Recipe Round Up

I really love belonging to cooking groups, but I don't like posting about foods that have no recipes to go with them, since this is a cooking blog. To that end I started doing a monthly roundup of recipes I made for Tuesday's with Dorie and French Fridays with Dorie. Well, this month I decide to combine both of the monthly round ups into one big round up. The recipes for Tuesday's with Dorie can be found on the weekly host's blog, to which I will include a link, but for French Friday's there is no host, so if it is a recipe that intrigues you send me an e-mail and I will give you more information.

Our Tuesday's with Dorie recipes were the Citrus Currant Sunshine Muffins and the Chocolate Pots de Creme.

Lauryn of Bella Baker chose Citrus Currant Sunshine Muffins. These muffins had a big citrus taste, with a coarse almost chewy texture. We made these three different ways; some plain, some with raisin, and a few with craisins. Everyone liked the craisin version the best. The dried cranberries added a nice sweet/tart taste to an otherwise pretty plain muffin. The raisins were good, adding sweetness, but lacking the balance of the semi-tart craisins.

 Christine of Black Cat Cooking  chose Chocolate Pots de Creme.

  This was an intensely chocolate pudding. Dorie had you cook and cool it in a water bath covered with plastic wrap, but I really don't think this improve the texture of this pudding, and next time I would skip this step. We would make this again for the deep, rich chocolate flavor. As a family we don't usually love chocolate flavored desserts because they tend to be too sweet or completely lacking chocolate taste, but this silky smooth pudding and Dorie's chocolate ice cream have both been winners, so she is definitely on to something with her chocolate treats!

The French Friday recipes we made this month were the salted butter break-ups. The pictures in the book were so fabulous and we were most excited about this recipe, but unfortunately, this was the most disappointing. It was really nothing more than a giant sugar cookie, brushed with egg wash for color. It was fun but nothing special. We were hoping the salt would come through, and even used the higher suggested amount, but it was pretty boring. We even tried dipping pieces in melted chocolate, and when that doesn't save a recipe, you know that it is something you probably won't make again.

Scallops with caramel orange sauce was a quick and tasty way to prepare scallops. Although caramel sounds like s dessert item, this sauce had a nice almost burnt taste that paired nicely with the sweet oranges, and was perfect over mildly sweet scallops. This is definitely a recipe that we will make again. It will be a nice change from a quick pasta or chicken dish on our busy school nights.

Brown butter, dried figs, raisins, pistachios, chives, almonds, Parmesan cheese and orange zest

And finally, the real star of this month's recipes was the Beggar's Linguine. Mimi Jr. and I made this for lunch one day because we were pretty sure that the other Mimi's weren't going to go for this fruity pasta. We even had our doubts as we were putting it together and taking our first few bites. We were really close to just skipping it, but figured that the whole point of the group was to try new things so we went for it. The most surprising thing was that with each bite we liked this strange pasta dish more and more. Somehow, the flavors all come together to create a wonderfully savory pasta that is not the sweet dish we had expected it to be based on the ingredients.What we didn't like were the small bits of fruit and nuts with the long strands of pasta. Mimi Jr. suggested that the fruit and nuts would be good with orzo or couscous as everything would be more similar in size and one forkful could get a little of everything. Since I had all the ingredients we made it the following day with couscous. I used about half the amount of butter, and it was perfect. We loved it at room temperature and think it would also be good served chilled as a salad or a side dish with some well seasoned grilled meats.

This month was full of surprises, with some new favorites, and some disappointments. We are excited to see what April's recipes will bring to the table.

Round Up Week Part Two:TWD

I've been struggling a little with how to organize this  blog. Since the Daring Bakers always post the last part of the month, I've decided to make that date the start of the monthly roundups. Part two of the roundup is Tuesdays with Dorie.  This month we had more tasty recipes and we managed to make them all.

First Christine of Happy Tummy chose Great Grains Muffins

These were a nice change from the usual blueberry muffin. We liked the mild sweetness from the corn and raisins, as well as the number of options you have for creative mix-ins. These are something we would make again when we are feeling like a healthy version of the breakfast treat.

