Grandma's Kitchen Table

Cooking Italy: Sgroppino -- Venetian Lemon and Strawberry "Slush" with Sparkling Wine

This week's assignment for Cooking Italy was Sgroppino -- Venetian Lemon and Strawberry "Slush" with Sparkling Wine, found on pages 613-615. 

I didn't make this week's recipe because we have been having way too many desserts around here and also this one involved alcohol, which the boys cannot have, so I decided that I would skip this week rather than just change the recipe to accommodate the boys, leaving it instead to make sometime when it is just Mark and me around.  

  If you would like to see Angela's lovely rendition (she has such a way with food styling) and the recipe, you can go to Spinach Tiger where you will also find a connect to the Cooking Italy group, the schedule, and the upcoming menu recipes. 

    Next week's recipe is Layered Crespelle with Tomato, Proscuitto, and Cheese and can be found on page 270 of Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.  

MTAoFC: Coquelets sur Canapés (Roast Squab Chickens with Chicken Liver Canapés and Mushrooms)

  This week for Helene's blog along using the book Mastering The Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, I am having one recipe do the work of two posts as we made a recipe from Julia's book for Whisk Wednesdays.  If you scroll down a tiny bit to the Whisk Wednesday's post, you will be able to see and read about this particular recipe, which we all found absolutely delightful and delicious. 

CEiMB: Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce

   The recipe chosen this week for CEiMB, using Ellie Krieger's cookbook, The Food You Crave:  Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life, was selected by Cathy at The Tortefeasor and is Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce, on pages 54-55.   

   I had been looking forward to this recipe ever since Cathy selected it, not only because it looked great, but because it is always even more fun to make a recipe that a friend selects!  The recipe does not disappoint in the least...all the flavors combined with the grilled chicken to make an absolutely wonderful dinner.  We all thought so...four out of four...it was a hit! 

   The marinade for the chicken strips went together easily, the chicken bathed in it for about two hours here as I had other things going on (i.e. our cookie jar was empty and Matt wanted Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, so I was multitasking with that), and once the chicken was grilled, I could have stopped right there because that marinade gave the chicken a very lovely flavor with a hint of everything that went into it.  

   In the recipe, however, Ellie had Part 2, which was a spicy dipping sauce, and that sent the guys raving about the chicken with that on it.  Myself?  Well, I liked it, and it did have a nice little kick to it, and I would make and eat it again, but I'm just saying that I was a happy camper even before the dipping sauce. 

   The dipping sauce is bold, a little spicy, and overpowers the delicate flavor the marinade gave to the chicken, so I could be happy with A) the chicken in the marinade and then grilled and eaten; or B) the chicken with no marinade and then grilled and eaten with the dipping sauce.  In my mind, the sauce cancelled out the effect of the marinade by overpowering it.  Just my thought anyway. 

   The beauty of this is that you could skip one of the parts and be perfectly happy with the outcome.  The guys, of course, would vote for having the spicy dipping sauce every time.  There will be a repeat.  It was that good. 

   Next week:  Waldorf Chicken Wraps, recipe found on the web here. 

Whisk Wednesdays: Coquelets sur Canapés (Roast Squab Chickens with Chicken Liver Canapés and Mushrooms) and Pommes Pont Neuf (Pont Neuf Potatoes)

   The recipes scheduled for this week at Whisk Wednesdays are from Class 28, Menu 5:  Coquelets sur Canapés (Roast Squab Chickens with Chicken Liver Canapés and Mushrooms), and can be found on page 246 in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I by Julia Child and Pommes Pont Neuf (Pont Neuf Potatoes) which can be found on page 253 of the cookbook Le Cordon Bleu at Home should you wish to try these tasty recipes.  

  The type of fowl this week was actually whatever type you preferred (or could find in my case), as in the book it listed several choices, so I chose the Rock Cornish Game Hens as they were readily available and always a hit around here. 

  I made them according to the recipe, with the exception of the chicken livers, as no one here is going to eat chicken livers, served on a fancy little crust of bread tucked under the game hen or not.  Nix on the chicken livers. 

  The rest of the preparation and sauce was delicious.  The meat was cooked perfectly with a lovely flavor from the tarragon, and a nice moistness from the bacon.  The sauce was simple, delightful, and light, made with stock, wine, shallots, and a wee bit of butter.   

