Grandma's Kitchen Table

Tuesdays with Dorie: Cran-Apple Crisp

Thanks to Em of The Repressed Pastry Chef for her Tuesdays with Dorie pick of Cran-Apple Crisp, found on pages 422 of Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours cookbook. 
We are big fans of anything "crisp" around here, apple crisp being our favorite, so I was eager to try this recipe so that we could see what the addition of fresh cranberries and dried cranberries would do to it.  I used a combination of Granny Smith, Cortland, and Honeycrisp apples because I always think a combination of apples tastes best.  The topping was pretty standard: oats, a little flour, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, ginger, and a little extra surprise of coconut, which definitely tasted really wonderful in the finished product.  I was very happy with that discovery as we all like coconut and I don't get to use it near enough.   

The whole thing takes very little time to assemble, about 45 minutes to bake, and the efforts are very much worth it.   It has a sort of sweet/sour taste which I just loved. 

The Cran-Apple Crisp received rave reviews and I will be adding this to the standard rotation around here in the future.  Although not his Number 1 dessert, like last week's Molasses Cookie, you can tell from the smile that Matt really liked this and was more than happy to be the taste tester this week.

Next week:  November is a bit of a free-for-all with the recipes and the weeks selected for posting as we have free choice in November to post the recipes for this month in any order that works for our baking schedule with Thanksgiving thrown in there.  This recipe is actually listed for today, so if you want the recipe, you can visit Em's blog to see it. 

TWD blogroll found here.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies

Thanks to Pamela of Cookies with Boys for her Tuesdays with Dorie pick of Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies, found on pages 76-77 of Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours cookbook.  Pamela bakes/cooks in a couple of different groups that I do and is also one of my favs on Twitter as she is just so sweet, so it was extra nice this week to get to bake a recipe she selected from the book.

 

Homemade cookies around here are always greatly appreciated.  These are particularly wonderful with the flavor of molasses and the slight taste of cinnamon in them.  The sugar on the top makes them sparkle!  

 

The cookies are easy to mix, they chill for a bit (I rolled mine in a log shape in clingwrap like I do for refrigerator cookies and that made it easy to divide and slice off the appropriate amount for each cookie before rolling it into a ball), you form them into balls, roll them in a little sugar, flatten slightly with the sugar dipped bottom of a glass, and bake for 14 minutes.  (They do spread a bit, so I only put eight cookies per sheet when I was baking them and that worked great.)  They come out all sparkly and flat and sort of chewy in the middle and crispy on the edges, just perfect.    

 

Drumroll please:  Matthew says that these are, without a doubt, no question about it, his favorite cookie!  And, this, is a boy who has had plenty of experience eating lots of cookies, so I would take this comment very seriously if you are considering whether or not to bake them. 

 

They were a big hit around here with all of us.  

 

Next week:  November is a bit of a free-for-all with the recipes and the weeks selected for posting as we have free choice in November to post the recipes for this month in any order that works for our baking schedule with Thanksgiving thrown in there.  This recipe is actually listed for November 17th, so if you want the recipe, you will need to visit Pamela's blog on November 17th to see it. 

 

TWD blogroll found here.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Cherry Fudge Brownie Torte

Oh, no, I'm a slacker this week.  I meant to make the Cherry Fudge Brownie Torte yesterday, but one thing led to another, and it was all very important, and well, no TWD. I might get a chance to make it later in the week, but if not, see you next week! 

Tuesdays with Dorie: Sweet Potato Biscuits

Thanks to Erin of Prudence Pennywise for her Tuesdays with Dorie pick this week of Sweet Potato Biscuits, found on page 26 of Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours cookbook. 

 

Homemade bread products around here are always greatly appreciated.  These are wonderfully flavored little dinner biscuits and the guys were popping them right and left before dinner even started.  With or without butter. 

 

I made them twice actually as the first time I wasn't happy with the rise (height) of the biscuit and I thought the little 2.5 inch size was much too small for the guys with such large hands.  The second time I made them, I got a new can of baking powder, hoping that would fix the problem with the low rise, but sadly, it did not, still much flatter than I would have liked to see.  Either way, the flavor was the same.  They were delightful in taste, but I have just not worked out the logistics of baking them more attractively yet. 

 

Next week:  April of Short + Rose picked Cherry-Fudge Brownie Torte, pages 284-285.  TWD blogroll found here.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Allspice Crumb Muffins

Well, the Big Day is finally here:  I got to be the one to select the TWD recipe for the week!  In case you haven't been the one to choose a recipe yet, let me just say there is a lot of pressure going into this honor.  First, you have to actually select a recipe that has yet to be chosen out of this huge book of recipes and get over the fact that someone may frown at you for your choice (a really hard thing for me); Second, you have to be willing to visit ALL the blogs and comment on as many of the posts as you can (a huge time commitment, but also a fun one); and Third, you have to answer the Questionnaire they send to you so that you can share with the world your most intimate secrets for them to post on the TWD site that week.  YIKES, a lot more goes into this than meets the eye. 

 

I knew I wanted something simple as I am all about simplicity on a daily basis, something that would appeal to a good portion of the bakers, something that didn't cost a lot as sometimes recipes can get a little pricey, and better even if everyone did not have to run to the store or search around town for hard to find ingredients, something seasonal that would make the house smell like fall or get one in the mood for the upcoming holiday season, something that would be kid friendly (I have a couple of those and all), something I might possibly make again and again and be delighted that I found a wonderful repeat recipe, something NOT chocolate, but perhaps with some lemon or at least the possibility of lemon in there somewhere, and something that didn't take a lot of time or use up lots of pots/pans/utensils/dishes in the making.  So, with all of that in mind, I set out to find the definitive recipe that would fulfill all those wishes. 

 

How did I do?   At my house, I did very well...this is a great recipe that definitely met all my criteria and expectations (yes, I added the optional lemon zest from one full lemon).  I always follow the recipe as closely as possible the first time I make it, without any add-ins or changes, so I followed this one exactly and it was perfect as written.  Perfect.  Did you get that?  Perfect!  We loved the muffins even more than I thought we would.They are tender, moist, flavorful, easy, and melt in your mouth!  It made 12...I told the guys it only made 10.  Yep, I ate TWO, one warm straight out of the oven, and one a little later (I had to know if they were good at room temperature, right?) and both were absolutely delightful. 

 

Each week, the hostess/host gets to post the chosen recipe on her/his site.  Dorie Greenspan has graciously and generously specifically indicated that the recipe can be posted on the site of the person who chooses the recipe that week.  So, without further adieu, thanks to the author herself, here is the recipe for Allspice Crumb Muffins from the cookbook Baking from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, found on pages 16-17. 

Allspice Crumb Muffins

 

For the Streusel:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

5 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into bits 

For the Muffins:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar

1 stick (8 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 large eggs

3/4 cup whole milk

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Grated zest of 1 lemon (optional) 

Getting ready:  Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper cups.  Alternatively, use a silicone muffin pan which needs neither greasing nor paper cups.  Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet. 

To Make the Streusel:  Put the flour, brown sugar and allspice in a small bowl and sift them through your fingers to blend.  Add the bits of cold butter and toss to get irregularly shaped crumbs.  Set aside in the refrigerator for the moment.  (You can make the crumbs up to 3 days ahead and keep them covered in the refrigerator.) 

To Make the Muffins:  In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, allspice and salt.  Stir in the brown sugar, making certain there are no lumps.  In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the melted butter, eggs, milk, and vanilla extract together until well combined.  Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend.  Don't worry about being thorough--the batter will be lumpy, and that is just the way it should be.  Stir in the lemon zest, if you're using it. 

 

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.  Sprinkle some streusel over each muffin, then use your fingertips to gently press the crumbs into the batter. 

 

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean.  Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.  Next week:  Erin of Prudence Pennywise picked Sweet Potato Biscuits, page 26. 

 

TWD blogroll found here.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart

Thanks to Carla of Chocolate Moosey

 for her Tuesdays with Dorie pick this week of Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart, found on pages 355-357 of Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours cookbook.  Click on Carla's site for the recipe.

The guys just love chocolate weeks here at TWD, and I just love to see the guys happy.  They were really really happy this week. 

Dorie's Sweet Tart Dough, a caramel layer (yes, I made the caramel myself), honey roasted peanuts mixed into that caramel (I Know They Always Say They Don't Like Nuts IN Things, but when I asked if I should leave them out, there was a resounding "No, we like them in things like this," so in they stayed and proves my theory that I will never understand men), and to top it all off, chocolate ganache. 

 

This was a full-size tart.  It was completely gone in two days.  They all loved it, rated it Top 5 (yes, I know, they have about 20 Top 5 recipes, so all I can say is:  buy the book and make the recipes, it's all that good).  

 

Top photo shows the butter not quite melted into the ganache, what can I say, I was in a hurry, and messing around with chocolate is never my favorite thing, you will do better than I on that; middle photo shows the slice Matt ate with all that caramel and peanut goodness hiding underneath the ganache; and the last photo is Matt quickly devouring that piece of tart as I kept saying, "Slow down, I need a photo...." as you can see, I had to shoot fast as the tart disappeared quicker than I could fire off the camera.  He was on his way out the door to a bonfire...didn't want to miss the tart.   

 

Next week:  Garrett of Flavor of Vanilla picked Split Level Pudding, pages 384-385. 

 

TWD blogroll found here.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Cottage Cheese Pufflets

Thanks to Jacque of Daisy Lane Cakes for her Tuesdays with Dorie pick this week of Cottage Cheese Pufflets, found on pages 148-149 of Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours cookbook.

  Cottage Cheese Pufflets are little squares of pastry dough (with the addition of cottage cheese in the mixture) filled with a little dab of a jam of your choice, folded over to make a triangle, baked for 16 minutes in my oven, cooled on a wire rack, and dusted with powdered sugar to spiff them up a bit. 

 

For the jams I did a selection of strawberry, apricot, and Jalapeno (pictured at the top of this post).  The Jalapeno were really good with the slightly cheesy flavor in the crust. 

 

The cottage cheese pufflets were little bites of goodness, but awfully fussy to make.  I am not one to fuss with little tiny bits of dough and jam because I know that the guys around here are not all that appreciative of little bitty things. 

One of these little bitty pufflets  gets lost in their large hands and in the case of teenagers, they can pop several in their mouths with no true appreciation of all the work that went into them.

 

These are "Invite Your Friends to Tea" cookies, not "I Live in a Household of Men" cookies. 

 

The recipe was fine and tasty, but they won't be a staple around here as their favorite use for dough and fruit is pie!  Now there's where the appreciation comes in nicely. 

 

Next week:  Carla of Chocolate Moosey picked Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart, pages 355-357. 

 

TWD blogroll found here.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Flaky Apple Turnovers

Thanks to Julie of Someone's in the Kitchen for her Tuesdays with Dorie pick this week of Flaky Apple Turnovers, found on pages 316-317 of Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours cookbook. 

 

Julie and I comment back and forth each week on each other's blogs, so it is nice to get to bake something that she would choose.  I was surprised, however, that she chose a non-chocolate recipe!  Thank you, Jules, you picked a great recipe, we all loved it! 

  My family loves apple desserts, apple pie probably being the number one favorite of both Mark and Matt, so I was eager to give the turnovers a go and see how well received those would be. 

  The answer:  Very Well Received!  (This week it is Mark on the deck with his "homework" enjoying a TWD treat.)

  The recipe is easy enough, no more difficult than an apple pie, but a little fussier in that you need to get out the dough cutters, fill each one separately, seal, etc., but all in all it was rather relaxing and enjoyable.  

The apple cinnamon filling was wonderful with the dough (which has sour cream in it).  Definitely a hit.  Definitely a repeat.  Definitely one of the Top 5 recipes so far.  Buy the book and make this one for sure! 

  Next week:  Jacque of Daisy Lane Cakes picked Cottage Cheese Pufflets, pages 148-149;  TWD blogroll found here.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Chocolate Souffle

   Thanks to Susan of She's Becoming DoughMesstic for her Tuesdays with Dorie pick this week of Chocolate Souffle, found on page 406 of Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours cookbook. 