 – Sharon from Simply Southern chose Bourbon Bread Pudding .

Bread Pudding is one of those warm, comforting desserts that is best at the end of a cold, rainy day, and since that is exactly the weather we've had, we were all looking forward to this. Unfortunately, it was a little bit of a let down. We added some chocolate chips and raisins before baking, and without those, it would have been way too bland. I also made a brown sugar-bourbon sauce to drizzle on top, and that is what took this recipe from boring to tasty.

 – Caroline and Claire of Bake With Us chose Chocolate Oatmeal Drops

This was the surprise recipe of the month. Everyone really liked these. They were a good combination of chocolate and oats, with just the right amount of cinnamon. They had an almost brownie-like texture, without being too heavy. We even made a second batch to send back to school with Mini Me after she came home for a quick weekend visit.

 Mike of Living Out West chose Toasted Almond Scones

I have been wanting to try these for a long time. Fresh out of the oven, these were really good. However, after that, they were just ok. We all really love the flaky, orange zest infused scones I usually make, and felt that these just didn't have the almond flavor we were looking for. For a scone recipe with an egg, these still had a nice texture, as some I have made have turned out rubbery or too dense. I would make these again, and maybe try a few things to increase the almond flavor.

TWD: January Roundup

Here is a quick roundup of the January recipes. Margo of Effort to Deliciousness chose Fluff-Filled Chocolate Madeleines. Chocolate madeleines are filled with marshmallow fluff filling and dipped in dark chocolate ganache.The madeleines were good, and the ganache really picked up the chocolate taste, however marshmallow fluff doesn't have a strong flavor and the little bit that made it into the madeleine didn't have much impact. We thought a raspberry jam would make a great filling with the double chocolate flavor in the cookies.

Betsy of A Cup of Sweetness chose Lemon Poppyseed Muffins. We really liked these lemony muffins. They were moist and flavorful, unlike the dry crumbly ones you come across almost everywhere. We made half with lemon curd filling and half without.

 The curd disappeared into the muffin as it baked, but we sloved that problem by adding more curd when we ate them. Next time we thought we would put a lemon streusel topping on them to dress them up a bit.

We almost didn't make the Nutty, Chocolatly, Swirly Sour Cream Bundt Cake that Jennifer of Cooking for Comfort chose. I've been making similar sour cream cakes since I was a teenager and I had a recipe that I liked. I'm sure glad that I had a change of heart and that Mimi Jr. had the time to put this extraordinary cake into the oven. 

Orange, chocolate, cinnamon, raisins and nuts combine with a velvety textured cake to make this the best sour cream swirl cake I've ever had.  I'm not sure if it's Dorie's recipe, or if Mimi Jr. is just an excellent baker, but this is one of my top five recipes from Dorie's book.

printable recipe

 We did skip the Midnight Crackles cookies as we were not in much of a cookie mood after our holiday cookies. Recipes can be found by following the link to  the recipe host's blog. As always, we are looking forward to the February recipes.

TWD: A December round up

I hope everyone had a great holiday season.  It's good to be back at Mimi's Kitchen. This month I decided that I would do with Tuesdays with Dorie as I have done with French Fridays, and do a monthly round of the recipes I made. The round up is a nice way to showcase the recipes in the book and I will most likely continue this way for the two baking groups.

First,  Hindy of Bubie’s Little Baker chose Translucent Maple Tuiles,

These cute little cookie/candy treats are so easy to make but we thought they were more of a granish than a stand alone treat. We enjoyed their maple brown sugar flavor, but felt they really need some mousse or a flan to go along with them. 

Next, Amber of Cobbler du Monde chose Apple-Coconut Family Cake

This was a nice moist cake with plenty of apples. Because we are split on the coconut issue,  I added coconut to only half of the cake, but even my coconut lovers did not like the coconut in this cake. They thought it was a distracting texture, and preferred just the rum-laced apple flavor of the plain side.

