. I made my frosting after I finished assembling the cake and finished it off.

Everything was delicious! I loved the cake, it was light and airy. Really though, I think it would be better in the spring or summer. Fresh berries are easier and cheaper then and because it is so light and airy it feels like more of a summer dessert.

TWD: Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins

2009-01-14T18:19:00.003-06:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins chosen by Rebecca of Ezra Pound Cake. This was a little different then I am used to. My corn bread usually comes out of a Jiffy box and is always plain Jane Corn bread. But this is The Year of Trying New Things, so I was excited. They were SOOO easy to make. And they were really good. A little more kick then I am used to, but then again I have a very sensitive tongue to spiciness. I am trying to work on that, so this was a help. These would be fabulous with chili, which I was going to make but we didn't have the stuff, and TJ couldn't eat it from his tonsil surgery, so I skipped it.

TWD: French Pear Tart

2009-01-06T18:20:00.003-06:00

This week celebrates the one year anniversary of Tuesdays with Dorie and in honor of that Dorie herself chose this week's recipe. She chose one of her favorites, the French Pear Tart. When I first read through the recipe and saw the almonds and the pears, which Gabby doesn't like and thought about when I would be able to make this since TJ had his tonsils out, I considered skipping this week.

But then I thought, wait this is DORIE. Of course I have to do it! And I am sooooo glad I did!

Since Gabby informed me she wouldn't be eating any of it, I decided to just do it as it read with the almonds. I went and bought all my ingredients and dug out my mini tart pans and got to work. I'm pretty sure that I had never made the crust before. I think I would remember this heavenly crust. It tasted like a shortbread cookie. It was sooooo good! I gobbled up my mini tart for dessert last night. Tim doesn't like almonds, but he did try a bite and said the crust was awesome. So I will be polishing off these babies today. I did powder sugar and whip cream last night. Today might be vanilla ice cream if I have any.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-05T14:11:00.002-06:00

I am a little bit late, but Happy New Year! We had an uneventful New Years Eve night. TJ had his tonsils out that morning. He is still recovering, but everyday is a little bit better. I don't usually do resolutions and am not calling these resolutions per se, more like goals. Back around my birthday I decided it would be the year of trying new things and I am going to keep that going. Just last night I had Greek Roasted potatoes at the restaurant we ate at instead of the typical mashed potatoes. I tried cactus a few weeks ago. I am determined to try at least 1 new thing a week--whether it be food related or non-food related. I am also determined to exercise more and eat better. So what are your resolutions?

TWD: Tall and Creamy Cheesecake

2008-12-30T18:32:00.003-06:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie was chosen by Anne of Anne Strawberry and I was thrilled. I love cheesecake. Tim thought he didn't like it until we got married and I tricked him with it. I made a chocolate caramel turtle cheesecake without the pecans and told him it was chocolate pie and he loved it. When I told him it was cheesecake he realized the error of his ways and is now a bona fide cheesecake lover. Anyways....

I made this a few weeks ago and stuck it in the freezer after I baked it so that I could serve it on Christmas Eve. The recipe is for a plain vanilla bean cheesecake. Dorie of course lists various variations and I chose to incorporate two of them. My cheesecake was a vanilla layer on the bottom, followed by a chocolate layer, a layer of fresh raspberries, and a final vanilla layer. This cheesecake was TO DIE FOR. It was so creamy and rich and delicious. I would venture to say it was almost as good as some of the Cheesecake Factory ones I've had.

Once cut, it didn't plate really pretty. I'm not sure how to cut a pretty piece of cheesecake. It might not look pretty once cut, but it is soooo delicious. This is being added to the must make list. Everyone asked for the recipe on Christmas Eve, so please try it yourself!

Vacation

2008-12-29T20:37:00.005-06:00

Every year around this time of year Tim turns to me and says "Let's move to Florida" or "Let's move to the Caribbean" and I usually say ok. Because earlier that day it has snowed a foot or there has been an ice storm or it is so frickin cold you can't go outside. I love Chicago, don't get me wrong, but I am thisclose to taking him up on his offer. I am SO sick of the cold! Home Away is giving away a vacation and some spending money for the vacation. I immediately checked it out and started to cry since it is so cold here. I miss the sun. I miss warm days. This is where we want to go, St. Martin. Doesn't it look nice? I am entering this contest and really hoping we win. We have had one hell of a year. I had my fourth cancer surgery. Tim had surgery. TJ had surgery. My grandma died. Tim's aunt died. We need a vacation. We need a bright spot this winter. I am crossing my fingers that we win. I *gasp* want to put on a bathing suit and go from pale sickly white to just plain white. I don't want to glow. I want to be warm.

Daring Bakers Yule Log

2008-12-28T21:57:00.003-06:00

This month's challenge is brought to us by the adventurous Hilda from Saffron and Blueberry and Marion from Il en Faut Peu Pour Etre Heureux.

They have chosen a French Yule Log by Flore from Florilege Gourmand

When I first read the challenge, I immediately flashed back to last December's Yule Log challenge and thought Oh Cr@p! But as I read, I got excited and started drooling, because it has all of my favorite things in it and was done in a loaf pan, not some fancy schmancy yule log pan. So I got started. I couldn't use the Dacquoise Biscuit from the recipe since it uses nuts, so I used last year's cake base. Honestly, it was the worst part of the whole thing. We ate all the other layers and I just pick that one off and throw it away and chow down on the rest of it.

