Grandma's Kitchen Table

Sunday's Snippets

READING:  Still reading this as it is very long and I don't want to skim over any of it in a hurry.  I keep having to stop to look up locations of battles, and then get distracted by other accounts of same battles, etc.  -- Ulysses S. Grant's Ulysses S. Grant: Personal Memoirs.  Yes, the one that Mark Twain published all those many years ago.  It's a wonderful read, Grant is a very good writer and battle after battle is recounted in a manner that keeps one interested and moving through the pages quickly, as well as the more personal bits. 
SWIMMING NEWS:  IU swimmers in training for the Charlotte Grand Prix May 10-14th, their next stop on the competition circuit.  Not sure what Matt is swimming in that, possibility that they are adding more distance events to his freestyle lineup and resurrecting some of his backstroke events. 
COOKING BYTES:  Have I mentioned how much I love the return of grilling season?  I happen to be married to a man who is absolutely useless in the kitchen but absolutely a genius at the outdoor grill.  Very nice. 
FAV NEW FIND:  Matt finished his last final today, so we can now say that we have a sophomore at IU...where did that year go???
FAV THIS PAST WEEK:  Watching the IU swimmers compete this past weekend. Over the year I have come to know the swimmers, identify each one on sight, and even know some of them in the water by their swim styles/strokes...it feels like home again after watching the CSC swimmers all those years and knowing them all so well in and out of the water.   I didn't take a single photo all weekend...left all electronics at home to just unplug for a bit.
WEEK IN REVIEW:  Working every day last week made the week fly by, being gone all weekend for the swim meet made the weekend fly by...I can't remember a week that passed so quickly...but fun, all of it.  Weather has been so great...all the greenery and the flowers just make my heart sing every day.  Pacers Playoff game tonight...Mark and Matt headed there.
LOOKING FORWARD TO:   At the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site (House): Victorian Theatre By Candlelight's last weekend of Amusing Ambiguities.  Click here, still a few tickets left.  This is what's happening at the ISO this coming week:  Berlioz Requiem, click here for information.

CEiMB: Honey-Crisp Oven-Fried Chicken

      This week for CEiMB, I made Honey-Crisp Oven-Fried Chicken (on page 171) from Ellie Krieger's book, Comfort Food Fix.  (You can also find the recipe online here.) 

      The ingredient list:  chicken thighs, buttermilk, Cornflakes cereal, paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and honey. 

      There are those who, every once in awhile, need to have a fix of some kind of fried chicken.  Attribute it to my childhood if you will, but about once every other month or so, I go in search of fried chicken.  I do not fry chicken at home as I cannot stand the mess and the hassle and I wouldn't do it often enough to get to be reliably good at making it.  I think it is the crunch factor as the chicken is chicken, so it must be that crunchy outside that is so appealing. 

      This recipe requires no frying.  So it isn't truly fried chicken, but there is that crunch factor that makes this a great substitute.  It's not messy, it's not a hassle, and it's easy and quick.  We really liked the chicken made this way...it was moist, crunchy, crispy, and looked beautiful on the plate...all of that and great tasting.  The spice combination in the coating is spicy with a kick of heat, very nice.  Definitely a repeat.
      To check out other Ellie recipes, click here.

Thirty Minute Thursdays: Spaghetti alle Olive (Spaghetti with Tomatoes and Olives)

      This week for the thirty-seventh recipe I've made for Thirty Minute Thursdays, cooking our way through Giuliano Hazan's Thirty Minute Pasta book I made Spaghetti alle Olive (Spaghetti with Tomatoes and Olives) on page 67.

      The ingredient list:  fresh tomatoes, garlic, parsley, olive oil, salt, Kalamata olives, and spaghetti. 

      I needed a quick side dish to go with a chicken recipe and had on hand fresh tomatoes and Kalamata olives, so this became the side dish in short order as it takes very little time to make. 

      The recipes in this book often call for fresh tomatoes that are peeled...the quickest way I know to do this is to set a pan of water on the stove, bring to a boil, drop in the tomatoes for 3-4 minutes, and then place them immediately into a bowl of cold water.  The skin just slides off in a couple of large pieces and you are good to go (it's how I peel peaches, too).  I often do this in the boiling pasta water, depending on how long the recipe wants you to cook down the tomatoes for the sauce.  This time it was perfect timing. 

