Tuesdays With Dorie: Catch up July 17, 2015

As usual, I have been making most of the recipes and forgetting to post.  Maybe I should just use my Instagram account for picture because my mind has not wanted to blog lately….sorry.  I actually took a month off, well not really because I still baked but didn’t eat anything, to do Whole 30 and it turned out well.

So without further ado, here is a picture of items that I have made between May and July.  Not in any order: Chocolate Cherry Brownies, Nutella Buttons, Peach-Raspberry Tart, and Strawberry Shortcakes French Style.

Tuesdays With Dorie: Coconut Tapioca April 28, 2015

This weeks Tuesdays With Dorie recipe is Coconut Tapioca which is located on page 382 in Baking Chez Moi. I actually made this last week because I knew I would forget about the overnight soak time and be screwed for posting on time.  Of course, I should have taken my picture before now but I am glad that I waited because the strawberry in the picture makes it look so much better. 

The only changed two things in the recipe: I used almond milk instead of whole milk so that the recipe would be vegan, and I used small tapioca pearls because I couldn’t find large.  Everything actually turned out great.  I really liked the flavor of the tapioca and Maureen asked for a bit and declared it to be “Tasty.” 

   

Tuesdays With Dorie: Sweet Ricotta Pie and Limoncello Cupcakes April 14, 2015

Slacker here.

Well not completely because as usual I did the recipes on time but I just “forget” to post.

Last weeks Tuesdays With Dorie recipe was for Sweet Ricotta Pie, which is located on page 376 in Baking With Julia. The traditional flavor with this pie was suppose to be anise, which I love but I was on the fence if anyone else would be helping me eat the pie.  I ended up swaping out the anise for vanilla extract and freshly grated orange zest. To bring out the flavor of the orange zest (1Tbsp) I combined it with the sugar and rubbed them together until the sugar was moist and fragrant.  The pie actually turned out great, but the lattice was a pain in the butt. The pie was not too sweet and I happened to also eat it for breakfast, opps.

 

This Tuesday recipe is for the Limoncello Cupcakes located on page 194 in Baking Chez Moi. Since I was happily reminded about this recipe when I opened my email this morning and saw the post for Leave Your Link (LYL). I incidently didn’t have some of the ingredients on had, most notibly Limoncello and Greek Yogurt.  I didn’t have time to drag two kids to the liquor store, so I opted to use Cointreau in its place along with orange zest. 

There seems to be an orange theme.  I did have lemons, but oh well.  My orange zest was in the freezer because I have taken to zesting any citrus that I am going to peel or juice and store it in the freezer. So, I actually didn’t have any oranges which we will get to juice for the frosting in a bit. For the Greek Yogurt, I subtituted sour cream and it worked fine. When I got to the icing I noticed that Dorie previously stated that the recipe makes a bit for each cupcake. I like a bit more than just a dollop, so I made 1.5 recipes with some modifications. Just realized that I might have been a bit butter happy because I used a bit more than I was suppose to: 1 stick plus 3 Tbsp butter, 3 cups confectioner’s sugar, 2 Tbsp Cointreau, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 1 Tbsp water or milk, 4 drops orange oil.

I guess part of me was trying to double it and the other part didn’t want to waste the sugar 🙂 

I did use the sugar syrup and just substituted Cointreau for the Limoncello, but I did not put the filling of orange or lemon marmalade.  Which, I kind of wish I would have because the cupcakes were a bit dry.  Nothing that drinking tea wouldn’t fix or milk in my husband’s case. Everyone loved the cupcakes. All day I was asked when they could have them.  Emma ate the icing off hers and the Maureen ate the cake.

  

Tuesdays With Dorie: Orange Madeleines and Pebble Bread March 18, 2015

Last weeks Tuesdays With Dorie was Lemon Madeleines which are located on page 212 in Baking Chez Moi.  I did actually did makes these on time and like most things I forget to post.  Funny thing was is that I made my husband a Lemon-Blueberry Bundt Cake that day, so I was out of lemons.  However, I did happen to have grated orange zest in my freezer.

SCORE

So, I was about to make orange Madeleines but since I didn’t actually have an orange on hand I couldn’t make the glaze. So they got the powdered sugar treatment.  When I made these I was actually on a 10 day cleanse, so I was unable to try them until they were almost a week old.  They still tasted really good especially since I hadn’t had any sugar in awhile 🙂

On Sunday, I made the starter for the pebble bread.  I had ever intention of finishing them on Monday, but I was also prepping for Saint Patrick’s Day.  I ended up running out of time by the time I had to leave for work at 4:30 pm.  But I did end up making Irish Soda Bread, Irish Brown Bread, Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes, and Jameson Chocolate Ganache.  I ended up leaving for work and I forgot to tell Mike to put the rising dough in the refrigerator. But he noticed it and gave me a call. The fully risen dough ended up taking an overnight rest in the refrigerator.