  Yep, it was Susan's turn to pick this week.  Susan of the "made and decorated Matt's birthday cookies" fame.  Yep, that same Susan.  I was so not going to do this week's recipe, but it was Susan's pick, and we have become internet friends baking and cooking along together each week and chatting on Twitter, etc., so I didn't want to let her down.  That and Tracey talked me into just getting it done, and Nancy said it was easy, so I did it. 

  It was very easy.  I had made souffles before but only savory ones, not sweet ones.  I started the whole process about 8:15 Monday evening, halving the recipe and making 6 little individual souffles in small ramekins. 

  The guys had them all eaten by 9:15 Monday evening.  One hour, start to finish.  Gone with raving compliments for Dorie's recipe. 

  The photo does not really do the souffle justice as they rose nicely, however, by the time I located the camera, sprinkled on the powdered sugar, and got it into a semi-acceptable posing position, it had deflated noticeably.  Apparently that did not affect the taste, according to the guys.  Matt is shown blowing on his second bite as the first one burned his mouth a little, eager as he was to taste it! 

   Click on Susan's link above for the recipe and you can make them, too:  chocolate, sugar, eggs, milk...you probably have all the ingredients and can start right now!  Rave reviews, really.   

    Next week:  Flaky Apple Turnovers, pages 316-317;  TWD blogroll found here.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Espresso Cheesecake Brownies

  Thanks to Melissa of Life in a Peanut Shell for her Tuesdays with Dorie pick this week of Espresso Cheesecake Brownies, found on pages 104-105 of Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours cookbook. 

  I am officially desserted-out.  Sweets are not my biggest temptation ever, so when I saw this week that four of my cook alongs were desserts, I thought, "Nope, not doing all those."  Since TWD was my first blog along, I will try to remain faithful, besides this week was chocolate, so I wouldn't actually eat any of it. 

  I procrastinated until today (Tuesday) and found that there were quite a few steps and quite a bit of waiting around time, so posting later in the day, sorry about that for those of you who came along checking to see if I could actually pull this one off. 

  Chocolate Brownie is the bottom layer, topped with an espresso cheesecake layer, topped by a sour cream and sugar layer, and just because it looked a little bare, I threw some mini chocolate chips on the top as the guys appreciate things like that...extra chocolate is always a hit with them. 

  There is supposed to be a brownie swirl in the cheesecake layer, but my brownie dots sunk to the bottom and the swirl didn't take, so no swirly bit in that layer here.  I've decided I am not particularly talented when it comes to the swirly bits.  

  Since I did not taste, you are subject to the opinions of guys who will pretty much eat anything not nailed down, especially when it comes to chocolate, and that proclamation is:  "These are really terrific!  Chocolate, Cheesecake, Coffee, Sour Cream...these are really really good!"  (Of course, while working on homework (Matt), anything with chocolate in it is probably a hit, right?)  Definitely a repeat. 

  Next week:  Chocolate Souffle, pages 406;  TWD blogroll found here.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Creamiest Lime Cream Meringue Pie

  Thanks to Linda of Tender Crumb for her Tuesdays with Dorie pick this week of Creamiest Lime Cream Meringue Pie, found on pages 337-339 of Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours cookbook.  

  Oh, yeah...this was heavenly!  We had the choice of crusts, the guys voting for the graham cracker crust, and while we tossed around the idea of whipped cream, the recipe had meringue in the title, so we stuck with that and were very happy with the lime/meringue/graham cracker combination. 

  Recently I purchased some 7" pie pans, which make a half size of a 9" pie pan.  This size works so nicely around here...guys can have a whole piece of something, but the piece isn't as large, so the indulgence is a little more gentle on the waistline (not that Matt needs to worry about that, but we don't all swim 26-27 hours a week).  I made the pie this week in the little 7" pie pan, not because I was afraid they would overindulge (after all no chocolate was involved), but that I would...there are some flavors that just make taking a few bites probably not a happening thing:  lemon, lime, strawberry, raspberry, pineapple, orange...the list grows!  

  Definitely a Top Five with me!  Mark and Matt rated it, in Mark's words this week, "Absolutely Superb!"  This one is a keeper. 

  Next week:  Espresso Cheesecake Brownies, pages 104-105;  TWD blogroll found here.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Applesauce Spice Bars

  Thanks to Karen of Something Sweet for her Tuesdays with Dorie pick this week of Applesauce Spice Bars, found on pages 117-118 of Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours cookbook. 

  The bars are absolutely delicious and easy to make.  The glaze is absolutely delicious and easy to make (Ulrike says it is not acceptable to eat just the glaze without the bars, but oh, the temptation is great to just eat a little spoonful of that caramel glaze alone). 

  Around here, there can never be too many things made with apples, so the bars were a big hit and I will continue to make them from time to time. 

  Next week:  Creamiest Lime Cream Meringue Pie, pages 337-339;  TWD blogroll found here.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Brownie Buttons (One Sentence Blogging Week)

   Thanks to Jayma of Two Scientists Experimenting in the Kitchen for her Tuesdays with Dorie pick this week of Brownie Buttons, found on pages 106-107 of Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours cookbook, cute as little buttons, just as simple as you can imagine to make in mini-muffin tins, tiny little bitty morsels that can easily be popped into the mouth, as clearly demonstrated here by Alex this week, with little dipped caps of white chocolate, and being in a festive mood, I added the little bitty chocolate chip morsels to top it all off because it deserved a little something special, and boys of this age are so impressed with these little touches!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Classic Banana Bundt Cake

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Classic Banana Bundt Cake, is found on pages 190, and was chosen by Mary of The Food Librarian.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Mary's site above and she will have it posted today. 

First of all, I was willing to make this recipe and enjoy it.  Even though I do not like bananas IN anything, I was happy to bake along this week and not take a skip.  Mark does not like bananas in anything either.  That might be why I married him.   Matt will eat bananas IN things.  The rest of us just like our bananas straight please. 

  The recipe was easy, went together nicely, I did the "well-greased pan" up properly with lots of grease, the cake took exactly the amount of time the recipe said it would take, so I really have no idea how this happened...almost the entire top stuck in the pan when un-molding.  Oops.  

  I thought about just posting the one little section that looked as maybe I had executed a perfect banana bundt cake, but then I remembered Cathy's shrimp disaster and her willingness to share that not all goes according to plan all the time.  Or maybe even half the time.  Let's just say her shrimp dish ended up pretty much everywhere when she accidentally dropped the pan.  Cake was pretty much stuck to everything in the bottom of this pan. 

  I scraped it out, stuck it on the top and said, "Well, Matt, what do you think?  Shall I just toss it?"  Matt's advice was to just put a lot of icing on it to cover it up.   As you can see, icing doesn't fix everything all the time.  Or maybe even half the time. 

  So, I drizzled on the optional icing and Matt and his friend Mike were more than happy to eat the results. They thought it was quite good. 

  I was going to send the rest of it home with Mike but figured his mom would wonder why on earth I would send such a eyesore home with him.  On the other hand, Sue has four boys over there, and she is probably like I am...no sense spending a lot of time on the looks of food as those boys are going to eat it no matter what it looks like.  Yep, should have sent it home with him and a note. 

  If you like banana cake, you will LOVE this as it tastes and smells of banana, vanilla, sugar, and lemon. 

  Next week's recipe was chosen by Jayma of Two Scientists Experimenting in the kitchen is Brownie Buttons and can be found on pages 106-107.

  

  Click here and then on individual baker's blog at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways in which different people interpreted their quest.  It is not too late to join us.  If you would like to bake along, simply go to the TWD site and send an email through the link listed there.  You can join in the weekly fun.  See you there!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Vanilla Ice Cream

      This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Vanilla Ice Cream, is found on pages 428-429, and was chosen by Lynne of Cafe LynnyLu.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Lynne's site above and she will have it posted today. 

      The photo says it all, a simple dish with one generous scoop of perfect vanilla ice cream on a hot summer's day. 

      I added the lemon sprinkles just because I felt like lemon sprinkles, but I am generally the person who goes to the ice cream parlors with their multitudes of flavors and orders one scoop of vanilla, sometimes I branch out and order French Vanilla.   No sauce, no sprinkles, no add-ins...just plain vanilla ice cream.  My favorite.   

      What can I say about the recipe this week?  It's ice cream.  Vanilla ice cream.  Very good vanilla ice cream, but still it's vanilla ice cream, so there is not a lot of elaborating on that. 

      Buy, the book, follow the recipe, and you will have one very excellent batch of vanilla ice cream, fit for any gathering, any time, any place.  Definitely a "go to" recipe.  

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Mary of

The Food Librarian, is Classic Banana Bundt Cake, and can be found on page 190.  

      Click here and then on individual baker's blog at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways in which different people interpreted their quest.  It is not too late to join us.  If you would like to bake along, simply go to the TWD site and send an email through the link listed there.  You can join in the weekly fun.  See you there!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Raspberry Blanc-Manger

      This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Raspberry Blanc-Manger, is found on pages 398-399, and was chosen by Susan of Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Susan's site above and she will have it posted today. 

      My father-in-law brought us some fresh raspberries from his garden just as I was preparing to make this dessert, so we had nice fresh raspberries in the dessert as well as for the sauce and topping.  Can't beat that! 

      The recipe goes together quickly and easily, ingredients being simply milk, cream, almonds, sugar, gelatin, vanilla, and raspberries. 

      There was no baking involved at all this week:  assembly only, place in refrigerator for a few hours or overnight, unmold, and you have a lovely and refreshing summertime dessert.  

      Even the sauce was extremely simple, just raspberries and sugar pulsed in the food processor, strained, and poured over the unmolded blanc-manger.  We added a few raspberries on the top, and even Mark, who is not a raspberry fan enjoyed this dessert very much. 

      I only made half a portion in a small 6 inch mold as we have been having way too many desserts around here lately, and when that was finished, everyone was urging me to make more soon.  I would say that was a hit. 

      The only thing I would do differently next time is to use almonds without the skin on them as the little brown flakes you see are that...tasted fine, didn't even notice it until I saw the photo, but I think it would be prettier without them.   The next time I make it, I am going to try strawberries instead of raspberries just to see how that combination would taste. 

      Perfect party food...all of it can be done ahead and brought out at the last minute.  Definitely will make this one again. 

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Lynne of Cafe LynnyLu, is Vanilla Ice Cream, and can be found on pages 428-429.  

       Click here and then on individual baker's blog at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways in which different people interpreted their quest.  It is not too late to join us.  If you would like to bake along, simply go to the TWD site and send an email through the link listed there.  You can join in the weekly fun.  See you there!

 

 

Tuesdays with Dorie: Brioche Plum Tart

       This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Brioche Plum Tart, can be found on pages 54-55, and was chosen by Denise of Chez Us.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Denise's site above and she will have it posted today. 

      Tracey, Di, and I had talked ourselves out of making this selection this week, all on our own of course, and when we were chatting we just reinforced the idea of nixing it for a week.  Then Holly entered the picture and Holly has never missed a single week (unlike the rest of us), so the thought of Holly ruining her record just didn't sit well, and we offered to bake along with her, with Nancy's encouraging words as she had made it, her husband deemed it the best recipe yet, and convinced us that it really didn't take that long and we would appreciate that we had made it. 

      So Tracey, Di, and I figured we would keep Holly company and cheer her on by making the tart after all this week.  Of course, we all decided this at a way late hour, so posting was going to be sort of an untimely event. 

      One makes the dough the night before, lets it rest in the frig, and then assembles and bakes in the morning, which is a nice deal for a breakfast tart since all the time consuming dough rising part is really the night before. 

      Around here no one, including myself, is that excited about baked plums for some reason.  We all like them eaten out of hand, but just not baked so much.  Since no one was that thrilled with the recipe, I figured skipping it would be the way to go as we really have been having too many desserty type things around here lately. 

      Once committed to the week, however, I decided to read the side bar and see if Dorie had any other suggestions for the fruit in the tart, and she had plenty.  Peaches and cherries are a big hit around here, being two of Mark's favorites, so I went with that and cherry jam figuring he would at least eat the tart for the fruit.  I also subbed in almonds for walnuts as we like those with these fruits.  