      This was not Mark's favorite for some reason, maybe because he is not that big a fan of Kalamata olives "in" things...he likes to eat them plain but doesn't care for them "in" things...rather like the nut issue around here.  I thought it was delightful and I would make it again in small size for myself another time.  Here's Margaret's post from the book this week.

Wednesday with Donna Hay - Hummingbird Slice

      My sixteenth recipe with Wednesday with Donna Hay was Hummingbird Slice (Click on the recipe for link to it), chosen by Gaye.

      I made just a small size of this recipe, half of it fit nicely into a 6"x6" square baking pan, not because I didn't think we would eat it all, but because I figured we did not to be eating it all...we had some birthday cake and some of last week's TWD BwJ Lemon Loaf hanging around yet.
     The cake goes together quickly and easily once you have all the ingredients measured out.  It bakes nicely (my little pan baked for 22 minutes and the cake was done). 

     The flavors are very similar to carrot cake here in the States, except there is banana in this and no raisins.  It is not frosted like the traditional carrot cake here, with cream cheese frosting, but rather honey is drizzled over the top when serving.  The honey was nice, but I think the cake can stand on its own without additional sweetening as it is plenty sweet as it is.  (Donna Hay is Australian so her recipes reflect her nationality and the food there, which is all rather fun to have a slightly different take on things at times.)

      Mark loves carrot cake so it is no surprise that this was a big hit for him and he has been taking it in his lunch and eating a little at night.  I thought it was delicious as well.  (Originally I was going to give the whole of it away but Mark thought he would like to keep it and perhaps I could make something else to give away, obviously this was a hit.) 

      Gaye's post on this is here and Margaret's post is here at some point today (I know she made it because we baked it together Monday).

      Next week the little group is going into hiatus for the summer and will be back in August, as I understand it.  That said, I am going to continue to make DH recipes and post as I don't want to lose the great fresh produce of summer and I am love, love, loving her recipes for their ease, simplicity, and nutritional value...hopefully I will get one posted each week. 

Sunday's Snippets

READING:  Still reading this as it is very long and I don't want to skim over any of it in a hurry.  I keep having to stop to look up locations of battles, and then get distracted by other accounts of same battles, etc.  -- Ulysses S. Grant's Ulysses S. Grant: Personal Memoirs.  Yes, the one that Mark Twain published all those many years ago.  It's a wonderful read, Grant is a very good writer and battle after battle is recounted in a manner that keeps one interested and moving through the pages quickly, as well as the more personal bits. 
SWIMMING NEWS:  Swim meet coming up this weekend in B-Town at IU, so we are eager to go down and watch the swimmers compete on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  
COOKING BYTES:  Received GdL's newest cookbook, Weeknights with Giada, as a gift for my birthday and it is filled with lots of interesting and delicious looking quick and easy weeknight meals. 
FAV NEW FIND:  They called to say they were opening the pool tomorrow...what's not to find favorite in that??!!  (Yes, I know that these Sunday's Snippets are actually posted pretty much whenever I get around to it and not necessarily on Sunday...will try to do better in the future.  Try.)
FAV THIS PAST WEEK:  So much fun to see all the GCHS students preparing for prom last week...girls sharing photos of their dresses, shoes, jewelry, hairstyles, etc., and guys chatting about things they don't normally chat about, i.e. corsages and tuxes and colors of shirts/ties/hankies, etc.  Just fun to see them all growing up and becoming who they will become someday.  
WEEK IN REVIEW:  Same old schedule of work and play, but with my birthday thrown in there on Saturday, so some extra fun with family and friends to celebrate that, which was very nice indeed.  Matt even came home to spend some time celebrating, bringing a little bundle of flowers and a lovely card with him.  Not every college boy would come home for his mother's birthday...I am very lucky, it made the day that much more special to me.  I made the cake in the photo...will be blogged when we get to the proper timing on the NM group, but let me just say that it was one very delicious Raspberry Cream Cake, a fine way to celebrate a birthday.
LOOKING FORWARD TO:   At the Indiana Historical Society:  If you haven't seen this link and checked it out, give it a go...it's just wonderful:  Digital Images Collection of the Indiana Historical Society, click here and explore from the comfort of your own home!  This is what's happening at the ISO this coming week:  Andre Watts plays Grieg, click here for information.