   I did cook the mushrooms as directed and those were likewise a hit.  (Please note that somewhere between the beginning of summer and now, the boys have learned to love mushrooms.  Alex inhaled all of his and more than half of mine!) 

   The Pommes Pont Neuf I had made previously as an extra at Whisk, early in my membership, so click here if you would like to see/read about those as I did not make them again this week due to time constraints.   

  Next week is Biscuit de Savoie (Sponge Cake) in the Le Cordon Bleu at Home cookbook on pages 33-34.   

   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, and as always, Shari has the ingredients posted on her site at the click.

Nearly Caught Up!

  I'm back with four, yes, count them, four new posts, all written within about 30 minutes, so be kind in your assessment.  Working all day tomorrow, so look for the Whisk Wednesday's post later in the evening.  That's the current plan.  I hope you all had a good time while I was away!

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.

Cooking Italy: Arrosticini Abruzzesi (Skewered Marinated Lamb Tidbits); Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter; and Potato Gnocchi

   In the Cooking Italy class with Angela, we are cooking from the book Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan.  I made three items from this month's menu:  Arrosticini Abruzzesi (Skewered Marinated Lamb Tidbits), found on page 83; Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter, found on page 152; and Potato Gnocchi, found on page 160-162.  All really great recipes.  Really Great. 

   Instead of making the marinated lamb tidbits small and appetizer size, we made them larger to use as the main protein for the meal.  These marinate for a few hours in garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary (they recommended marjoram but we don't have that growing in my herb garden, and rosemary goes so well with lamb, that I decided to use that...maybe I will plant marjoram next year and give that a try) and then are skewered and grilled for 3 minutes one side, turn, and 2 on the other, really quick for a weeknight.  Perfect in the timing, the seasoning, the preparation, everything. 

   The Tomato Sauce was excellent, very easy and quick to put together, the remainder of the time being a slow simmer for the better part of an hour.  OMW Good.  Simple fresh ingredients, incredible flavor.  We served the tomato sauce over the homemade Potato Gnocchi. 

   My first time to make Gnocchi.  I have eaten it once before, but by and large, I am not a lover of dumpling type things.  These however, are surprisingly light little bits with that sauce clinging to them, and even with a first effort, they were very nice, and a big hit with the guys. 

   Mark finished with a "fabulous meal, all the flavors were really great," echoed by Matt and myself, Alex not being present for dinner that evening to cast a vote.  Three for three is pretty good. 

   I almost skipped this lamb recipe, so I am happy that I found time to make it as it truly is one of our favorites.  

   If you would like to see Angela's lovely rendition (she has such a way with food styling) and the recipe, you can go to Spinach Tiger where you will also find a connect to the Cooking Italy group, the schedule, and the upcoming menu recipes.  Next week's recipe is Sgroppino--Venetian Lemon and Strawberry "Slush" with Sparkling Wine and can be found on page 613-615.  

BBA Challenge: Cinnamon Buns

   The eighth Bread Baker's Apprentice challenge (from the book by the same name authored by Peter Reinhart) was Cinnamon Buns, and is found on pages 143-146.  

   These are Cinnamon Buns, not really the Cinnamon Rolls as I grew up knowing them from my Granny Franny's kitchen in Keota, my most favorite of all Cinnamon Rolls ever ever ever.  

   That said, these Cinnamon Buns were very nicely flavored, having more of a bread texture, less of a sweet bread texture than what I would call a Cinnamon Roll, which seems more bread-cake-like to me.  The recipe was easy, the dough was a joy to work with, the whole process didn't take all that long, most of the time involved is letting the dough rise at various times. 

   Definitely delicious, definitely a repeat, definitely a hit with the guys around here who know a thing or two about Cinnamon Rolls/Buns. 

   Nancy, Cathy, Audrey, Jessica, Melissa, Sarah, Di, Leslie, Margaret and I are baking and posting every other week to better fit into our schedules.  If you would like to see their Cinnamon Buns (or Sticky Buns), click on their names and visit their sites in the next few days, or you can visit the main group and marvel how they are so far ahead of us.  We'll get there...Slow and Steady. 

    Our next challenge:  Cinnamon Raisin Walnut Bread, found on pages 147-149.  It will be posted here in two weeks.