      I am happy I made this, as it turned out nicely, a little browner than I would have liked, so I am attributing that to my oven as I tented the shell way before the time suggested in the book, and it still got dark way too fast...next time I will tent from the beginning.  Or maybe I will only put the dough half-way up the sides of the tart pan so that when it rises it does not reach over the pan and brown too much.  

      Nevertheless, darker than I like or not, it is being eaten with gusto and favorable compliments.  Is it Top Five?  No, but it was good.  I have come to the conclusion that to rank Top Five over here with the guys, chocolate must be involved.  It's a repeat, as long as plums are not in sight.

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Susan of Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy, is Raspberry Blanc-Manger, and can be found on pages 398-399.  

      Click here and then on individual baker's blog at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways in which different people interpreted their quest.  It is not too late to join us.  If you would like to bake along, simply go to the TWD site and send an email through the link listed there.  You can join in the weekly fun.  See you there! 

Tuesdays with Dorie: Tribute to Katharine Hepburn Brownies

       This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Tribute to Katharine Hepburn Brownies, can be found on pages 96-97, and was chosen by Lisa of Surviving Oz.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Lisa's site above and she will have it posted today. 

       Well, the guys were delighted with the return of a chocolate dessert!  There is nothing about a brownie that they do not love.   Brownies have been something I have made through the years, as they are fairly no fuss and don't require you spend a lot of time dwelling over the chocolate or the recipe. 

      Such was also true of these, easy, ingredients readily available if not already in your pantry, and the time commitment is minimal in both mixing and baking. 

      I made three changes:  I left out the cinnamon, and I left out the nuts because the guys around here prefer chocolate and cinnamon not be mixed together, and they prefer brownies without nuts; I also changed the baking time from 30 minutes to 50 minutes as I could tell at 30 minutes they were not set (actually raw still in the middle). 

 

      They turned out just great and were the consistency the guys prefer with the longer baking time.  There was note that these are "mushy brownies, but not too mushy, just mushier than your usual ones."  I'm sure that is standard food critic banter, but if you need interpretation:  they "loved" the brownies, "would eat them anytime" I want to make them, and "making another pan tomorrow would not be too soon."  I think you can tell by the way Matt is shoveling it all in, that these would not be around long.  It's so rewarding to cook/bake around here as the guys are always so appreciative of any efforts I am willing to put forth in those areas...it's awfully nice to have an appreciative participating following.

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Denise of Chez Us, is Brioche Plum Tart, and can be found on pages 54-55.

  

      Click here and then on individual baker's blog at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways in which different people interpreted their quest.  It is not too late to join us.  If you would like to bake along, simply go to the TWD site and send an email through the link listed there.  You can join in the weekly fun.  See you there!

 

Tuesdays with Dorie: Perfect Party Cake

      This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Perfect Party Cake, can be found on pages 250-252, and was chosen by Carol of Mix, Mix...Stir, Stir. If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Carol's site above and she will have it posted today. 

      I think this may very well be the Perfect Party Cake.  The cake itself is very lovely: vanilla and lemon flavored, light, and moist, and just the right sweetness.  It was easy to mix up, ingredients readily available, and after it baked and cooled, was easy to slice, fill, and decorate.  The flavor is most excellent as I truly love both vanilla and lemon, so together it was a happy pairing. 

      The frosting was indulgently rich...a lot of butter in this buttercream frosting.  Which is why one thin slice will do you...very satisfying and filling.  It is very rich.  I have leftovers, not because it wasn't well received, but because it is so rich that a little bit goes a long way. 

      Besides butter in the icing is a meringue of marshmallowy goodness...so much fun to make and so tasty on a cake. 

      The filling between the layers is raspberry jam and more of the frosting. 

      While the recipe had several steps, it all went together easily enough, the important note here being that you should give yourself plenty of time and not be in a rush when making it.  I had plenty of time, so I enjoyed the whole process. 

      The only adjustment I made was that I only made half the recipe as a 9" size cake seemed way too much for something this rich as my guys are not big cake eaters.  Half of a 9" cake, batter content-wise, is a 6" size of pan, so I did splurge and purchase two of those as I figured I would have use for them in the future.  This is a great size, and the whole entire decorated cake, with the coconut and all fits securely and neatly under the domed cake stand without touching sides or top, something that cannot be thought of as too incidental. 

      My decorating/filling/icing skills are what they are...not professional, but it didn't make one bit of difference in how the cake tasted, which was wonderfully delicious!  Yep, I think this is the Perfect Party Cake.  Lots of variations can be easily adapted to this recipe. 

      Last photo is of Matt enjoying the cake, and you will note this week, it is a very modest piece as it truly is a rich and filling dessert.  

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Lisa of Surviving Oz, is Tribute to Katharine Hepburn Brownies, and can be found on pages 96-97.  

      

Click here and then on individual baker's blog at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways in which different people interpreted their quest.  It is not too late to join us.  If you would like to bake along, simply go to the TWD site and send an email through the link listed there.  You can join in the weekly fun.  See you there!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Coconut-Roasted Pineapple Dacquoise

      This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Coconut-Roasted Pineapple Dacquoise, can be found on pages 293-295, and was chosen by Andrea of Andrea in the Kitchen.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Andrea's site above and she will have it posted today.  

      Dacquoise, how very French!  And, how very tasty.  We've been doing nicely in the non-chocolate desserts in the past couple of months, and we all like pineapple, coconut, and white chocolate ganache, so I knew this would be hit around here with everyone. 

      This is not a quick dessert to make.  There are many steps and there is a lot of waiting around time, but everything is actually very easy if you just follow each step as specified.  It also helps to have Twitter buddies who are baking along with you so that when you panic about something they can assure you that you are doing the right things.  

      The meringues take 3 hours to bake in the oven...well if you measure correctly they do...I however somehow when I was figuring how to reduce the recipe in half, cut all the ingredients in half and then proceeded to figure half of 12 by 6 was 6 by 3 (which is actually half of half) and so my meringues were half size in quarter size rectangles, so they baked for 4.5 hours.  Nonetheless, they turned out wonderfully crisp and just barely tan, and tasted absolutely wonderful.  Plus there was the added benefit of having them be large and thick.  Oh, they were good.  Might do this again next time actually.  

      Between the layers of meringue are layers of white chocolate ganache and roasted pineapple wedges.  Toasted coconut is pressed onto the sides, and since we love toasted coconut, we pressed a lot.  Yep, a whole lot. 

      It chills in the refrigerator for 4-6 hours if you don't have guys hanging around wanting to "just cut it now so we can eat it."  If you have guys like that around, chilling time can be cut to two hours without losing any impact on the rave reviews.

      Would I make it again?  Oh, yes, it's quite the dessert...and one only needs a very tiny portion to be satisfied and happy, which is always nice when a little dessert can go a long way.  I love crisp and crunchy things and this was most wonderfully crisp and crunchy with a lot of ganache goodness to accompany it.

 

      The guys ranked it in the top ten mostly because it didn't contain chocolate, but they did like the pineapple and coconut very much. 

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Carol of Mix,Mix...Stir, Stir, is Perfect Party Cake, and can be found on pages 250-252.  

       Click here and then on individual baker's blog at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways in which different people interpreted their quest.  It is not too late to join us.  If you would like to bake along, simply go to the TWD site and send an email through the link listed there.  You can join in the weekly fun.  See you there!

 

Tuesdays with Dorie: Honey-Peach Ice Cream

      This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Honey-Peach Ice Cream, can be found on page 437, and was chosen by Tommi of Brown Interior.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Tommi's site above and she will have it posted today. 

      Ice cream...peach ice cream, with bits of fresh peaches in it, how lovely for a summer treat.  I was able to find the ripest nicest peaches at the market, the kind that you walk by and you do a double take because you can smell the lovely aroma as you pass by, yep, those kind. 

      Peel, pit, slice, and dice the peaches.  Make the custard, mix them together, reserving half of the peaches to mix in towards the end, refrigerate the peach and custard mix, and then churn. 

      Very easy, very tasty, and very appropriate for summer. It is summer, right?  Cool temperatures, lots of rain in Indiana, thinking this might not be summer but still spring.   Doesn't matter...this Honey-Peach Ice Cream is good for any season! 

      My usual tasters aren't here this week, Mark at work, and Matt out in Colorado, so Alex graciously offered to pose with the dessert this week.  He did not, however, realize that dessert involved peaches as he is not overly fond of the peach flavor.  He tasted one tiny spoonful and declared it "very peachy."  I agree whole-heartedly:  Very Peachy and Very Good! 

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Andrea of Andrea in the Kitchen, is Coconut-Roasted Pineapple Dacquoise, and can be found on pages 293-295.

      Click here and then on individual baker's blog at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways in which different people interpreted their quest.  It is not too late to join us.  If you would like to bake along, simply go to the TWD site and send an email through the link listed there.  You can join in the weekly fun.  See you there!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Parisian Apple Tartlet

      This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Parisian Apple Tartlet, can be found on page 319, and was chosen by Jessica of My Baking Heart.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Jessica's site above and she will have it posted today. 

 

      This little tartlet was so good and so simple.  It takes about 5 minutes to assemble, using a prepared puff pastry crust which is used to make circles of dough topped with a half of an apple (peeled, cored, and cut into fourths), sprinkled with brown sugar, dotted with a little butter, and placed into the oven.  

      It cooks for approximately 30 minutes. 

      The tart is good alone or with a little ice cream helper, or in Mark's case, a lot of ice cream helper.   

 

 

 

 

 

        There are endless possibilities for changing and mixing up the filling and fruit for this little tartlet. 

      The taste:  unbelievably lovely.  Mark thought it was great and my other usual tasters were occupied elsewhere, but I have no doubt they will love it. 

      I will make this again, and again, and again...a perfect hot apple dessert. 

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Tommi of Brown Interior, is Honey-Peach Ice Cream, and can be found on page 437. 

 

 

      Click here and then on individual baker's blog at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways in which different people interpreted their quest.  It is not too late to join us.  If you would like to bake along, simply go to the TWD site and send an email through the link listed there.  You can join in the weekly fun.  See you there!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Cinnamon Squares

      This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Cinnamon Squares, can be found on pages 210-211, and was chosen by Tracey of Tracey's Culinary Adventures.

  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Tracey's site above and she will have it posted today. 

      I was so excited to see the name of this recipe as I thought, "Okay, a week without chocolate and I love cinnamon!"  Whoa, hold the horses, as I opened the book to the page listed, I saw both cinnamon and chocolate in this recipe...a nice little cake with chocolate threaded through it and frosted in a lovely chocolate frosting.  Hmmm...deceptive titling in my opinion.  I knew the guys would love it, however, and they did. 

      The recipe is very easy, either that, or I am finally getting the hang of this baking stuff.  The batter was really good, all cinnamon flavored, etc., and no chocolate in that part...I tested just a wee little bit.  Yum! 

      Batter is poured into pan, I carefully did half of the batter before layering in the chocolate, cinnamon, sugar, and espresso powder, figuring it would come out dead center like the ribbon in Dorie's photo.  No such luck, it sank a bit and came out in the bottom part, but you can still see the effect, so that was nice. 

 

      After layering the rest of the batter, it all goes in the oven for 35 minutes and rests nicely for another 15 before removing it from the pan.  Oops...had to run to the swim club before the office closed, so it sat in the pan for an additional 15 minutes, causing it to sink just a little in the middle. Nancy told me just to fill that part in with extra icing, sounded good to me, and it worked.  I was afraid the middle was not baked all the way through despite the clean knife test, but it was, and it worked out fine.  It was all incredibly easy and quick, even the frosting. 

      We had a little mishap with the camera this week and there is only one photo available of my work, the one seen at the top of this post. 

      This other photo is one of Nancy's Cinnamon Squares (okay, someone can tell her nicely that this is not a square as it would be ungrateful for me to do so since she was so thoughtfully providing me with a photo with which to pad my post).  I love the plate she served it on, and the Cinnamon Rectangle has just the right amount of ribbon of chocolate winding through the center of the cake...yep, Nancy is one fine and fancy baker.  So while mine looked and tasted okay, Nancy's is the one you should really try to emulate as hers is really beautiful.

