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: Palets de Dames November 11, 2014

I would like to apologize for being MIA for an entire month.

Funny thing is I have actually been baking along, but like always times escapes me or maybe I just fell into a wormhole.  But I did emerge out of that whole over 5 pounds lighter.  That isn’t due to the baking, I am still training for a 5k on Thanksgiving and have been incorporating a lot of other exercises into that.  I have found that I am A LOT stronger now, but I still have a sweet tooth.

So the last time you heard from me I had embarked on my Vegan Adventure in September. Which was fantastic, and I need to fall into the vegan hole again because I really liked the way that I felt.  I ended up diving head first into the omnivore hole, but I have been incorporating more vegetables and more than a few times have enjoyed a home cooked vegan dinner.

Fair warning in advance, anyone that is still following me from my month of vegan food, I have reverted back to my omnivore ways…..for now 🙂

Holy Crap, Dorie came out with a new book.  I knew it was coming, but it surprised me the night we were doing an overnight set up (I work at a bookstore) and it happened to be one of the books on the table we were setting up.  I immediately screamed like a little girl and told one of my co-workers to stop what he was doing.  I ended up placing the book on hold, to purchase the next day because it was already WAY passed close. I also proceeded to hand it to my husband and told him that this was my anniversary present from him 🙂 Which happens to be today.

What a happy coincidence.

This is Tuesdays with Dorie: Baking Chez Moi style.  We start it off with a happy little cookie called Palets de Dames (page 272-274 in Baking Chez Moi).  Essentially it is a butter cookie with a lemon icing. I discovered that my lemons had gone bad, so I used 3 drops of Doterra Lemon Essential Oil.  The cookies turned out great and my 3.5 year old kept stealing them off the counter and eating them.  I really loved having them with my Irish Breakfast tea in the morning.

Since, I was baking  along here are the things that I did make and missed to post.

From Baking With Julia, last Tuesday was the Alsatian Onion Tart located on page 426.

Also, from Baking With Julia, on October 7, 2014 we made the Sunny-Side Up Apricot Pastries located on pages 192-194. I ended up subbing canned apricots because I was unable to find any fresh.  I also made this with vegan pastry cream, so it was vegan because I used Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry.

Tuesdays With Dorie: Vanilla Pound Cake July 15, 2014

This weeks recipe for Tuesdays With Dorie is the Vanilla Pound Cake which is located on pages 251-252 in Baking With Julia.  I was looking at the recipe it looked pretty straight forward and reminded me of the Pound Cake recipe my Mom and Nanny make.  I decided to compare those two recipes and only noticed a few differences.

My family’s recipes has

1) No baking powder.

2) 1 cup more sugar

3) 1 tsp more vanilla extract (total of 1 Tbsp)

4) 1/2 cup of vegetable oil (in addition to the 2 sticks of butter)

5) 2 more eggs

I guess the most notable different with regard to taste was sweetness and texture.  Of course with one cup less sugar this pound cake wouldn’t be as sweet, which I did actually mind.  It was the texture of the cake.  It was good, but when comparing the two I would prefer my family’s recipe because it yields a moister cake.  Which of course it would with the addition of vegetable oil. I have done the recipe with apple sauce instead of the oil and it turned out just as moist. I have also left it completely out of the recipe a few times and the cake turned out good just not really moist. Because the recipe doesn’t call for baking powder it yields a denser cake, but you are using sifting the dry ingredients and the creaming of the butter and sugar together instead of chemical leveners.

So in the end, it is a good recipe, but a bit too dry for my taste.  I will probably just stick with my family’s recipe and modify flavorings for the type of cake I want.

The cake looks WAY darker than it really was. I was using natural sunlight coming in from the skylight.

Tuesdays With Dorie: Mocha Brownie Cake March 18, 2014

This weeks Tuesdays With Dorie recipe is the Mocha Brownie Cake, which is located on pages 282-283 in Baking With Julia. This recipe is essentially a cake brownie that is filled and iced with a Chocolate Ganache. I decided to add a Saint Patrick’s Day twist to it and add Irish Cream flavoring to the cake and ganache. The idea was to serve it yesterday, but I started a little late in the day while running errands and running herd on 2 little ones.