I had Tim use the electric knife and cut all the slices at once and then stuck them in some tupperware and back in the freezer. This way when he is out of town and I need some dessert, I can grab it and get my sugar fix. It worked out really well that way.

I had problems with the mousse because I went off the recipe as it was originally posted and when I finished and found it soupy, I went back to the board and found the change. So I ended up making two batches of mousse, but we ate some of the soupy one as pudding for dessert one night, so it was ok.

The ganache insert worked beautifully and was delicious.

The Praline Crisp insert was not so hot. It tasted awesome. The kids gobbled up the extra like it was going out of style. It just was nothing like it was supposed to be. I think I used too many Rice Krispies. For the Praline insert I used Rice Krispies, chocolate and hot caramel ice cream topping. I would make that part alone again and serve it to the kids as a homemade candy bar.

The Creme Brulee insert tasted wonderful. The scraped vanilla bean really made it better than my usual Creme Brulee. But it took forever. I'm not sure what I did different, but it just would NOT set up. Finally I just stuck it in the freezer after trying to cook it for a couple of hours. It tasted fine, no one got sick since it cooked extra long, so no harm, no foul.

The Icing tasted good, but as you can see was very thin and runny. Too thin. Again, I'm not sure what went wrong there. It was fine, but I think it would have been better looks and taste wise if the icing was thicker.

Will I make this again? Hmmm. I'm not sure. It was an awful lot of ingredients and took a lot of time. Unless I found a better cake base, I probably won't make it again. But I will enjoy it as long as it lasts!

FRENCH YULE LOG OR ENTREMETS RECIPE by Flore of Florilège Gourmand

Element #1 Dacquoise Biscuit (Almond Cake)

Preparation time: 10 mn + 15 mn for baking

Equipment: 2 mixing bowls, hand or stand mixer with whisk attachment, spatula, baking pan such as a 10”x15” jelly-roll pan, parchment paper

Note: You can use the Dacquoise for the bottom of your Yule Log only, or as bottom and top layers, or if using a Yule log mold (half-pipe) to line your entire mold with the biscuit. Take care to spread the Dacquoise accordingly. Try to bake the Dacquoise the same day you assemble the log to keep it as moist as possible.

Ingredients:
2.8 oz (3/4cup + 1Tbsp / 80g) almond meal
1.75 oz (1/2 cup / 50g) confectioner’s sugar
2Tbsp (15g) all-purpose flour
3.5oz (100g / ~100ml) about 3 medium egg whites
1.75 oz (4 Tbsp / 50g) granulated sugar

1. Finely mix the almond meal and the confectioner's sugar. (If you have a mixer, you can use it by pulsing the ingredients together for no longer than 30 seconds).
2. Sift the flour into the mix.
3. Beat the eggs whites, gradually adding the granulated sugar until stiff.
4. Pour the almond meal mixture into the egg whites and blend delicately with a spatula.
5. Grease a piece of parchment paper and line your baking pan with it.
6. Spread the batter on a piece of parchment paper to an area slightly larger than your desired shape (circle, long strip etc...) and to a height of 1/3 inches (8mm).
7. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for approximately 15 minutes (depends on your oven), until golden.
8. Let cool and cut to the desired shape.

Variations on the Almond Dacquoise listed above:

Hazelnut Dacquoise
Substitute the same amount of hazelnut meal for the almond meal.

Chocolate Dacquoise
Add 3 tablespoons of sifted unsweetened cocoa powder into the almond meal/caster sugar mix in Step #1 of the Almond Dacquoise.

Lemon Dacquoise
Add the zest of 1 Lemon after the flour in Step #2 of the Almond Dacquoise.

Coconut Dacquoise
Substitute ¼ cup of almond meal and add 2/3 cup shredded coconut in Step #1 of the Almond Dacquoise.

Element #2 Dark Chocolate Mousse

Preparation time: 20mn

Equipment: stand or hand mixer with whisk attachment, thermometer, double boiler or equivalent, spatula

Note: You will see that a Pate a Bombe is mentioned in this recipe. A Pate a Bombe is a term used for egg yolks beaten with a sugar syrup, then aerated. It is the base used for many mousse and buttercream recipes. It makes mousses and buttercreams more stable, particularly if they are to be frozen, so that they do not melt as quickly or collapse under the weight of heavier items such as the crème brulee insert.
In the Vanilla Mousse variation, pastry cream is made to the same effect.
In the Mango Mousse variation, Italian meringue is made to the same effect. Italian meringue is a simple syrup added to egg whites as they are beaten until stiff. It has the same consistency as Swiss meringue (thick and glossy) which we have used before in challenge recipes as a base for buttercream.
The Whipped Cream option contains no gelatin, so beware of how fast it may melt.
Gelatin is the gelifying agent in all of the following recipes, but if you would like to use agar-agar, here are the equivalencies: 8g powdered gelatin = 1 (0.25 oz) envelope powdered gelatin = 1 Tbsp powdered gelatin = 1 Tbsp Agar-Agar.
1 Tbsp. of agar-agar flakes is equal to 1 tsp. of agar-agar powder.