      Word on the streets here is that it was very very good...Matt: "Excellent, Mom!"  Mark was very happy with the results also.  Alex did not care for chocolate and cinnamon together, so passed up sampling completely. Jessica thought the frosting was "really really good," and enjoyed the cake part also.

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Jessica of My Baking Heart, is Parisian Apple Tartlet, and can be found on page 319. 

        Click here and then on individual baker's blog at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways in which different people interpreted their quest.  It is not too late to join us.  If you would like to bake along, simply go to the TWD site and send an email through the link listed there.  You can join in the weekly fun.  See you there!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Chipster-Topped Brownies

      This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Chipster-Topped Brownies, can be found on pages 94-95, and was chosen by Beth of Supplicious.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Beth's site above and she will have it posted today. 

The recipe this week is a sort of "twofer" as you get two desserts all in one, three if you put ice cream on it!  The bottom layer is a chocolately brownie and the top layer is a chocolate chip cookie. 

 

 

 

 

 

       First you assemble the brownie mixture  and place it in the pan, wash up all the mixer parts, make the chocolate chip cookie dough and spread it over the brownie layer, and then put the entire pan in the oven for a little less than an hour and out comes a nicely browned chocolate chip cookie topping over a moist and chewy brownie layer. 

      Very easy actually.  The "wow" impact from the guys was well worth the effort and stress of worrying if both layers would be done at the same time, etc.  They were, so I am counting this recipe as a definite keeper. 

   

     

 

      Where usually I have one tester, sometimes, two, maybe three very occasionally, today there are FIVE of them.  Alex, Jacob, Adam, Matt and Colin (front then back)  16 year old boys and their friends are more than willing to test anything that has the words "chocolate cookie/brownie" in it. 

     Unanimously, it was a hit, hands down, 100% approval. The only surprising voice in the entire crowd was Mark's, whose comment was "This is very very rich, I think I can only have one piece of this at a time."  The man who loves desserts limited himself to just one piece.  You heard it here.  

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Tracey of Tracey's Culinary Adventures is Cinnamon Squares, and can be found on pages 210-211. 

 Click here

and then on individual baker's blog at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways in which different people interpreted their quest.  It is not too late to join us.  If you would like to bake along, simply go to the TWD site and send an email through the link listed there.  You can join in the weekly fun.  See you there!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Fresh Mango Bread

      This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Fresh Mango Bread, can be found on page 45, and was chosen by Kelly of Baking with the Boys. Always love checking in on Kelly's blog each week...she is bravely pursuing this baking goal with little boys underfoot!  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Kelly's site above and she will have it posted today. 

      Fresh Mango Bread is really tasty, especially if you like mango as much as I do.  It was a nice change this week to have a quick bread recipe for the TWD assignment.  Quick bread always goes over well here and has the added advantage of being easily portable for guys walking out the door with breakfast in hand in the morning.  I know, I know, there is always the vision of Wally and Beaver sitting down at the breakfast table with June and Ward and having a lovely breakfast, but that just doesn't happen here.  I believe the first morning after making the bread, Matt exited with four pieces on his way to the swimming pool at 4:45 a.m. (4:45 a.m. being another reason why June doesn't bother making a lovely breakfast each morning). Nothing like a good carb breakfast before swimming for a couple of hours! 

      The recipe went together easily and quickly and the only thing that I would change is that at most one regular size mango (the kind most often at the market here) nets only one cup of diced mango, so instead of buying one on your shopping trip, you should definitely buy two.  After all, mango is what this recipe is all about, so you want enough mango in it to be able to say, "Oh, yum, Mango!" 

      I also used a 9x5 pan rather than 8 inch one Dorie suggests as I had read many comments about the bread flowing over in the oven as it baked...not my idea of a good time, so the added space in the slightly larger pan did the trick and mine turned out nicely filled and shaped with no flowing outside the pan.  Good move on my part and thankyouverymuch to all the TWD bakers who indicated such might be a good move.  It was. 

      When I was slicing the bread I thought that one whole slice might be a bit much, so I sliced that in half and that size portion would be more in keeping with something that is filling, and not too guilt-ridden.  Of course, the guys were onto that trick in no time and just helped themselves to two of the pieces per serving. 

      The bread is moist and very tasty with spices, golden raisins, mango, lime zest, etc.  As with all mango recipes, you need to keep in mind that mango contains a certain "stringy" quality, which can be offsetting to people who don't care for this.  In the bread, it looks like little bits of hair poking out, so warning picky eaters of the experience is probably wise. 

      We often toast slices of quick bread, which is another reason I cut these in halves, i.e. to discourage that, and I don't recommend toasting this in the toaster because of it's moistness and because the little bits of fruit inside tend to fall out, and that would gunk up your toaster.  I did toast a piece cut in half with cream cheese in the middle on the griddle for breakfast, and that was quite lovely, the cream cheese all melty and nice.  The cream cheese tastes wonderful with the flavors in the bread. 

      And, last but not least, my easiest sell in the photograph-of-someone-actually-eating-my-food-each-week (for if you don't see it, how do you know it happens, right?), Matthew having a snack out on the deck chatting with Mark while he is grilling dinner.  A great recipe, and a big hit around here with everyone. 

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Beth of Supplicious, is Chipster-Topped Brownies, and can be found on page 94-95.

     Click here and then on individual baker's blog at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways in which different people interpreted their quest.  It is not too late to join us.  If you would like to bake along, simply go to the TWD site and send an email through the link listed there.  You can join in the weekly fun.  See you there!

 

Tuesdays with Dorie: Tartest Lemon Tart

     This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Tartest Lemon Tart, can be found on pages 266-268, and was chosen by Babette of Babette Feasts.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Babette's site above and she will have it posted today.

      What a great pick for Mother's Day...lemon!  A few weeks ago, I did a rewind of The French Lemon Cream Tart which everyone had made before I joined the group, for my birthday.  (It really wasn't right that I should have to make chocolate on my birthday week, right?  That's what I thought, too!)  So, I was certainly surprised to see Babette's pick...surprised and happy! Two lemon desserts within a month, how lucky was this. 

      The tart crust was made with Dorie's Sweet Tart Crust recipe, except that she had us sub ground almonds for part of the flour.  Very tasty. 

      The tart filling is very lemony, I will say that.  I am a big fan of lemon, and I liked the tartness. 

      In the recipe, we were instructed to use one and a half lemons, minus the seeds.  Yep, rind, pith, fruit, all of it.  I was skeptical and polled several friends about the pith part, had decided not to use the pith, and at the last moment, I just decided to trust Dorie and give it a whirl as written. 

      It was excellent.  Very rich.  The great thing about this tart is that you could make it for guests, and one tart would serve 16 rather than 8 as you would not want to serve more than a thin slice at a time. 

      The whipped cream finishes it off nicely and smoothes out some of the tartness.  For those who don't like it quite so tart. 

      Like maybe Matthew, pictured here trying his piece.  (I just hand them a piece of dessert each week, someone agrees to be photographed, and I snap away while they eat so that I can just pick a good shot out of about 20.)  These shots of Matt are just exactly what happened when he tasted the tart.  He hasn't been back for seconds.  I would say that was one very tarty lemon tart!

      The rest of us all enjoyed it, thought it was refreshing, had great flavor, and agreed that it would be made again in the future. 

     

Next week's recipe was chosen by Kelly of Baking with the Boys, is Fresh Mango Bread, and can be found on page 45. 

 

      Click here  and then click on individual bakers' blogs at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways people interpreted their quest.  It is too late to join the online TWD baking blog, but you can always join us in spirit as the recipes for upcoming weeks are posted on the site and you can bake along in your own kitchen.  See you there!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Tiramisu Cake

      This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Tiramisu Cake, can be found on pages 266-268, and was chosen by Megan of My Baking Adventures.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Megan's site above and she will have it posted today.  

      Pretty fancy, huh?  Not my usual style by a long shot.  Actually, although this recipe had lots of steps, it was all very easy...one step at a time. 

      Make the cake, bake the cake, cool the cake, make the espresso, make the espresso syrup, make the frosting...assemble the cake in like ten easy steps. 

  

 

 

 

  

      Refrigerate the cake, and give bowls, beaters, spatulas, etc. to boy to lick before washing.  Listen to Alex "oh and ah" over the frosting, declaring he "cannot wait to cut into that cake!" 

 

 

     I followed the recipe almost exactly, except that I left out the liquor as the younger guys were going to be eating it and I figured there was no sense giving them a taste for all of that at this age.  We had the option of using shaved chocolate or mini chocolate chips...I went with the minis, adding half again as much on the filling between the layers because my guys love chocolate.  I left off the dusting of cocoa powder on top as that never goes over very well here, I knew they would prefer the extra minis instead.

      Apparently, it was very fine without the liqueur/liquor and the guys enjoyed eating it to the point of almost, almost, licking their plates clean. 

      A big hit...I would make it again for them as it is rather an enjoyable time and very relaxing just to make things, assemble them, and have it all look fairly good when it is finished.  So once again, it's another big hit, Dorie.  

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Babette of Babette Feasts, is Tartest Lemon Tart, and can be found on page 336.

Click here  and then click on individual bakers' blogs at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways people interpreted their quest.  It is too late to join the online TWD baking blog, but you can always join us in spirit as the recipes for upcoming weeks are posted on the site and you can bake along in your own kitchen.  See you there!

   

 

 

Tuesdays with Dorie: Chocolate Cream Tart

      This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Chocolate Cream Tart, can be found on pages 352-353, and was chosen by Kim of Scrumptious Photography.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Kim's site above and she will have it posted today. 

      There's a whole lotta chocolate in this recipe...chocolate in the tart crust, chocolate pastry cream is the filling, and chocolate shavings on the top of the whipped cream.  The guys couldn't be happier! 

      The tart crust was similar, but not exactly like Dorie's regular tart crust, was easy to make and assemble, and set up nicely.  It baked in my oven for the amount of time it specifies in the recipe. 

      I will say, the crust is more fragile than the regular tart crust.  I took a photo when it was in the pan still as I had heard that some of the TWD bakers had theirs fall apart, and I wanted to be sure to at least have a photo. 

     When I removed the tart pan, I did lose three or four of the crowns, but the tart itself stayed intact.  Whew! 

      The filling was made, hung out in the frig to get really cold, and then I filled the tart shell with it...it came up about 2/3 of the way, leaving enough room for the whipped cream topping. 

      I stuck with the regular amount of whipped cream this time as I figured all this chocolate was really rich and the guys could live with a little restraint now and again.  As I was spreading the whipped cream on top of the chocolate filling, Mark commented, "That doesn't look like enough topping.  Shouldn't there be some more whipped cream...it doesn't look very high...."  I offered to go make more, but he said he could "make do this time."  

      The tasting notes:  Mark:  "Most excellent!  One of my top 5 so far."  

      Matt (photo at left with goggle imprints around eyes after just returning from a three hour swim practice, at which point ALL FOOD looks wonderful, so trust his judgment accordingly):  "This is really really good, definitely top 5."  Alex:  "It tasted quite delicious, excellent." Jessica (visiting at the time):  "You made this?  I thought it was from a bakery.  This is really good."   

      I am sure it all needs a tad more sampling to get the definitive answer, but I have a feeling that this one will be requested again and again. 

     And, the final photo is what happens around here when you turn your back after saying, "Oh, hold on a minute while I get the camera so I can take a photo of an individual slice."  They are completely untrustworthy in the "hold on" department.  Three of the pieces exited, and while Mark was still hanging around, he had eaten half of his by the time I returned in the four seconds it took me to get the camera. I would say this recipe was a big hit.

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Megan of My Baking Adventures, is Tiramisu Cake, and can be found on pages 266-268. 

