Everyday Dorie: Granola-Topped Root Vegetable Gratin
November 25, 2022 at 5:44 pm | Posted in cook the book fridays, everyday dorie, groups, savory things, veggies | 3 CommentsTags: everyday dorie, savory
If I’m just cooking Thanksgiving dinner for the two of us, like last night, I can put some spins on the “normal” stuff and not have anybody think I ruined their holiday by making something weird. So I made something weird– Granola-Topped Root Vegetable Gratin. I know savory granola is a thing and I’m not opposed to it. In fact, I like the Not-So-Sweet Granola, and for this recipe, apart from seasoning it with salt, I left out all the other suggested spicing. That way, I had a blank slate to season my veggies with herbs instead (and if I want to eat some of the granola with fruit and yogurt later in the week, I can just add an extra drop of maple syrup and a dash of cinnamon to my bowl). Dorie says we can use whatever root veggies or squash we’d like, and I went with Yukon Golds, a sweet potato and a couple parsnips, tossed with thyme and rosemary. I guess I prefer a gratin to be cheesy and creamy. There was a little cream in here, but I don’t even know where it went…the dish was certainly not saucy. And while I roast a mix of vegetables all the time, adding the granola to the top sort of made them less yummy than they normally are. I’ll happy finish off the granola, maybe even in another savory preparation, just not like this.
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 BWD: Cranberry Spice Squares
November 20, 2022 at 11:36 pm | Posted in breakfast things, BWD, cakes & tortes, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 2 CommentsTags: baking, cake, holiday
Here we are, a couple of days out from Thanksgiving, and I still don’t really know what I’ll be making for dessert (although I have a few ideas). If I hadn’t already baked, frosted and polished off these Cranberry Spice Squares, they’d be contender. Think spiced molasses gingerbread with pops of fresh cranberries and swoops of cream cheese frosting. Good, right? This is a great snacking cake for the holiday season, and if you have leftover crannies after the big dinner, think about putting them towards this. Toasted or candied nuts make a good sprinkle.
If you don’t have the book Baking with Dorie: Sweet, Salty & Simple by Dorie Greenspan, get it and join us as we bake through it every second and fourth Tuesdays. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
Everyday Dorie: Clam Chowder My Way
November 11, 2022 at 4:45 pm | Posted in cook the book fridays, everyday dorie, groups, savory things, soups | 2 CommentsTags: everyday dorie, savory, soup
Clam Chowder My Way is chowder with a Thai twist. While “My Way” is really Dorie’s way, I, too, like the flavors of coconut milk, lemongrass, ginger, and lime leaf, so I was definitely game to switch-up the standard New England-style chowda. This version still has potatoes, onions, celery and pancetta (or turkey bacon if you’re really doing it my way), so we are keeping some of the familiar in there, too.
I made this back in March, when I belonged to an oyster CSA so I could host at-home oyster happy hours with friends. I added the “seafood supplement” to my order, and clams would show up in the rotation every few weeks. I made several different simple steamed clam preparations with them, but figured I’d give this soup a go one week. I regard bottled clam juice with some suspicion, although maybe it’s amazing, I don’t know. Since I had fresh clams, which needed pre-cooking to open up their shells, I was able to use the steaming juices in place of the bottled stuff. Using coconut milk instead of heavy cream makes this lighter than a traditional chowder and lets the Thai aromatics shine. I garnished my soup with cilantro and celery leaves, some sliced jalapeño, a squeeze of lime and a dash of fish sauce. I wish I’d saved a few small clams in the shell to put on top, but I always think of better ways to style a photo while I’m actually eating the food! Will I ever learn?