Bread Alone: Cook's Country Pepperoni Rolls

      Several of my baking friends on Twitter gather often to bake bread together.  One of us will have a recipe, then others join in, and while we bake we compare notes.  In the end we blog it all or show photos of our results.  There's sharing back and forth about how we might change the recipe or decrease or increase amounts or size, substitute different ingredients, etc., and all in all, it's a very informative process. 

      This was Abby's recipe (and if you click here you can find the recipe on her blog).  She had come across the recipe and thought it sounded like something her family would enjoy and Margaret (click on her name for her versions) and I jumped in and made them with her...on different days as it turned out, but we three made the same recipe and chatted back and forth through the process.
      I was expecting these to be nice, but I wasn't expecting them to be quite as good as they were (and I am not the biggest fan of pepperoni).  They don't take long to make (like all breads, most of the time is in the rising of the dough which you don't need to supervise), they go together easily, bake nicely, and are delicious. 

      While I served some of them with the tomato/mozzarella dip from my DH Wednesdays group, and that complimented the pepperoni rolls ever so nicely, we also had them just plain and they were wonderful that way as well. 

      Included in the recipe are instructions for freezing and reheating them, which Abby did.  I didn't have the chance as I only made a partial batch and those were gone in no time. Next time I will make some of the pepperoni (and maybe add some cheese in there as well), and then some with ham and cheese as those sound good. 

      These are easy to pack into a lunch and the quality of the dough is excellent, a joy to work with beginning to end.  They remind me of Hot Pockets...but so much more elevated and better with that homemade dough and fresh ingredients. 

      In the recipe it gives interesting instructions for assembling the pepperoni inside the dough...enough already, it's dough, it pepperoni, just stuff it in there however you want by lining up the pepperonis and folding the dough over them.  I did cook the pepperoni for 3 minutes before as they suggested and that got rid of all that pepperoni fat that would have made the rolls soggy and greasy, so do that part for certain.  And, use thick pepperoni, not those thin pizza slices...below is a photo of how mine looked before rolling the dough around them.
       Definitely a repeat. 

Wednesday with Donna Hay - Lemon and Dill Smoked Salmon Pasta

      My fifteenth recipe with Wednesday with Donna Hay was Lemon and Dill Smoked Salmon Pasta (Click on the recipe for link to it.) 

      I am going to be truthful here, this is Mark's plate as I am not a big fan of smoked salmon (very salty), so I just made it for him as he does like it (salt is one of his favorite food groups, witness his love affair with anything potato chip).

      The recipe is easy and goes together quickly, the longest part being the time it takes to boil the pasta. He enjoyed it very much. This serving (supposedly for one) was enough for dinner with some left to take for lunch tomorrow. 

      Gaye's post on this is here and Chaya's (this recipe was her choice for us this week) post on this is here. 

      Next week, April 25th, is Gaye's selection for dessert:  Hummingbird Slice, click here for the recipe if you would like to join us.

TWD: Baking with Julia - Lemon Loaf Cake

 

      The recipe for this week forTuesdays with Dorie:  Baking with Julia is Lemon Loaf Cake on page 252 of the book Baking with Julia.  You can also find the recipe on the blogs of the hostesses for this week, Truc of Treats  here, or Michelle of The Beauty of Life  here.  The recipe was contributed to the series/book by baker Norman Love. 

      Where have I been you ask.  I'm not making every recipe with the group as we have reduced need for baked goods with the boys out of the house now, i.e. The Swimmer, with his well-documented swimmer appetite, is off at college. It is also true that I belong to several groups that bake, so I have decided that I am baking only the things which truly appeal to me in flavor, technique, interest, and sometimes ability to give away easily. 

      I skipped the Chocolate Tarts as, come on, you previous TWD people all know me by now...it's chocolate, reason enough.  I skipped the Irish Soda Bread as I have my Granny's recipe (whose maiden name was O'Brien) and am not interested in making another because I make Irish Soda Bread solely to remind me of her, so what's the point of having another recipe around?  I skipped the Pizza Rustica because I have been baking in two groups with Nick Malgieri's recipes and have made a very similar version of his of this already. 