Ingredients:
2.5 sheets gelatin or 5g / 1 + 1/4 tsp powdered gelatin
1.5 oz (3 Tbsp / 40g) granulated sugar
1 ½ tsp (10g) glucose or thick corn syrup
0.5 oz (15g) water
50g egg yolks (about 3 medium)
6.2 oz (175g) dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1.5 cups (350g) heavy cream (35% fat content)

1. Soften the gelatin in cold water. (If using powdered gelatin, follow the directions on the package.)
2. Make a Pate a Bombe: Beat the egg yolks until very light in colour (approximately 5 minutes until almost white).
2a. Cook the sugar, glucose syrup and water on medium heat for approximately 3 minutes (if you have a candy thermometer, the mixture should reach 244°F (118°C). If you do not have a candy thermometer, test the sugar temperature by dipping the tip of a knife into the syrup then into a bowl of ice water, if it forms a soft ball in the water then you have reached the correct temperature.
2b. Add the sugar syrup to the beaten yolks carefully by pouring it into the mixture in a thin stream while continuing to beat the yolks. You can do this by hand but it’s easier to do this with an electric mixer.
2c. Continue beating until cool (approximately 5 minutes). The batter should become thick and foamy.
3. In a double boiler or equivalent, heat 2 tablespoons (30g) of cream to boiling. Add the chopped chocolate and stir until melted and smooth.
4. Whip the remainder of the cream until stiff.
5. Pour the melted chocolate over the softened gelatin, mixing well. Let the gelatin and chocolate cool slightly and then stir in ½ cup (100g) of WHIPPED cream to temper. Add the Pate a Bombe.
6. Add in the rest of the WHIPPED cream (220g) mixing gently with a spatula.

Variations on the Dark Chocolate Mousse listed above:

White Chocolate Mousse
Substitute the same quantity of white chocolate for the dark chocolate in the mousse recipe listed above.

Milk Chocolate Whipped Cream (Chantilly):
(Can be made the day before and kept in the fridge overnight)
2/3 cup (160g) heavy cream 35% fat
7.8 oz (220g) milk chocolate
2 1/3 tsp (15g) glucose or thick corn syrup
1 1/3 cup (320g) heavy cream 35% fat

1. Chop the chocolate coarsely.
2. Heat the 160g of cream to boiling and pour over the chocolate and glucose syrup.
3. Wait 30 seconds then stir the mix until smooth. Add the remaining cream.
4. Refrigerate to cool, then whip up.

Vanilla Mousse
2/3 cup (160g) heavy cream (35% fat content)
2/3 cup (160g) whole milk
1 vanilla bean
4 medium-sized egg yolks
3 oz (6 Tbsp / 80g) granulated sugar
3 Tbsp (25g) cornstarch, sifted
4g / 2 tsp powdered gelatin or 2 sheets gelatin
1 cup (240g) whipping cream (35% fat content)

Make a pastry cream:
1. Pour the milk and 2/3 cup cream into a saucepan. Split the vanilla bean in half, scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean halves into milk and put the vanilla bean in as well.
2. Heat to boiling, then turn the heat off, cover and let infuse for at least 30 minutes. Then remove the vanilla bean.
3. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until white, thick and fluffy.
4. Add the cornstarch, beating carefully to ensure that there are no lumps. While whisking vigorously, pour some of the milk into the yolk mixture to temper it.
5. Put infused milk back on the stove on medium heat. Pour yolk mixture back into the milk while whisking vigorously. Keep whisking vigorously until mixture thickens considerably.
6. As soon as the mixture starts to boil, leave on for only 2 more minutes. (The recipe says you should remove the vanilla bean at this time but in the interest of no one getting burned, that can be done after you take the pastry cream off the stove.)
7. Once removed from the heat, cover the pastry cream by putting plastic film directly on the surface of the cream (this prevents it from forming a thick and unappetizing skin as it cools). Let cool at room temperature.
8. Soften the gelatin in cold water and melt in a small saucepan with 1 tsp of water OR melt in the microwave for 1 second (do not boil). Whisking vigorously, pour the cooled pastry cream over it.
9. Whip the 1 cup whipping cream until stiff and add gradually to the pastry cream (DO NOT WHISK). Blend delicately with a spatula (DO NOT WHISK).

Mango Mousse
2 medium-sized egg yolks
2 Tbsp (17g) cornstarch
1/3 cup (80g) whipping cream
7 oz (200g) mango puree
3.5 oz (1/2 cup / 100g) granulated sugar
1.3 oz (36g) water
2.5 gelatin leaves or 5g / 2+1/4 tsp powdered gelatin
3.5oz (100g / ~100ml) about 3 medium-sized egg whites

1. Beat the egg yolks with the cornstarch until thick, white and fluffy.
2. Heat the cream in a medium saucepan and once hot, pour a small amount over the egg yolks while whisking vigorously.
3. Pour the egg yolk mixture back into the rest of the cream in the saucepan, add the mango puree and cook, stirring constantly, until it thickens considerably, at least 3-5 mn. Let cool to lukewarm temperature.
4. Make an Italian Meringue: Cook the sugar and water on medium heat until temperature reaches 244°F (118°C) when measured with a candy thermometer. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, test the temperature by dipping the tip of a knife into the syrup then into a bowl of ice water. If it forms a soft ball, you’ve reached the proper temperature.
4a. Beat the egg whites until foamy. Pour the sugar syrup into the whites in a thin stream while continuing to whisk vigorously (preferably with a mixer for sufficient speed). Whisk/beat until cool (approximately 5 minutes). The meringue should be thick and glossy.
5. Soften the gelatin in cold water and melt in a small saucepan with 1 tsp of water OR melt in the microwave for 1 second (do not boil).
6. Put the melted gelatin in a mixing bowl and, while whisking vigorously, pour the lukewarm mango cream over the gelatin.
7. Carefully blend the Italian meringue into the mango mixture.

