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 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.
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.
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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