Nancy's Notions: Corn and Vegetable Gratin with Cumin

   A couple of weeks ago Nancy found a recipe from the NY Times that she was excited about making, now that zucchini and corn season was upon us, called Corn and Vegetable Gratin with Cumin. She forwarded the recipe to me and after a quick read, I figured this would be a popular side dish around here, too. 

  Inside you will find thinly sliced zucchini, fresh corn cut from the cob, red pepper in large dice, onion, garlic, gruyere cheese, and some milk, eggs, salt, pepper, cumin, and olive oil to hold it all loosely together. 

  It was a great dish, we all enjoyed it and I will make it again when the vegetables are in season as the freshness of the corn, zucchini, and red pepper absolutely makes this dish.  A wonderful find.  Thanks, Nancy! 

Far, Near, Far, Near

 Will return Tuesday, hopefully catch the blog alongs up at some point, but possibly just call it a near miss and be behind on some...such is life.  Enjoy the weekend, I know I will! 

CEiMB: Thai Beef Salad

  The recipe chosen this week for CEiMB, using Ellie Krieger's cookbook, The Food You Crave:  Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life, was selected by Jen B's Cooking Carveout and is Grilled Thai Beef Salad on page 107. 

  I have eaten very little Thai food in my life and was excited to see this recipe so that I would have a chance to actually make something with Thai flavoring.  Oh my, this does not disappoint as the flavors in the marinade/salad dressing were absolutely delicious. 

  It all went together quickly and easily, the only real time consuming part being the recommended marinating time. Thai Beef Salad will be a happening dish around here from now on. 

  I do need to get better at grilling, i.e. not get distracted and lose track of the time, or try to do this in a rainstorm again.  My steak got a little bit too done (not that nice juicy red center I like best), but in the end that did not matter at all as the flavors from the marinade and dressing made it all taste delicious, despite the semi-neglectful grilling.  (Mark is the grill master around here...now you know why!  Hopefully, next time he will be available.)

     Next week:  Chicken Sate with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce, on page 54-55, hosted by Cathy at The Tortefeasor.

Whisk Wednesdays: Gaspacho (Gazpacho)

  The recipe scheduled for this week at Whisk Wednesdays is from Class 28, Menu 5:  Gaspacho (Gazpacho), and can be found on page 96 of the Le Cordon Bleu Complete Home Collection cookbook should you wish to try this tasty recipe.  

  Summer is a great time for Gazpacho as the tomatoes are so ripe and delicious, the cucumbers are nicely flavored, etc.  It's just lovely to have a cool soup for summer full of nice fresh vegetable flavors.  Nothing could be easier...sort of like salad in a blender, tossing in all the ingredients, giving it a whirl, seasoning it (I like a lot of pepper), chilling it (or not), and the soup is ready for eating. 

  I prefer Gazpacho without a lot of extra fat in it, so I like to go light on the olive oil, and don't drizzle any on the top to finish.  It's great without any oil at all in my mind.  I could make this and eat it once a week in the summer, it's that good.  

  Next week is Coquelets sur Canapés (Roast Squab Chickens with Chicken Liver Canapés and Mushrooms) page 246 in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I  by Julia Child and Pommes Pont Neuf (Pont Neuf Potatoes) page 253.  {Substitute straw potatoes for pont neuf, if desired.}   

  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, and as always, Shari has the ingredients posted on her site at the click.

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.

Cooking Italy

   I had a nice week's vacation of doing just whatever I pretty much wanted to do, and One Sentence Blogging Week was a big help with that, so thanks to Nancy for dreaming that one up. 

  Now that I am back, I am sorry to say that the Cooking Italy recipe for the week did not get made today as we had alternate dining plans, but I will make it this week and post it and the final dish of the menu next Monday.  Thanks for your patience...you are being patient, right?

