Grandma's Kitchen Table

Whisk Wednesdays: Huîtres Chaudes au Muscadet (Poached Oysters with Muscadet Sabayon Sauce)

      The recipe prepared for this week's assignment for Whisk Wednesdays is from Class 23, Part 5: Huîtres Chaudes au Muscadet (Poached Oysters with Muscadet Sabayon Sauce).  It can be found in the cookbook Le Cordon Bleu at Home on pages 383-384. 

      This recipe is so good.  Worth the price of the book for this recipe alone.  Seriously. 

      First of all, I had never eaten oysters before, which is a little strange as I like seafood and have eaten a lot of things off menus I would not have thought I would ever eat:  squid, octopus, shark, etc.  Somehow oysters never seemed appealing. 

      Awhile ago I read a book on the oyster beds of New York and New Jersey and was absolutely enchanted.  While reading the book was great, I was still not thinking of actually eating any of the oysters.  I almost sat this one out, but I didn't want to let everyone else in the class down, and besides, those Whisk Chicks have a way of making everything sound good...they had all had oysters aplenty. 

      I ordered my Blue Point Oysters from my favorite seafood restaurant where they fly them in and waited for the day they were to arrive straight from the airport.  

      When I showed up, Rick was surrounded by lots and lots and lots of them.  I decided I was going to just make half a recipe (12/24) in case no one liked them as we all were oyster virgins. 

      I said, "Those are alive, aren't they?"  Rick just smiled and said, "Yep, they better be."  I said, "Well, we are supposed to insert a knife, twist it around until the shell opens, and slice with the knife around the top to pry their little selves out."  From the look on my face, he was quick with the "How about I do all that for you?"  I was even quicker with "Really?  Thanks, and can you save the liquid and the shells for me because I have things to do with those for the recipe?"  He said, "Is this that French cooking class you are writing about?"  When I told him it was our last week of seafood for a bit, he said, "Well, don't be a stranger...I was just getting used to having you come by every week."  I am sure it was great entertainment as I had not a clue what I was doing each week...except with the mussels, of course. 

      So Rick murdered the oysters for me...all the other Whisk Chicks gained loads of experience doing that on their own.  I did not, however, join up with this adventure with the intention of becoming a butcher, a fishmonger, or an oyster killer. 

      Home I came with the oysters and I followed the recipe exactly, well, except for the fact that I halved everything, and I did the spinach the only way the boys will eat it:  barely wilted not steamed and cooked and then cooked again and then broiled, cooking it again. (The French really like to eat spinach well cooked...so far cooking it at least twice for each recipe.) That's way too much cooking of spinach for this household.  They like it barely wilted, and trust me, it was delicious that way.  We just barely cooked the oysters in their liquor by letting the liquid boil and then removing it and the oysters from the heat immediately, allowing them to cool in the juice before placing the oysters onto a little bed of the wilted spinach and tucking them back into their cleaned and washed half shells.

      The sauce consisted of two parts, both delicious, and the next time, I can easily make a quarter of the sauce as I have plenty left over.  It will not go to waste...I will think of something else to make with that sauce as it was very very good.  I think the kids were willing to just sip it through a straw and have done with it in the moment if I would have let them. 

      The first part of the sauce is butter, shallots, Muscadet wine, creme fraiche, and a little pepper, all reduced to a syrupy consistency...OMW is this part good.  The second part, a sabayon sauce (I had never made this kind of sauce before and was surprised that it was fairly easy and I did not scramble the eggs while they were cooking and whisking...it stayed liquid) cooked separately, consists of egg yolks and water...whisk, whisk, whisk, etc. until it is thick and ribbony, add clarified butter, whisk some more, and then add the shallot/wine/cream mixture, whisk some more, and then check for seasonings (I added just a pinch of salt and a little more pepper). 

 

      

      When the sauce all comes together, you spoon it all over the little selves resting on the wilted spinach back in their little shells. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      I ran them under the broiler...it only literally takes a minute, and then I was going to plate them nicely and take a photo, but the guys were standing right there, plates in hand, pointing out the ones they wanted me to scoop onto their plates, and that was pretty much the end of any photo opportunities. 