      Now when comes to LEMON Loaf Cake...and as my previous TWD friends know, I am all about the LEMON in anything all the time.  I was not disappointed...this is an excellent recipe, nice and lemony as I zested very large lemons to make sure it was as lemony as the recipe allowed. 

      The cake goes together easily and quickly, bakes for 55 minutes in my oven, and cools before slicing.  Okay, okay, technically cools before slicing...I might have sliced one slice before it cooled because a small piece of warm Lemon Loaf Cake just sounded too good to turn down this afternoon.
      Definitely a keeper of a recipe.  Oohh...and be sure to check out Truc's (link above) as she frosted hers and topped it with more lemons!!  If I had only known!

        Next assignment:  May 8 - Hungarian Shortbread, page 327.    The   TWD: BwJ information for joining the group, recipe selection, and general information can be found here.

Modern Baker: Raspberry Linzer Disks

      The 80th recipe I made from The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Raspberry Linzer Disks, on page 309.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us).

      The ingredient list for the cookies and filling:  butter, sugar, almonds, flour, cinnamon, cloves, raspberry preserves, and confectioner's sugar.

      The recipe goes together easily but needs to rest in the refrigerator for a bit before rolling and cutting out the shapes, so plan time for that part.  Once the dough has chilled, it is wonderful to work with as it rolls out nicely without tearing or breaking. 

      I have a Linzer cookie cutter set so I used that for these cookies, mine is 2" in size, which I think is perfect, the one the recipe calls for is a 3" cutter, so I got quite a few more cookies. 

      The cookies bake quickly, and it is very easy to spread on the raspberry preserves once they have cooled. The cutout tops are sprinkled with confectioner's sugar and placed on the top of the bottom cookie.  A little more raspberry preserve is dropped into the center to make it seem fuller...I have made Linzer cookies before but never thought to add a little dollop more of the preserves to fill up the center, so love that little tip. 

      The flavor of these cookies is by far the best of any other Linzer cookie recipe that I have tried.  Although these types of cookies are a little fussy in the process, since you have to make a top and a bottom and one part is cut out and then fill it and sprinkle on the powdered sugar, etc., they are so pretty when finished.  I thought the tulip cutout would be nice for spring. 

      Enjoyed by all.  Definitely a repeat. (Oh, and pardon the photo...these are harder to photograph than I thought...I used up all my "fuss about things" patience making the cookies so the photo just is what it is.)  If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting, with the blogroll here.

Sunday's Snippets

READING:  Ulysses S. Grant's Ulysses S. Grant: Personal Memoirs.  Yes, the one that Mark Twain published all those many years ago.  It's a wonderful read, Grant is a very good writer and battle after battle is recounted in a manner that keeps one interested and moving through the pages quickly, as well as the more personal bits.  I know, I know, you aren't going to probably read it, but trust me, it is worthy. I was able to get the movie called The Conspirator, directed by Robert Redford, that was based on the book I was reading last week about Mary Surratt and the assassination of Lincoln...the movie was good but did not follow the book very closely...told from the point of view of someone who was not featured greatly in the book.  The book is much better and truer to fact.
SWIMMING NEWS:  Plane tickets are purchased and swimmers are gearing up for another swim meet in the Grand Prix series with the Olympians, this time in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Matt swam in this meet last year as well, with his high school team, so now he will enter the meet with his college team.  A nice progression.  Until then, I believe they are just working very hard and training long course after all those months (August to March) of short course swimming. 
COOKING BYTES:  Caught up with my Wednesday with Donna Hay group this week...if you have not made any of her recipes, you are truly missing out.  Fresh ingredients, lower in fat and calories for the most part, no fake ingredients, simple, easy, and most of all, delicious.  Check out her website here and make something!  Don't be put off by the metric measurements as you can google: "how many ounces is 200 grams" and have it in a flash.  After doing it over and over you don't even need to google it sooner than you think.
FAV NEW FIND:  Mark cleaned out the mechanical room...I was always afraid to go in there as it was filled with guy stuff and there didn't seem to be any particular order to it, and it all looked scary and unidentifiable most of the time.  Voila...no more...all the old scout projects, home school projects, bits and pieces of project projects (or whatever) have all been hauled out of there and a trip made to the chemical wasteland place made.  Whew.   A favorite new thing around here indeed.
FAV THIS PAST WEEK:  A dear friend made something very special for me that she knew I would absolutely love and it arrived on my doorstep in a big box of most interesting proportions as she said she was sending me a little something.  It was definitely my favorite thing this past week.  
WEEK IN REVIEW:  A busy work week, some fun time this weekend, some working around the house this weekend, time with friends, a nice phone call from Alex who has a new job, and I leave you with a photo of Steve, Kiernan, and Matt at Xavier as Matt and Steve took a drive over to Cincinnati to visit Kiernan this weekend, to see the campus and where Kiernan hangs out these days, etc.  A fine time was had by all. 