Nancy's Notions: Garden Tomato Bread (One Sentence Blogging Week)

   There is a sort of loose group of fellow food bloggers who hang around together throughout the week via the Internet/Twitter chatting about what is going on, or isn't going on, in our kitchens (my Twittering is limited to my fellow baking/cooking/churning pals actually) as we bake/cook in the same blog alongs and generally all have the same interests in, get enjoyment from, feeding our families well, please note, that of this group, Nancy is the one who generally is the central pivot point for us all, thinking of things to make, offering lots of much appreciated advice and fun, and generally coming up with inspired ideas (One Sentence Blogging Week being currently in action) such as this Garden Tomato Bread pictured above (you can find the recipe on Nancy's bread blog: The Corner Loaf) which, if you would like to make this in your own kitchen, is delightful eaten out of hand, with herbs & dipping oil, and my favorite: as a grilled a cheese sandwich, maybe only to be bested today yet by a BLT with it, so on Saturdays (or Sundays) you will find a little blog here entitled "Nancy's Notions" as generally Nancy is up to something in that kitchen of hers that the rest of us are more than happy to bake/cook/churn along with each week.

MSC: Chocolate Salted Caramel Cupcakes (One Sentence Blogging Week)

  It's another adventure...this time Betty of Eat My Cupcake decided she would bake her way through the Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book, wanted some company, so she put out a little feeler and I figured cupcakes would be a good thing to learn how to do well as there are ample opportunities for donating cupcakes for activities when you have kids at home, and she was only hosting/posting once a month, so without further adieu, I give you little cupcake minis entitled Chocolate Salted Caramel Cupcakes (found on pages 148-149 of the book), chocolate on the outside, chocolate to top it off, and homemade caramel in the middle (yes, I did make the caramel which I tasted and found delicious), all of which Mark thought was very pleasing and delicious, noting that the final verdict will reach us late this evening when Matt returns home to a dessert plate full of these cute little minis, guaranteed they will be a big hit.

MTAoFC: French Onion Soup (One Sentence Blogging Week)

   Helene at La Cuisine Helene put forth her desire to cook a bit in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. I and Vol. II, and invited those so inclined to cook along with her each week, posting on Fridays, so this week I picked Soupe a l'Oignon Gratinee (French Onion Soup on pages 44-45 in Vol. l as French Onion Soup is a particular favorite of mine) and in the book are several variations of the recipe with choices of broth, etc. so this time I chose the vegetable broth, made the croutons with homemade baguette slices, and melted grated Swiss on the top by passing it under the broiler for a few minutes...recipe is in the book so you can make it and find out for yourself just how wonderfully delicious this version is, making me one very happy participant who is looking forward to trying ALL the versions!

CEiMB: Stuffed Turkey Burgers (One Sentence Blogging Week)

   This week's cooking for the CEiMB blog along, which uses recipes from Ellie Krieger's cookbook, The Food You Crave:  Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life was chosen by Peggy from Pantry Revisited and is Stuffed Turkey Burgers on page 218 if you would like to make these moist and delicious burgers at your house, and yes, you do, as they are very good with 97% lean ground turkey, surrounding a delightful surprise in the middle of diced roasted red pepper and shredded mozzarella, grilled 7 minutes on one side and 7 on the other, nestled in a whole wheat bun, and needing only perhaps a little mayonnaise and pickle (according to Mark) to top it all off for a most tasty and delicious dinner, and if that isn't enough, then join us next week for the Grilled Thai Beef Salad, on page 107.

Near to Starving (One Sentence Blogging Week)

   A long day of swimming, a van full of happy and hungry swimmers, a stop at O Garden to replenish carbs to lift the spirits, and the photos the kids are sending back home are a welcome sight for all of us:  Margaret, Lacey, Lucy, Shannon, Tyler, Stevie, Logan, Mike, and Nik.

Whisk Wednesdays: Profiteroles au Chocolat (Profiteroles with Vanilla Ice Cream and Hot Chocolate Sauce) (One Sentence Blogging Week)

The recipe scheduled to be prepared for this week's assignment for Whisk Wednesdays is from Class 27, Menu 4:  Profiteroles au Chocolat (Profiteroles with Vanilla Ice Cream and Hot Chocolate Sauce), and can be found on pages 304-305 of the Le Cordon Bleu at Home cookbook should you wish to make these yourself by creating the pastry, churning fresh homemade vanilla ice cream, and making your own chocolate sauce, all of which sounds much more difficult than it actually is as I found it all easy and manageable (okay, I need a little more practice at drizzling chocolate sauce but my main goal is just to get that stuff on there and get out, so don't hold your breath) for such a terrific dessert, excellent for company because you can prepare everything in advance and assemble the evening of the dinner, so buy the book, make the recipe, and 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, and as always, Shari has the ingredients posted on her site at the click.