On Saint Patrick’s Day, in the midst of making Cornbeef and Cabbage, Steamed Kale with Lemon zest and Chives, Roasted Leeks, Colcanon, Irish Rarebit, Cauliflower Gratin, and finishing the cupcakes my filling them with the ganache and icing them with Irish Cream Icing; I was able to finished the Pebble Bread. I did modify the recipe slightly so that it wasn’t as complicated. Well for starters, we couldn’t find Barley Flour so Mike picked up a bag of barley and I ended up grinding it in the dry blender of my Vitamix.  It worked perfectly.  When cooking the bread, I did a slight modification.  I placed a pizza stone in the oven and set it for 475 degrees Fahrenheit. I did do the dip in water and cook in a skillet until the bottom was firm, but then I threw them in the oven on the pizza stone until they were brown.  It made it easier because I could fit more than one in the oven at a time. They did puff up more than they should have, but that was fine by me.

I ended up snacking on one of the breads while I was finishing up making dinner. The girls also snag themselves a quarter of one and really liked the bread.  So did Eomer, one of our dogs, because he kept stealing Maureen’s bread.  Mike said it reminded him of French bread.  I wouldn’t mind making this dough again but the baking method is a little involved especially with one person.

Tuesdays With Dorie: Pink Grapefruit Tart February 24, 2015

This weeks recipe for Tuesdays With Dorie is the Pink Grapefruit Tart which is located on page 138 of Baking Chez Moi. I am lucky that I looked at this recipe in advance and read everything over.  You would have to wake up REALLY early in the morning to make this all in one day because the different components have to rest in the refrigerator.  So I took Dorie’s advice and did the recipe over 2 days.  The first day, Saturday, I prepared the almond/lemon filling, grapefruit crèmeux, and tart crust.  On Sunday, I assembled the tart and let it chill in the fridge per instructions.

I only made a few modifications to the recipe.  We didn’t have any Campari, so I substituted Cointreau just for fun.  I am pretty sure we used Ruby Red Grapefruits since that was the only thing available.  Other than that I actually stuck to the recipe 🙂

At first I thought that no one was really going to like the tart.  It isn’t too sweet but it has a nice bitterness and sweetness of the Grapefruit. Surprisingly, I had one grapefruit left and Mike ended up eating it and sharing it with Maureen.  He also said both girls liked the grapefruit on the top of the tart rather than the tart.  But he REALLY liked the tart.  In the end it was a good surprise.  I had also made a vegan Sweet Potato Pie with Pecan Crunch topping, and when you eat the pies together the sweetness of the Sweet Potatoes is WAY too over powering and the Grapefruit Tart had a nice refreshing quality to it.

As I write this I am staring at my piece of pie and looking forward to finishing this entry so I can dive in.

Tuesdays With Dorie: Bread and Cake January 28, 2015

Surprisingly, I have actually made everything on time, but then the posting just doesn’t happen on time.

When I was placing my King Arthur Flour order the other week, I blanked and forgot to get Rye Flour.  So I sent the husband out to get some from the store and the Eastern European Rye Bread was actually pulled out of the oven at 10 pm the night we were suppose to post. Incidentally, I never actually took pictures of it, but one of the loaves is in the freezer.  I ended up making them in loaf pan since the husband LOVES rye bread and wanted to make sandwiches from it.  He made Tuna Melts one night when I was at work and said that it was really good. I have yet to try it since I am not really a fan of rye bread unless it is housing a Rueben.  This recipe is located on page 98 of Baking With Julia.

Now the Brown Butter and Vanilla Weekend Cake, located on page 6 of Baking Chez Moi, I actually made the weekend before so that we could have a dessert. Once it was cool enough to handle, I slicing myself a piece.  I was actually caught in the act by my 3.5 year old, and she insisted on a piece.  So we were standing in the kitchen eating the cake and we were caught by my 1.5 year old.  Then all three of us are in the kitchen and we get caught by the husband. So needless to say, me sneaking food did not work this time.  All of us ended up with a piece or two and eating it in the kitchen before dinner.  My oldest actually ate her entire piece which is surprising since she usually doesn’t eat the crust.  The cake was very good, and I loved the combination of brown butter and rum.  I ended up using 1 Tablespoon of Vanilla Bean Paste to replace the vanilla bean and it turned out fine. I am pretty sure we will be making this cake again since it was easy and everyone loved it.As you can see from the picture, Emma was hanging out eating slices while I was taking pictures 🙂

Tuesdays With Dorie: Granola Energy Bars January 13, 2015

This weeks Tuesdays With Dorie recipe is from Baking Chez Moi, it is the Granola Energy Bars.  This recipe came at a great time for me because I am actually trying to eat pretty healthy right now.  I did have to modify the recipe slightly because I wanted it to be vegan and then we had an incident with the Brown Rice Syrup.

