Tuesdays with Dorie BCM: Canistrelli
August 25, 2020 at 10:39 am | Posted in BCM, cookies & bars, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 4 CommentsTags: baking, cookies
These Canistrelli were a nice treat to have around for coffee breaks. They are a Corsican cookie, made with olive oil, white wine and pastis. I’d never had Canistrelli before, but something about them was familiar…not sure, but maybe they are similar to a cookie that my in-laws buy from an Italian-American pastry shop? I actually used ouzo (which I keep around to flame off saganaki, one of my favorite treats) in mine instead of pastis, and it worked great to get that bit of anise flavor. They’re easily mixed together and the soft dough is cut up into little cubes or diamonds. They aren’t too sweet, but the nuggets are coated in sugar before baking, so they get a nice crunchy crust when they bake.
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: Biarritz Cookies
August 18, 2020 at 8:10 pm | Posted in cookies & bars, DC, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 3 CommentsTags: baking, cookies
Dorie remembers Pepperidge Farm’s now discontinued Biarrtiz Cookies with such fondness, that she decided to recreate them at home. (A bit of research revealed that they actually still exist, and are made by the Belgian cookie company that originally “invented” them and licensed the rights to make them, and several other cookies, in the US for a time to PF). A traditional Biarritz is a single cookie with a tempered chocolate-coated bottom side, but I went the ganache sandwich route and turned them into something more like a round Milano.
The batter is pretty much a tuile batter, with beaten egg whites and melted butter incorporated into the dry ingredients. It’s flowy and not stiff, but it’s not spread paper thin like a tuile, so it keeps a bit of a rounded shape when baked. I really don’t like using a piping bag if I don’t have to, so I used my small cookie scoop to portion the batter. It worked just fine and I got nicely sized cookies that were pretty consistent in shape (others in the group had mentioned that the quarter-sized bloops Dorie says to pipe make very small finished cookies). I actually had a bit of leftover coffee-flavored ganache in the fridge and I used that up to make my cookie sandwiches. I liked these a lot, even though they were soft and not crisp like I’d expected them to be.
Something I’ve always appreciated about the more delicate Pepperidge Farm cookies is that they are packed into paper cups, so I did the same for photo purposes. For the recipe, see Dorie’s Cookies by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll.
Everyday Dorie: Ricotta Spoonable
August 14, 2020 at 11:32 am | Posted in cook the book fridays, everyday dorie, groups, savory things, snacks | 8 CommentsTags: cheese, everyday dorie, savory, snacks
This Ricotta Spoonable can be many things– a spread for bread, a dip for crunchy things (like pita chips), a garnish for a bowl of soup or a plate of pasta, probably even a white pizza base. It’s easy enough to stir together some ricotta, lemon, herbs and alliums and see what you’re inspired to do with it. No judgements if you just want to eat it with a spoon…it’s spoonable, after all.
For the recipe, see Everyday Dorie by Dorie Greenspan, and head over to Cook the Book Fridays to see all of our spoonables this week.
Tuesdays with Dorie BCM: Mint Milk Chocolate Mousse
August 11, 2020 at 9:12 am | Posted in BCM, groups, pudding/mousse, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 9 CommentsTags: chocoate, mousse
Okay, this should be Double-Mint Milk Chocolate Mousse and Gelée, but I just don’t think gelée is good, and nothing will convince me otherwise. So this is just Single-Mint Milk Chocolate Mousse and, even though I don’t have that cool layered effect that gelée would have given, it is fabulous!
There is really something quite special about chocolate mousse. It isn’t particularly hard to make, but it is so luxurious, and it really fixes a chocolate craving. I used up a lot of my random milk chocolate bits and pieces for this, so that was also quite satisfying. I usually have fresh mint on hand in the summer because I like it with all the summer fruits and vegetables, but if you don’t have it to steep your cream for the mousse, I don’t see why you couldn’t use peppermint extract. This mousse uses just egg whites and no yolks, which I thought was unusual, but it makes it nice and fluffy, and I had absolutely no issues polishing off a tall glass!
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: Parm Toasts
August 4, 2020 at 12:13 am | Posted in cookies & bars, DC, groups, savory things, snacks, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 3 CommentsTags: baking, cookies, savory, snacks
Parm Toasts really do look like tiny toasts, although no bread was harmed in the making of these. They are cheese biscotti…a simple to make dough loaded with shredded parmesan cheese that’s twice baked. These are in the “cocktail cookies” section of the book, and I can confirm that they do go nicely with a white wine spritz. They also make good croutons for salad (Dorie says ditto for crunchy soup floaters, but I’m holding off on that taste test till fall).
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 anytime!
Tuesdays with Dorie BCM: Tropical Tartlets
July 28, 2020 at 3:33 pm | Posted in BCM, groups, pies & tarts, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 8 CommentsTags: baking, fruit, tarts
It feels like it has been, and is going to continue to be, in the muggy 90s here forever, so it’s the right climate for Tropical Tartlets. A puréed mango filling with coconut, lime and rum means one of these is basically a mango daiquiri in a tart shell, and that’s delicious. These tarts also reminded me that I don’t eat nearly enough mangoes.