Element #3 Dark Chocolate Ganache Insert

Preparation time: 10mn

Equipment: pan, whisk. If you have plunging mixer (a vertical hand mixer used to make soups and other liquids), it comes in handy.

Note: Because the ganache hardens as it cools, you should make it right before you intend to use it to facilitate piping it onto the log during assembly. Please be careful when caramelizing the sugar and then adding the cream. It may splatter and boil.

Ingredients:
1.75 oz (4 Tbsp / 50g) granulated sugar
4.5oz (2/3 cup – 1 Tbsp/ 135g) heavy cream (35% fat content)
5 oz (135g) dark chocolate, finely chopped
3Tbsp + 1/2tsp (45g) unsalted butter softened

1. Make a caramel: Using the dry method, melt the sugar by spreading it in an even layer in a small saucepan with high sides. Heat over medium-high heat, watching it carefully as the sugar begins to melt. Never stir the mixture. As the sugar starts to melt, swirl the pan occasionally to allow the sugar to melt evenly. Cook to dark amber color (for most of you that means darker than last month’s challenge).
2. While the sugar is melting, heat the cream until boiling. Pour cream into the caramel and stir thoroughly. Be very careful as it may splatter and boil.
3. Pour the hot caramel-milk mixture over the dark chocolate. Wait 30 seconds and stir until smooth.
4. Add the softened butter and whip hard and fast (if you have a plunging mixer use it). The chocolate should be smooth and shiny.

Variations on the Dark Chocolate Ganache Insert listed above:

White Chocolate Ganache Insert
1.75 oz (4 Tbsp / 50g) granulated sugar
5 oz (135g) white chocolate, finely chopped
4.5 oz (2/3 cup – 1 Tbsp / 135g) heavy cream (35% fat content)

1. Make a caramel: Using the dry method, melt the sugar by spreading it in an even layer in a small sauce pan with high sides. Heat over medium-high heat, watching it carefully as the sugar begins to melt. Never stir the mixture. As the sugar starts to melt, swirl the pan occasionally to allow the sugar to melt evenly. Cook to dark amber color (for most of you that means darker than last month’s challenge).
2. While the sugar is melting, heat the cream until boiling. Pour cream into the caramel and stir thoroughly. Be very careful as it may splatter and boil.
3. Pour the hot caramel-milk mixture over the dark chocolate. Wait 30 seconds and stir until smooth.

Dark-Milk Ganache Insert
1.75 oz (4 Tbsp / 50g) granulated sugar
4.5oz (2/3 cup – 1 Tbsp / 135g) heavy cream (35% fat content)
2.7 oz (75g) milk chocolate
3.2 oz (90g) dark chocolate
3Tbsp + 1/2tsp (45g) unsalted butter softened

1. Make a caramel: Using the dry method, melt the sugar by spreading it in an even layer in a small saucepan with high sides. Heat over medium-high heat, watching it carefully as the sugar begins to melt. Never stir the mixture. As the sugar starts to melt, swirl the pan occasionally to allow the sugar to melt evenly. Cook to dark amber color (for most of you that means darker than last month’s challenge).
2. While the sugar is melting, heat the cream until boiling. Pour cream into the caramel and stir thoroughly. Be very careful as it may splatter and boil.
3. Pour the hot caramel-milk mixture over the dark chocolate. Wait 30 seconds and stir until smooth.
4. Add the softened butter and whip hard and fast (if you have a plunging mixer use it). The chocolate should be smooth and shiny.

Cinammon-Milk Ganache Insert
1.75 oz (4 Tbsp / 50g) granulated sugar
4.5oz (2/3 cup – 1 Tbsp / 135g) heavy cream
A pinch of cinnamon
2.7 oz (75g) milk chocolate, finely chopped
3.2 oz (90g) dark chocolate, finely chopped
3Tbsp + 1/2tsp (45g) unsalted butter softened

1. Make a caramel: Using the dry method, melt the sugar by spreading it in an even layer in a small saucepan with high sides. Heat over medium-high heat, watching it carefully as the sugar begins to melt. Never stir the mixture. As the sugar starts to melt, swirl the pan occasionally to allow the sugar to melt evenly. Cook to dark amber color (for most of you that means darker than last month’s challenge).
2. Heat the cream with the cinnamon (use the quantity of cinnamon you want to infuse the cream, a pinch is the smallest amount suggested) until boiling. Pour cream into the caramel and stir thoroughly. Be very careful as it may splatter and boil.
3. Pour the hot caramel-milk mixture over the milk and dark chocolate. Wait 30 seconds and stir until smooth.
4. Add the softened butter and whip hard and fast (if you have a plunging mixer use it). The chocolate should be smooth and shiny.