LOOKING FORWARD TO:   At the Indianapolis Children's Museum:  I was talking to someone this week who had no idea that we have a permanent exhibit of the glasswork of Dale Chihuly called Fireworks of Glass, click here for information and go check it out if you haven't...it's all lovely.  This is what's happening at the ISO this coming week:  Vive la France! click here

Wednesday with Donna Hay - Soft Poached Eggs with Sweet Potato Hash Browns

      My fourteenth recipe with Wednesday with Donna Hay was Soft Poached Eggs with Sweet Potato Hash Browns (Click on the recipe for link to it.) 

      I wasn't going to make this recipe as we are not fond of runny eggs.  At all. Ever.  I figured if I wasn't going to make the recipe true to the way she wrote it that maybe I just wouldn't make it as it wouldn't be her recipe if I changed it.  I also was a little skeptical about sweet potatoes going with all of this in hash brown form.  I thought about it long and hard and I told Margaret (it was her pick) and Gaye that I was going to skip it. 

      Then I woke up one morning and decided that it sounded good, if I didn't have to have the runny egg part.  So I lightly fried the egg just past runny and made the rest of it exactly as she wrote it. 

      Those sweet potato hash browns are really good, and they work very nicely with the asparagus and egg.  The sauce on top has horseradish in it so it has a nice little kick that is perfect with the whole thing. A skeptic no more.  I would definitely make this one again for brunch, it was delicious.

      Gaye's post on this is here and Margaret's post is here.

Wednesday with Donna Hay - Red Wine Osso Buco

      My thirteenth recipe with Wednesday with Donna Hay was Red Wine Osso Buco (Click on the recipe for link to it.) 

      I have never made or eaten Osso Buco before so I was a little intimidated by this recipe.  For starters, I didn't even know how to buy veal or beef shin (shank) as I had never cooked with it before.  Turns out they are readily available in the butcher's meat case, I just didn't really take notice of them before.  Not to worry as this recipe is extremely friendly and turns out perfectly just as written. 

      It's all fairly easy, goes together quickly, simmers on the stovetop for a long bit, and makes guys really happy with the end result.  You see this plate of food?  That was Mark's plate and he ate it in its entirety (well, not the large sized bone and trimmings, of course) as he really liked the taste of the meat cooked this way.  I served it with mashed potatoes and carrots as those are his favorites with a meal like this, they were good choices.  I ate a third of the piece of meat and it was filling enough, the flavor is meaty and has a depth of flavor from the ingredients (beef simmered in wine and beef broth, how bad can that be, right?). 

      Definitely a repeat, especially now that I know how easy it is to buy this kind of meat and how nicely the recipe goes together. 

      Gaye's post on this is here and Margaret's post is here.

Wednesday with Donna Hay - Roasted Capsicum (Red Pepper) and Chicken Bruschetta

      My twelfth recipe with Wednesday with Donna Hay was Roasted Capsicum and Chicken Bruschetta (Click on the recipe for link to it.) 

      I love little meals on bruschetta. This is a great recipe as you have most all of your food groups in one nice neat little packet served on it's own little edible plate.  And, of course, it all tastes wonderfully delicious, sourdough bread, chicken, tomato, red peppers, basil...all good together with a light homemade drizzle of oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper.