Near the Top (One Sentence Blogging Week)

  Matt is out at Junior Nationals this week where the team all got to visit the Space Needle in Seattle on Sunday, which Matt thought was a great deal, of course, so I thought I'd include a photo of that as I haven't managed to get Lauren J. to send any really good photos back yet, making my selection a bit sparse...the girls being much better with the photos than the guys:  from all accounts, they are having a nice time so far.

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!

Nearly Time To Go (One Sentence Blogging Week)

   Early Saturday morning last once again found me on an airport run for Matt, with Mike also in tow this time, to meet up with their CSC swim teammates so they could head off to Junior Nationals near Seattle, Washington, for 8 days of swimming competition and fun: reading from left to right would be Matt, Mike, Nik, Rhiannon, Jessie, and Lauren, a few of the swimmers heading west, all with happy smiles and excited voices, even after a 5:30 a.m. practice and arrival at the airport around 7:30 a.m.

Cooking Italy: Minestrone alla Romagnola (Vegetable Soup Romagna Style) (One Sentence Blogging Week)

   Last week, or maybe the one before, the Cooking Italy in-house emails revealed that everyone was thinking about Minestrone, we'll actually blame David as he is from Australia and it is currently winter there, so Angela added a bonus recipe this month for just such an occasion:  Minestrone alla Romagnola, found on page 85 in Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking book, for us all to make and/or post if we so desired, which I did, finding it absolutely, hands down, the best Minestrone I have ever eaten!

Cooking Italy: Fried Zucchini Sauce with Garlic and Basil over Fettuccine (One Sentence Blogging Week)

   Would never have thought to put this combination of fried zucchini, basil, and garlic together over fettuccine as we didn't think we would like it (it's fried and it's zucchini), but my-oh-my is this a tasty and delicious recipe:  buy Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Italian Cooking book, make the recipe (it's on page 167), prepare to be amazed, enjoy; because it's that good!  

Near 'Nough Said (One Sentence Blogging Week)

   Some blogging friends of mine and I are participating in "One Sentence Blogging Week," so for the entire week, the main part of our posts on the cooking/baking blog alongs will be one sentence (hopefully, in my case, one non-Proustian type sentence)..."participating" might be a loose term, however, as actually, we (we'll give Nancy credit here) made this week up ourselves and invite anyone who wishes to join us to do so, because it is August and we are all needing a little extra time in our days trying to get kids ready for the beginning of school, trying to get ready for vacation, wanting to be on vacation, or actually are on vacation, so welcome to our One Sentence Blogging Week entries!

BBA: Ciabatta

   The seventh Bread Baker's Apprentice challenge (from the book by the same name authored by Peter Reinhart) was Ciabatta, and is found on pages 135-142. 

   The word ciabatta in Italian means "slipper" or "shoe."  The author relates how this style of bread appeared mid-20th Century in the Lake Como area in northern Italy, and how the originator of the bread described his bread as resembling the ballet slippers worn by the dancers in that area, naming it Ciabatta di Como (slipper bread of Como). 

   I have seen those ballet slippers and when they are just lying about, they resemble this bread, sort of deflated and flat and misshapen.  I was so excited when my bread came out looking like the neglected slippers! 

   The look of the outside of my bread was very pleasing to me.  The inside, not so much...ciabatta has large holes in it inside.  As you can see, mine has small holes in it, so the next time I try this recipe, I am going to add more water and work the dough less in the kneading stage. 

   The flavor, was wonderful...the first loaf was completely consumed in one sitting by the guys with little dipping bowls of extra virgin olive oil mixed with seasonings and herbs.  They loved it.  I thought it was very good and hope that next time I can achieve the larger holes. 

  

Nancy, Cathy, Audrey, Jessica, Melissa, Sarah, Di, Leslie, and I are baking and posting every other week to better fit into our schedules.  If you would like to see their Ciabatta, click on their names and visit their sites in the next few days, or you can visit the main group and marvel how they are all already onto English Muffins.  We'll get there...Slow and Steady. 

  Our next challenge:  Cinnamon Buns and Sticky Buns, found on pages 143-146.  Cinnamon Buns and Sticky Buns will be posted here in two weeks.

CEIMB: Carrot Cake Cupcakes and Lemony Cream Cheese Frosting

  It's my first week cooking for CEIMB blog along, which uses recipes from Ellie Krieger's cookbook, The Food You Crave:  Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Lifestyle. 