I used the nuts and seeds that the recipe called for: pumpkin seeds raw, sunflower seeds raw and slivered almonds raw.  For the dried fruit I stuck with stuff that I like: dried cranberries and golden raisins, and used unsweetened coconut.  When I opened my Brown Rice Syrup it looked okay and then I smelled it and it smelled off.  I have a tendency to smell stuff to check to make sure it is okay.  Well when I looked closer, I noticed that there was small specks of mold growing in it.  I ended up throwing out the Brown Rice Syrup and I used Golden Syrup instead.  I also used coconut oil instead of the butter, hence vegan 🙂

The recipe actually came together really easy.  The hard part was waiting the 3 hours for it to cool in the pan before I could sample the bars.  Once they had cooled, I cut them, and sampled them. Then my youngest Bogarted my piece, like she usually does with food.  The granola bars and awesome.  I love the crunch and the slight sweetness.  I do eat them over the sink because they tend to make a mess, but a plate can also solve this problem.  I will definitely be making these again.

Tuesdays With Dorie: A Buche and a Nightcap… December 30, 2014

Came into a bar.

I swear the title sounds like something from a bad joke.

I am a little behind with regard to posting.  I made the Chocolate-Mint Nightcaps (Baking With Julia, page 309) for my husband to take to work, and I actually made them on time.  I ended up making the Gingerbread Buche de Noel (Baking Chez Moi, page 86) for Christmas.

For the nightcaps, I ended up not putting the cap on them because 1) transport would be difficult and 2) piped brown icing ALWAYS looks like poop.

I am sorry.  It really does, and I know I wasn’t the only one thinking it. But I might have been the only one that typed it 🙂

The cookies actually turned out really good.  I think I would have preferred a peppermint oil or extract in the chocolate ganache instead of boiling mint leaves in cream.  It was one of those, what is that interesting flavor and it is throwing me off because I was expecting chocolate and not mint leaf flavor. I ended up rolling the edges in some chocolate sprinkles that I had left over.  I should have rolled them in crushed up candy canes, but then I would have had to smash candy canes.  That would have alerted the villagers that mommy was making cookies and had the chocolate out.

The Gingerbread Buche de Noel surprised me at how many steps there were. I have made rolled cakes before and this is the first time that I have had to pre-roll the cake while warm. I was happy when the cake plopped right out of the pan and onto the powdered sugared towel.  I didn’t expect it to be that easy and it rolled nicely too. With regard to the actual recipe, I was surprised there was no sugar in the filling so I added about 1/2 cup of powdered sugar to sweeten it a bit.  For the icing it threw me off 1) that I was making an Italian Meringue and 2) there was cream of tartar in it.  I usually make an Italian Buttercream for the outside of my Buche de Noel’s anyways.  Well I followed the directions, and I didn’t like the icing.  I LOVE meringues so I am thinking it was the addition of the cream of tartar that just made it taste off. So when I eat the gingerbread cake, I just scrap the icing off the outside and I am good 🙂

Tuesdays With Dorie: Walnut Bread December 2, 2014

This weeks Tuesdays With Dorie is from Baking With Julia, and the recipe for the Walnut Bread is located on pages 121-122.  You start out by making the Mixed Starter Bread located on pages 113-120, and once the kneading phase is complete you move on over to the Walnut Bread to complete the recipe. The Mixed Starter Bread starts out with a walnut sized piece of dough from a previous yeast dough recipe (pizza, bread, etc.).  The only yeast dough I had in my freezer was Pita Dough that I had made in September, so I sawed a piece of that off to use.  Granted, I wasn’t suppose to use it since it had whole wheat flour in it, but oh well.

The first rise went fine, but the second rise was an utter failure.  There was no rise.  Since I knew that we were going to be adding more yeast by the third rise, I wasn’t too worried about it.  I just figured it wouldn’t have the depth of flavor that it would normally have. I had already used almost 3 cups of flour so I wasn’t about to back out now.  I ended up adding a bit more yeast at the third rise, just in case (I used 1 teaspoon).  From then on everything turned out great.  The bread looks awesome, but I have no yet tried any yet.  I will be cutting into in later today and then I will amend my post.

Tuesdays With Dorie: Cranberry Crackle Tart November 25, 2014

 

This weeks recipe is from Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan and is the Cranberry Crackle Tart located on pages 135-137. The crust is a sweet tart dough that you par bake and me and the crust got in a little altercation. I had made notes in my other cookbooks about par baking crusts and to only do it for half of the time because I always over bake it without fail. Well that is what happened, but good thing that I decided to make a double recipe of the dough. So I just had to wait for it to defrost and then I could make the crust again. I also added one more egg white (3 total) to the filling.

I made the tart today because we went to dinner at my in-laws tonight and we had it for dessert. I was very pleasantly surprised by the flavor. It was the perfect compliment to the sweet shortbread crust, tart cranberries, and creamy meringue. I would definitely make this again because for the most part it was simple.