Tuesdays with Dorie: Not-Just-For-Thanksgiving Cranberry Shortbread Cake
November 9, 2010 at 1:01 am | Posted in cakes & tortes, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 31 Comments
I am apparently the world’s worst interior decorator. Bought a few rugs for the new house, and totally don’t like them with the furniture. Got a new mattress for the guest bed, and didn’t realize I should have gone with a low-profile boxspring…looks ridiculous…like a princess and the pea bed.
At least I can usually make a cake look nice, although it’s not hard to do when the cake has a layer of gorgeous ruby-red cranberry jam running through it. This Not-Just-For-Thanksgiving Cranberry Shortbread Cake that Jessica of Singleton in the Kitchen chose for TWD seemed more puffy cookie than fluffy cake to me, but I was more than happy to gobble it up. It’s very good, and it’s not just for Thanksgiving at all. I really like a nice, tart cranberry sauce, but it could just as easily be filled with fruit jam. In fact, I’m tempted to try it with the lingonberry jam I buy from IKEA, and also to see if a half-recipe with fit in a loaf pan, because I think it would make for nice bars.
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Singleton in the Kitchen. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
I have a dentist appointment today…time to see if the past six months of sweets have caught up with me! Eek!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Peanuttiest Blondies
November 2, 2010 at 1:01 am | Posted in cookies & bars, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 21 Comments
As evidenced by the little bit of blur along the plate rim on the bottom left, I am apparently not quite grown up enough to have a set of unchipped plates. If I did act my age, though, I may not have appreciated these Peanuttiest Blondies as much as I did. With hunks of chocolate and peanuts, and lots of peanut butter, they tasted remarkably like a favorite candy bar of mine (which I ate way too many of on Sunday night, by the way). A nice crackly top and chewy on the inside gives them a homebaked feel. I think I’ll wrap one up and take it to the polls with me today.
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Bakeologie, as it was Nicole’s choice for TWD this week. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll! I’m interested to see if anyone else had this sinking middle (why? they were not underbaked–wacky, right?).
French Fridays with Dorie: Marie-Hélène’s Apple Cake
October 29, 2010 at 12:01 am | Posted in cakes & tortes, french fridays w dorie, groups, simple cakes, sweet things | 27 Comments
I mentioned last time we met, that R and I went apple picking in Warwick, NY. Sometimes it’s really nice to escape the city and go to a place that looks like this. It’s also nice to have a bin full of apples at home! The first thing I did with them was to make Marie-Hélène’s Apple Cake.
This cake is easy to make because it’s easy to mix. No creaming required, as it uses melted butter. I actually used browned butter in my cake, which wasn’t entirely intentional (I put it on to melt before I’d had my morning coffee), but as soon as I tasted the cake, I knew it wasn’t a mistake either. Rum and vanilla flavor the apples, and while you could use cinnamon instead if you wanted, I really think that apples and vanilla are a fabulous combination. I went a tad skimpy on the sugar measurement, because although I was using a mix of apple varieties (like Dorie and her friend Marie-Hélène recommend), they were all on the sweet side. There’s really only just enough batter here to hold together all the chunks of apple, and the result is an almost puddingy-soft texture inside. Definitely one I will make again.
For the recipe, see Around my French Table by Dorie Greenspan (it’s also here on Epicurious). Don’t forget to check out my fellow francophiles’ posts!
Want more apple cake? How about Double Apple Bundt Cake, Fresh Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze, Applesauce Spice Bars or Applesauce Snack Cake?
Tuesdays with Dorie: All-American, All-Delicious Apple Pie
October 26, 2010 at 12:01 am | Posted in groups, pies & tarts, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 22 Comments 
Wasn’t I just whinging about having too much kitchen crap? Know what did I do right after that? I bought a new half-size deep dish pie plate! Makes a lot of sense, right? Oh bother…at least I think it will get good use. In fact, I was able to use it right away for this All-American, All-Delicious Apple Pie that Emily of Sandmuffin picked for TWD.
I haven’t made a double-crust apple pie in a few years, and this one was so good (the “all-delicious” is an apt description) that it actually made me feel a little sad thinking about what I’ve been missing. This was a true deep-dish pie– it was positively stuffed with apples. In mine, I used a random mix of red and green apples that my husband and I proudly picked ourselves during an orchard outing to Warwick with the in-laws a couple of weeks ago (I probably have enough apples in the fridge to make 20 pies!). I also used flour to thicken mine, although the recipe calls for tapioca…I didn’t want to buy any, but an equal amount of AP flour worked just fine.
These last couple of pie-crusted treats have turned me on to a bad little habit…purposefully leaving myself one last mini-slice to have for breakfast with a cup of coffee. Very naughty.
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Sandmuffin. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Spiced Squash, Fennel and Pear Soup for a Celebration!
October 24, 2010 at 12:14 am | Posted in french fridays w dorie, groups, other stuff, savory things, soups | 20 Comments
Today is a special day for one of my favorite cookbook authors…it’s Dorie Greenspan’s birthday! Happy birthday, Dorie! A few TWDers and FFWDers have put together a sort of virtual progressive dinner party, all made from Dorie’s new book, Around my French Table, to celebrate.
I chose to take on a soup course, and made her Spiced Squash, Fennel and Pear Soup. I’m no stranger to squash soup, and usually I’ll use a butternut, but a crazy lumpy, bumpy golden hubbard caught my eye at the market and wound up coming home with me. I’ve never made squash soup with the additions of pear and fennel before…they brought a delicious sweetness to the pot. Don’t forget to toast up your squash seeds as garnish. This is a great, warming soup that gets even more flavorful the next day.
