Grandma's Kitchen Table

Tuesdays with Dorie: Espresso Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Thanks to Donna of Life's Too Short Not to Eat Dessert First for her Tuesdays with Dorie pick of Espresso Chocolate Shortbread Cookies, found on page 125 of Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours cookbook.  You can also find the recipe on Donna's site here.  Thanks Donna, my husband and son enjoyed having a treat with both chocolate and coffee in it.

The ingredient list for these cookies included espresso, water, butter, confectioner's sugar, vanilla, flour, and chocolate.  It got all mixed together, plopped into a Ziploc bag, rolled to make a flat rectangle 9x10.5, parked in the frig for a bit, and cut into squares before baking.  Easy, fairly fast, and apparently a repeat by request. 

Next week:  Jasmine from Jasmine Cuisine has chosen Peanut Butter Crisscrosses, found on page 78. TWD blogroll found here.

My Kitchen, My World: Canada

This month's My Kitchen, My World selection for world cuisine was Canada.  When the country was first assigned, I immediately thought of my blogging friend, Jerry from Jerry's Thoughts, Musings, and Rants as he is Canadian and has wonderful food posts on his blog.  Actually, his blog is wonderful for lots of reasons: he writes often, he travels constantly and blogs about his trips including fabulous photos, he reviews books, movies, plays, restaurants, and it is always worth a drop by to see what's up over there.  Check it out, you won't be disappointed. 

When I emailed him to ask for some suggestions, Jerry sent me an email with five different Canadian recipes...I was hoping to get to more than one, but what can I say, it's summer and too often I choose the pool over the kitchen.  I will keep them handy, however, and try them in the future as they all looked interesting, fun, and delicious. 

The one I chose to make was a meat pie, called Tourtiere, as I knew the guys would probably love it...meat in a pastry like a pie, of course they are going to love it.  They did.
The recipe calls for making it in an 8" springform pan, so it makes a huge amount as I don't have a small springform pan to try to halve it or anything.  Fortunately, I know a family who has four boy swimmers, three of them teenagers, so I figured we would eat what we could and maybe they could help out with the rest.  (Thank you, Sue.) 

The meat filling had an interesting taste, some of the spicing was different than what I am used to, but it was pleasant.  The pastry dough was absolutely delightful.  It had lemon juice in it (yes, it was in the recipe, I didn't just add it in) and it gave it such a wonderful taste.  I will use that savory pastry dough recipe again for certain.  I used a little Maple Leaf cookie cutter for the center cutout, but it doesn't quite look like I imagined...I tried...a little salute to Canada.  Thanks for the recipe, Jerry, it was hit!

If you would like the recipe, and to read Jerry's description of the dish, including the note that Canadians like to serve this on Christmas Eve, check it out here.

BBA: Poolish Baguettes

The twenty-sixth Bread Baker's Apprentice challenge (from the book by the same name authored by Peter Reinhart) is Poolish Baguettes, and is found on pages 213-214. 

This is a two-day dough: a small amount of time on the first day to make the poolish and then it sits in the refrigerator overnight until the next day when you do the shaping and baking.  Di, Margaret, and I were making this together on Twitter this weekend, Friday and Saturday, but someone (that would be ME) forgot to make the poolish on Friday, so it ended up being a Saturday and Sunday deal instead as they were kind enough to wait on me even though Di's poolish was threatening to overtake her refrigerator...we all agreed, this was one really nice dough to work with. 

Whole Wheat Flour, Bread or AP Flour (I used AP), salt, yeast, and water are all you need.  Mixing is easy, the shaping is something I need to work on, but I'm a rookie so I just call all my breads "rustic" and leave it at that.  No one here seems to mind.

The recipe makes 3 small baguettes, but I wanted to use my bannetons, so I made one long thin baguette and then one shorter, more oval in shape baguette because that size works better for sandwiches for the guys, which is how they will use it this week.
Although the recipe is simple and straight-forward, I did note in my book that there is a lot of sitting around time, i.e. 4 hours on counter with the poolish the first day, and then the next day the bread dough has two 2 hour rises and then another hour rise after it is formed.  That's a whole lot of rising times to factor into your schedule if you are out and needing to be back at certain intervals.  Was it worth it?  Absolutely...this is one of my favorite breads for taste alone so far.  Definitely a repeat, Mark was especially thrilled with it.