 Jill of Jill’s Blog chose Cardamom Crumb Cake

 This is a nice tender coffee cake. I baked it in the 8 inch pan as directed, but as you can see from the depth of the cake it really would have been better in a 9 inch pan.

 We thought the flavor was ok, but it did not deliver as much of a flavor punch as we expected. The cardamom/orange/crumb combo sounds wonderful, but we felt it was just too subtle.

Since it was such a plain looking little cake, we decide to dress it up with a little drizzle frosting made with confectioners sugar and orange juice. This was just the perfect adorment for this cake, giving it a flavor boost and a little decoration on top too.

December 28 – Rewind! We took a breather, since we have way too many baked goods crowding our kitchen.

To see what the other bakers made visit our blog roll.

TWD:Cranberry Lime Galette

 Whitney, April, and Elizabeth of Celestial Confections chose Cranberry Lime Galette to make this week. When I first read the recipe, I thought that there were a lot of individually assertive ingredients. Ginger, lime, and cranberry can all be pretty strong on their own, so I wasn't too sure how they would be when combined. We were pleasantly suprised at how beautifully everything came together. The hint of lime in the background was a nice contrast to the slightly spicy ginger and sweet/tart cranberries.  

Since I had some pie dough in the fridge, and it only rolled out to a 10 inch circle, I used 1/2 the filling ingredients and the galette was the perfect size for the four of us.

Dorie says to use her "good for just about everything" pie crust. I have made this several times and it is good, however I have found a better pie crust- Cooks Illustrated Foolproof Pie dough. It's much the same as Dorie's but you replace some of the water with vodka. The alcohol cooks out and leaves no flavor, and the result is the best pie crust I have made. This dough is so forgiving, even the scraps which I rolled together came out light and flaky. 

If you are not familiar with Cooks Illustrated, pick up their Holiday Baking issue and enjoy. I have had success with all the recipes from there, and can't wait to pick something to try from the holiday issue!

Cranberry Lime Galette
Baking- from my house to your- Dori Greenspan

Pie Dough for a single crust , chilled
3 TBSP ground nuts (walnuts, almonds, pecans or skinned hazelnuts)
3 TBSP dry bread crumbs (unseasoned, store bought)
2 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen (let thaw and pat dry)
1 medium apple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1/2 cup moist, plump dried cranberries (optional)
3/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
a 1 1/2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped*

grated zest of 1 lime
juice of 1/2 lime
3 Tbsp raspberry jam or jelly
decorating (coarse) or granulated sugar, for dusting
confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment (see below) or a silicone mat.

To make it easier to move the pie dough onto the baking sheet, roll it between sheets of parchment (in which case, you can use one of the rolling sheets to line the baking sheet) or wax paper or plastic wrap. Alternatively, work on a well-floured surface, taking care to keep the dough moving by turning it and flouring the surface often.

Roll the dough into a large 1/8-inch circle. Using a pastry wheel or a paring knife, trim the dough to a 13-inch diameter. Transfer the dough to the baking sheet and keep it covered in the refrigerator while you make the filling.

Mix together the nuts and bread crumbs.

Toss together the remaining ingredients (except the decorating and confectioners' sugars for dusting) in a bowl, stirring just to mix.

Remove the crust from the refrigerator. Using a cake pan or pot lid as a template and the tip of a blunt kitchen knife as a marker, gently trace a 9-inch circle in center of the dough--this is the area for the filling. Sprinkle the center circle with the nut and crumb mixture and top with the filling. Now gently lift the unfilled border of dough up and onto the filling: as you lift the dough and place it on the filing, it will pleat. Brush the dough very lightly with a little water, then sprinkle it with a teaspoon or two of decorating or granulated sugar.

Bake the galette for 35-40 minutes, or until the crust is brown, the cranberries have popped and the filling is bubbling. Place the baking sheet on a rack to cool for 10 minutes.