Click here  and then click on individual bakers' blogs at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways people interpreted their quest.  It is too late to join the online TWD baking blog, but you can always join us in spirit as the recipes for upcoming weeks are posted on the site and you can bake along in your own kitchen.  See you there!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Supposed to be Four Star Chocolate Bread Pudding, But It's My Birthday and I Baked What I Wanted To, So It's The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart

      This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Four Star Chocolate Bread Pudding, can be found on pages 410-411, and was chosen by Lauren of Upper East Side Chronicle.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Lauren's site above and she will have it posted today. 

      All the TWD bloggers will be featuring this recipe this week.  Well, all the TWD bloggers, except me, of course, as it's my birthday and I decided I was going to bake what I wanted to because as you all know:  chocolate is not my favorite flavor.  By a long shot.  Or any shot. 

      So, rule breaker that I am this week, I decided last week that I was going to make one of the recipes which looked birthday-worthy that the TWD group baked before I joined the group last May.  I looked at the list, once, twice, several times, narrowed it down to two (Bill's Big Carrot Cake and The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart), and as you can see, the French Lemon Cream Tart was my pick.  Okay, I admit it, I had some additional help with the selection, as that Carrot Cake looked really really good also and I just couldn't decide. 

      OMW, this tart is SOOOO good.  I was debating on whether or not to tell the guys I actually made dessert this week, and just keep this one all for myself, hiding it in the "chicken parts" box.  But, no, that would not be nice, and not possible as Matt helped me make it last evening (turns out you really do need to make the tart shell and have it ready so you aren't trying to whisk the egg-sugar-lemon mixture over heat (a risky business at best all on its own) and deal with making the tart shell at the same time. 

 

 

      I am getting much better at making this tart crust now that we have done it several times and this one turned out perfectly.   

      Matt was fairly good at whisking, with no scrambling of the eggs at all...a very successful result on his first attempt at doing this.  It is fun to cook with your kids...we had a very nice time baking together.   We kept saying, "Oh, this lemon smells so wonderful!"  The filling has the most wonderfully rich lemon filling you can imagine...lemon is my favorite flavor, so this choice was perfect! 

      We cooled the filling in the refrigerator overnight and I assembled it this morning for breakfast because I wanted to get my post up before evening when we will serve it for my birthday dinner.  And, also, well...because we thought Lemon Cream Tart sounded like a fine breakfast.  Especially on a birthday!  The only thing I think would be finer would be to be eating this French Lemon Tart in France...maybe someday. 

      When I sliced into it, it was a bit loose, not like the one pictured in the book, so I will need to figure that out, but the taste was wonderful, and I really didn't care at all that it was a bit thinner than Dorie's version and spread a little...nope, not one little bit.  She states in the recipe that you can serve it right away or refrigerate it and then serve it.  I think that refrigerating it would firm up the filling, so later tonight, this will probably be more like the one in the photo with the added firmness from chilling. 

      This is a really great recipe...highly recommend trying it.  You will find it on pages 331-333 of Dorie's book.  

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Kim of Scrumptious Photography is Chocolate Cream Tart, and can be found on pages 352-353.  

     

Click here  and then click on individual bakers' blogs at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways people interpreted their quest.  It is too late to join the online TWD baking blog, but you can always join us in spirit as the recipes for upcoming weeks are posted on the site and you can bake along in your own kitchen.  See you there!

 

Tuesdays with Dorie: Chocolate Amaretti Torte

      This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is 15 Minute Magic:  Chocolate Amaretti Torte, can be found on pages 276-277, and was chosen by Holly of Phe/MOM/enon.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Holly's site above and she will have it posted today. 

      More chocolate...more whipped cream...more very happy guys here at the house!  Enough cannot be said about this recipe.  The guys really loved it.  I had a good time making it, chocolate and all. 

      I wasn't sure I was going to be able to find these amaretti cookies that Dorie recommended, but I managed after only two stops, so that wasn't so bad.  They were rather pricey, but I checked them out before they became chocolatey, and I can see where an addiction could begin.  Just opening the tin was amazing...the almondy aroma from the cookies inside was lovely.  I know the recipe says "15 minutes," but it took me 15 minutes just to unwrap all the little cookies...they have a really fun outside twisted wrapper and then inside that they are wrapped in another wrapper...do that 18 times and it takes pretty much a good chunk of the 15 minutes. 

      After unwrapping them all, into the food processor with the almonds for a bit of whirl to crunch everything up nice and fine.  Set aside.  Into same processor, the eggs, butter, and sugar got a turn to whirl about, back in went the amaretti and almond crumbs, and the melted chocolate, for a final whirl, into the pan and into the oven. 

      How much easier can it get?  30 minutes later, the torte was baked, 15 minutes waiting around to unmold it from the pan (please note I waited the proper amount of time this go around and I did not have my creation fall apart and need to be smooshed back together again like a few weeks ago).  One was supposed to insert a slender knife into the middle to test for doneness, and the rather large hole is the result of a dog barking right behind me as he was headed out the back door to chase down a misguided squirrel he had spied through the window...scared me a bit and I jumped, the knife sort of gauging the cake...oh, well...    

      When the torte was cooled, it was bathed in warm chocolate glaze and then got to rest in the refrigerator for a half hour to firm up a bit.  Wasn't this easy? 

      The last step was to make almond flavored whipped cream.  The entire recipe was uncomplicated and quick...definitely a keeper as far as prep goes.  

  

      Mark and Matt really liked the taste, Mark commenting that it tasted like a Hershey bar with almonds.  I will have to take his word for it, but hopefully it was a step up, because I used the really good chocolate for this and, well, if all he wanted was Hershey with almonds, I could have used Hershey's chocolate and saved some money on the chocolate purchase.  He was very happy with the result, so I would go the same route next time.

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Lauren of Upper East Side Chronicle is Four Star Chocolate Bread Pudding, and can be found on pages 410-411.  NOTE:  Okay, I am going to be STRAIGHT UP with you all...the chocolate bread pudding isn't happening here next week for two reasons.  (Nothing wrong with Lauren's choice and all, understand.)  First, no one here likes bread pudding.  At all.  Chocolate or not.  Sort of like the rice pudding deal and I made that against my better judgment, all of it being tossed out, so I am thinking NOT on the bread pudding.  Second, it's my birthday next Tuesday, and I am thinking that I should not have to mess around with any chocolate on my birthday.  So, I am breaking all the rules next week and making whatever has already been made before I joined the group that looks birthday-worthy to me.   So, that's what I am thinking to do next week.  Just thought I would let you know in advance, so you can choose to tune in or not, since I am breaking the rules and all, either way, the chocolate bread pudding isn't happening here, sorry to say. 

Click here  and then click on individual bakers' blogs at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways people interpreted their quest.  It is too late to join the online TWD baking blog, but you can always join us in spirit as the recipes for upcoming weeks are posted on the site and you can bake along in your own kitchen.  See you there!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Banana Cream Pie

     This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Banana Cream Pie, can be found on pages 342-343, and was chosen by Amy of Sing for Your Supper.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Amy's site above and she will have it posted today.   

      The pie went together easily with common ingredients.  The notable difference in Dorie's recipe is that the filling is made with brown sugar, not white, and therefore is a bit darker in color and has a more caramel flavor in taste. 

      Also in this recipe, the topping, a basic whipped cream topping, has a couple of tablespoons of sour cream added to it, so it has a little bit of tartness that goes nicely with this very sweet filling.  I made half again as much of the topping as the guys are all about the whipped cream topping on things.

      I know, I know...all my TWD blogging friends are going to have gorgeous photos of piped topping in gentle cascading swirls, etc., and my only defense is that I live in a household of guys who stand with forks poised saying, "How much longer is this going to take?  Can't you just dollop that whipped cream on there and call it a day?!"  It's not like anyone is going to stand around and admire it...the minute I finished, the knife was out, slices were cut and the pie in it's lovely entirety was quickly a thing of the past.  It is nice to be appreciated with such gusto.

      Overall, the brown sugar/whipped cream/sour cream/banana combo is quite tasty...and quite rich...and quite sugary...and one very thin slice is quite enough because if you tried to eat any more of it, your teeth would hurt from all that sweetness.   

      A small thin slice is lovely...and then the guys can have all the rest.  Their slices were anything but small and thin, as you can see. They both declared it "excellent, fantastic, wonderful."

      Worth making again?  Not sure...this much sweetness might best be experienced with a half recipe next time.   If, however, you like really sweet, rich, decadent desserts, go ahead and make this one:  you won't be disappointed.   

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Holly of Phe/MOM/enon is 15 Minute Magic:  Chocolate Amaretti Torte, and can be found on pages 276-277. 

 

 

Click here  and then click on individual bakers' blogs at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways people interpreted their quest.  It is too late to join the online TWD baking blog, but you can always join us in spirit as the recipes for upcoming weeks are posted on the site and you can bake along in your own kitchen.  See you there!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Blueberry Crumb Cake

      This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Blueberry Crumb Cake, can be found on pages 192-193, and was chosen by Sihan of Beffudlement.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Sihan's site above and she will have it posted today.  

      Can you believe my luck...another week with no chocolate, and look ahead, another week again next week!  Not only did this recipe not have chocolate, it had blueberries and lemon, two of my favorites. 

      I would love to say I handled this recipe well, but I think I am going to need another go at it.   

      The batter came together so nicely.  It was beautiful batter, just a lovely texture, and it smelled of lemon sugar...all those plump little blueberries nestled inside.   

     

     

      The topping went together easily and, come on, what's not to love about butter, flour, sugar, and walnuts?  I put it all in the pan, carefully calculating the volumes for an 8 inch square pan which I wasn't using, and a 9 inch round springform pan, which I had decided to use (so it would fit nicely in the domed cake stand). 

      I baked it for 55 minutes, the timer went off and the whole house smelled just wonderful...of blueberries, vanilla, warm sugar, lemon, but it was definitely not done in the middle...65 minutes...75 minutes...the middle was supposed to test knife-clean when it was done.  When I got to near-enough-for-me-knife-clean, the outside and top of the cake were a little darker in color than what I would have liked.   

      Maybe the round pan was not a good idea...but somehow, I can't see that the round pan was the culprit.  Anyway, I cooled the cake, sliced a small piece as a sample (to make sure it was good enough to serve to the guys and all, right?) and it tasted just fine.  

      I am eager to check my favorite TWD bloggers to see if they encountered any similar problems and if so, see if they know how to fix it.   

      In the meantime, the guys were more than happy to put away a fair share of this cake and they said it was very good, with the whipped cream topping or without.  (As you can see, Mark is a firm believer in having the whipped cream be at least as high as the actual dessert.)  While I liked it, I would have liked it a lot better if it had been less dark in color on the outside...I know:  I am way too picky, it's true.   

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Jayne of The Barefoot Kitchen Witch is Coconut Butter Thins, and can be found on page 145.

Click here  and then click on individual bakers' blogs at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways people interpreted their quest.  It is too late to join the online TWD baking blog, but you can always join us in spirit as the recipes for upcoming weeks are posted on the site and you can bake along in your own kitchen.  See you there!

Tuesdays with Dorie: French Yogurt Cake with Marmalade Glaze

     This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is French Yogurt Cake with Marmalade Glaze, can be found on pages 224-225, and was chosen by Liliana of My Cookbook Addiction.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Liliana's site above and she will have it posted today.  

      First, let me just say that I know you are all in shock that I got this posted before the midnight hour on Tuesday...what can I say, I couldn't sleep, so I figured I might as well be productive and post my entry!   

      Lemon cake!  Lemon is my favorite flavor, so I was very excited to see this recipe chosen this week as it seems like a good week to have a slice of cake.  Maybe two.  I was not disappointed...it is absolutely delicious!  (And for the record, one slice is very rich, so cutting it in half is a good option, so there you have it:  two!)  

      There's lemon zest in the batter, and there's lemon in the glaze.  Yep, lots of lemon.   

      The cake goes together easily, you don't even need to get out the mixer, you just use a whisk and a bowl.  It bakes in a small loaf pan (so really, you might want to just make two if you have a household of men who like big slices, so that you might get to have two pieces for yourself).   