For the recipe, see Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
Everyday Dorie: Ginger-Beet Salad Bowls
July 24, 2020 at 9:12 pm | Posted in cook the book fridays, everyday dorie, groups, salads, savory things | 6 CommentsTags: everyday dorie, salad, savory, vegetables, vegetarian
Oops- I almost forgot about this posting, but luckily I made my Ginger-Beet Salad Bowls a while back, so my photos and my thoughts were ready to go. It was a recipe I jumped the gun on last year, but I should make this cooked beet salad again because I really liked it, and also because the beets are looking pretty sweet at the greenmarket right now. I actually make a lot of composed salad “bowls” all year round. If I have a bit of leftover roasted or steamed veggies from dinner, they find their way into my lunch salad the next day. When I cook quinoa or brown rice, I always make double to keep for the rest of the week. I have a tough crowd here, but I can even get away with salad bowls for dinner if I have a bit of protein to add to the veg and grains.
I really like/need interesting ideas for vinaigrette, and this one’s spiced with ginger and harissa and is sweetened with honey. I have to admit though that it is apparently impossible for me to measure out anything for a salad dressing. I eyeball, I substitute and I adjust according to what I have and what I want the dressing to taste like. This one, for example, calls for both white wine and white balsamic vinegars. I will probably never buy white balsamic vin, so I went with all white wine here, and the flavorings I did to taste. So I guess I’m saying that I don’t know how Dorie’s dressing tastes as written, but I liked what I made using it as a guideline!
I steamed red, yellow and pink beets and added them along with radicchio to quinoa mixed with pomegranate seeds (aka rubies), scallions and herbs. There’s a swoop of Greek yogurt in the bowl, too, and spoonfuls of dressing drizzled about….a very good summer lunch.
For the recipe, see Everyday Dorie by Dorie Greenspan, and head over to Cook the Book Fridays to see all of our beet bowls this week.
Everyday Dorie: Lower East Side Brunch Tart
July 10, 2020 at 5:11 pm | Posted in breakfast things, cook the book fridays, everyday dorie, groups, other savory, savory things | 9 CommentsTags: brunch, everyday dorie, savory, tart
Today’s Lower East Side Brunch Tart was made in tribute to our Cook the Book Fridays friend Ro of the blog Chez-Nana, who passed away last month. Nana and her daughter Tricia blogged Dorie’s recipes together for many years and many books, and I probably got to “know” them first through TWD…it was always fun to see the duo’s different takes and opinions on the same recipe. Nana rarely skipped a post and never failed to leave kind and encouraging comments for everyone. This savory tart– a delicious quiche-like take on bagels and lox, dressed with all the traditional garnishes– was one Nana nominated several times, and so our posts are dedicated to her this week.
Nana was a real New Yorker, born on Roosevelt Island and raised on Staten Island. I’m just a wanna-be, but I am going on my 25th year here, and I knew I had to do this tart right for her. I bought my smoked salmon and cream cream cheese at Russ & Daughters, the famous LES appetizing shop that Dorie references in her recipe intro. Their cream cheese is soft and divine, and they slice the salmon thin as tissue. In fact, not two seconds after I bit into this fabulous tart, I realized I should have photographed it with a wispy slice of the coral-colored salmon on the plate as well. My best ideas always come to me after the fact, but I’m pretty sure Nana would have left me a sweet comment here anyway!
For the recipe, see Everyday Dorie by Dorie Greenspan (it’s also here), and head over to Cook the Book Fridays to see all of our tributes to Nana this week.
Tuesdays with Dorie DC: Coconut-Lime Sablés
July 7, 2020 at 12:01 am | Posted in cookies & bars, DC, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 3 CommentsTags: baking, cookies
For today’s episode of “On the Cooling Rack,” we have Coconut-Lime Sablés…flavors that remind me of a beach vacation, even though I’m sweating it out in my house this summer. These are shortbread cookies with a little chew, thanks to moist shredded coconut in the dough. Lime zest gives them a some zing and coriander gives them some spice. They are baked in a muffin tin for perfect rounds with a delightfully caramelized outer ring.
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.
TWD DC Rewind: Sesame-Sea Salt Cookies
June 30, 2020 at 10:21 am | Posted in cookies & bars, DC, groups, savory things, snacks, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 2 CommentsTags: cookies, savory
One year ago, the group made Sesame-Sea Salt Cookies. For some now-forgotten reason, I didn’t. I almost bypassed them now, too (just out of laziness), but I don’t want my list of skipped recipes to grow too long…when I realized I could have this dough done with a few quick zips in the food processor, I thought, “why not?”
Rather than roll out the dough and cut it into rounds, I scooped it into little balls, which I then flattened into pucks and popped into a greased muffin tin to chill before seeding and baking. I quite like this muffin tin method and since I only did one-third of the recipe, it wasn’t much effort for six cookies.
These do have a nice sweet and salty balance to them, and a delicate, buttery shortbread crumb. We had a few last night with white wine and sharp cheddar and I’ll probably do something similar with the rest tonight.
For the recipe, see Dorie’s Cookies by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of this week’s rewind on the TWD Blogroll!
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