Tuesdays with Dorie BCM: Touch-of-Crunch Chocolate Cake
December 10, 2019 at 12:01 am | Posted in BCM, cakes & tortes, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 4 CommentsTags: baking, cake, chocolate
I totally didn’t realized what this Touch-of-Crunch Chocolate Cake was all about until I actually went to make it. I just thought, “gonna make a chocolate cake today,” and assumed it would be like most others. Then I had to switch out my cake pan for a pie plate, get a double boiler going and locate some black sesame seeds in the freezer (they’re the hidden crunch in the batter). But what a nice surprise this turned out to be. It baked up with a pretty, crackly, brownie-like crust and a rich mousse-like middle. Super chocolatey, there’s not much in the way of dry ingredient binder here…just a spoonful of flour or cornstarch. I used cornstarch to keep it GF. Dorie says that this cake shines straight from the fridge, and it does, but I actually preferred it at room temperature, when it’s smooth like a truffle, except for that touch-of-crunch from the surprise sesame seeds of course!
For the recipe, see Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie DC: Double-Ginger Molasses Cookies
December 3, 2019 at 12:01 am | Posted in cookies & bars, DC, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 6 CommentsTags: baking, cookies, holiday
I love these Double-Ginger Molasses Cookies. I love them so much. Not only do these molasses-spice cookies have double ginger (ground and crystalized), they also have double chocolate (cocoa and bits)! I want to share them with everyone I know, but I also want to eat them all myself. That, my friends, is the sign of a fabulous cookie.
Once you have your dough mixed and portioned into balls, you can bake the cookies free-form, but I went with Dorie’s muffin tin option, which keeps them chubby and chewy and perfectly shaped (especially if you weigh each dough ball…I used 26-28 grams per). The dough is rolled in sugar before baking…I do suggest flattening the balls into pucks before dredging them in sugar, instead of after. You can flatten them gently in your hand and then toss them in the sugar before laying them into the muffin tin. If the sugar gets pressed all the way into the dough, you might lose the sparkly, crunchy effect.
These are definitely worthy of your cookie box, your cookie swap or your secret hidden alone-time cookie tin (I know you have one!). For the recipe, see Dorie’s Cookies by Dorie Greenspan (it’s also here). Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll.
Tuesdays with Dorie BCM: Caramelized-Coffee Bean Pots de Crème
November 26, 2019 at 12:01 am | Posted in BCM, groups, puddings, custards, mousses, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 7 CommentsTags: caramel, coffee, custard
Pots de crème are luxurious baked custards (pots of cream! and egg yolks!), and these Caramelized-Coffee Bean Pots de Crème are flavored with cracked coffee beans further roasted and toasted in caramelized sugar. Pots de crème are rich, and a small-ish serving will do. I baked these babies off in some cute little French yogurt pots that I had to go all the way to Europe to collect! Turns out it was worthwhile trip. I served my cream pots with a little whipped cream and some chocolate covered espresso beans.
For the recipe, see Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll.
Everyday Dorie: Apple Custard Crisp
November 22, 2019 at 12:01 am | Posted in cobbler, crisps, shortcakes, cook the book fridays, everyday dorie, groups, sweet things | 6 CommentsTags: baking, everyday dorie, fruit
Nothing against pie, but I honestly like a fruit crisp or crumble just as well. Some people won’t agree with this, but me, I’m mostly eating pie for the filling. Why not just skip the crust and sprinkle on a little sweet streusel instead? So much easier and just as good, IMO. This Apple Custard Crisp ups the easy deliciousness with a creamy brown sugar custard (quickly whisked up in a measuring cup) that’s poured over the apples before the streusel goes on top. My custard didn’t really come out saucy when baked, but it coated the apples luxuriously. The no-oat streusel baked up crispy and not too sweet, and the recipe for it made extra, so I have some in the freezer for another custard crisp when the urge strikes.
For the recipe, see Everyday Dorie by Dorie Greenspan, and head over to Cook the Book Fridays to see how the group liked this one.
Tuesdays with Dorie DC: Smoky, Cheesy Cookies
November 19, 2019 at 8:50 pm | Posted in DC, groups, savory things, snacks, tuesdays with dorie | 2 CommentsTags: baking, cheese, cookies, savory
I’m really enjoying the “cocktail cookies” section of Dorie’s Cookies. Not that I could ever OD on sweets or anything, but it’s also nice to have a salty snack to go with a glass of wine or a green salad. These Smoky, Cheesy Cookies are like cheese and crackers in one. They have sharp cheddar and smoked gouda (or smoked mozzarella, in my case) and some cayenne pepper to give them a little zip. Similar to the Parmesan Galettes we made last month, this dough is made in the food processor. These are roll-out cookies rather than slice-and-bake, though, and they seem a bit sturdier…more crispy and flaky than delicate and sandy.
For the recipe, see Dorie’s Cookies by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie BCM: Croquets
November 12, 2019 at 12:01 am | Posted in BCM, cookies & bars, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 8 CommentsTags: baking, cookies
If you are like me and need a little treat to go with your coffee, then you’ll appreciate what these Croquets have to offer. Crisp and sugary, with lotsa nuts (I used macadamias, and also a pinch of cinnamon), they are a perfect saucer sidekick.