Element #4 Praline Feuillete (Crisp) Insert

Preparation time: 10 mn (+ optional 15mn if you make lace crepes)

Equipment: Small saucepan, baking sheet (if you make lace crepes).
Double boiler (or one small saucepan in another), wax paper, rolling pin (or I use an empty bottle of olive oil).

Note: Feuillete means layered (as in with leaves) so a Praline Feuillete is a Praline version of a delicate crisp. There are non-praline variations below. The crunch in this crisp comes from an ingredient which is called gavottes in French. Gavottes are lace-thin crepes. To our knowledge they are not available outside of France, so you have the option of making your own using the recipe below or you can simply substitute rice krispies or corn flakes or Special K for them. Special note: If you use one of the substitutes for the gavottes, you should halve the quantity stated, as in use 1oz of any of these cereals instead of 2.1oz.
If you want to make your own praline, please refer back to the Daring Baker Challenge Recipe from July 2008.

To make 2.1oz / 60g of gavottes (lace crepes - recipe by Ferich Mounia):
1/3 cup (80ml) whole milk
2/3 Tbsp (8g) unsalted butter
1/3 cup – 2tsp (35g) all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp / 0.5 oz (15g) beaten egg
1 tsp (3.5g) granulated sugar
½ tsp vegetable oil
1. Heat the milk and butter together until butter is completely melted. Remove from the heat.
2. Sift flour into milk-butter mixture while beating, add egg and granulated sugar. Make sure there are no lumps.
3. Grease a baking sheet and spread batter thinly over it.
4. Bake at 430°F (220°C) for a few minutes until the crepe is golden and crispy. Let cool.

Ingredients for the Praline Feuillete:
3.5 oz (100g) milk chocolate
1 2/3 Tbsp (25g) butter
2 Tbsp (1 oz / 30g) praline
2.1oz (60g) lace crepes(gavottes) or rice krispies or corn flakes or Special K

1. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler.
2. Add the praline and the coarsely crushed lace crepes. Mix quickly to thoroughly coat with the chocolate.
3. Spread between two sheets of wax paper to a size slightly larger than your desired shape. Refrigerate until hard.

Variations on the Praline Feuillete (Crisp) Insert listed above:

Chocolate Crisp Insert
3.5 oz (100g) milk chocolate
1 2/3 Tbsp (25g) unsalted butter
2 Tbsp (1 oz / 30g) praline
1 oz. (25g) lace crepes or rice krispies or corn flakes or Special K

1. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler.
2. Add the praline and the coarsely crushed lace crepes. Mix quickly to thoroughly coat with the chocolate.
3. Spread between two sheets of wax paper to a size slightly larger than your desired shape. Refrigerate until hard.

Coconut Crisp Insert
3.5 oz (100g) white chocolate
1 oz (1/3 cup/25g) shredded coconut
1 2/3 Tbsp (25g) unsalted butter
2.1 oz (60g) lace crepes or rice krispies or corn flakes or Special K

1. Spread the coconut on a baking tray and bake for 5-10 minutes at 375°F (190°C) to toast (a different temperature might work better for you with your own oven).
2. Melt the white chocolate and butter in a double boiler. Stir until smooth and add the toasted coconut.
3. Add the coarsely crushed lace crepes. Mix quickly to thoroughly coat with the chocolate. Spread between two sheets of wax paper to a size slightly larger than your desired shape. Refrigerate until hard.

Element #5 Vanilla Crème Brulée Insert

Preparation time: 15mn + 1h infusing + 1h baking

Equipment: Small saucepan, mixing bowl, baking mold, wax paper

Note: The vanilla crème brulée can be flavored differently by simply replacing the vanilla with something else e.g. cardamom, lavender, etc...

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (115g) heavy cream (35% fat content)
½ cup (115g) whole milk
4 medium-sized (72g) egg yolks
0.75 oz (2 Tbsp / 25g) granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean

1. Heat the milk, cream, and scraped vanilla bean to just boiling. Remove from the stove and let the vanilla infuse for about 1 hour.
2. Whisk together the sugar and egg yolks (but do not beat until white).
3. Pour the vanilla-infused milk over the sugar/yolk mixture. Mix well.
4. Wipe with a very wet cloth and then cover your baking mold (whatever shape is going to fit on the inside of your Yule log/cake) with parchment paper. Pour the cream into the mold and bake at 210°F (100°C) for about 1 hour or until firm on the edges and slightly wobbly in the center.
Tartelette says: You can bake it without a water bath since it is going to go inside the log (the aesthetics of it won't matter as much since it will be covered with other things)....BUT I would recommend a water bath for the following reasons:
- you will get a much nicer mouth feel when it is done
- you will be able to control its baking point and desired consistency much better
- it bakes for such a long time that I fear it will get overdone without a water bath
Now...since it is baked in a pan and it is sometimes difficult to find another large pan to set it in for a water bath, even a small amount of water in your water bath will help the heat be distributed evenly in the baking process. Even as little as 1 inch will help.
5. Let cool and put in the freezer for at least 1 hour to firm up and facilitate the final assembly.