      Everyone loved this recipe.  I had made the dozen (well, 13 actually as Rick had thrown in an extra one), and I could easily have gotten rid of three times that amount with the way they were eating their three oysters and raving about them.   We are all oyster fans now, and willing to try other recipes (not sure about eating them raw at this point, but cooked, YES!)  Thanks to all my fellow Whisk Wednesday classmates for encouraging me to just dive in and make these and go at it with an open mind.  I have got to start trusting them more!  

     

Next Week's Assignment:

The next few assignments are Menus, so we are going to make the menu for one meal (hopefully), but then post each dish separately in its own week as posting it all at once seemed a bit much, following the schedule below.
Class 24: Menu #1 (Make in one session, if you can, between April 29 and May 6)
• Aubergines Bayildi (Gratin of Stuffed Eggplant) pages 255-256 (Post Wednesday, May 6, 2009)
• Rouelles de Veau Bourgeoise (Veal Shanks with Pearl Onions and Mushrooms) pages 18-19 (Post Wednesday, May 13, 2009)
• Gratin de Fruits au Marasquin (Fruit Gratin with Maraschino Liqueur) page 376 (Post Wednesday, May 20, 2009)

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!

Before the CSC Brunch Banquet

      Matt and his USA swim coach, Chris P.  Last year, I predicted that Matt would be as tall as Chris this year...I will let you be the judge!  I think Chris is 6'4". 

     Our annual CSC banquet was yesterday, a brunch honoring all the swimmers and their families (Matt, Mike and Daniel at right)...around 300 swimmers in our club, so that's a big undertaking, and a whole lot of people and chatting for a morning. 

      We look forward to this each year and enjoy seeing the swimmers and their families.   

      In photo in back:  Daniel, Jonathan, Matt, Nick, Harrison; in front:  Mike, John, and Peter.    

      Matt F. missed being in the guys photo, but didn't mind posing with some of the girls.  Left to right:  Margaret, Lauren, Matt F., Taylor, Erica, Jessie, and Sarah.

      I confess, my knowledge these days gravitates more toward the older swimmers rather than the younger ones...the club encompasses swimmers from age 6 to high school, with some college student alums coming back in the summers to swim again for long course with the club. 

      My friend Jan and I were marveling at how our boys were all the size of the littlest ones when they were just starting out in swimming, and now...well, our boys are some of the tallest, Johnny being a junior this year, and Matt a sophomore. (Jan and Johnny at right.) 

      The speeches from the graduating seniors now bring tears to our eyes and lumps to our throats, whereas many years prior to this, they were just nice inspiring stories.  Now we are saying goodbye to kids we have known and been swimming with for ten years. 

      Jessie (pictured at left with Lauren and Carly) gave the girls' speech and Josh (JJ) gave the boys' speech.  Jessie's was sweet and meaningful, and while Josh's was all that, it was also very humorous, as is fitting for JJ. 

      Josh is an amazing swimmer...most all of the swimmers come up through the ranks, from the time they are 6 and 7.  Josh, however, just started swimming four years ago and is one of the best CSC has...national times, etc., and next year he will swim in college for Ohio State.  

      In his speech he recalled how he was playing in the backyard four years ago and his parents saw Michael Phelps being interviewed on tv, the interviewer pointing out that Michael's arm span was greater than his height, etc.  Sherry and Larry called Josh in, told him to hold out his arms, started measuring, and said, "You aren't going to like this maybe, but from now on, you are going to swim!"  And, so he did...working his way up very quickly to national time status. 

      Another photo of some of the guys, this one with Josh as he was not in the first, also including another fan favorite, Charles.  Left to right:  John, Dan, Matt, Nick, Josh (JJ), Mike, and Charles. 

      We have come to enjoy watching JJ's career soar as he lives across the way from us, swims the same swims Matt does, and is just a whole lotta fun to be around.  It won't be the same at meets with JJ gone next year. 

