Tuesdays with Dorie DC: Cocoa-Cayenne Cookies
March 1, 2022 at 12:01 am | Posted in cookies & bars, DC, groups, savory things, snacks, tuesdays with dorie | 7 CommentsTags: baking, cookies, savory, snacks
We find ourselves today in the Cocktail Cookies section of the book. We only have one savory cookie left after this! Dorie created these Cocoa-Cayenne Cookies to go with red wine. They are barely sweet, have a bit of a kick and a very tender crumb. I think I rolled mine a tad too thin, as a couple of them crumbled to bits when I moved them around. That’s our secret because I ate the bits. It’s almost a mind trick to bite into one of these cookies and get the spice of chili powder and the bitterness of cocoa, rather than the chocolatey sweetness you’d expect by looking at them. They do, in fact, go well with red wine, so maybe the real trick is to just pour another glass.
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 and please join us anytime!
Tuesdays with Dorie BWD: Two-Bite Cinnamon Puffs
February 22, 2022 at 9:47 am | Posted in BWD, general pastry, groups, other sweet, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 5 CommentsTags: baking, choux
I think choux pastries are some of the most fun, from the cooking of the dough itself to the excitement of seeing how it sprouts and poofs in the oven, they are a delight to make and eat. Dorie’s One-Bite Cinnamon Puffs are cinnamon-spiced chouquettes, French sweet snacks that are pearl-sugared cream puffs without the cream. The recipe makes 100 little popable babies– a bit too much for the two of us here, even though we are pretty hard-core snackers. I cut the recipe back to just 1/4 and made her Two-Bite Cinnamon Puffs variation. Since it was such a small amount of batter, I just mixed it by hand right in the pot I used to heat the liquid. I also started my oven at 400˚ and turned it down to 350˚ at the half-way point. I figured the larger sized puffs could take that extra-hot steam boost without getting torched (not sure about the tiny ones, though). This gave me eleven chouquettes that were a nice coffee nibble. And, if you want to experiment, the two-biters also had enough room inside to squirt a little canned whipped cream or to hold a small scoop of ice cream.
If you don’t have the book Baking with Dorie: Sweet, Salty & Simple by Dorie Greenspan yet, 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 DC: Mary’s Maine Bars
February 15, 2022 at 1:00 am | Posted in cookies & bars, DC, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 2 CommentsTags: baking, cookies
Mary’s Maine Bars are a recipe that Dorie’s assistant, recipe tester and friend (and former TWDer) Mary Dodd brought back from a trip to Maine. These chewy bar cookies are full of molasses and warm spices…if you have a taste, you might think they are gingerbread, but actually, they contain no ginger at all. Some others who’ve made them described them as being like brownies in texture, and they seem that way to me, too. They’d make a great holiday cookie for sure, but I like these flavors all winter long.
For the recipe, see Dorie’s Cookies by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
Everyday Dorie: Pasta with Sardines, Fennel and Walnuts
February 11, 2022 at 5:15 pm | Posted in cook the book fridays, everyday dorie, groups, pasta, savory things | 4 CommentsTags: everyday dorie, pasta, savory
The thing about fishy-fish like sardines is that people either love ’em or hate ’em. I’m a lover, so sign me up for a big bowl of Pasta with Sardines, Fennel and Walnuts (or pine nuts, if you are sticking faithfully to the recipe). This very classic Sicilian dish also has capers, raisins, tomatoes and lemon in the mix. Although my husband is half Sicilian, the love of sardines doesn’t swim though his blood, so I made this one all for myself. I splurged on a fancier jar of olive oil-packed sardines because I wanted to use that oil in the saucy stuff that coated the pasta. The dish is salty, briny, oily, sweet, and acidic all at once. There is a lot going on, but to me, it all works so well. I have half a jar of sardines left, so I’m going to try another version of this recipe later in the week.