Very carefully slide a small baking sheet or a cake lifter under the galette and slip the galette onto a rack to cool. Serve the galette with it is just warm or when it has reached room temperature, lightly dusted with confectioners' sugar.

* We used a micro-plane and grated the ginger, it seemed much stronger than when we chopped it so we did not use the entire amount. Use your own judgement on how much to add.


Foolproof Pie Dough via Cooks Illustrated
2 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons sugar
12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup cold vodka
1/4 cup cold water

1.Process 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, sugar until combined.  Add butter and shortening and process until dough just starts to clump (it will look like cottage cheese curds with no visible flour) scrape bowl of processor. Add remaining flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around the bowl and the mass of dough has been broken up.  Empty mixture into a medium bowl.
2. Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture.  With a rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide into 2 even balls, flatten into a 4 inch disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes.
*Note this pie dough is very wet and need a bit of flour when rolling it out.

foolproof pie dough printable recipe

If you want the recipe for the galette, visit Celestial Confections.  To see what the other TWD bakers made
visit our blog roll.

Cranberry Lime Galette printable recipe

TWD: Cranberry Shortbread Cake

  This week Jessica of A Singleton in the Kitchen chose Not-Just-for Thanksgiving Cranberry Shortbread cake

 Fresh, tangy cranberry and orange jam sandwiched between two layers of soft sweet cake made for a delicious fall treat. We loved that it was a combination of two of our favorites- shortbread and cranberry. The cranberry filling still had enough of the tart and slightly bitter flavors that we love in the fresh berries, and the cake had the perfect amount of sweetness to complement the cranberries without making them too sweet. We thought that they tasted even better after sitting in the fridge for a few hours.

The rich jewel tones of the jam and the soft ivory cake make for an eye catching dessert and a very pretty addition to a holiday dessert tray. I made ours in a 9x9 square pan instead of the round spring form pan called for in the recipe, dusted them with powdered sugar and cut them into bite size bars, which I liked because you were able to see the layers really well in each piece. 

I love to cook with fresh cranberries while they are in season, and this will definitely be added to our list of cranberry treats we look forward to every year!

Not-Just-for Thanksgiving Cranberry Shortbread cake

Baking: from my home to yours Dorie Greenspan

For the cake:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch salt

13 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Jam filling

1 large navel orange

About 1/4 cup orange juice

12 ounces fresh cranberries

1 cup sugar

Make jam:
Grate zest of orange into a medium saucepan. Slice off the peel, removing white pith, slice between membranes to release segments, cut segments into 1/4 inch pieces and toss into the pan. Squeeze the juice from the membranes into a measuring cup and water or juice to measure 1/4 cup. Pour it into the pan. Add the cranberries to the pan, stir in 3/4 cup sugar and set pan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.  Cook, stirring almost constantly, until cranberries pop and your spoon leaves tracks, about 5 minutes. Scrape jam into a bowl, taste it if it is too tart add more sugar to taste. Cool to room temperature. Store I fridge up to 2 weeks.

Cake:
Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
Working with a stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter on medium speed until soft and smooth. Add 1 cup of sugar and continue to beat until it dissolves into the butter. Reduce speed to low and add the egg and yolk, beating until they too are absorbed. Beat in vanilla . Add flour, mixing only until it is incorporated, do not over beat. Dough will be thick.

Turn dough on to a work surface and gather it into a ball, then divide in half and pat each half into a disk. Wrap disk in plastic and refrigerate 15-30 minutes.

Pre heat oven to 350f. Lightly butter a 9 inch spring form pan. I used a 9 inch square pan fitted with a parchment sling.

Work with one piece of dough at a time. For the bottom layer, roll or pat 1 disk of dough into bottom of pan. Spread the cranberry jam over the dough. Unwrap the second disk leave on plastic wrap and roll or press until it is the dimension of your pan. Carefully lift the dough and invert it onto the filling, lift off the plastic wrap and use your fingers to even it as necessary so that it covers the filling. Brush the top of the cake very gently with water and sprinkle with the remaining 2 teaspoons sugar.