  This week's recipe was chosen by Leanne from Enjoying My Favorite Things and is Carrot Cake Cupcakes and Lemony Cream Cheese Frosting, on pages 284-285. 

  I've actually made a few of Ellie's recipes before, downloading them from FN.  What impressed me the most is that she uses almost all fresh ingredients and doesn't sub in things that are not "real food," instead making things healthier (less fat and fewer calories) by little methods she has learned as a dietitian.  Things like using one whole egg and one egg white for a recipe that calls for two whole eggs, using applesauce for part of the oil to keep moisture in baked goods, choosing lower fat cheeses and using the higher fat cheeses in smaller quantities when they can really make a statement, etc. 

  This recipe makes really wonderful looking/ wonderful tasting carrot cupcakes.  Not too sweet, which sometimes carrot cake can be, moist, tender, and definitely worth making again.  The guys loved them, too. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  The only thing I would change is that this recipe had no raisins and we love raisins in carrot cake, so the next time I make them, I will poke three little raisins down into the batter in those little cupcakes before they go into the oven.  I don't think three little raisins will make much of a difference in the calorie count (which is, btw, for one cupcake with the delicious lemony cream cheese frosting, 230 calories), and it will make us extremely happy to happen upon those little bits of raisin in our carrot cupcakes.  Otherwise, I would not change a thing about this recipe.  

  We ate them for breakfast like we do on busy days with muffins: grab one and go.  We also ate them for dessert in a more civilized manner.  They were absolutely delicious.

  Next week's recipe is Stuffed Turkey Burgers, on page 218, and was chosen by Pantry Revisited.

Whisk Wednesdays: On Vacation

   As some of you know, Shari from Whisk Blog, the creator of Whisk Wednesdays, has achieved a bit of fame here recently with a fabulous post she did on her blog honoring Julia Child and her book Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  What Shari did was to showcase photos of as many of Julia's recipes that she could find from food blogs (not professional photographs, but photos of the recipes food bloggers had made and posted).  She has listed, by chapter, all the recipes for the photos, so if you are making one of the recipes, you can go to Shari's blog to see a photo of it.  This is absolutely wonderful as there are no photos in Julia's book of any of the recipes.  It took Shari and a couple of volunteer workers nine days to put this together.  Click here to see the results.

  Word got out and Shari has been on television numerous times demonstrating her cooking skills, blogging skills, and talking about Julia's recipes.  This week she is being treated to a premiere of the movie, Julie & Julia, and if you check the movie's official site, Shari's blog is mentioned. 

   So this week at Whisk, we are all on vacation while Shari gets the star treatment!  Congratulations, Shari, we can all say, "We knew you when...."

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!

Cooking Italy: Poached Shrimp with Olive Oil and Lemon

  In the Cooking Italy class with Angela, we are cooking from the book Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan.  

  This week's recipe was Poached Shrimp with Olive Oil and Lemon Juice and can be found on page 65.  

  This was an easy recipe with lots of flavor.  Boil shrimp until they float (only a couple of minutes) in a pan of water that has been boiling for 10 minutes with a carrot, a stalk of celery, wine vinegar, and salt. 

  Drain the shrimp, peel when still warm, devein, and allow to marinate for an hour in a mixture of extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice, and freshly cracked black pepper.  Obviously, the better the ingredients you use in all of this, the tastier the results. 

  The recipe suggests serving it with bread to dip into the marinade, so we did that as I had made ciabatta yesterday and despite my first efforts at ciabatta, I managed to get a few characteristic holes in the bread (more on that Sunday in the BBA post for breads). 

  Some steamed broccoli, a little linguine alfredo, and everyone was delighted with supper this evening.   I added a little more pepper to mine as the guys are not big pepper fans. 

  This would be a nice appetizer served with crusty bread.   

  If you would like to see Angela's lovely rendition (she has such a way with food styling) and the recipe, you can go to

Spinach Tiger where you will also find a connect to the Cooking Italy group, the schedule, and the upcoming menu recipes. 

  Next week's recipe is Fried Zucchini Sauce with Garlic & Basil and can be found on page 167, and Homemade Fettuccine, p. 134 (or store bought). 