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: Whip-It-Up-Quick Cornbread
February 8, 2022 at 1:30 pm | Posted in breakfast things, BWD, groups, other savory, quick breads, savory things, snacks, tuesdays with dorie | 4 CommentsTags: baking, cheese, savory
Seems like I’m always looking for something to go with a pot of chili this time of year, and I think I’ve found it with this Whip-It-Up-Quick Cornbread. A buttermilk cornbread you can bake right in a skillet, this one really does come together in a jiffy, and it has a plush, moist crumb. One of the best I’ve made. You can leave it plain or go wild with your fave add-ins. I used some hot pepper flakes, chives and a bit of white cheddar.
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 DC: Swedish Dream Cookies
February 1, 2022 at 6:22 pm | Posted in cookies & bars, DC, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 5 CommentsTags: baking, cookies
I do dream of going to Sweden, and I hope one day that will happen, but for now my Scandi fantasies will have to be lived out with Swedish Dream Cookies. These cookies are called drömmar in Sweden, and a quick on-line search showed me there are many ways to make these shortbread-esqe treats, but Dorie’s recipe uses browned butter and cardamom for the dreamiest of flavors. They’re made in the food processor, and I zipped up the cardamom and sugar in the machine first to get a bit of extra spice hit. After scooping out rounds of dough, you can press an almond in the center or add a bit of jam, thumbprint-style, if you want them a bit sweeter. I went with the whole almonds and I like the look, but I’m now dreaming of them with a chocolate button on top, since I think that would be good with the browned butter, too.
For the recipe, see Dorie’s Cookies by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
Everyday Dorie: Cauliflower Tabbouleh
January 28, 2022 at 5:44 pm | Posted in cook the book fridays, everyday dorie, groups, salads, savory things, veggies | 3 CommentsTags: everyday dorie, salad, savory
Cauliflower– it’s so hot right now. Turns out that something once viewed as boring, pale and bland has the “caulipower” to transform itself into pizza crust, rice, tots, and a cream sauce substitute. No longer do we over-steam and under-season hacked up crumbly florets and toss them in melted butter so we can sadly choke them down; we gleefully and wildly slather cauliflower with every spice and paste we can get our hands on and roast it whole (one of my favorite ways to prepare it, btw) or deep fry it in nugget-form and drench it in delicious sauce. We even eat the leaves, which just a few years ago were generally regarded as trash. And now we make Cauliflower Tabbouleh out of it! I joke. I eat tons of cauliflower, and have nothing but supreme veggie respect for it. In fact, two weeks ago I got my teeth whitened and it sustained me for four days in a row, in the forms of pureed cauliflower-potato soup and cauliflower cheese pasta.
Back to the matter at hand…when I think of tabbouleh, I think of a salad that’s very heavy on the chopped herbs, with a little tomato and bulgur mixed through. An herb salad really, rather than a grain salad. This one of Dorie’s is definitely cauliflower-based– the cauliflower this time standing in for bulgur– but there’s room to mess around with ratios, mix-ins and seasonings if you’d like. I stuck pretty much to Dorie’s suggestion of chickpeas, raisins, almonds, mint and parsley mixed into grated cauliflower and tossed up in a lemony dressing. I made a nice big bowl of the stuff, and it was a good lunch for a couple of days.
Dorie recommends tasting the salad after it’s assembled to adjust the seasoning and then letting the salad sit for an hour or more before plating it up. I tasted mine yet again after it rested, as I find I usually like a little fresh lemon squeeze and olive oil drizzle right before serving.
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: Steph’s Bakewell Tart
January 25, 2022 at 11:22 pm | Posted in breakfast things, BWD, groups, muffins/quick breads, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 9 CommentsTags: baking, tart
My name is Steph and this is my tart, but I am not the Steph behind this recipe for Steph’s Bakewell Tart. A Bakewell is a classic British tart (any GBB fans out there?), with a layer of raspberry jam hiding under cakey almond cream, all baked together in a shortcrust pastry case. This particular version comes from Dorie’s friend, Stephanie, in Paris, who got it from her English mum. I’ve made Bakewell tarts before…first here years ago, and several times since, too. I like the combo of almonds and raspberries a lot, but you can use any jam you want. This is a pretty easy tart to put together, as you can make the components ahead of time, and of course you can buy the jam. Once baked, a drizzle of icing on the top is just, well, the icing on the cake (or tart)!