      It's always nice to have a recipe that you can serve cold, hot, or room temperature so this one covers all that.  I haven't quite yet figured out how to eat it neatly as it doesn't do very well with a fork and knife (sourdough is a little stretchy to cut through at times)...so this might need to be something I just make for lunch at home and not cart about with me for school lunches, etc.  That said, this will be on the lunch menu around here, and the change-outs are endless for a recipe like this...definitely a repeat. 

      Gaye's post on this is here.

Wednesday with Donna Hay - Baked Mozzarella and Tomato Dip

      My eleventh recipe with Wednesday with Donna Hay was Baked Mozzarella and Tomato Dip (Click on the recipe for link to it.) 

      This recipe could not be easier, and surprisingly, it has a nice depth of flavor and is a great little dip to serve, just some crushed tomatoes, mozzarella, garlic, and spices, and you are good to go.  She recommended serving it with Lebanese Crisps. 

       It's delicious and healthy, beats those mayo/sour cream dips when you are looking for a healthy alternative. I liked the spicing in this recipe a lot. I also served it as a dip with some Italian Pepperoni Rolls that I made today and it was wonderful for those (post on the bread coming Saturday). 

      Gaye's post on this is here, Margaret's post is here, and Chaya's post is here.

Wednesday with Donna Hay - Beef Burgers

      My tenth recipe with Wednesday with Donna Hay was Beef Burgers (Click on the recipe for link to it.) 

      This recipe was interesting...the burger mix reminded me a lot of one of the meatloaf recipes I use, so it was a little more substantial than a plain meat burger.  It also was supposed to be topped with beets but I figured if I even came remotely near this thing with a beet (not a favorite or even close with the guys), that I alone would be eating it, so I left the beets off. 

      Maybe someday I will put a piece of beet on mine just to try it out as it does sound interesting and Gaye liked it very much, but for this time, I just left the whole thing off.  It had plenty on it as it was...lettuce, tomato, onion...this was a huge burger when it was all piled up.  Since Gaye had made hers before I did and noted this, I smashed my patty down a bit when I was forming it so it wouldn't be quite so high and that did help reduce the height.

      This was a really good burger and I would make it again sometime...probably going to retitle it "Meatloaf Burger" as that is definitely what it reminds me of...a good thing indeed, rather like a meatloaf sandwich in burger form.  Big hit with the guys.

      Gaye's post on this is here, and Margaret's post is here.

Wednesday with Donna Hay - Bacon and Roasted Tomato Omelette

      My ninth recipe with Wednesday with Donna Hay was Bacon and Roasted Tomato Omelette (Click on the recipe for link to it.) 

      Love, love, loved this recipe.  It's very simple, no fancy ingredients, and takes hardly any time at all...roasting the tomatoes being the thing that took the longest, which was the time I used for assembling the ingredients, plate, etc. for the rest of it. 

      I not only would make this again, I have made it a couple of times since the original time.  I have also used the roasted tomatoes to top a spinach salad and that was wonderful as well.  The tomatoes are roasted with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, and black pepper.  Oh, my goodness this is a wonderful combination. Definitely a recipe that is going to see more than occasional action around here.

      Gaye's post on this is here.

Wednesday with Donna Hay - Blue Cheese and Caramelised Onion Brioche

      My eighth recipe with Wednesday with Donna Hay was Blue Cheese and Caramelised Onion Brioche (Click on the recipe for link to it.) 

      This recipe caught my attention as it had some old favorites, i.e. apples, onions, and blue cheese.  It seemed a little too substantial for just a snack, so I made it for lunch as I knew Mark would enjoy the flavor combination as well.  Big hit. 

      The recipe comes together quickly once you have the onions caramelized, and the flavors all come through individually, which I love.  The Granny Smith apple is the way to go as it has a strong and assertive apple taste which works well with the onions and the strong cheese, a less assertive apple would have been lost.  I would definitely make this again for an easy, quick, and flavorful lunch.  In fact, maybe tomorrow.

      Gaye's post on this is here.

Modern Baker: Blackberry Jam Sandwiches with Lemon Icing (Cookies)

      The 79th recipe I made from The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Blackberry Jam Sandwiches, on page 306.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us).     

      The ingredient list for the cookies and icing:  butter, sugar, vanilla, lemon extract, egg yolks, flour, blackberry preserves, confectioners' sugar, and lemon juice. 