      So, here are photos of swimmers, etc.  Laurie, Ali, and Buddy at right, and last, but not least, a shot of the two singer swimmers, Matt and Ali. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

 

      A lot of noticeable gaps here as I could not get around the room with so many people and the swimmers are all like trying to nail jello to the wall to have them stand still for photos while they are busy socializing.  Sometimes I can pin them down for photos after the banquet, but not this year as they all drive, and they were headed out as soon as things wrapped up for other things, jobs, choir, etc.  This was the best I could do this year.  Enjoy!  (You can click on all photos to enlarge.)

 

After the Confirmation

       Megan was confirmed this year, and while the lily invasion prevented me from attending the actual Mass, which was conveniently located just beyond my backyard, I did get to go to Megan's party after the Confirmation night and be a part of the celebration in that manner yesterday.  (I am very allergic to lilies.  The church had 300 pots of lilies, each with 8-10 blooms emitting millions of spores, so I am sure you can do the math and figure out that probably was not going to work.)  

      Proud parents, Shelley and Brian, had a very lovely party for Megan, with fun guests, and great food and punch which Shelley swears was not spiked, but there was a whole lot of giggling going on, so I am not sure I can trust her on this.  Just kidding, it was just a very fun time and a most enjoyable way to spend a Sunday afternoon.  

     The photo is Megan proudly showing off her Confirmation certificate.  I can't believe she is this age already...they all do have a way of growing up quickly, don't they?  Megan is a really wonderful girl and we are so proud to know her and to be able to watch her becoming the lovely young lady she is becoming.  Congratulations on your Sacrament, Megan!

       

 

Friday's Favorites Fare

READING:

Undaunted Courage:  Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West by Stephen E. Ambrose.  I am still reading this as I got a little sidetracked.  I happened upon a list of landowners in Albemarle County, VA from the years of Jefferson/Lewis, etc. and was pursuing that for a bit...reading here and there this and that.  Very interesting, a great side-track.

LISTENING TO:  Neil Young.

PHOTO:  The snowball bushes in our yard...they smell so lovely.

COOKING THROUGH:  Le Cordon Bleu at Home (Le Cordon Bleu School of Cooking), this week's assignment is Huîtres Chaudes au Muscadet (Poached Oysters with Muscadet Sabayon Sauce) pages 383-384; Baking:  From My Home to Yours (Dorie Greenspan), this week's recipe is Chocolate Cream Tart, and can be found on pages 352-353.  You can cook/bake along, too!

FAV NEW FIND:  That I can actually put one foot in front of the other and move forward...this week has gone nothing like I originally thought it would.  Geesh.

FAV THING TODAY:  It has to be the sunshine, warm temperatures, greenery, flowering trees,plants, and bushes...okay, that's more than one favorite thing, but I feel I am entitled this week to list all of them at once.  Yep.

GOING TO:  Hopefully get over for Megan McK's Confirmation (and maybe her party); the CSC Banquet; Matt's IYC concert; a party or two, and some visiting gigs...it's pretty much a packed weekend.

PRAYING FOR:  Alex, please join me.  Also, for all the Confirmation candidates, please join me.  Also, for the repose of the soul of Jim H., for courage and strength for his wife Linda, and for the same plus peace for his children Matthew, Kristen, Rachel, Nicole, and Derek , please join me.  (Jim was very active in the cub/boy scouts with his son Matthew, and Mark and the boys came to know and enjoy them through scouting until Jim became disabled several years ago.  Please pray especially for Jim's son Matthew, who struggles greatly with not only losing his father, but for the past several years, having to watch daily as Jim's disability claimed more and more of him.  He is the same age as our boys, and it is an especially tough age to lose a beloved father.)

Whisk Wednesdays: Mouclade (Mussels with Wine and Cream Sauce)

     The recipe prepared for this week's assignment for Whisk Wednesdays is from Class 23, Part 4: Mouclade (Mussels with Wine and Cream Sauce) 

It can be found in the cookbook Le Cordon Bleu at Home on pages 39-40.  

  

     Think that I can safely say, at this point, that I can cook mussels in my sleep.  We are a mussel-loving family, so cooking mussels is always met with a great deal of enthusiasm. 