If you don’t have the book Baking with Dorie: Sweet, Salty & Simple by Dorie Greenspan yet, 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 DC: Bruno’s New Year’s Waffles
January 18, 2022 at 12:01 am | Posted in cookies & bars, DC, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 6 CommentsTags: baking, cookies
Maybe we are getting to the point in January where we are no longer really celebrating the new year, but I’m giving it one last toast with Bruno’s New Year’s Waffles. I almost skipped these waffles, which are more like thin wafers, because the recipe uses a pizzelle iron to cook them. I don’t have one. In fact, I think that out of the group, Diane is the only one who does…but that didn’t stop Gaye, who used a sandwich press, or Mardi, who used a griddle pan, from getting them done, so I really didn’t have an excuse to sit them out. With two good ways to hack the cooking process explained, I wondered if there could be a third. Made with a stiff dough rather than a loose batter, these thin, crispy waffles sounded a bit like Dutch stroopwafels (which I have only consumed, never made), especially since Dorie recommends sandwiching them with a filling. I spent some time thinking about how I could get them as thin as reasonably possible and decided to try out my tortilla press. I did only a fourth of the recipe and made them larger than Dorie and Bruno do, getting eight cookies in total. I weighed out my dough balls (about 20g each), gave them each a very firm pressing, and then transferred the resulting circles to my comal to crisp up. I did trim the ratty edges with a cutter while the cookies were still hot.
I’m sure they weren’t as delicate as they would have been in a pizzelle iron, but I was pretty happy with how my waffles came out. They cooled caramelized and crisp, and I sandwiched them with some leftover dark chocolate glaze I had in the fridge. I heated up some classic hot chocolate from Dorie’s xoxoDorie newsletter to enjoy them with, for an extra happy new year treat.
For the recipe, see Dorie’s Cookies by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
Everyday Dorie: Stuffed Cabbage
January 14, 2022 at 12:01 am | Posted in breakfast things, cook the book fridays, everyday dorie, groups, other savory, savory things, veggies | 2 CommentsTags: everyday dorie, savory, vegetables
Stuffed Cabbage is a recipe that might be more appropriate for a book called All Day Dorie than Everyday Dorie. Never mind the three hours of cooking time (hands-off, in the oven, no big deal), I think I probably spent close to two hours assembling the dish. No joke, I had to take a coffee break in the middle of it. But that’s ok– I did it on a cold, grey weekend day when I didn’t want to leave the house and was up for a kitchen project.
I’d never made stuffed cabbage rolls before. I don’t eat ground beef or pork sausage, so I swapped these filling meats for ground chicken and turkey sausage. I couldn’t see how I could successfully get the cabbage leaves off the head in one untattered piece without blanching the whole head, so I just did that, rather than blanch the individual leaves as Dorie instructs. It was a process of removing a few leaves at a time and re-dipping the head in water to easily peel off the next layer, and I do have some leftover blanched cabbage still on the head, but I’ll use that in a soup or make okonomiyaki with it this week. I was able to fill and roll the leaves pretty easily and I skipped the step of securing them each with a toothpick. They were fine.
For the tomato sauce, I didn’t pay attention (i.e., I totally didn’t tread the instructions first) to the fact that the ingredients were supposed to go into the Dutch oven in layers along with the assembled rolls. Instead, everything for the sauce went into the pot at once and I snuggled all the rolls down into the mix. I was kind of irritated with myself, but figured that the cook time was so long that all would be fine. And it was! These are a delicious winter dinner (or a few dinners–even a half-batch was a big batch). I didn’t really know what to serve the cabbage rolls with, as they’re kind of complete on their own, with a meat and rice filling, veggies and a sauce. I just went with a little cucumber and sour cream salad and sprinkled some crispy fried onions on top. I also meant to sprinkle the rolls with parsley, but after all that time putting them together, I completely forgot.
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.
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