Bake 35-40 minutes, or until the top of the cake is lightly golden and a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and cool for 20 minutes. Release from pan (lift out sling or run a knife around the inner edge of spring from pan, remove sides)and let cool to room temperature.

  Visit Jessica for the recipe and visit our blog roll to see just what the other TWD bakers thought.

printable recipe

TWD: Fold Over Pear Torte

Fold Over Pear Torte

Cakelaw Laws of the Kitchen selected Fold-Over Pear Torte for us to bake this week. A creamy custard filling is packed with sweet, ripe pears, dried apricots, and a few nuts for crunch, then everything is folded into a flaky pie crust resulting in a really lovely autumn dessert.

The creamy custard filling reminded us of Mimi Jr.'s favorite dessert, Pear Pepper Pie, but the heat of the pepper was replace by tangy sweet apricots. Pears are another fall favorite at our house, for eating and baking, so we were excited to try a new pear recipe.  

Fold Over Pear Torte

Dorie Greenspan Baking from my home to yours 

One recipe good for almost everything pastry dough, chilled

Filling:

1/3 cup all-purpose (plain) flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

3 large, ripe but firm pears

Squirt of fresh lemon juice

Grated zest of 1/2 lemon

1/2 cup finely diced moist, plump dried apricots or moist, plump golden raisins

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

2 large eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon rum

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

2 tablespoons (~25g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 cup heavy cream (I used light cooking cream)

confectioners (icing) sugar, for dusting

Prepare an 8 or 9 inch spring form pan with pastry dough:

Once the dough has chilled, roll it out between pieces of wax paper, into a 14 inch round. Place the rolled dough, still in between the paper or cling film, onto a baking tray, and refrigerate for 20 minutes:

Generously butter an 8or 9 inch round spring form pan. Take the dough out of the fridge, remove the top piece of paper or film, and turn the round of dough, bare side down, into the spring form pan. Remove the rest of the paper or film, then gently press the dough into the pan so that it is flat against the bottom. Next, press the sides of the dough up against the sides of the pan. Do this by turning the pan on its side and turn the pan as you press down the dough. The dough will pleat and may even crack. This is OK - just press the cracks together.

Once your pan is lined with dough, cover it and put it back in the fridge to chill while you make the filling and preheat the oven. Line a baking sheet big enough to hold your spring form pan with a piece of baking paper or a silicone mat.

Filling:

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

Peel and core the pears, then cut them into 1/4 inch cubes. Put them in a medium bowl, and toss them with the lemon juice to prevent darkening. Stir in the zest, apricots (or raisins) and nuts:

Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar together on medium-high speed until they thicken (~ 3 minutes). Reduce the mixer speed to low, and add the rum and extracts. Still with the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients, mixing only until incorporated. Last, add the melted butter, then the cream, mixing only until the batter is homogenous.

Remove the chilled dough in the pan from the fridge, and place it on the lined baking sheet. Spoon the fruit into the bottom of the pan, then pour over the batter, stopping when you have 1/2 to 1 inch of crust extending above the batter. Don't overfill the crust - you may have some batter left over. Using your fingertips, gently push the dough down over the filling in a ruffle towards the centre of the torte. Don't push the dough into the batter:

There should be space between the filling and the crust, as the filling will rise to fill the gap.

Put the torte in the preheated oven, and lower the oven temperature to 180 degrees Celsius/350 degrees Fahrenheit/ gas mark 4. Bake the torte for 60-70 minutes, or until the crust is browned and a knife inserted into the custard comes out clean. Check the torte after it has been baking for 40 minutes or so, and if the crust is getting too brown, cover the torte with a foil tent for the remainder of the baking time.

Remove the baked torte from the oven, and allow it to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.

Just before serving, run a knife around the outside of the torte to ensure it hasn't stuck to the pan, then remove the sides of the pan: dust with powdered sugar. 

printable recipe

To see what the other TWD  bakers thought visit our blog roll.