      This recipe is easy, requires just shallots, a little butter, wine, and parsley to cook the mussels for about 5 minutes, and then that liquid is strained and reduced by half, with the addition of a little cream, boiled and reduced until thickened.  Spooning the sauce over the mussels preserved in a half shell completes the dish. 

 

      How simple...and how unbelievably great tasting these turned out!  Mark must have commented ten times how much he really liked the way these were prepared.   I believe I could serve these weekly, if I so desired, and they would be met with rave reviews.  Definitely a winner.  

      If you would  like to see how the other Whisk Wednesday members fared in this class,  click here, and then on the Whisk Wednesdays connect to individual bloggers, or better yet, come and join us!  Shari has the ingredients posted on her site at the click, so while we can't post the recipe instructions, you can at least look at the ingredients, and I bet you can figure out a lot of it from there.

 

Next Week's Assignment:

 • Class 23, Part 5:
Huîtres Chaudes au Muscadet (Poached Oysters with Muscadet Sabayon Sauce) pages 383-384

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!

 

Friday's Favorites Fare

READING:

   Undaunted Courage:  Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West by Stephen E. Ambrose.  I know, I was on my way to steamships and canals and got sidetracked by building the transcontinental railroad, figuring the steamships and canals would come after, unlike actual history where they obviously came before.

      However, while reading this author's book on the building of the railroad, I enjoyed his style of writing so much, that I have sidetracked once again (yes, a railroad term), and am now reading his book on the Lewis and Clark adventure.  Steamships and canals will wait.  A very good book...a very good read.

LISTENING TO:   Well, it's April, and Art usually comes to town in April, so it's an Art and Paul kind of day.  Don't despair...Axl is on his way soon.

COOKING THROUGH:  Le Cordon Bleu at Home(Le Cordon Bleu School of Cooking), this week's assignment is Mouclade (Mussels with Wine and Cream Sauce) pages 39-40; Baking:  From My Home to Yours (Dorie Greenspan), this week's recipe is Four Star Chocolate Bread Pudding, and can be found on pages 410-411.  You can cook/bake along, too!

FAV NEW FIND:  I feel like we have the old Alex back...before what we attributed was all the teenage angst, etc.  We are very fortunate to have a doctor who diagnosed an imbalance and found a way to correct it.  Our fingers are crossed, and our thanks for all the thoughts, prayers, and support, while it was all being sorted out.  We feel very encouraged.

FAV THING TODAY:  Matt received five Top Ten swimming awards for last year's USA swimming (2007-2008).  To be recognized as one of the Top Ten swimmers in an event for your state in your age group that year is an honor the swimmers all look forward to receiving.  Matt was very happy with one for the short course season (100 Backstroke - 9th place in the state) and four for the long course season (50 Freestyle - 4th place in the state; 100 Freestyle - 5th place in the state; 200 Freestyle - 9th place in the state; and 100 Backstroke -- 6th place in the state).   It's fun to see the times listed as we head into long course season now and know that he has better times than those listed...but then so do all the other swimmers placing in the Top Ten, so it will be fun to see where he comes out at the end of this year's long course season.  The rankings usually come out sooner than certificates, but it is nice to see the times in an actual printed page for the scrapbook!

GOING TO:  Spring clean, advancing to the last floor:  the upstairs!  Various gigs and things going on for everyone this weekend...including the CSC triathlon on Sunday.  I think our family is responsible for part of the bike route.  Matt has choir rehearsal during that time, so I guess I better figure out soon what it is that I am supposed to be doing!

PRAYING FOR:  The recovery of our economy, feeling so badly for those near and dear who have lost very lucrative employment that they never thought they would ever lose, etc., please join me. 

Whisk Wednesdays: Bouchées aux Crevettes (Puff Pastry Shells Filled with Shrimp and Mushrooms)

      The recipe prepared for this week's assignment for Whisk Wednesdays is from Class 23, Part 3: Bouchées aux Crevettes (Puff Pastry Shells Filled with Shrimp and Mushrooms).  It can be found in the cookbook Le Cordon Bleu at Home on pages 467-468. 