Nancy, Di, Leslie, Margaret and I are baking on a slower schedule.  If you would like to see their Poolish Baguettes, click on their names and visit their sites, 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:  Portuguese Sweet Bread, found on pages 215-218.

CEiMB: Mixed Berry Cobbler

The recipe chosen this week for CEiMB, using Ellie Krieger's book, So Easy, was selected by Pamela at Cooking with Boys and is Mixed Berry Cobbler.  It can be found on page 239.  It can also be found here. Thanks, Pam, this was a definite winner here. 

The ingredient list for this is short for the filling:  bag of frozen mixed berries, whole wheat flour, sugar, and fresh grated orange zest.  It just gets stirred together and plopped into the baking dish.  Ingredient list for the topping:  whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, unsalted butter, low-fat buttermilk and canola oil, which gets mixed and spooned onto the top of the berries before baking in the oven.
It was all very easy and very tasty, something I will make again.  It is also something that is particularly nice to have for the winter months when fresh berries are not that great in the markets.

Next week's hostess is Jessica of Johnstone's Vin Blanc.  She has selected the Fettuccine with Crab & Asparagus recipe on page 164 of So Easy.  You can find the CEiMB blogroll here.

Friday's Favorites Fare

READING:   Roosevelt:  The Lion and the Fox by James MacGregor Burns  (a political biography of FDR)

LISTENING TO:  Wagner's Lohengrin

COOKING BYTES:  I'm in despair of ever catching up with some of my cooking/baking blog-alongs and am figuring that I just need to calm down about it and pick and choose what I can, trying to overcome the compulsive in me that says I need to do it all.  Picking and choosing from here on out.  Yep, that's what I am thinking to do. 

FAV NEW FIND:  Loving being back up at Guerin subbing as I missed everyone over the summer, was so great to see them all.     

FAV THING THIS WEEK:  Mark came home this week with a dozen roses in shades of pink and white for me for absolutely no reason at all.  Oh, so sweet, oh such beautiful flowers...always my favorite things.
GOING TO:  Swim as much as possible, I can see the summer winding down, not tomorrow or anything, but soon enough; schools are all back in session so that means football games and choir rehearsals and swim practice and life as we know it involved in all of that coming up; and weekends spent enjoying the last bits of summer things before fall starts advancing upon us.    

PRAYING FOR:  In your charity, please pray for the repose of the soul of Mark's aunt, Jane Gerth, who passed away after surgery this week.

  

CEiMB: Salmon Cakes with Ginger-Sesame Sauce; Shrimp Fra Diavolo with Spinach (or not); and Sloppy Joes

The recipe chosen this week for CEiMB, using Ellie Krieger's book, The Food You Crave, was selected by Sarah at Sarah's Kitchen Adventures and is Salmon Cakes with Ginger-Sesame Sauce.  It can be found on page 226.  The recipe can also be found here.  Thanks, Sarah, as I might not have tried this one, so it was fun to find out that we actually enjoyed it very much. 

The ingredient list for this is short:  canned salmon (yes, I cannot believe I used canned salmon, but it was good fixed this way...all the same, next time I will make it with fresh salmon, yes, indeed, as I can imagine just how much better that would be), eggs, bread crumbs, scallions, parsley, pepper, olive oil (left out the cilantro and the water chestnuts as we are not fans of either). 

Ingredient list for the sauce was is even shorter:  Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, fresh ginger, toasted sesame oil, and soy sauce. 

Combine the ingredients, make the salmon cakes, fry in a tiny bit of oil (1-1/2 teaspoons) for five minutes per side and then dress with the sauce which you already made and have sitting in wait. This sauce compliments the salmon cakes so nicely.  Delicious! This is one easy recipe! 

Now, I need to catch up a bit, so bear with me as I post the recipes from the last two weeks. 
On August 5th, Jennifer of The Rookie Baker hosted the group with the recipe for Shrimp Fra Diavolo with Spinach, found on page 162 of So Easy.  Wow, was this spicy, Jennifer!  Mark loved it, but Matt and I were both a little hesitant with declaring it a definite repeat...maybe a definite repeat with the heat turned down a bit. 