Nearly There

  Just a couple of photos from the beginning of the weekend at Senior State Finals.   Shows Matt exiting my car after a lunch at Lennie's and heading into the pool for his first swim. 

  He swam three swims, not getting  better times than his existing ones in any of the three, so while he was, of course, disappointed, every swimmer reaches a plateau, stays there for a bit and then surges forward with new best times again.  We've been doing this for ten years, so we know the experience well. 

  He was so nearly there on the 50 Free, but just could not take off those final ticks...that said, he dropped time in that swim 2-3 times this past month and that is probably all that was there for a swim of such a short distance.  He had reached a plateau on that last year and it took all year to get a drop, then it was followed by two more, so for that we are thankful.  

  Friday was Matt's 17th birthday, so he picked one of our favorite restaurants in Bloomington for his birthday dinner, the Limestone Grille.  If you haven't been, go...we always have wonderfully prepared food there, never a miss in anything. 

  He had a great time, wearing a new birthday shirt (Taylor had gotten him a black version of this shirt, which he loves, and it does look really good on him, fits very well, etc., and since it is difficult to fit Matt with those large swimming shoulders, I decided he could use another, so he picked out blue, always a good color for him:  I think I will have Taylor do the shopping from now on, she is much better at it than am I). 

  After his last swim on Saturday, he headed down to St. Meinrad for a religious retreat with the Knights of the Holy Templar, a group of high school aged young men who serve their church and community.  Matt was elected President of the Indiana group this year, so he was hoping to get to attend at least part of the retreat after swimming, missing Friday and Saturday morning, but still getting there in time for the rest of Saturday and Sunday.   He always manages to pack a lot into a little amount of time.  I cannot even believe he is 17 already...where did that time go?

   Just time enough to get his laundry done up and his suitcases repacked before he is off again in five days for a week of swimming at Junior Nationals in Washington State.  I cannot even believe the summer is almost over...it barely seems like it just got started, but we are nearly there:  time for school to start again on the 13th...he will miss the first two days being out at the swim meet, so guess he is figuring he can drag summer on just a little longer. 

 

Whisk Wednesdays: Mignons de Porc Arlonaise (Pork Tenderloins with Beer)

      The recipe scheduled to be prepared for this week's assignment for Whisk Wednesdays is from Class 27, Menu 4:  Mignons de Porc Arlonaise (Pork Tenderloins with Beer), and can be found on pages 367-368. 

      I almost sat this one out.  Am so glad I did not.  I thought it sounded a little stew-like and the guys are not that fond of stew in the summer.  As I read through the recipe, however, I discovered, the meat is cooked separately, the vegetables are cooked separately, the sauce is made separately, and then, in grand French style, it is all brought together for only five minutes at the end.  Oh, this is so delicious!  Buy the book, make the recipe, you won't be disappointed. 

      The potatoes are turned barrel-style (am getting a little better at that the more we do them) and boiled until just barely tender, sitting in their cooking water to keep them warm until time to plate.  I thought they might get mushy doing it this way, but they did not, and the extra time in the heat cooked them to perfection. The pork tenderloin is browned and then placed in the oven at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. 

      The carrots, leeks, mushrooms, turnip, and celery are all julienned and sauteed in a little pat of butter until tender after the pork has cooked the 15 minutes and is resting. 

      When the vegetables are tender, the pork is added back into the pan and the sauce is poured over it, allowing vegetables and pork to cook 5 minutes in the sauce. 

      The meat rests for another 5-10 minutes before slicing, and everything gets plated nicely with the sauce drizzled over the top. 

      The sauce was a combination of a little sugar, a little white wine vinegar, some dark beer, and some veal stock, all reduced to about half before use in the pan.  The beer gives it a nice depth and you can definitely taste that it is a dark beer, very rich and nice with the pork. 

      The complete dish was wonderful and I will make this again as it was easy, very tasty, and Mark really likes pork tenderloin.  This might be the Christmas Eve dish this year, yep, it just might.  Some homemade rolls, a salad, and a dessert and I'm set.   

 

      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.

Class 27: Menu #4

• Velouté Du Barry (Cream of Cauliflower Soup) pages 419-420
• Mignons de Porc Arlonaise (Pork Tenderloins with Beer) pages 367-368

• Profiteroles au Chocolat (Profiteroles with Vanilla Ice Cream and Hot Chocolate Sauce) pages 304-305