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 BWD: Pear-Comté Tart
November 8, 2022 at 5:18 pm | Posted in BWD, groups, other savory, pies & tarts, savory things, tuesdays with dorie | 6 CommentsTags: baking, savory, tarts
My last two posts were separately about pears and cheese, and now here I am combo’ing the two with this Pear-Comté Tart. It has basically all the good stuff from a cheese plate (cheese, fruit, nuts, cracker, mustard) held together with custard. I really liked the salty, nutty Comté together with pears and walnuts, and I felt very sophisticated enjoying this for a weekend lunch in my sweatpants with some lightly dressed radicchio leaves and a glass of wine.
If you don’t have the book Baking with Dorie: Sweet, Salty & Simple by Dorie Greenspan, get it and join us as we bake through it twice a month. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
Everyday Dorie: Caramel-Pear and Five-Spice Upside-Down Cake
October 28, 2022 at 3:40 pm | Posted in breakfast things, cakes & tortes, everyday dorie, groups, muffins/quick breads, simple cakes, sweet things | 5 CommentsTags: cake, everyday dorie
I do appreciate a good upside-down cake, and have made several here, using all different kinds of fruit. The bulk of them Dorie’s, of course, since this blog has for many years been basically a DG stan account (I think I used that term correctly). This Caramel-Pear and Five-Spice Upside-Down Cake uses a technique I don’t remember doing before with any of them– making the batter in the food processor– and it worked brilliantly!
Everything about this was good, from the soft texture of the blitzed cake, to the caramelized pear topping (no sticking!), to the flavorings. I did make a citrus switch. As I didn’t have a lemon, I used orange instead, which I think of as a natural partner to five-spice anyway. I made half a recipe of the cake and baked it my 7″ cake pan, which had space for a nice pinwheel of pears on top.
For the recipe, see Everyday Dorie by Dorie Greenspan, and head over to Cook the Book Fridays to see all of our cakes this week.
Tuesdays with Dorie BWD: Blue Cheese Bites
October 24, 2022 at 9:55 pm | Posted in BWD, groups, other savory, savory things, tuesdays with dorie | 3 CommentsTags: baking, muffins, savory
I made these Blue Cheese Bites last holiday season as part of a little snack plate to have with wine. Since that was almost a year ago now, I thought about remaking them (even bought the cheese) but, of course, I let it slide. So I will have to dig deep in the vault for this post. What I remember most about the savory mini muffin bites was thinking the base batter was very similar to that of a madeleine, made with olive oil instead of melted butter, and with a long rest period. I’m a blue cheese fan, so I used it in these, along with some dried cherries and figs. These were good bites with a glass of red, so maybe I will repeat them soon after all.
If you don’t have the book Baking with Dorie: Sweet, Salty & Simple by Dorie Greenspan, get it and join us as we bake through it twice a month. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
Everyday Dorie: Marinated and Pan-Seared Chicken Cutlets
October 14, 2022 at 10:21 pm | Posted in cook the book fridays, everyday dorie, groups, other savory, savory things, snacks | 5 CommentsTags: dip, everyday dorie, savory
The title of this recipe is actually, “Marinated and Pan-Seared Hanger, Skirt, Flank or Take-Your-Pick Steak.” I don’t eat red meat, so my pick was going to be taking a pass on this recipe. Then I noticed Dorie made a little note about the marinade also being good for chicken cutlets, and I felt like I couldn’t take the week off after all. The marinade is Asian-inspired with curry paste, soy, ginger, lime, garlic and cilantro (it would probably be good with pork or shrimp, too…maybe she should rename it, “Marinated Take-Your-Pick Meat”). I used thin-sliced chicken breasts and marinated them for a few hours. They cooked super quickly in my cast iron pan, so this actually wound up being an easy, fast and flavorful weekday dinner that I’m glad I didn’t skip out on.
The night I made these cutlets, we had them over rice with some green beans. There were a couple of cutlets left over, so I saved them to turn into chicken sandwiches for work-at-home lunch day (on the excellent Daily Bread from Baking with Dorie).
For the recipe, see Everyday Dorie by Dorie Greenspan, and head over to Cook the Book Fridays to see what we all thought.