Variations on the Vanilla Crème Brulée insert listed above:

Chocolate Creme Brulée Insert
½ cup + 1 2/3 Tbsp (140g) whole milk
2/3 cup + 1tsp (140g) heavy cream (35% fat content)
1/3 cup (25g) unsweetened cocoa powder
4 medium-sized (72g) egg yolks
1.4 oz (3 Tbsp / 40g) granulated sugar

1. Heat the milk and cream to just boiling. Add the cocoa powder.
2. Whisk together the sugar and egg yolks (but do not beat until white).
3. Pour the cocoa milk over the sugar/yolk mixture. Mix well.
4. Wipe with a very wet cloth and then cover your baking mold (whatever shape is going to fit on the inside of your Yule log/cake) with parchment paper. Pour the cream into the mold and bake at 210°F (100°C) for about 1 hour or until firm on the edges and slightly wobbly in the center.
Tartelette says: You can bake it without a water bath since it is going to go inside the log (the aesthetics of it won't matter as much since it will be covered with other things)....BUT I would recommend a water bath for the following reasons:
- you will get a much nicer mouth feel when it is done
- you will be able to control its baking point and desired consistency much better
- it bakes for such a long time that I fear it will get overdone without a water bath
Now...since it is baked in a pan and it is sometimes difficult to find another large pan to set it in for a water bath, even a small amount of water in your water bath will help the heat be distributed evenly in the baking process. Even as little as 1 inch will help.
5. Let cool and put in the freezer for at least 1 hour to firm up and facilitate the final assembly.

Element #6 Dark Chocolate Icing

Preparation time: 25 minutes (10mn if you don’t count softening the gelatin)

Equipment: Small bowl, small saucepan

Note: Because the icing gelifies quickly, you should make it at the last minute.
For other gelatin equivalencies or gelatin to agar-agar equivalencies, look at the notes for the mousse component.

Ingredients:
4g / ½ Tbsp powdered gelatin or 2 sheets gelatin
¼ cup (60g) heavy cream (35 % fat content)
2.1 oz (5 Tbsp / 60g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (50g) water
1/3 cup (30g) unsweetened cocoa powder

1. Soften the gelatin in cold water for 15 minutes.
2. Boil the rest of the ingredients and cook an additional 3 minutes after boiling.
3. Add gelatin to the chocolate mixture. Mix well.
4. Let cool while checking the texture regularly. As soon as the mixture is smooth and coats a spoon well (it is starting to gelify), use immediately.

Variations on the Dark Chocolate Icing listed above:

Milk Chocolate Icing
1.5 gelatin sheets or 3g / 1/2Tbsp powdered gelatin
4.2 oz (120g) milk chocolate
2 Tbsp (30g) butter
¼ cup (60g) heavy cream (35 % fat content)
1 2/3 Tbsp (30g) glucose or thick corn syrup

1. Soften the gelatin in cold water for 15 minutes.
2. Coarsely chop the chocolate and butter together.
3. Bring the cream and glucose syrup to a boil.
4. Add the gelatin.
5. Pour the mixture over the chocolate and butter. Whisk until smooth.
6. Let cool while checking the texture regularly. As soon as the mixture is smooth and coats a spoon well (it is starting to gelify), use immediately.

White Chocolate Icing
1.5 gelatin sheets or 3g / 1/2Tbsp powdered gelatin
3.5 oz (100g) white chocolate
2 Tbsp (30g) unsalted butter
1/3 cup (90 g) whole milk
1 2/3 Tbsp (30g) glucose or thick corn syrup

1. Soften the gelatin in cold water for 15 minutes.
2. Coarsely chop the chocolate and butter together.
3. Bring the milk and glucose syrup to a boil.
4. Add the gelatin.
5. Pour the mixture over the chocolate and butter. Whisk until smooth.
6. Let cool while checking the texture regularly. As soon as the mixture is smooth and coats a spoon well (it is starting to gelify), use immediately.

How To Assemble your French Yule Log

Depending on whether your mold is going to hold the assembly upside down until you unmold it or right side up, this order will be different.
THIS IS FOR UNMOLDING FROM UPSIDE DOWN TO RIGHT SIDE UP.
You will want to tap your mold gently on the countertop after each time you pipe mousse in to get rid of any air bubbles.

1) Line your mold or pan, whatever its shape, with rhodoid (clear hard plastic, I usually use transparencies cut to the desired shape, it’s easier to find than cellulose acetate which is what rhodoid translates to in English) OR plastic film. Rhodoid will give you a smoother shape but you may have a hard time using it depending on the kind of mold you’re using.

You have two choices for Step 2, you can either have Dacquoise on the top and bottom of your log as in version A or you can have Dacquoise simply on the bottom of your log as in version B:

2A) Cut the Dacquoise into a shape fitting your mold and set it in there. If you are using an actual Yule mold which is in the shape of a half-pipe, you want the Dacquoise to cover the entire half-pipe portion of the mold.
3A) Pipe one third of the Mousse component on the Dacquoise.
4A) Take the Creme Brulee Insert out of the freezer at the last minute and set on top of the mousse. Press down gently to slightly ensconce it in the mousse.
5A) Pipe second third of the Mousse component around and on top of the Creme Brulee Insert.
6A) Cut the Praline/Crisp Insert to a size slightly smaller than your mold so that it can be surrounded by mousse. Lay it on top of the mousse you just piped into the mold.
7A) Pipe the last third of the Mousse component on top of the Praline Insert.
8A) Freeze for a few hours to set. Take out of the freezer.
9A) Pipe the Ganache Insert onto the frozen mousse leaving a slight eidge so that ganache doesn’t seep out when you set the Dacquoise on top.
10A) Close with the last strip of Dacquoise.
Freeze until the next day.