      The list of ingredients is small and easily located.  Some people had trouble locating lemon marmalade, and although I had never heard of it before, my grocery carries a line from Trappist Preserves, located in Spencer, Massachusetts (click for site/flavors/ordering info), which includes 30 different kinds of jams/jellies/preserves/marmalades.  We all love a bit of jelly on an English muffin, and these products are very good!   

      So, did the guys like it?  Absolutely.  They thought it was absolutely wonderful.  (The photo does not do it justice as they ran out of patience with me and just wanted to EAT the CAKE!  Matt did manage to pat his tummy in full appreciation, however, before they both took off with plates and forks to enjoy Dorie's dessert of the week.) 

      Tonight was a big night...Mark took Matt out and bought his first electric razor, so the lemon cake upon returning was like a little party...need to celebrate all these firsts in a young man's life you know.  I know, I am such a M-O-M! 

      The cake was great...very easy, very economical, very tasty...go ahead, make this one!  It's very very good.

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Sihan of Befuddlement is Blueberry Crumb Cake, and can be found on pages 192-193.

Click here  and then click on individual bakers' blogs at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways people interpreted their quest.  It is too late to join the online TWD baking blog, but you can always join us in spirit as the recipes for upcoming weeks are posted on the site and you can bake along in your own kitchen.  See you there!  

Tuesdays with Dorie: Lemon Cup Custard

     This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Lemon Cup Custard, can be found on page 387, and was chosen by Bridget of The Way the Cookie Crumbles.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Bridget's site above and she will have it posted today.   

      A week without chocolate...and lemon is my favorite flavor!  I was really looking forward to making custard as truly, I have never made or even eaten a custard before.   

      The recipe was really easy:  milk infused with lemon zest heated, whisked together with four eggs and a half a cup of sugar, and that's pretty much it.  After pouring it into the little bowls, it bakes in a water bath for 45 minutes, cools to room temperature, and gets nice and chilly in the frig for a couple of hours.   

      It looks so pretty and creamy.  It tastes so creamy...and a whole lot like eggs.  Go figure. 

      The portion size is very large...in hindsight, I should have baked this in twelve cups instead of six as one little cup of this rich custard is way way too much.  And, it tastes a whole lot like eggs.  Lemon infused eggs.         

      Matt agreed to pose this week, so people can actually see that my baking is edible, as there are those who question this on a weekly basis.  (I did, after all, join this group to learn how to bake.)

        First, let me tell you, Matt does not like eggs.  I forgot that little fact when I said, "I need a taster photo, are you available?"  He took one bite and said, "This tastes like eggs...."   

      Oops...we started laughing and he agreed it wasn't Dorie's fault that he doesn't like eggs, so he said, "It isn't that bad for eggs..." and gave a thumbs up, while putting the bowl aside and hitting the cookie jar instead. 

      Mark thought it was good.  I liked the lemon part (I am not a big fan of eggs either usually).   So, all in all, it looks like Mark gets to eat a whole lotta lemon custard this week! 

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Liliana of My Cookbook Addiction is French Yogurt Cake with Marmalade Glaze, and can be found on pages 224-225. 

      Click here  and then click on individual bakers' blogs at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways people interpreted their quest.  It is too late to join the online TWD baking blog, but you can always join us in spirit as the recipes for upcoming weeks are posted on the site and you can bake along in your own kitchen.  See you there!

 

Tuesdays with Dorie: Chocolate Armagnac Cake

       This week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Chocolate Armagnac Cake:  The Cake That Got Me Fired, can be found on pages 279-281, and was chosen by LyB of And Then I Do The Dishes.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on LyB's site above and she will have it posted.  If you want to see why this cake got Dorie fired from a job, you will need to buy the book and read all about it. 

      I am slightly late posting this week, mostly because I didn’t get the cake made until yesterday.  The recipe was fairly easy and I baked it as specified, etc.  The only changes I made were to replace the Armagnac with rum because I had rum (still working on that original bottle from Rum Guy) and I didn’t chop the chocolate, just proceeded right to the melting stage instead.  (Why is it that the directions always have us chopping the chocolate before melting it?  Anyone?)   

      Okay, so what happened here (see photo)?  Well, it’s like this…I had a lot going on, cooking numerous things at the same time, was a tad distracted, and misread the directions about cooling the cake in the pan, mistaking two minutes for ten minutes.  Apparently taking the cake out of the pan at two minutes was not a good idea…it all fell apart.  I just sort of smooshed it back together and thought, “Oh, well, the glaze will cover some of it and I’m pretty sure the guys are going to eat this no matter what it LOOKS like.   

      I was right…it would not win any beauty prizes, but it was, according to them, “absolutely excellent and delicious and you can make this any time.”  The next time, however, I will wait the ten minutes before removing the pan.

      The glaze helped cover a multitude of sins, but the amount specified in the book did not completely cover the cake…I ran a little short as you can see in the photo…however, I will try this same amount again next time as it might be just short due to falling in the cracks and crevices of the smooshed together parts.    

      Only one tester in today’s photos because Matt was at church serving for Benediction and Mark could not wait for him to return to cut into the cake.    I think he asked me about ten times if he could “finally have some of the cake?” He looked so pitiful standing there with his fork and all, that I sliced him a piece before Matt returned home.  I’m not sure which he enjoyed more actually, the cake or the Northwestern win over Purdue, but I do know he liked the cake an awful lot.  

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Bridget of The Way the Cookie Crumbles and is Lemon Cup Custard, and can be found on page 387.

 

    

Click here  and then click on individual bakers' blogs at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways people interpreted their quest.  It is too late to join the online TWD baking blog, but you can always join us in spirit as the recipes for upcoming weeks are posted on the site and you can bake along in your own kitchen.  See you there!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Caramel Crunch Bars

      This week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Caramel Crunch Bars, can be found on pages 112-113, and was chosen by Whitney of What's Left on the Table.

  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Whitney's site above and she will have it posted today. 

      This week's recipe was really easy...basically a shortbread crust with a chocolate and toffee bits topping.   

      The only difficult part being chopping up all the chocolate.  Ten minutes of standing there chop, chop, chopping the chocolate into little slivers...not my favorite by a long shot.  Do you suppose there is anyone that sells chocolate already chopped/slivered?  You know, like you can buy chopped nuts?  I would definitely be in line for a package of that, so let me know.  I know, you all love chopping chocolate so you can sneak a bit or two here and there, right?  The only thing that happens here is that it flies everywhere and I am forever rounding it back up to the center of the cutting board.   

      Actually, I cheated a little on the second round of chopped chocolate...it was supposed to be sprinkled on the hot crust and would melt nicely that way.  I figured as the goal was melted chocolate, I could just melt it, spread it over the top, and sprinkle on the toffee bits, no one would be the wiser, and no chopping any more chocolate for me.  (Except now I confessed, so you all know.)  I just could not see me chopping another round of chocolate.   

      Did the guys like the cookie bars?  What do you think...it's a cookie, it's chocolate, it's got toffee sprinkled on top, it's food, and they are pretty much gone.  Next question?  They were a big hit.

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Lyb of And Then I do the Dishes and is Chocolate Armagnac Cake:  The Cake That Got Me Fired, and can be found on pages 279-281.

    

Click here  and then click on individual bakers' blogs at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways people interpreted their quest.  It is too late to join the online TWD baking blog, but you can always join us in spirit as the recipes for upcoming weeks are posted on the site and you can bake along in your own kitchen.  See you there!

 

Tuesday's with Dorie: Devil's Food White Out Cake

       This week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Devil's Food White Out Cake, can be found on pages 247-249, and was chosen by Stephanie of Confessions of a City Eater.   If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Stephanie's site above and she will have it posted today.

      If you have seen the cover of the cookbook we are using, you are well familiar with the photo of this week's recipe.  And, I am happy to say, mine looks pretty close to the photo on the cover.  Which took a lot of effort.  A. Lot. Of. Effort.  And THREE kinds of chocolate.   (I have decided that with Dorie's chocolate recipes, you are basically in it for three kinds of chocolate each time.)  The guys here couldn't be happier.   

      The cake part went together very nicely (as usual, I managed to have chocolate from one end of my six foot baking prep area to the other, I don't know how that happens...it doesn't happen normally, but there is always chocolate everywhere when I finish these chocolate recipes...yikes).  I didn't sub anything, baked it exactly as she specified, used the same size pans, etc. and it looked pretty perfect when I took it out of the oven.   

      The frosting, however, was very exciting.  I have never made marshmallows before, so it was rather fun to get to basically make marshmallow icing.  Whipping up egg whites, boiling sugar and water, pouring them together when the liquid is boiling and beating it like crazy for five minutes...what's not to love about all that???  Very exciting. 

      We were to cut the layer cakes into four halves and then crumbled one of the halves to use for the cake crumbles you see on the white icing on the outside.  Let me just say, that despite the fact that it was more messing around with chocolate than I thought possible, it was a VERY GOOD THING that those chocolate crumbs went quickly and directly onto that cake, because otherwise, I could easily have been dipping into that icing all afternoon. 

      That icing is so very good...I literally licked the spatula...something I rarely do, but soft, warm, gooey, oozing, vanilla-scented, marshmallow...just too much to resist.   

      My taste testers are Mark and Matt this week...both of them absolutely delighted with the results.  I would give you more comments from them, but their mouths were full of cake and icing with looks of ecstasy in their eyes...I think that is probably recommendation enough. They both did say this is probably one of the very best things I have made from the TWD recipes.  (And those of you who tune in just on TWD days, if you are wondering about Matt's newly blonde hair, you can scroll down to last Friday's post...it's a swimming thing...only another swim parent can really understand swim hair.)

      Make the cake...the hugs and kisses you get are great rewards!   

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Whitney of What's Left on the Table and is Caramel Crunch Bars, found on page 112-113.  

Click here  and then click on individual bakers' blogs at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways people interpreted their quest.  It is too late to join the online TWD baking blog, but you can always join us in spirit as the recipes for upcoming weeks are posted on the site and you can bake along in your own kitchen.  See you there!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Floating Islands

      Well, this week's recipe is happening this week, just can't say for sure when...obviously not in a timely manner on Tuesday.  Sorry about that, fellow TWD bakers!  I will try to post it here at some point during the week. 

Tuesdays with Dorie: World Peace Cookies

      This week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is World Peace Cookies (apparently the story of the name comes from someone commenting that there would be world peace if everyone had one of these cookies a day), can be found on pages 138-139, and was chosen by Jessica of cookbookhabit.   If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Jessica's site above and she will have it posted today.  

      Okay, more cookies...the guys love cookie weeks!  And, if it is chocolate cookie week, even better!  Easy recipe, easily scored ingredients, went together and baked exactly as specified (I tried to get an inside photo, but all chocolate looks alike to me, so I don't know if you can tell anything from this broken cookie on the plate or not, even if you click on it to enlarge it), and from all accounts, absolutely wonderful in taste and worthy of the title of promoting world peace and any other kind of peace, they are that good (the guys, of course, as you all know I wasn't going to taste test these, right?). 

      Next week's recipe was chosen by my fellow Whisk Wednesdays member, Shari of Whisk:  A Food Blog and is Floating Islands, found on page 401-402.

       

Click here  and then click on individual bakers' blogs at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways people interpreted their quest.  It is too late to join the online TWD baking blog, but you can always join us in spirit as the recipes for upcoming weeks are posted on the site and you can bake along in your own kitchen.  See you there!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Fresh Ginger and Chocolate Gingerbread

      This week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Fresh Ginger and Chocolate Gingerbread, can be found on pages 212-213, and was chosen by Heather of Sherry Trifle.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Heather's site above and she will have it posted today. 

      I didn't make this week's recipe.  When I mentioned it around here, the vote was that no one was going to probably eat this, so perhaps I might not want to put forth all the effort for something no one was going to eat (remembering the rice pudding and all).  Mark and Matt don't care for gingerbread.  I don't care for chocolate or coffee, and am not all that fond of gingerbread myself, so that pretty much meant this recipe was going nowhere.  I chatted it up with friends and offered to make it for any of them, but received the same comments:  "Chocolate and Gingerbread????  No thanks." 

      This does not mean, however, that this is not a fine recipe...so to be fair, go check it out at Heather's site and determine for yourselves.  See you next week as that recipe is definitely one the guys will embrace!