TWD: Tarte Fine

 Apple Tart

 Leslie of Lethally Delicious decided on Tarte Fine for us to bake this week. If you don't know Leslie, drop on over, she belongs to a few baking groups and always has something great to eat. I'd really like to be one of her co-workers since she is so generous in sharing her goodies with them.

This tart is simplicity at its best. A crispy puff pastry crust is topped with fresh apples and a sprinkling of sugar and baked until the apples are soft and beginning to caramelize. We timed it just right and this was done right as we finished dinner, and it was a tasty way to get ready for fall and all the apple baking to come. I did enjoy making my own puff pastry just for fun, but you could throw this together in no time with the frozen packages, and have a delicious dessert with little effort.

TWD: Apple Tart

Dorie Greenspan Baking: from my home to yours

Dorie's Note: Pepperidge Farm puff pastry sheets are available in every supermarket across the country. However, I can't encourage you enough to search out an all-butter puff pastry at a local specialty store. If the store doesn't carry frozen all-butter puff pastry, perhaps it will order it for you. The pastry I buy--which is so good I stopped making puff pastry at home--is made by Dufour pastry.

Ingredients:

3 medium-size firm sweet apples, preferably Golden Delicious

Squirt of fresh lemon juice

1 sheet (about 8 ounces) frozen puff pastry, preferably all butter (see above), thawed

2 teaspoons milk or heavy cream

1 large egg, beaten with about 1/2 teaspoon water, for egg wash

3-4 teaspoons sugar

1/3 cup apricot jam, for glazing

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Peel the apples, slice them in half lengthwise and core them. Cut the apples halves in half again and cut about 7 lengthwise slices from each quarter. Put the slices into a bowl and toss them with the lemon juice.

On a sheet of parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, roll the sheet of puff pastry out into a rectangle that is about 9 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches. If the dough is warm, cover it with a piece of plastic wrap and refrigerate it for about 20 minutes. If it's still cool, just lift the paper or mat and place it on a baking sheet. Arrange the apple slices in slightly overlapping rows on the pastry, making sure to leave a border of 1/4 to 1/2 inch bare. Brush the borders lightly with the milk or cream, then brush the egg wash over the apple slices. Sprinkle the apples and the borders with the sugar.

Bake the tart for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed and golden around the edges and the apples are soft and brown at the borders. Remove from the oven. If you want the edges of the apples to be even darker, you can run the tart under the broiler; be very careful not to overbake the pastry border. (To avoid burning the edges, you can cover the perimeter of the tart with aluminum foil.)

Boil the jam with a smidgen of water until it liquifies, then brush the glaze over the apples (if the jam has any chunks of apricot in it, avoid them).

Serve the tart hot or warm.

Playing Around:

If you'd like a sweeter tart, before you arrange the apple layer, scatter 2 tablespoons butter, cut into bits, over the pastry rectangle and sprinkle over 2 tablespoons sugar. Omit the egg wash, and once the apples are in place, brush them with 3-4 tablespoons melted butter and sprinkle with about 3 tablespoons sugar. Bake and glaze the tart as directed.

printable recipe

To see what the other bakers made visit the TWD blogroll.

TWD: Coffee Break Muffins

Coffee Break Muffins

 Rhiani of Chocoholic Anonymous picked Coffee-Break Muffins from Dori's book, Baking: From my Home to Yours. These light and delicate muffins had a delicious coffee flavor, but that wasn't quite enough for us- they needed a little something to make them special.

To half of the batter I added chocolate chips and an Oreo cookie crumb topping, with a coffee/chocolate combination in mind and it was a hit with the mocha lovers at my house.

The cinnamon flavor was not very strong, so next time I would increase the cinnamon in the batter and I would add a cinnamon and sugar struesel topping to the plain muffins to give them that little something extra. The plain muffins are a good starting point for any number of variations, and a nice change from the blueberry or banana muffins we usually make.

Visit Rhiani if you want the recipe. To see what the other TWD bakers thought visits our blogroll.