OR

2B) Pipe one third of the Mousse component into the mold.
3B) Take the Creme Brulee Insert out of the freezer at the last minute and set on top of the mousse. Press down gently to slightly ensconce it in the mousse.
4B) Pipe second third of the Mousse component around and on top of the Creme Brulee Insert.
5B) Cut the Praline/Crisp Insert to a size slightly smaller than your mold so that it can be surrounded by mousse. Lay it on top of the mousse you just piped into the mold.
6B) Pipe the last third of the Mousse component on top of the Praline Insert.
7B) Freeze for a few hours to set. Take out of the freezer.
8B) Pipe the Ganache Insert onto the frozen mousse leaving a slight edge so that ganache doesn’t seep out when you set the Dacquoise on top.
9B) Close with the Dacquoise.
Freeze until the next day.

If you are doing the assembly UPSIDE DOWN with TWO pieces of Dacquoise the order is:
1) Dacquoise
2) Mousse
3) Creme Brulee Insert
4) Mousse
5) Praline/Crisp Insert
6) Mousse
7) Ganache Insert
8) Dacquoise

If you are doing the assembly UPSIDE DOWN with ONE piece of Dacquoise on the BOTTOM ONLY the order is:
1) Mousse
2) Creme Brulee Insert
3) Mousse
4) Praline/Crisp Insert
5) Mousse
6) Ganache Insert
7) Dacquoise

If you are doing the assembly RIGHT SIDE UP in a springform pan the order is:
1) Dacquoise
2) Ganache Insert
3) Mousse
4) Praline/Crisp Insert
5) Mousse
6) Creme Brulee Insert
7) Mousse
8 OPTIONAL) Dacquoise

THE NEXT DAY...
Unmold the cake/log/whatever and set on a wire rack over a shallow pan.
Cover the cake with the icing.
Let set. Return to the freezer.
You may decorate your cake however you wish. The decorations can be set in the icing after it sets but before you return the cake to the freezer or you may attach them on top using extra ganache or leftover mousse, etc...
Transfer to the refrigerator no longer than ½ hour before serving as it may start to melt quickly depending on the elements you chose.

Crispy Caramel Brownie Treats

2008-12-28T18:13:00.002-06:00

Did you have a good Christmas? We did. The kids had a great time and had an AWESOME Santa story to tell and will continue to tell for ages. I'll tell that story and then get onto the goodies:

They were playing in the basement on Christmas Eve when TJ went into the laundry room to throw away some garbage from his new Crayola Glow Station. And what does he see? But the Wii Guitar Hero World Tour Package--the huge box that had the drums and guitar. So of course he calls Gabby in there and she sees it. And of course they come running up to tell us. So we deny buying it and remind them we have been telling them for months that we weren't buying it since we have Rock Band. They want me to come see it, but some of our guests are leaving so I'll do it in a few minutes. The guests leave. I go down there and the laundry room door is now locked. We unlock it with a screwdriver and there is no Guitar Hero. It's gone. Santa came back and took it because they were peeking. So they freak out. And decide to write a note to Santa apologizing for peeking and go off to bed. In the morning they get up and don't see Guitar Hero. But what's this on the coffee table? A note from Santa! He knows they are good kids, but no more peeking. So they run down to check the laundry room. And lo and behold, there is Guitar Hero. We here screams and shouts and they came running up screaming He brought it back!

So we had quite the exciting night and morning. I was excited because I got a lot of cooking goodies off of my wish list. I am super excited to try them all out.

In the meantime, here is a recipe for some delicious treats we made for Christmas. They were great and super easy. I found them over at Picky Palate. She has a ton of clever treats that are twists on everday recipes.

Crispy Caramel Brownie Treats

1 brownie mix of choice 9x13 size
¾ Cup caramel ice cream topping

3 Cups Mini Marshmallows
2 Tablespoons butter
3 ½ Cups rice crispy cereal

1 Cup semi sweet chocolate chips
2 Tablespoons coconut oil (you can also use heavy cream)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions. As soon as they are done baking, remove from oven and drizzle with caramel ice cream topping.

2. In a large microwave safe bowl, melt marshmallows and butter until puffed up. Stir in cereal until well combined. Quickly place over brownies and gently spread evenly over top. Place chocolate chips into a medium microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals until melted and smooth. Stir in coconut oil or heavy cream until shiny and smooth. Pour and drizzle over top of brownies. Let cool then cut into squares.

12 large brownies

TWD: Butterscotch Pudding

2008-12-23T20:10:00.002-06:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie was chosen by Donna of Spatulas, Corkscrews and Suitcases and is the delicious Butterscotch pudding. I love Dorie. I love her recipes. But the food processor for a blender has got to be the worst pudding idea ever. I didn't love it with the chocolate pudding--it was very difficult. And I hated it with this pudding. Whoever designed food processors to have a hole in the bottom obviously never used them. It is the one thing I HATE about both my mini and my large food processors--they alwats make a mess. And this time it was a huge one.