      The recipe goes together easily but needs to rest in the refrigerator for a bit before rolling and cutting out the shapes, so plan time for that part.  Once the dough has chilled, it is wonderful to work with as it rolls out nicely without tearing or breaking.  The cookies bake quickly, and it is very easy to fill them with the blackberry preserves once they have cooled.
      I'm not the best drizzler of icing (okay...okay...I am the worst drizzler ever with icing), so you will do much better with this, but I did try and make it look like the photo in the book...with only a moderate amount of success so you can at least get the general idea. 

      They turned out pretty and delicious...the combination of lemon and blackberry is delightful.  I would make these again...it's not really an "everyday" cookie around here, but would be something special and lovely for a cookie tray.  The only thing I would change is that these were made with a 3" cookie cutter as suggested in the book and they are a larger type cookie...I would use a 2" cookie cutter (oh, and wouldn't little 1" cookies be so cute!) the next time as they are very sweet and one small one would satisfy one's sweet tooth just as nicely.  Enjoyed by all.  Definitely a repeat. 

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting, with the blogroll here.

Sunday's Snippets

READING:  Kate Clifford Larson's The Assassin's Accomplice:  Mary Surratt and the Plot to Kill Abraham Lincoln.  It's April...April is my favorite time to read Civil War Era history and this was a good read...I knew the basics, of course, but this takes it all just a little further so nice to have a wider view of all that now.  There is a movie called The Conspirator, directed by Robert Redford, for those of you who favor the movie version over the print...I haven't seen it, but have it on reserve at the library, so perhaps soon.
SWIMMING NEWS:  Several members of the Indiana University Women's Swimming and Diving Team participated in the Grand Prix swim meet here in Indy the week before last.  Matt swam in his first scheduled event, took ill (had a 101 degree fever) and had to pull from the meet as you can't swim with a fever or for 24 hours there after...still had the fever the next day.  So much for that meet...and I didn't get many photos, but I thought you might enjoy seeing MP's little "camp" at swim meets.  As famous as he is, you do expect there to be little things here and there...this is one of those little things.  At the meet at the Nat, he has all his things set up on one of the diving boards not in use, with a guard to make sure that no one messes with anything or approaches him unnecessarily, etc.  I like the little bed...I guess this is the equivalent of those movie star trailers on film sets.
Photo:  Ian, Matt, Daniel at the Grand Prix swim meet in Indy, discussing and watching swimmers.
Photo:  Daniel and Matt shake hands before the 100 Freestyle.  After the swim, it was evident that Matt was ill, so that was the first and last swim of the meet for him.
Photo:  MP's camp at the meet behind the privacy curtains/warm-up pool.  MP is by the clock in the white top, blue swim trunks, his guard is in the red, and another in the blue...all on the private diving board set-up. Such great fun watching MP and the rest of the Olympians at the meet swimming. 
COOKING BYTES:  With Matt and his swimmer appetite at college, the amount of food things needing to be made/baked/eaten around here has lessened considerably, so my blogging for my blog-alongs is going to reflect that schedule...will make/blog when it fits in around here, so please check with the main groups to see the posts in between my selections. 
FAV NEW FIND:  Spring is here to stay...it has been so beautiful these past couple of months...winter is definitely not coming back...I was a little skeptical but I now I have moved my indoor herbs back outside onto the deck, reflecting my confidence in this weather.  Oh, happy days.
FAV THIS PAST WEEK:  Matt was home for Easter weekend...love having swimmers around lounging about and chatting about college.
Photo:  Big guys still like to dye the Easter eggs...Steve, Matt, and even Mark.  
WEEK IN REVIEW:  A very quiet week in the city here as CHS was on spring break so it was like a ghost town, no lines for anything anywhere.  Easter was good for all of us with family, friends, time together. 
LOOKING FORWARD TO:   At the Eiteljorg:  Steel Ponies exhibit, click here for information.  I wasn't thinking that I was originally interested in seeing this exhibit...I mean, motorcycles?  However, there has been some press about it and I am intrigued. This is what's happening at the ISO this coming week:  Pink Martini & The ISO, click here.

BBA: Roasted Onion and Asiago Miche

      TA DAH!!!!  The forty-fifth (and FINAL) Bread Baker's Apprentice challenge (from the book by the same name authored by Peter Reinhart) is Roasted Onion and Asiago Miche, and is found on pages 281-283. 