So, yesterday, I baked and assembled the cake and this morning I reheated the ganache and iced the cake aka I poured the ganache over. Through the years I have become really good at pouring ganache over a cake.

How is that, you ask.

A few years back, I worked at a bakery and one of my jobs almost everyday was to pour chocolate ganache over our Chocolate Disaronno Cake and then decorate them. So, I actually got pretty good at it 🙂

Finally, the children are in bed and I have been able to slice into the cake (with a hot knife, of course) and taste it. I found it to be very good and the Irish Cream flavor was perfect. I ate this straight out of the fridge and the cake was firm, but moist and the ganache was smooth and melted once it hit your mouth. I would definitely consider making this for a birthday cake for anyone that LOVES chocolate, but remember to use a good quality chocolate.

Tuesdays With Dorie: Buttermilk Scones March 4, 2014

This weeks Tuesdays With Dorie is a recipe for Buttermilk Scones, which is located on pages 210-211 in Baking With Julia. The recipe is just a basic scone recipe with the addition of either lemon or orange zest. I asked Mike what he would prefer, so we went with lemon zest. Which of course I doubled the amount to 2 teaspoons.

These might be one of the best scones I have ever had and made. The rise on them was absolutely perfect and the lemon flavor went perfectly with the cup of tea that I had with them. I actually didn’t need to put any butter or jam on them because they were perfect just the way they are. Even the day after baking I still preferred them plain.

Emma even got in on the scones action. Initially when they were still warm she asked me to put it in the freezer to cool it down. Mike then proceeded to take her out to play in the snow. When they came back inside, I made them hot chocolate and everyone ate a scone. Emma stood on a chair at the counter and ate her small scone with her hot chocolate in an espresso cup (perfect size for an almost 3 year old).

Mike took two scones into work this morning, and I have already eaten two today and it isn’t even 1 pm yet. Emma also had most of a small scone; again while standing on a chair at the counter. She tried to claim all of them by trying to lick/bite the sugar off the top but I came in before the act was complete.

Now, here is a crappy picture of a scone since I haven’t had time to upload the pictures from the camera yet 🙂

Tuesdays With Dorie: Challah December 3, 2013

This weeks Tuesdays With Dorie recipe is Challah bread, which is located on page 93 in Baking With Julia.

Does anyone else want to yell CHALLAH like Holla when they see the bread or the word. I, or course, am either yelling it out loud or in my head. I yell it at home, in public I say it in my head or whisper it. I guess I am just weird that way.

This recipe worked out really well. I used my mixer for the most part, but then I was convinced the motor was about to go out so I finished the kneading by hand. Since I started making the bread pretty late at night and didn’t notice the 3 different rises it has to go through, I made a small adjustment. After the first rise, I punched it down and then covered the dough and placed it in the fridge for the second rise. Which of course it doubled it size perfectly, so when I woke up in the morning I let it come almost to room temperature. Hindsight, I should have let it completely come to room temperature, so the last rise took a bit long to double in size. Which was fine because I was taking care of the girls.

The bread actually turned out great, and I am looking forward to some French Toast and/or Bread Pudding later this week.

Tuesdays With Dorie: Double Chocolate Cookies November 19, 2013

This weeks Tuesdays With Dorie recipe comes from page 329 in Baking With Julia and is Rick Katz’s Double Chocolate Cookies. These cookies are more like a brownie. They are the best parts of a brownie: crunchy edge and fudgy center. The key to this recipe is to not bake them too much. My oven has actually been running on the cool side so these took a little longer than the 10-12 minutes the recipe suggested. I find these are best when they are still slightly warm because the chocolate chips are still soft.