Tuesdays with Dorie BWD: Caramel-Apple Crisp
October 11, 2022 at 1:39 pm | Posted in BWD, cobbler/crisp/shorties, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 6 CommentsTags: apples, baking, crisp
I’ve never liked those caramel apples on sticks that seem to show up this time of year (or their bright red candied cousins, either). Low quality apples, covered in low quality caramel is usually how they go. Thankfully, this Caramel-Apple Crisp has nothing to do with those things. Here, we have luxurious homemade caramel sauce coating whatever apples we like best, baked soft and saucy under a brown sugar and oat topping. I used Cameos, which I love as an eating apple and I know can bake juicy, so I did add a small sprinkling of cornstarch to the caramel-apple filling, just so it wouldn’t be too loose. I’m a big fan of fruit crisps in general (so much easier than pie!), and I have a feeling I’ll be making this one again.
If you don’t have the book Baking with Dorie: Sweet, Salty & Simple by Dorie Greenspan, get it and join us as we bake through it every second and fourth Tuesdays. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll and all the other participation deets over on Tuesdays with Dorie!
Tuesdays with Dorie BWD: Scones Pudding
September 27, 2022 at 4:36 pm | Posted in biscuits/scones, breakfast things, BWD, groups, pudding/mousse, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 3 CommentsTags: baking, pudding, scones
You can give all sorts of baked goods the bread pudding treatment…doughnuts, croissants, cake scrap, bagels, and even scones. All you have to do is chunk them up and bake them in a custard bath. This Scones Pudding is made from leftover Buttermilk Scones, a recipe we baked last month. I tucked two of them into the freezer so I’d be able to do a half batch of pudding with them later. Technically, I was half a scone short for a half batch, but went ahead with 50% of the custard recipe anyway. I sliced my scones as instructed and layered them into a little dish. I did have some gaps because of the missing half scone, but liked the thought of having pockets of straight-up baked custard here and there, since the scones are so dense.
Dorie suggests spreading the scone slices with lemon curd as you layer them in your baking dish and then arranging apple slices on top of the pudding, but she also says you can play around with that. I gave mine a “summer’s last hurrah” combo of raspberry jam, fresh razzies and nectarine slices. I will not eat an apple if there are still stone fruits to be had. I liked this, and I enjoyed the slightly higher custard to scone ratio I had going on. I wish I’d taken a slice shot, because it was actually kind of pretty with a ripple of red jam running through the center.
If you don’t have the book Baking with Dorie: Sweet, Salty & Simple by Dorie Greenspan, get it and join us as we bake through it every second and fourth Tuesdays. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll and all the other participation deets over on Tuesdays with Dorie!
Tuesdays with Dorie BWD: Java Mini Mads
September 13, 2022 at 4:17 pm | Posted in breakfast things, BWD, cakes & tortes, cookies & bars, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 4 CommentsTags: baking, madeleines
When I say that I like to have a little coffee treat on-hand, I mean a little treat to go with my coffee…but when my coffee treat is also a coffee-flavored treat, like these Java Mini Mads, that’s even better! I’ve made lots of Dorie madeleines over the years, and even have both large and small shell-shaped molds for them. Here, though, she has us bake these buttery, espresso-infused bites in a mini muffin tin, which shows you really don’t need that extra stuff cluttering your kitchen.
These are easy to put together, as the batter is mixed by hand. The hardest part of making it is having patience…it needs a long rest in the fridge, a recommended five hours minimum before baking, if you want to achieve the signature “madeleine hump” in the oven. Dorie says the batter will last refrigerated for up to three days, so I baked these off over the course of a couple of days. The photo above is from round one, but for round two, I decided to dunk their humps in cinnamon sugar while they were hot from the oven. Spicy.
If you don’t have the book Baking with Dorie: Sweet, Salty & Simple by Dorie Greenspan, get it and join us as we bake through it every second and fourth Tuesdays. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
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