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Jessica of cookbookbahbit and is World Peace Cookies, which is found on page 138-139. 

      Click here  and then click on individual bakers' blogs at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways people interpreted their quest.  It is too late to join the online TWD baking blog, but you can always join us in spirit as the recipes for upcoming weeks are posted on the site and you can bake along in your own kitchen.  See you there!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Berry Surprise Cake

      This week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Berry Surprise Cake, can be found on pages 273-275, and was chosen by Mary Ann of Meet Me in the Kitchen.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Mary Ann's site above and she will have it posted today.

       I wasn't certain if I was going to be up to tackling a genoise with various layers and steps and what I call, "A great deal of fussiness," as I am not a fussy-type baker/cook.  That said, this recipe was quite fun...and fairly simple.  Dorie does a great job precisely describing each step and layer, and before you realize it, the little berry surprise cake is sitting there in all it's glory.   

      I did everything exactly as she said, and it turned out exactly wonderful.  The only change I made was that I used strawberries instead of the raspberries she suggested as Mark does not care for raspberries (I know, I married him anyway figuring it was worth the risk).    

      I sliced the cake top off, hollowed it out, filled it with the filling of creams and berries, and then set it in the frig so that I could frost it all with the whipped cream at another point in the day.   

      The cake is very pretty, inside and out, and the taste is too good...it would be important to have thin guys who eat a lot, or an entire dinner party, present to eat this...one thin slice would suffice as it is very rich and calorie-laden.   

      The guys here were very excited to see the cake waiting for them...each of them being thrilled with cake, berries, and whipped cream, so what's NOT to love...and it helps to be thin, as they all are, so that they could launch in with gusto and a fair amount of let-the-devil-care attitude.  I would love to say that we all sit around an elegant table each week and enjoy the desserts, but the truth is, I serve them up at the kitchen island, they grab a fork and head off to the men's den to enjoy their treats while watching, usually, a ballgame...they have come to EXPECT this routine, so they are just delighted with the whole TWD program!   

      Make this one...and make sure you have exactly in mind how you are going to dispose of it, so that you aren't tempted with more than one thin slice! 

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Heather of Sherry Trifle and is Fresh Ginger and Chocolate Gingerbread, which is found on page 212. 

     

Click here  and then click on individual bakers' blogs at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways people interpreted their quest.  It is too late to join the online TWD baking blog, but you can always join us in spirit as the recipes for upcoming weeks are posted on the site and you can bake along in your own kitchen.  See you there!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins

   

       This week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins, can be found on page 6, and was chosen by Rebecca of Ezra Pound Cake.   

     If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Rebecca's site above and she will have it posted today.   (Rebecca is one of my favorite TWD bloggers...not only does she have great looking food/recipes on her site, she is always all about the giggle, so it  is very fun to pop in and see what she is up to over there.)       

      This was an easy recipe, as muffin recipes usually are.  I followed the recipe exactly, no subtractions, no additions, baked it for the time specified, and they turned out perfectly wonderful. 

      Inside the muffin batter were all sorts of good things:  two kinds of peppers, corn kernels, cilantro, and chili powder, which made accompanying the chili I made to go with them, just perfect.  The recipe made a dozen full-size regular muffins.    

      I will definitely be making these again.  And again.   

 

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Mary Ann of Meet Me in the Kitchen and is Berry Surprise Cake, which is found on pages 273-275.

        

Click here  and then click on individual bakers' blogs at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways people interpreted their quest.  It is too late to join the online TWD baking blog, but you can always join us in spirit as the recipes for upcoming weeks are posted on the site and you can bake along in your own kitchen.  See you there!

 

 

Tuesdays with Dorie: French Pear Tart

       This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, is French Pear Tart, can be found on pages 368-369 (and page 444 for the tart crust recipe), and was chosen by Dorie Greenspan herself!  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Dorie's site above and she will have it posted today.  She also has a question and answer guest post at the TWD site today.  How fun is this that Dorie was excited to pick the recipe this week?   Yep, kinda fun, and very gracious of her to do so.  

      First of all, I don't really think that my entry this week is a great interpretation of Dorie's recipe, actually, not even what I would call "good," but rather something I call "Good Enough for Right Now," as I have been ill and am still not well enough to drive to the store to chose ingredients or even stand upright from the beginning to end of a recipe non-stop yet. 

      My guys are absolutely great about millions of things, and I am very appreciative each and every day of all they do, but let's just say shopping for cooking ingredients would not be high on (or maybe even make) the list. 

      I haven't posted for two weeks due to what I thought was going to be a vacation, but turned out quite differently, so I am skating on thin ice here on the "you must post two out of four of the weeks or be yanked off the list" rule...relying on Matt and Mark was a necessity. 

      I explained very carefully that I needed pears...Dorie's recipe said that canned pears would be fine, and that was actually the preferred ingredient from the originator of the recipe.  I figured I was probably safer asking them to score canned food rather than fresh...that they would absolutely be immobilized staring at more than one color/type/shape of pear at the market. 

      Yep, I specifically said, "Two LARGE cans of PEAR HALVES...." (figuring I would select the nicest and firmest ones to use out of the two cans). It was 50/50...they managed the pear halves part, but they got these really small cans, hence really small pears, tiny, tiny pears, and as you can see...I used about nine of them and they still didn't fill up the tart pan.  Oh, well, they tried, and for that effort alone, we shall just say that they are wonderful wonderful men.   

 

      The taste?  Terrific.  Really...very very nice.  And, I kinda like the little tiny pears in there as the stuff all around them tastes like an almond cookie, and what is not to love about that? 

      This was an easy recipe...I am sure it would go much better had I actually been feeling well, but not a bad recipe to tackle when you aren't.   The photos are way inferior as I didn't have my normal camera...the actual tart looked better than the photos show.  Try the recipe...I think you'll like it!  I will give it another go when I am better and can pick out fresh pears, etc.  All things considered, the tiny tiny pears were really tasty...and you all know how I like little tiny desserts, so this was just right!

 

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Rebecca of Ezra Pound Cake and is Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins, which can be found on page 6.   

      Click here  and then click on individual bakers' blogs at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways people interpreted their quest.  It is too late to join the online TWD baking blog, but you can always join us in spirit as the recipes for upcoming weeks are posted on the site and you can bake along in your own kitchen.  See you there!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Buttery Jam Cookies

      This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, is Buttery Jam Cookies, can be found on page 80, and was chosen by Heather.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Heather's site above and she will have it posted today.  

      I think this was the easiest recipe we have made at TWD.  The recipe came together for me exactly as printed and baked for the amount of time specified.   

      The apricot preserves and ground ginger were just delicious with the buttery flavor of the cookie.  I didn't add or subtract anything until the end when Alex and I decorated them a bit for the Christmas cookie platter.   

      They look a little bland all lined up, fresh out of the oven, but looks are deceiving because they are actually tasty little fruity bites, not too sweet, just perfect for complimenting a cup of tea.

      The recipe made 40 (it says 45, but I don't have the patience for waiting an extra round for a tray of 5 cookies, when 20 fit on each of the other two trays, so I just distributed the dough between its friends on the two sheets).   

      Mark and I preferred them without the frosting, while Alex, as you can see, preferred loading up plenty on the frosting.  I just added the frosting for the holidays...Dorie's instructions did not include icing.   

      They were all gone in short order as the guys were popping them right and left...one bite wonders! 

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Donna of Spatulas, Corkscrews & Suitcases and is Real Butterscotch Pudding, which can be found on page 386.

      Click here and then click on individual bakers' blogs at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways people interpreted their quest.  It is too late to join the online TWD baking blog, but you can always join us in spirit as the recipes for upcoming weeks are posted on the site and you can bake along in your own kitchen.  See you there!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Grandma's All-Occasion Sugar Cookies

      This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, is Grandma's All-Occasion Sugar Cookies, can be found on page 146-147, and was chosen by Ulrike of Küchenlatein.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Ulrike's site above and she will have it posted today.  Ulrike lives in Northern Germany and publishes her blog in German, but there is a translating connect that you can click on to see it in English.  Her English is so wonderful that she may just have published it in English this week.    

      Hands down, this is now the best sugar cookie recipe I have in my possession...thank you, Dorie.  I have several from growing up years as my mother and my Aunt Minnie both made excellent sugar cookies.  That said, I follow their recipes, but I can never get them to turn out as good as they make them...something is missing in the technique or ingredient list, I'm not sure which, but mine taste nothing like my mother's.   

      Dorie's however, taste just like my mother's and the recipe is very easy, fast, and extremely tasty.  The only thing I changed was that I added another half teaspoon of vanilla to the recipe as we really like our sugar cookies to taste of vanilla. 

      The dough went together great, the chilling time in the frig was just right, the rolling of the dough was easy and fast, and the baking time was right on the money.   Absolutely a keeper of a recipe all the way around. 

      I decorated ours like my mother used to do when we were growing up.  She made all sorts of shapes and sizes of cookies, but the wreath cookies were always my favorite, and still are, because they have cinnamon red hot candies on them and cinnamon red hot candies are my most favorite candy in the entire world.  They go perfectly with the cookies, the vanilla buttercream icing, and a glass of milk.  Come on over, I'll prove it to you!   

      As you can tell from Matt's photo, it was all "finger-licking good!"  Alex, while still liking to eat the cookies, no longer finds decorating them enjoyable, so it was just Matt and I in the kitchen decorating the cookies last evening.   

      All the guys here agree that this recipe produces very fine sugar cookies and declared them "most excellent" all the way around.  High praise from guys who have tasted many sugar cookies and would know the value of an excellent one!   

      And, just for fun, here's a photo from days gone by...the boys were two at the time, Matt on the left in red and Alex on the right in green...decorating Christmas cookies and having a blast.  Matt has obviously gotten a bit neater over the years!  Bake with your kids...the time passes quickly! 

       Next week's recipe was chosen by Heather and is Buttery Jam Cookies, which can be found on page 80. 

      Click here and then click on individual bakers' blogs at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways people interpreted their quest.  It is too late to join the online TWD baking blog, but you can always join us in spirit as the recipes for upcoming weeks are posted on the site and you can bake along in your own kitchen.  See you there!

 

Tuesdays with Dorie: Linzer Sables

       This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, is Linzer Sables, can be found on page 134-136, and was chosen by Noskos of Living the Life.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Noskos' site above and he will have it posted today.  Noskos is from the Netherlands, but his TWD blog is published in English.  (His barbecue blog is published in Dutch if you want to check that out also).   

      All my life I have seen pictures of these cookies, seen them on cookie trays, etc., but never tasted one.  They look pretty.  I just always thought they might be a bit messy to eat, so haven't ever ventured forth.   I was excited to see this recipe chosen so that I could make them myself. 

      The dough is very easy and quick.  I love to put things in the food processor to whirl them about until they become dust, so that was my favorite part:  grinding up all the almonds.  It all smells great while you are combining all the regular cookie-type ingredients:  butter, flour, egg, sugar, etc. and then you get to add cinnamon and ground cloves and the finely ground almonds, and it smells even better.  Okay, I admit, I tasted, it too...I had just a tad dribbled on my fingers and licked it off...so good!   

      The chilled dough rolled out nicely, and I even had the cookie cutter Dorie specified, so that was lucky, no last minute dashes to sur la you-know-where to pick one up. 

      I used strawberry preserves for the filling as Mark is not a big fan of the raspberry ones that Dorie suggested.  The strawberry was excellent with the cinnamon and clove flavors in the cookies. 

      I baked, spread the jam on the cookie, dusted the top with powdered sugar, sandwiched them together, and voila...yum!  The cookie flavorings with the jam is delicious.  Are they messy to eat?  A bit...two layers with jam between...well, not exactly white glove dainties, but I wasn't wearing white gloves, so I enjoyed mine immensely.   

      And the guys?  They haven't had any yet...photo is of Matt grabbing one cookie without the jam or powdered sugar on his way out the door for school this morning, pronouncing them "absolutely great with nothing on or in them!"  