I had to change a few things in the recipe because of a mishap with some instant espresso powder. By mishap, I mean my powder solidified because of the conditions in my pantry, i.e. someone left the light on which the powder sits next to and I think humidity had a factor too. If I would have used it, I would have only used half the amount because the recipe actually calls for instant coffee which is milder. I did add some Irish Creme flavoring just for the heck of it and it worked perfectly.

These are what comforted me and feed my cold today 🙂

Tuesdays With Dorie: Croissants March 5, 2013

This weeks Tuesdays With Dorie recipe is CROISSANTS, which is being hosted by Amanda of Girl+Food=Love. This recipe is located on pages 185-186 in Baking With Julia, if you cruise on over to Amanda’s page it should also be there.

I have actually made croissants before, so I knew a couple of tricks that I didn’t know the first time that helped me out here. Mainly, if the recipe says to refrigerate the laminated dough (butter already incorporated) while doing the turns, you might want to only do half of the the time because you run the risk of the butter getting too cold and cracking while you are rolling it out. Which doesn’t make a pretty croissant, but it does taste good.

With this recipe it actually takes a couple of days to complete because you make the base of the dough, refrigerate it for 8 hours or overnight, add butter/laminate/do turns, rise for 3-4 hours, and finally form and bake. I think the hardest thing for me during the recipe was rolling the dough out. I was having a hell of a time, and getting a constant workout. But it probably doesn’t help that I had recently taken a 3 hour Glucose Test and my arms were bruised up (FYI I passed).

The first half of the dough, I accidentally made really small croissants. I had them rising on the counter for 3-4 hours and they really didn’t rise too much, but I baked them anyways. They looked okay, but they weren’t nice and fluffy. I did this part while my daughter was taking a nap. She decided to take a really short one so I was unable to roll out the other half of the dough until she went to bed later that night. So at 10 pm I rolled out the rest of the dough. I made 2 chocolate croissants and the rest plain, and I actually made them bigger this time. I wasn’t about to stay up for 4 more hours because I am almost 30 weeks pregnant and chasing around a toddler all day is exhausting. So I decided to do an experiment. I left the dough on the counter overnight to let it rise. Ten hours later, at 8 am, I walked into the kitchen to bake them off. They had rose beautifully and looked great, and they baked up perfect.

Now I just need to practice forming the croissants so that I get the more traditional look.

Tuesdays With Dorie: Boca Negra February 19, 2013

This weeks Tuesdays With Dorie recipe is Boca Negra, which is located on page 253 in Baking With Julia.. This recipe is being hosted by Cathy of A Frederick Food Garden.

I actually made this recipe for my 31st Birthday, which just happens to be Valentine’s Day. The recipe calls to use Bourbon (cake and topping) and I was afraid that Mike wouldn’t appreciate it if I used the good stuff. So I used rum in the white chocolate cream, and Chambord in the cake. With the Chambord I was hoping for a raspberry flavor, which it did impart a hint. For the white chocolate cream, which was pretty much a ganache, I didn’t feel comfortable using alcohol since I am 7 months pregnant. I still wanted the flavor so I decided to boil the rum with the cream so that the alcohol could cook out. Once the cream had cooled it had thickened but not enough for my liking, so I poured the cream into a mixing bowl and whipped up the cream to stiff peaks. I preferred the cream this way and it photographed better.

For the cake, I baked it in an 8-inch pan instead of a 9-inch and baked it for 40 minutes (recipe calls for 30 minutes). I was afraid that I might not have baked the cake long enough, especially since it was in a smaller pan. I decided to wait a bit before flipping it out on a serving plate, just in case.

And….

I was right, the cake probably could have used 5 more minutes in the oven because one of the sides wasn’t completely set and when I turned it out onto a plate one side slide out just a little. Which actually made it the shape of the Star Trek Enterprise ship. The fact that I noticed that makes me a complete nerd.

Mike and I ate the cside that slide out and it tasted great, but it is very rich. It was like eating straight chocolate ganache, and the cream on top was nice and cut the richness a bit. Next time I make this I will probably only make half a recipe of the cake and a quarter recipe of the cream because a little of both goes a long way.