I had to make the pudding twice. The first time once I had everything in the food processor and went to put it back in the pan, it all spilled out the bottom of the food processor. It was miserable. I swear there is still some inside the machine. So I started over and had Tim help me lift the entire thing up to pour it back in the pan. And I have now been banned from doing anything remotely similar in the food processor ever again. I am to do all things like that in the all powerful Blend Tek. I left the Scotch out of it because we don't drink it and I didn't feel like buying a bottle for such a small amount. And it was delicious without it. It was creamy and a little vanilla tasting. It was delicious. The kids both thought they wouldn't like it, but loved it. Gabby especially loved it. So while I won't ever make this in a food processor again, I will make it again.

Marshmallow Fondant Disaster

2008-12-22T19:47:00.003-06:00

I tried. I really really tried. This Marshmallow Fondant is the bane of my existence tonight. I knew I was going to have problems after I first started adding the powder sugar. Then I realized that I used a 10.5 oz bag of marshmallows, not a 16 oz. So I luckily had another bag of marshmallows and melted them and added them. It was still really dry and powder sugary so I melted more marshmallows. What I got was the above--a sticky gooey mess.

But I soldiered on. Because my TWD Sugar Cookies were going to have Marshmallow Fondant cookies, damn it. The fondant was just so yummy. So I had to keep going. So I greased the counter and my hands and started kneading. And kneading. And kneading. And half the fondant was on my hands and not coming off. So I start having Tim add more sugar to dry it out, which helped a little bit, but not much. So I thought to myself, I have a nice kitchen aid mixer with a kneading hook, why the hell am I doing this by hand? So I had Tim grease the bowl and plopped it in and let the mixer do it's job. And that worked a little bit. So I decided to put it in the fridge for awhile.

A couple of hours I took it out and started kneading it some more by hand with some more sugar. It got to where it was supposed to be, or so I thought. HA! I started rolling it out and it started sticking to the wax paper. I was able to get 1 tree cut out. So I powdered the counter real well and started rolling again. This time I got out 4 trees. It stuck too bad. So I re-balled it up and kneaded some more and then re-rolled it out. And got a few more trees.

And then I quit. Because damn it, I had sugar all over me and they weren't working and I have better things to do with my time then fight with frosting. So tomorrow I will buy a can of frosting and finish the trees.

I do plan on trying this again, because it was AWESOME tasting. Tim loved it. I was going to start eating the big ball of frosting, but threw it away before temptation could overcome me.

The recipe I used was:
16 oz bag of mini marshmallows
2T water
2 lbs powdered sugar

Melt the marshmallows and water in a microwave safe bowl for 30 seconds at a time until soupy. Add the sugar and mix well. If needed add more water. The more water you use, the stickier it will be.

TWD: Buttery Jam Cookies

2008-12-16T08:53:00.003-06:00

I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that I don't have pictures of my Buttery Jam cookies (which were awesome). The good news is that my new DSLR camera is being delivered tomorrow! So I will take my Buttery Jam cookies out of the freezer tomorrow for some pictures and post them tomorrow.

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie was chosen by Heather of Randomosity and the Girl. I love trying new cookie recipes at Christmas time so I was excited to try these--especially because they are so simple to make! I love simple recipes. The recipe calls for apricot marmelade, but really Dorie says you can use anything. Since I am on a raspberry kick lately, I used Seedles Red Raspberry Jam. A lot of people seemed to have problems with the cookie not spreading and just staying in a little ball. I didn't have that problem at all. Mine spread out into cute little disks--they didn't spread as much as some cookies do, but they definitely spread. On my mom's side of the family, there is a cookie recipe that all my aunts have and someone always makes them for the family parties. They are little white cookies--kind of a cross between a butter and sugar cookie--with frosting. The kids and I think these taste exactly like them. Tim of course thought they needed frosting. I am definitely adding these to the rotation since they are so simple and were such a hit. I can't wait to bring them out for Christmas!

TWD: Grandma's All Occasion Sugar Cookies

2008-12-09T20:26:00.002-06:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is Grandma's All Occasion Sugar Cookies chosen by Ulrike of Kuchenlatein. Now, I have made the cookies, but I haven't frosted them or even tried them yet. I did try some of the batter that conveniently made it's way to my fingers. And it was yummy! I didn't want to frost these, since I plan on using them for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day family gatherings. So I stuck them in the freezer until the week of Christmas. I plan on making Marshmallow Fondant and frosting them with that. I've never made the fondant, so I am excited to make it. I will be sure to post pictures and the recipe once they are done. Be sure to check everyone's out though. I saw some EXCELLENT ones with royal icing!

Give Away Winners!

2008-12-04T07:48:00.002-06:00

Thanks so much to everyone who entered. I'm sure I'll be doing more give aways in the future! The winners of the Progresso gift baskets are: Shawn, Jennifer, and Kat Bryan. I'll be contacting you soon, so if you don't hear from me, let me know so I can get you your basket!

TWD: Linzer Sables

2008-12-02T14:23:00.002-06:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie was chosen by Dennis from Living the Life: Linzer Sables. I did not make them because one of the main ingredients are nuts and that just doesn't fly with Gabby's allergies. And since we were in the Bahamas last week, I didn't have the time anyways. Be sure to check everyone else's out though. With this month being so busy, my TWD posts might be sporadic and probably a lot closer to Christmas. We are doing some great cookie recipes this month and of course I want them for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!