     I am sneaking these into the freezer for Christmas cookie trays, so they have been squirreled away in boxes marked "Chicken parts" in the freezer.  (It's my way of hiding things in the freezer...the guys don't want to take any chances in looking inside boxes marked "Chicken parts," so I think they might be safe.  Might.) 

      Next week's recipe was chosen by my friend Ulrike of

Küchenlatein, is Grandma's All-Occasion Sugar Cookies, and can be found on pages 146-147.  

Click here and then click on individual bakers' blogs at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways people interpreted their quest.  It is too late to join the online TWD baking blog, but you can always join us in spirit as the recipes for upcoming weeks are posted on the site and you can bake along in your own kitchen.  See you there!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Thanksgiving Twofer Pie

       This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, is Thanksgiving Twofer Pie, can be found on page 321, and was chosen by Vibi of La Casserole Carrée. 

      If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Vibi's site above and she will have it posted on Tuesday.  You can also brush up on your French as Vibi's blog is written in French!   

      There is a rule at TWD that you can't post your recipe until Tuesdays, and that you should post on Tuesday, but this week Laurie gave everyone permission to post later (by the 30th) if they wanted to make the pie for Thanksgiving, etc.  Since we are going to be crazy busy starting tomorrow, I figure, I can go a little the other way and post on Monday night.  It's actually either that or Wednesday, and I am seriously going to have the Whisk Wednesdays recipe up ON TIME this week, so Monday it is for TWD. 

      I can't tell you how many times I was asked, "Is the pie ready to cut yet?" as Mark and Matt are true pie lovers.   Their favorite is apple pie, so that is the request heard most often here and I am happy to make apple pies as it makes the house smell so welcoming and lovely.  After apple comes pumpkin pie and after that comes pecan pie.  Needless to say, Mark and Matt were very eager to taste a pie that was a combination of pumpkin and pecan, that being the "twofer" part of the recipe...when I first saw the recipe name, I thought we would be making two pies this week.

      I followed all the ingredients exactly, it all went together very nicely, very easy in fact.  First you make the pumpkin part of the recipe and pour it into the crust you made, then you sprinkle on the pecans, and then finally you pour on the other mixture, which was a like a pecan pie mixture.  

      And then you bake it.   And bake it.  And bake it.  I don't know what was going on, but I had to bake it probably 30 minutes longer than the recipe suggested as it said to bake until a knife inserted in the center came out clean.  To keep it from getting too brown, I put a pie shield on the exposed crust and foil tented the filling part.  In the photo it looks browner than it actually turned out...my kitchen at night is not the best for photographing anything as the lighting is not all that great for such, so actually it turned out and looked just fine.  I'm not sure if it was the suggested temperature or my oven, but the guys were not enjoying the patience it was taking to finish off the baking.  It smelled heavenly as it was baking, no wonder they were losing patience with the long baking time.   They had forks in hand when I said it was time.  The end result was wonderful.    

        Matt and Mark both agreed that this is definitely a new favorite, so I am going to need to figure out the temperature/time thing for the next go around, which I am thinking will be Thursday morning so I can take it to Mark's parents' Thanksgiving celebration. 

       Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!  Hope you have a lovely holiday! 

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Noskos of Living the Life, is Linzer Sables, and can be found on pages 134-135.  

     

Click here and then click on individual bakers' blogs at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways people interpreted their quest.  It is too late to join the online TWD baking blog, but you can always join us in spirit as the recipes for upcoming weeks are posted on the site and you can bake along in your own kitchen.  See you there!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Arborio Rice Pudding, White, Black (or Both)

       This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, is Arborio Rice Pudding, White, Black (or Both), can be found on pages 412-413, and was chosen by Isabelle of Les Gourmandises d'Isa.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Isabelle's site above and she will have it posted today. 

      "Rice Pudding...really, rice pudding?  I think I am passing on being any sort of taste tester for rice pudding..." so went the conversation with one-half of the taste testers around here, i.e. the husband.  The Kid's views you shall see in the photos. 

      First let me say, that just because this recipe was NOT a hit around here, does not mean it is not a great recipe...it simply means that this is not a household of rice-loving occupants.  We like rice with chicken and fish and then you can pretty much call it a day on the rice.  Sweet rice?  Not so much.  Actually, not at all.  It's still sitting in the frig if you want some.  I've been trying to give it away, but no one seems to care enough for rice pudding...I have had several requests for the apple pie I made as a sort of sot for the guys' disappointment with the not having a weekly dessert, however. 

      It made 8 little bowls...very cute and all, but not a happening snack here.   I did increase the rice measurement from 1/4 to 1/2 cup as the TWD site mentioned that was probably more correctly the portion than the one in the book...all it did was add more rice, so that wasn't necessarily a good thing.  It looked like it was supposed to look...I even made both versions, half vanilla and half chocolate.  I figured they would eat anything around here that had chocolate as an ingredient.  Not so.  They won't eat rice pudding even with chocolate in it. 

      Not much else to say, so I will leave you with the some photos that pretty much shows the willing taste tester as he progresses through his tasting photo shoot...sorry, Dorie, really this has nothing to do with your wonderful recipe...we just don't happen to like sweetened rice.  

   

 

  You can see with the last photo that the bowl was set aside, all tasting being abandoned.  The comment was "Well, Mom, this is the only thing we haven't liked in all these recipes, so you have done pretty good to get this far without any failures.  How about you make us one of your apple pies until next week instead?"  When a 16 year swimmer sets something aside without eating it, I know it's history around here.  I tried the vanilla one...I didn't care for it either...we are just not sweetened rice fans...and when we get to the bread pudding week, I am thinking that's probably not happening either, mushy bread doesn't sound even remotely appealing. 

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Vibi of Le Casserole Carree, is Thanksgiving Twofer Pie, and can be found on pages 321.

 

      Click here and then click on individual bakers' blogs at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways people interpreted their quest.  It is too late to join the online TWD baking blog, but you can always join us in spirit as the recipes for upcoming weeks are posted on the site and you can bake along in your own kitchen.  See you there!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Kugelhopf

       This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, is Kugelhopf, can be found on pages 61-63, and was chosen by Yolanda of The All-Purpose Girl.   If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Yolanda's site above and she will have it posted today.  

       Oh, yeah, this was one fine recipe.  It took two days to assemble it, but it was really worth it as it was a big hit here at the house.  A very fine use of flour, eggs, milk, yeast, butter, and sugar!  

      I had intended to give some of it away, but it never made it that far.  It's GONE with the request that the recipe make a reappearance soon.  (Pictured below is Mark enjoying it fresh and warm from the oven, declaring it "Excellent!")  

      Most of the two-day prep time was for the rising of the dough.  Numerous bits of fiddling with dough...several rises and punch downs and waiting around (well, you didn't actually have to stand around while it was rising, but you did have to keep thinking about the time frames for each time which is a tad distracting). 

      I baked it in a bundt pan as I already had one of those and the Kugelhopf pan was over $30...not like me to buy a special pan if I know I am only going to use it once, so I didn't splurge as I wasn't certain how well this was going to be received.  It turned out lovely in the bundt pan, so I am thinking that is the way I will go from now on.  (If it looks a little lopsided, that's because I dropped the silly thing on the way to the oven, but it didn't drop far, and it landed right side up, although I think one side deflated a bit...didn't hurt the taste one single bit.) 

      The instructions were to baste it a bit with melted butter and sprinkle it with sugar, then add powdered sugar right before serving.  I figured one kind of sugar was quite enough (and it was), so I skipped sprinkling on the powdered sugar at the end. 

      Asked what Kugelhopf was, I had to respond, "I don't know," so I just said it was sort of like bread and sort of like cake.  It's actually difficult to describe...but very delicious.  It isn't very sweet, like a cake would be, except for the crunchy bits on the outside where the sugar and butter worked a little magic. 

      I used golden raisins as frankly I was getting a little tired of everything looking like chocolate or like it had chocolate chips in it, so I decided this week, I would go with the golden raisins instead of the dark raisins.  Great choice...they looked very pretty and tasted delicious. 

      The texture is like a very light and airy bread (even lighter than brioche). 

      Would I spend two days making this again?  In a heartbeat.  My swimmer says, "Again, Mom, Make it Again, Please?  It is so great and I can just slice it up and take it with me for breakfast before swimming."  How can a mother say "no" to that?  If the boy is willing to wake up at 4:30 a.m. each morning to go to swim practice, I certainly can make it a little more worth his while.  Ulrike has me thinking along the lines of lemon and almonds to accompany those little golden raisins, and I am so going there with that in next one I make.  Definitely a hit around here...I made the recipe exactly as in the book (well, except for the dropping part which was my own special touch, hopefully not to be repeated), and baked it for the time specified. 

     

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Isabelle of Les Gourmandises d'Isa, is Arborio Rice Pudding, White, Black (or Both), and can be found on pages 412-413.

      Click here and then click on individual bakers' blogs at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways people interpreted their quest.  It is too late to join the online TWD baking blog, but you can always join us in spirit as the recipes for upcoming weeks are posted on the site and you can bake along in your own kitchen.  See you there!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Rugelach

       No photo of the guys this week, but this is one of my Great-Grandmother's plates, which I am very fortunate to have in my possession.  Her name was Florence Ohl, she was my Grandfather's mother.  She died in 1963, when I was 8, but I remember her well, the plates always bringing back lovely memories of her.  After she died, the dishes all went to her daughter Peggy, my Godmother, and from there they came to me.  So, I inherited her dishes which have beautiful flowers on them, and more importantly, her green eyes, as very few of us got the green eyes!

      This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, is Rugelach, can be found on pages 150-152, and was chosen by Grace of Piggy's Cooking Journal.

      If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Grace's site above and she will have it posted today.   

      I joined this group so I could learn how to bake.  I cook, but I don't bake.  This is supposed to prove that you CAN teach an old dog new tricks. 

      I have, however, made Rugelach before as it is one of my favorite cookies.  I was very excited to see it on the list, immediately thinking, "Okay...a week without chocolate! Yeah!"  Ha!  As I was examining the recipe, checking for ingredients for which I might need a run to the market, I came upon it...yep...CHOCOLATE!  Chocolate in Rugelach???  Not in my house, not on my watch anyway. 

      I thought about just telling you that I had accidentally left out one of the ingredients, but I figured you would be on to me in a second and that would never fly, so I won't even bother.  I left it out.  On purpose.  I usually try to be a player here with the chocolate and all, but I was really thinking maybe I deserved a Rugelach this week.  It's one of those filling cookies that you can just have one and feel like you are satisfied.  Okay, I have never actually tried this, but I am thinking it might be.  A portion of two is really quite appropriate, and manageable if you quickly load the rest up on the guys' plates and leave the kitchen without looking back.  They are that good.   

      My altered recipe features peach preserves because Mark is not a big fan of raspberry (yes, I know, I considered divorce over this many years ago, but the guy has so many other wonderful qualities that I have just let that slide over the years), with walnuts, and those little tiny baking raisins.  The recipe was wonderful, and the only thing I really questioned was heating the jam to spread it...even after letting it cool a bit (I am not long on patience in this department and figured if I let it cool completely to cold, what was the purpose of heating it in the first place?), it made the dough a little soggy, and I would not do that again...I would do my standard way of just spooning on the jam and spreading it a bit like that. 

      I also made only 12 cookies out of each of the circles as at 16 cookies, they just seemed too small, and while that might work for Dorie, I have GUYS over here and even at 12, these are considered "a one-bite cookie" at best by them.  Raising boys says a lot about husbands...it is much easier to be patient with husbands when you have raised boys and see where these things actually originate.  If you have a husband, and not a son, I recommend you get a son as soon as possible.  Like I said, it explains a WHOLE lot.  

      Thumbs up on Dorie's recipe, definitely a keeper.  Next week's recipe was chosen by Yolanda of The All-Purpose Girl, is Kuglehopf, and can be found on pages 61-63.

       Click here and then click on individual bakers' blogs at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways people interpreted their quest.  It is too late to join the online TWD baking blog, but you can always join us in spirit as the recipes for upcoming weeks are posted on the site and you can bake along in your own kitchen.  See you there!