You might notice I did not include the spinach...absolutely just forgot to add it in at the end, sometimes things like this happen around here with distractions and whatnot.  The whole wheat spaghetti was great with this, gave it an extra nutty flavor. 

The ingredient list:  olive oil, red onion, garlic, tomatoes, white wine, tomato paste, oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, black pepper, shrimp, and spinach leaves.  The whole process is fast and easy, perfect for a week night when fast and easy is preferable.
On August 12th, Chaya of Chaya's Comfy Cook Blog hosted the group with the recipe for Sloppy Joes on page 91 of The Food You Crave.  This one was a big hit around here, the guys like Sloppy Joes and this in general was a nice/healthier version of the old standby. 

Ingredient list was long, but mostly common ingredients everyone has on hand:  lean meat, onion, garlic, jalapeno pepper, red bell pepper, pinto beans, tomato sauce, tomato paste, red wine vinegar, molasses, Worchestershire sauce, dry mustard, salt, pepper, and hamburger buns to serve it all on. 

I think this could be a regular repeat as long as Matt is around as he is the Sloppy Joe King and I could easily make them once a week for him, as it is, I try to make them at least once a month.  This version is a tasty one for sure.

Next week's hostess is Pam of Cooking with Boys.  She has selected the Mixed Berry Cobbler recipe on page 239 of So Easy.  You can find the CEiMB blogroll here.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Oatmeal Breakfast Bread

Thanks to Natalie of Oven Love for her Tuesdays with Dorie pick of Oatmeal Breakfast Bread, found on page 44 of Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours cookbook.  Natalie has the recipe posted on her site here.  Thanks, Natalie for a great pick, we loved the bread, especially toasted for breakfast. 

The ingredient list for this bread contained eggs. applesauce, oil, buttermilk, flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, soda, salt, nutmeg, cloves, diced fried figs, and oats...one very dense loaf of bread, full of flavor.  The best part was the crunchy topping, made of brown sugar, pecans, and cinnamon.
The recipe could not have been easier, it baked for the time indicated, and it didn't last long around here.  Definitely a repeat.

Next week:  Rachel from Sweet Tarte has chosen Crunchy and Custardy Peach Tart, found on page 346-347. TWD blogroll found here.

A Week in Irvine - Junior National Swimming

They are back from Junior Nationals out in Irvine, California, some new best times, some records, and some disappointments, about par for any meet we have ever entered.  Matt's 100 Freestyle netted him a new best time, a new CSC club record, and a 19th place nationally.  Not bad considering he was seeded 58th out of 146 swimmers going in.  His 50 Freestyle netted a new best time and a 31st place finish. He went in seeded 63rd out of 118 swimmers.  There are no slow swimmers at this meet, every single swimmer is a champion somewhere, you don't get to this meet without being a champion, fast times! 

Let's see now, the 200 Freestyle I am not allowed to discuss, and the 100 Backstroke was a bit of a bust as he got the big DQ for being completely submerged at the finish...something about the sun and the breeze flipping the flags so he couldn't really see them going in and misjudged the number of strokes to the finish...probably best to forget about that swim as well. 

He did well in the relays and the club did great on the whole.  If not exactly what they all hoped, the best that could be had with illnesses and whatnot.  The important part was that they had a great time and they acted like a unified team.  We are all so proud of each and every one of the 16 swimmers from our club who got the chance to swim at Junior Nationals by qualifying by their stellar swimming skills.  It was on web live stream so we could watch it all, so much fun! 

Of course, it wasn't ALL about the swimming...well, actually it was, but there were some side trips in between the sessions.

San Juan Capistrano (above)...and some swimmers (below).
And the real swimmers, some at breakfast:  Lucy, Kiernan, Matt, and Alexis.

Swimmers packed and ready for the day: Colleen, Margaret, Lacey, and Lauren S. 

And, below, when the swimmers don't have an event, it is a great time to put on some real swim suits and get a tan while cheering on your teammates:  In front: Sam; Middle Row: Lauren S., Matt, Kiernan, Alexis; Back Row:  Rhiannon, Lacey, Lucy, Trish, and Margaret.