      I knew we would all enjoy this week's recipe...shrimp and mushrooms in a creamy sauce, what's not to love about that?  

 

      Making the puff pastry shells was not my strong point, as you can see. 

      I think I rolled my dough too thin for starters...it was supposed to be 1/8th of an inch thick, and that just seems so thin anyway, but I might have gotten it even thinner, so next time, I would stop rolling a little sooner. 

      Forming the shells was interesting and I enjoyed seeing how that all came together, first cutting out a 4 inch fluted circle and then a 3 inch fluted circle and fitting them together with egg wash.  With the extra dough, I cut out additional shapes just to have in case anyone wanted them on the side, and they did.   

      When I baked them, it took half the time specified, so I think that my dough being thin was the reason for that.   

      All in all, I made shells, they puffed up, they tasted fine, and it worked to put the sauce in them, so who's to say it wasn't successful?  I am just considering mine the rustic version with their misshapen oval shapes instead of nice and perfect circles! 

      The filling was incredibly easy...saute the mushrooms, the shrimp, and then add them together.  The sauce was supposed to be added to that mixture, but I have to say, this recipe makes a whole lot of sauce, and if I added ALL of that to the shrimp and mushrooms, they would have been floating.  So, in the better part of calorie/fat intake judgment, I spooned the sauce over the mushrooms and shrimp once they were in their little shell nest, using a discretionary amount of sauce.  It worked out just fine and everyone loved it. 

      Matt went back for seconds and Mark was headed in that direction, only to discover Matt thought everyone was finished and had wiped out the contents of the pan.  I would say this recipe was a decided hit.  (I need more practice on making those little shells, but I am counting this one a keeper and a repeater.)  Oh, and CC, this is my portion...the guys' portions had filling and sauce spilling out over the sides of the shell, and pretty much covering the plate, so relax, I am not serving them "Barbie" portions over here...they ate plenty of this...a pound and a half of shrimp and 8 ounces of mushrooms totally disappeared!

      If you would  like to see how the other Whisk Wednesday members fared in this class,  click here, and then on the Whisk Wednesdays connect to individual bloggers, or better yet, come and join us!  Shari has the ingredients posted on her site at the click, so while we can't post the recipe instructions, you can at least look at the ingredients, and I bet you can figure out a lot of it from there.

 

Next Week's Assignment: 
 • Class 23, Part 4:
Mouclade (Mussels with Wine and Cream Sauce) pages 39-40

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!

In Front of the Restaurant

      Molly and Matt in front of the restaurant where we had breakfast recently...the two Godchildren, friends since birth, Molly the elder by just two months.  Molly's mom, Cindy, is Matt's Godmother, and I am Molly's Godmother, and we have enjoyed photographing them through the years together...when they were younger, our plan was to marry them off after college, but since each seems to view the other more like a brother or sister, that plan has pretty much been shelved over the years.  It's fun to watch them grow up together, though.  Lots of photos through the years of lots of fun times. 

      That was my first favorite thing to share today...the second is this:  this morning I did not have to be anywhere until 9:30, so after everyone left the house for work and school, I decided that I was going to just snuggle under the warm covers with my book and read until 8:30.  It was raining and dark and dreary, however, I do love the sound of rain falling against the roof and windows, so I just read my book and listened to the sounds of the rain falling for an hour...it was really nice.  I am very lucky.  I hope you had a lovely day, too.

After Dinner in Elwood

       Last evening after dinner in Elwood at the in-laws home, the daughters-in-law lined up all the usual suspects and had a photo shoot with Dorothy and Emil and their six children, as well as various other combinations.  Here is one of those photos with everyone's eyes open, everyone looking in the same direction, everyone acting appropriately, and everyone showing their ages, sort of.  This is a family where men keep their hair their entire lives.

      In order of appearance, from left to right:  Mark (56), Luke (53), Alan (45), Nancy (54), Philip (51), and Brian (49). 

      Happy Easter!