They are not flourless, but the base of the dough is a meringue. Therefore, the dough is sticky but it bakes up sweet and with a crackly crust. The dough is formed into logs, which are cut after baking, biscotti-style. The croquets don’t need a second bake, though– they are very crunchy. In fact I think croquet must be a play on the word croquant, which means “crunchy” in French (unless it has to do with the lawn game, in which case I’m baffled!). This crunchiness makes them excellent coffee dunkers, but they’re also good smashed up a bit and sprinkled on an ice cream sundae.
For the recipe, see Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan (it’s also here). Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
Everyday Dorie: Lightening-Fast Tahini Chicken (or Pork)
November 10, 2019 at 11:02 am | Posted in cook the book fridays, everyday dorie, groups, other savory, savory things | 7 CommentsTags: chicken, everyday dorie, savory
I’m such a dipstick– I totally thought the second Friday of November was next week and I missed the posting date for CBF. But this recipe is called Lightening-Fast Tahini Chicken, so once I realized, I was able to get it together in a flash!
As written in Dorie’s recipe, this dish is “Tahini Pork” and is made with pork tenderloin. I don’t eat pork, but have found that chicken can often make a fine swap for it, so I used boneless, skinless breasts in place of the tenderloin here. Cube the meat and toss it in a spice mix, brown it up a bit and make a quick sauce straight in the pan to finish cooking it through. I didn’t even bother to pre-mix the tahini and lemon juice– I just added them to the skillet at the same time. Lightening-fast, flavorful and delicious!
For the recipe, see Everyday Dorie by Dorie Greenspan, and head over to Cook the Book Fridays to see how the group liked this one. And P.S., she also has a honey-mustard variation here.
Tuesdays with Dorie DC: Chocolate-Pecan Pie Cookie Bars
November 5, 2019 at 8:36 am | Posted in cookies & bars, DC, groups, pies & tarts, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 4 CommentsTags: baking, cookies, pie
Dare I say that I like these Chocolate-Pecan Pie Cookie Bars even more than I like pecan pie? These have heaps of pecan and chocolate pieces, with just enough goo to hold them together. And the base is Dorie’s Sweet Tart Dough, which is so easy to work with. I didn’t even need to roll it out or to chill it before baking it here…I whizzed the dough up in the food processor, pressed it into the pan, weighed it down and it was ready to blind bake right away. The cookie bars are easier and faster to make than pie, and they cool faster, too. (That means you can be eating them faster!)
I made a half recipe in a loaf pan, but if you have a big crowd to serve, go for the full 9-inch square because they’ll be gone fast. If you need to make them in advance, they seem to keep just fine for a few days in the fridge.
For the recipe, see Dorie’s Cookies by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll and please join us if you haven’t already.
Everyday Dorie: Miso-Glazed Salmon
October 25, 2019 at 11:41 am | Posted in cook the book fridays, everyday dorie, groups, other savory, savory things | 9 CommentsTags: everyday dorie, fish, savory
I love fish but I don’t cook it that often at home. I don’t feel like I’m great at it so I usually save it for a nice dinner out, where someone more competent can perfectly prepare it for me. When I do cook fish at home, I’ve found that baking it is the way to go…it’s easier, it’s cleaner, and the delicate (and often expensive!) fish doesn’t fall apart on me as readily as it does on the stovetop. This Miso-Glazed Salmon is a great make-at-home fish dinner, as there’s very little prep to do before it’s ready to be popped into the oven.
I covered my salmon fillets in the miso and soy glaze and let them hang out in a glass pie plate in the fridge for a few hours. When I took the dish out, the whole set up still looked pretty clean, so I just went straight into the oven with the pie plate, rather than transferring the salmon to a lined baking sheet. After the fish was baked, I was able to just lift the flesh right off the skin in one piece and leave it behind. The downside of the glass pie plate is that I was nervous to put it under the broiler once I saw that the marinade hadn’t really taken on any color in the oven. I’ve seen sushi chefs blowtorch raw fish to give it a quick sear, so I pulled out my little kitchen torch to brown things up a bit.
I do wonder if I had removed some of the excess marinade (which I didn’t want to waste since it was more a glaze than a liquid) or used red miso instead of white, would it have gotten more bronzed in the oven? I do think next time I’ll let the salmon marinate for the better part of a day for even more flavor. Well, no matter, it was delicious, and I served it with furikake rice and some cute baby bok choy.
For the recipe, see Everyday Dorie by Dorie Greenspan, and head over to Cook the Book Fridays to see how the group liked this one.
Tuesdays with Dorie BCM: Petite Apple Croustades
October 22, 2019 at 12:01 am | Posted in Uncategorized | 5 CommentsTags: baking, fruit, galette
Wow– I am just going to brag and say that my Petite Apple Croustades came out so beautifully! I was totally not expecting that. Working with phyllo dough (the “crust” for these) always makes me a bit crazed because I refuse to cover it or handle it gently. I go fast and messy…so I usually expect the results to look messy, too. Instead of raggedy wads, I opened the oven to find perfectly bronzed and frilly apple-phyllo bundles looking out at me. Why, hello there!
Each croustade is made from six strips of buttered and sugared phyllo arranged in a muffin tin. I can see the assembly work being a bit tedious, but I only made two of them, so it wasn’t a big deal. And the mess I made was fairly small, haha. Add in a filling of caramelized cooked apples (I soaked raisins in Grand Marnier and put them in, too), twist up the overlapping phyllo strips around it and you’re good to bake. I had a little filling left over that, along with some caramel ice cream, I spooned on the side. A perfect fall dessert.
For the recipe, see Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
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