Of course, any city with a major baseball team is fair game for a side trip there...Go Angels, they won this night.  

The pool was fantastic, both for swimming and for watching!  What an opportunity for our swimmers to compete here.


Lane 4...Matt almost set and ready to swim.  The pressure was on!
Lunch by the ocean...you can't do this in Indiana!!
Beach bums...at every available opportunity Mark and Matt headed for the beach and walked for miles, because, after all, we don't have this kind of opportunity near enough.  

And, to all the swimmers who did not get a photo on here, you need to remember to tell Mr. Gerth to take photos as he was distracted by historical sites, beaches, ballgames, restaurants, and sometimes by the swimming...he'll do better next time!

Vacation

On vacation, hope you are all having lots of fun baking and cooking without me!

Airport Photos Before Junior Nationals

Usually we get a group photo but Saturday morning swimmers were arriving at various times, checking in at various times, and going through security in stages, so this was all I got in the wee hours, i.e. 5:30 a.m.  Left to right:  Colleen, Rhiannon, Trish, Lauren, Mike, John, and Sam...all looking surprisingly wide awake as it is, after all, their usual swim time for morning practices through much of the year.  

Lacey and Margaret ready to roll, and Matt looking tired and eager to get going.  Good luck, Swimmers!  We are so proud of all of you.

Junior National Send-Off Dinner

It's almost here:  time for the 16 CSC swimmers qualified for Junior Nationals to board the plane and head off to California on Saturday for a week of competition and fun.  Before they go, however, Daniel's family hosted a send-off barbecue at their home this evening where the swimmers, their parents, and the coaches had a chance to eat and chat and the swimmers got gifted all sorts of goodies. 

All the time and work they have put into swimming to enable them to compete at a national level...we are so proud of them all!  Best Wishes, Safe Travel, and Fast Times to:  (front table beginning on left) Lucy, Lauren J, Trish, Margaret, Sam, Rhiannon, Lacy, and Lauren S.  (back table beginning on left) Harrison (green shirt), Kiernan, Daniel, John, Colleen, Matt, and Mike. (Alexis wasn't able to stay for the dinner.)

Tuesdays with Dorie: Gingered Carrot Cookies

Thanks to Natalia of gratti e fili farina for her Tuesdays with Dorie pick of Gingered Carrot Cookies, found on page 162 of Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours cookbook.  Natalia has the recipe posted on her site here.  Thanks, Natalia for a great pick, we all loved these cookies, twice. 

The cookies are filled with all the usual cookie ingredients and some extras, like shredded carrots, raisins, coconut, and toasted pecans (left the pecans out one time, included them the next, and there were no complaints, so much for not like nuts IN things around here).
The first time I dressed them up with some cream cheese frosting and the second time I left the frosting off.  Delicious either way.  Definitely a repeat. 

Next week:  Katrina from Baking and the Boys has chosen Chocolate Ganache Ice Cream, found on page 430. TWD blogroll found here.

BBA: Pizza Napoletana

The twenty-fifth Bread Baker's Apprentice challenge (from the book by the same name authored by Peter Reinhart) is Pizza Napoletana, and is found on pages 207-212. 

This is a two-day dough: a day to make the dough and then it sits in the refrigerator overnight until the next day when you do the shaping and baking.  (It has the added instructions in the book for making it and freezing the dough for later use.)  Flour, salt, yeast, olive oil, and water are all you need. 

Mixing is easy, the shaping a little more difficult as I had trouble stretching the dough in the manner he suggested (putting it over my knuckles and stretching) so that needs more practice by me for sure.  I ended up just putting it down and shaping it that way.  I also ended up baking it on parchment paper as I could not get it to move off onto the stone without the parchment paper, actually we liked that way and it kept the crust a little more tender, which we like in a pizza crust.  Might do that again. 

We enjoyed the flavor of the pizza crust, so I will be making this often as the guys love pizza.  Definitely a repeat.

Nancy, Cathy, Jessica, Melissa, Sarah, Di, Leslie, Margaret and I are baking on a slower schedule.  If you would like to see their Pizza Dough, click on their names and visit their sites, 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:  Poolish Baguettes, found on pages 213-214.