      I made a half recipe of this bread, making 1 very large round-shaped loaf.  The final bread was huge, measuring 12" across. 

      The ingredients:  bread flour, barm, olive oil, water, onions, salt, yeast, chives, scallions, and Asiago cheese.

      This is a three-day dough, providing that you have the barm made ahead of time:  one day for the sponge, one day for mixing and shaping, one day for proofing and baking.   Margaret and I finished this together, and as an extra-special treat, Rebecca decided she would help us celebrate by baking it along with us even though she had completed the challenge two years ago.  The three of us had a great time baking it on Twitter together, and for the first time, we all pretty much started and ended at the same time, proudly showing off our photos before heading out for the rest of our day.
       This was a wonderful bread all on its own, full of flavor with a lovely texture.  It didn't need butter or anything.  The instructions were to wait "for at least 1 hour before slicing or serving."  Do you see all that melty cheese on the top with those onions?  Who is going to wait an hour to have a slice of warm bread with melty cheese and onions?  I'm happy you agree...we didn't wait either. 

      This has to be one of my very favorite breads from this book.  We ate it all on it's own, made grilled cheese with it, used it for lunch sandwich bread, and we still have a piece or two left.  All of it delicious...the cheese and onions remind me of French Onion Soup...and we all know by now that FOS is my final meal...my favorite of all things food.  I'm thinking maybe I should have a little of that last piece with French Onion Soup, or do you think that would be overkill?  Nah.  Definitely a repeat.

      The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart is a wonderful book.  When I first started baking from it, I knew next to nothing about bread baking. I signed up to do the challenge of making all the recipes in the book, starting at the beginning and continuing through to the end, with an optimistic attitude and not much else by way of skills or knowledge of bread baking.  It didn't matter...the breads are not in order of ease (they are in alphabetical order), so early on I had some tough bread recipes mixed in with the easier ones and you know what?  I had success with them all on the first try (meaning they all looked pretty great and we enjoyed eating them all)...THAT is a great recipe book, to be successful with the recipes on the first try is amazing.  All the recipes worked, all the recipes were delicious...some more so than others, but personal tastes being what they are, that is to be expected.  Now that I've finished making all the recipes, it's time to go back again and again and visit my favorites.  Which ones are my favorites?  Almost all of them...it would be easier to name the one or two that weren't my favorites, but I won't do that as they might be yours and I wouldn't want to influence your decisions on which ones to make or not.  Make them all and decide for yourself...a challenge worth meeting.

      You can visit the main group and marvel the breads.  TA DAH!!!  I FINISHED THE ENTIRE BOOK OF RECIPES. 

BBA: Potato, Cheddar, and Chive Torpedoes

      The forty-fourth Bread Baker's Apprentice challenge (from the book by the same name authored by Peter Reinhart) is Potato, Cheddar, and Chive Torpedoes, and is found on pages 278-280. 

      I made a half recipe of this bread, making 1 medium-sized torpedo-shaped loaf...with just Mark and I here, it is difficult to eat as much bread as when the boys were home, so smaller recipes 'r us now normally.  That said, Matt was visiting and that loaf disappeared in record time, apparently the athletic training table at college doesn't include homemade bread.

      The ingredients:  potato, potato water, barm, bread flour, yeast, salt, chives, and sharp cheddar cheese.

      This is a one-day dough, providing that you have the barm made ahead of time.   Margaret and I are continuing on in our attempts to finish the book, only one recipe left.
(Photo note:  I didn't plan for that "G" to appear like that, but it was certainly fun that it did since our last name starts with "G" and all.  Cute.) 

      The bread was wonderful all on its own.  It didn't need butter or anything.   I served it with chili and it was perfect...so perfect, in fact, that there wasn't enough left after Mark made a lunch sandwich with it the next day for me to try making a grilled cheese sandwich, so I will need to do that another time.  And, yes, there will be another time...delicious.   Definitely a repeat. 

      You can visit the main group and marvel the breads.  I'm getting there...Slow and Steady.  Our next and FINAL challenge:  Roasted Onion and Asiago Miche, found on pages 281-283.