For the recipe for this delicious soup, see page 80 of Around my French Table by Dorie Greenspan. Holly from Phe.MOM.enon worked hard to coordinate this party, and will have the whole round-up on her site!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Caramel Pumpkin Pie
October 19, 2010 at 9:13 am | Posted in groups, pies & tarts, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 25 Comments
It wouldn’t normally occur to me to eat pumpkin pie before Thanksgiving, but when I read that Janell of Mortensen Family Memoirs chose Caramel Pumpkin Pie for TWD this week, it sounded like a pretty tasty idea! I wouldn’t say that I have a “favorite” pumpkin pie recipe…I think I just haven’t cooked enough turkey day dinners out on my own yet to have found my idea of squashy perfection (although I’ve rarely met a pumpkin pie I didn’t like!). I am doing dinner here at the house this year, though, so I’m counting this as research.
This twist with this pumpkin pie is that half the sugar is taken to a dark caramel. Between that and the rum that’s added, you get a darker custard and a very different taste than with regular pumpkin pie. I know better than to mess with holiday traditions, so maybe that’s not for everyone, but my husband and I just loved it. Can’t wait to polish it off tonight, chilled, and with a big plop of whipped cream!
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Mortensen Family Memoirs. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
French Fridays with Dorie: Spicy Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup
October 15, 2010 at 1:48 pm | Posted in french fridays w dorie, groups, savory things, soups | 18 Comments
I may have skipped last week’s French Fridays with Dorie, but there was no way I was going to skip this week’s. I crave soup went the weather gets cool, and this Spicy Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup is full of flavors I love– chiles, cilantro and coconut.
There’s a lot of flavor packed into this coconut broth, as it’s infused with ginger, cilantro stems or root, coriander, star anise and peppercorns. I threw in some lime leaves and a bashed lemongrass stalk, too. I went heavy on the lime juice and fish sauce to give it extra twang. This is the kind of soup where, when you’re almost to the bottom, you set down your spoon and pick up the bowl to slurp up the rest of the broth and noodles.
For the recipe, see Around my French Table by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out my fellow francophiles’ posts!
Oh, and by the way, my friend Lauren and I went to one of Dorie’s book events in NYC the other night. She’s so warm and she’s truly happy to meet us. If she’s on the road near you, don’t miss her! And she’s funny, too…if this cookbook thing doesn’t work out for her (ha!), there might be a career in stand-up waiting.
Tuesdays with Dorie: Fold-Over Pear Torte
October 12, 2010 at 11:37 am | Posted in groups, pies & tarts, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 21 Comments
Wow…it takes a move to make me realize just how much kitchen crap I have. Seriously, boxes and boxes of stuff I never touch. I have an 11-inch square pan that I used once eight years ago! I have five flats of unopened Ball jars (was I thinking I’d be the next Smucker’s or something??). A lot of it went into storage when we moved to Sydney four years ago, and it didn’t come out when we moved back. Until now. My latest project is sorting though it…what to keep handy, what to put in the basement and what to say goodbye to. Housing Works has already gotten three boxes full!
One thing I’ll never give up is my six-inch springform, which I found just in time to make a half-size of the Fold-Over Pear Torte that Cakelaw of Laws of the Kitchen chose for TWD this week. This was the first recipe in a long time where I didn’t know what the heck I was making! I couldn’t really tell by reading the recipe how it would turn out, and there isn’t a picture in the book for a visual clue.
After muddling through and crossing my fingers, here it is in a nutshell: fresh pear chunks, nuts and dried fruit are suspended in a rummy custard-like batter, and the whole thing is encased in flaky pie dough. It’s assembled in a springform for high sides to hold all that fruit and custard. It may look like a deep dish pizza, but it tastes like pure autumn. A delicious surprise out of the oven!
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Laws of the Kitchen. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Double Apple Bundt Cake
October 5, 2010 at 12:27 am | Posted in bundt cakes, cakes & tortes, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 26 Comments
Lynne of Honey Muffin keeps the autumn recipes coming with her Double Apple Bundt pick for TWD. This is kind of a spicy sister to the Fresh Apple Cake I made a couple of weeks ago…that one was flavored with vanilla, but this one has all the classic fall spices goin’ on.
This cake is “double apple” because in addition to fresh apple, it calls for a heaping helping of apple butter. Since I didn’t have nearly enough on hand, I used unsweetened apple sauce instead. I was a little worried, since they’re not really the same consistency, but as it turned out, all was fine. I also swapped out about a quarter of the AP for whole wheat flour, which these days I find myself doing probably more often than I remember to tell you about.
All in all, a delicious fall cake…and it’s a good keeper, too, as it’s super-moist. For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Honey Muffin. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
French Fridays with Dorie: Gougères
October 1, 2010 at 5:45 pm | Posted in french fridays w dorie, groups, other savory, savory things | 21 Comments
Yeah, that’s right– a new Dorie book means a new group! Laurie started up French Fridays with Dorie (which, for some reason, I keep calling “French Fries with Dorie”), a weekly celebration of the recipes in Dorie Greenspan’s gorgeous new book Around my French Table.
Things have been more than a little disorganized here…boxes are everywhere, butcher paper is tied and stacked like bales of hay, and the kitchen counter is pretty messy. I thought I might miss the first party, and have to skip making these gougères. Then I thought again, and realized I could really use a glass of wine and some snacks!
Gougères are little cheesey puffs made with a pâte à choux base. If you’ve never prepared choux paste before, it’s not hard (I even made this batch by hand), and in my opinion it’s one of the most fun things to make! I used gruyère cheese in mine, but you can use whatever grating cheese flots your boat. Salty and good!
For the recipe, see Around my French Table by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out my fellow francophiles’ posts!
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