 

Above the World, Across the Canyon, Past all Reason

A little spring break photographic evidence of a certain judge (with the professor wife and the swimming/singing daughter, who are both naturally adventurous and daring without additional means of encouragement) whose daring exploits, courtesy of an uncertain amount of quaffing and questionable reasoning skills, can only be seen to be believed.  Here is the evidence...as a true friend, I will leave it to you to discern from said source exactly how much quaffing was necessary for such a feat.  From higher ideals to higher ideas!

On Top of The World

      Each year the USA Swimming organization sponsors elite swimming camps that are designed for swimmers, ages 14-19, who have exceptionally fast swimming times. 

      The Olympic Training Center in Colorado and the Brophy Sports Center in Arizona host these swimmers at training camps designed to give additional training toward Olympic goals.  It is invitation only, the invitations being very few. 

      Indiana Swimming awarded 27 boys and 27 girl these coveted invitations to the Olympic Training Center for a week this June (all expenses paid except the flight), swimmers the committee believes will have fast enough times to compete in the Olympic Trials in 2012. 

      Matt received an invitation last year to Brophy and this year he received one to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado for his 100 Backstroke and his 100 Freestyle.  It came last week, and the boy has been walking on air on top of the world ever since. 

      18 of the 54 invitations went to CSC members, the largest contingent of club representation in Indiana.  Congratulations (alphabetically) to the girls:  Alexis B., Jessie H., Megan J., Lauren J., Lucy K., Lacey L., Trish R., Rhiannon S., Lauren S.; and the guys: Jonathan A., Nick A., Tylor G., Matt G., Daniel H., Josh J., John S., Mike V., and Harrison W.  We are so very proud of each and every single one of you!

 

Whisk Wednesdays: Coquilles Saint Jacques Dieppoise (Scallops with Mussels and Shrimp in Cream Sauce)

      The recipe prepared for this week's Whisk Wednesdays' assignment is from Class 23, Part 2:  Coquilles Saint Jacques Dieppoise (Scallops with Mussels and Shrimp in Cream Sauce).  It can be found in the cookbook Le Cordon Bleu at Home on pages 78-79. 

      This week's recipe is similar to ones that I already have in my repertoire/arsenal/old standbys, but this recipe incorporated various techniques and combinations that I had not made use of prior to today, so I was eager to try them and see if they really would make that much difference to do it this fancy French Le Cordon Bleu way. 

      Oh, YES...definitely worth it to do it this way.  While my variations are good, and they are, this one was incredibly even more flavorful.  More depth of flavor.   It's that "how many pans can we possibly use in preparing one meal" deal the French seem to have a penchant for on any given day.  I used seven today, and that did not count the pasta pot for the linguine I made to serve with the sauce.  (The photo at the right is the sauce itself before being spooned over the linguine.) 

       It is truly amazing how they cook everything separately, with all their little seasonings and techniques and go-withs, and then bring it together at the end for one very lovely and memorable dish.  This is my favorite thing about this class...I am learning all sorts of new techniques for bringing out more true flavors.  It is immensely satisfying to be able to do that...and I am a rookie, so imagine what all those fancy French chefs can really do with a dish! 

      This week we took mussels, scallops, shrimp, mushrooms, shallots, parsley, salt and pepper, wine, and creme fraiche and transformed them into a wonderful sauce, which I served over linguine as my guys really like pasta.  It goes together fairly quickly as seafood never takes long to cook, even when you are doing it all separately. 

      And the reviews?  "Excellent, very good, wonderful..." 

      It's definitely a repeat recipe and definitely easy and quick enough for a weeknight.  

      Buy the book...this recipe alone is worth the price.  The final photo shows three very satisfied and happy diners:  Mark, Alex, and Matt...Coquilles Saint Jacques Dieppoise was a big hit.

      If you would  like to see how the other Whisk Wednesday members fared in this class,  click here, and then on the Whisk Wednesdays connect to individual bloggers, or better yet, come and join us!  Shari has the ingredients posted on her site at the click, so while we can't post the recipe instructions, you can at least look at the ingredients, and I bet you can figure out a lot of it from there.

 

Next Week's Assignment: 

 • Class 23, Part 3:
Bouchées aux Crevettes (Puff Pastry Shells Filled with Shrimp and Mushrooms) pages 467-468

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!