I don't think I've ever had blueberry pie before. I'm kinda of an Apple Pie girl, and to be honest, I wasn't even really interested in trying this. Oddly enough, my "I don't really like sweets" husband seemed VERY interested in it. So, I made a big pie to take to work, and a little mini pie just for him. :-) This pie definitely got rave reviews, so I snuck a small piece for myself. It certainly won't replace apple pie at the top of my list, but it sure was some great pie!
Once again I faced the no-food-processor challenge. My itty bitty processor stand-in was even too small for half the crust recipe, so I had to do it in quarters. I was quite happy with how it all came together... I consider my first blueberry pie adventure a success! I even made homemade vanilla ice cream to serve with the pie to friends. :-)
Double Crusted Blueberry Pie, From Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan Chosen by Amy of South in Your Mouth. Check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers here.
Well, on this day, one year ago, I started this blog with my first post. I had jumped on the bandwagon of a new blogging event, Platinum Chef Challenge, and I got such encouragement from Cara after Round 1, that I decided to start a blog with my entry for Round 2. Also around that time, wedding planning (long distance, might I add) kicked into high gear, so I wasn't posting as often as I would have liked. The new year brought new blogging events, new ideas, and more free time to do it all in. I've been learning a lot about cooking and baking through this crazy world of blogging, and I look forward to what the future holds. I have even contemplated changing the name of my blog, because I no longer thing people have to tread lightly when trying something from here. :-)
In the next year, I hope to be more creative and present more original dishes (outside of the aforementioned Platinum Chef Challenge, which seems to be the only thing to get my wheels turning!). I also plan to work a lot more on cake decorating techniques, so watch for that! Of course, there will still be plenty of my favorites: Tuesdays with Dorie, Barefoot Bloggers, and Platinum Chef Challenge!
So, for my blog-iversay, I thought I'd go back and highlight some of my favorite recipes from the last year (that I actually blogged about)(purely chronological order): 1. Sweet Mexican Wontons. I made these for Platinum Chef 2, and was darn impressed with myself. I have been searching for a reason to make them again... and I think I have found it, so I can't wait!
4. Black Bean Burgers. Another product of the Platinum Chef Challenge was these burgers. We LOVE them and have them whenever we need a change from chicken. My husband loves the cheesy center!
5. Baked Chicken Parm. This recipe, from Katie at Good Things Catered, holds a special place in my heart because I had been in an awful cooking rut where nothing was coming out right and things were just wrong. This recipe pulled me right up and was fabulous all on it's own. (Thanks, Katie!)
6. Old Time Vanilla Ice Cream. I live for ice cream. (really). I had been trying a few hit or miss recipes, but when I stumbled on this gem, I never looked back. It was SO creamy and delicious, I almost couldn't believe it! Over time, I have tweaked the recipe to contain less heavy cream (trust me, my hips don't need it!) and it has held up beautifully. It's a very versatile recipe that is used as a base for many variations, which can be found on Doc's website (yes, the yellow hurts my eyes, too!).
7. Pumpkin and Goat Cheese Risotto Balls. *Love*! These were soooo good. Definitely a rare treat, for me. The warm risotto, creamy goat cheese, and cool mascarpone sauce worked together to make a beautiful dish. This is another recipe that I can't wait for another reason to make!
8. Warm Asian Noodle Salad. This was a dish that came highly recommended and seemed like something we'd like, so I gave it a shot. We love it SO much that I immediately made plans to make it again the following weekend. Great combination of flavors and I loved the fresh vegetables. Great dish!
9. Caramel Butterscotch Brownies. On the quest to perfect my husband's favorite dessert, I flipped through my new copy of Baking Illustrated and settled on a brownie recipe. Boy, was I glad I did! This took the brownies to a whole new level, and has floored everyone that has tried them. They are amazing!
10. Island Shrimp and Tofu Pizza. This was something that came out of another Platinum Chef Challenge, but I thought it would be better suited for the Beautiful Bones event. It's something I never would have come up with, otherwise, but I was SO glad I did. It was an amazing combination of flavors that I am extremely proud of, even if it sounds really whacked out. :-)
Since I seem to be the Queen of destroying all things biscuits and scones, I didn't have high hopes for this week's recipe, Apple Cheddar Scones (chosen by Karina of The Floured Apron). I am fairly certain I over mix/beat the batter, and end up with something resembling a hockey puck, only moderately better tasting. But, I am in this group to bake, so bake I did!
I know better than to plan on being able to bring edible scones to work, so I cut the recipe down to make 3 scones. When I was getting ready to form them, I caught my mini muffin tin out of the corner of my eye... and voila! Mini muffin scones were born. These came out a little dry for me, probably over baked and without enough liquid in the batter. I didn't get much apple flavor from them, and think they'd be great taken in a different direction... jalapenos, perhaps? All considered, they were my best biscuit/scone attempt, yet... so maybe there is hope for the QODATBAS? Check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers here.
The amazing Elly from Elly Says Opa! has graciously turned her blogging event, Eat to the Beat, into a quarterly event. I was SO glad to hear she would be continuing it (see my first entry here). There is just so much music to go around, there'd be plenty of material for event after event.
A few weeks ago, I popped into my favorite local liquor store, and noticed a vendor with a little tasting table set up. Never one to pass up a free tasting, I stopped by to see what he was offering. His first words were, "Would you like a rose mimosa?" That was just about all I needed to hear! He went on and on about this wonderful rose nectar that has been made the same way since the 1200s and blahblahblah. I was way more interested in the yummy bubbly than his very detailed account of his product (oops). I bought two bottles of rose nectar and continued on my way. I got to thinking about what I could do for the next round of Eat to the Beat (as the deadline rapidly approached) and I decided I wanted to use the rose nectar in something other than a rose mimosa. Instantly, the 80s hair band memories sprung to the front of my mind, and all I could think about was...
So... what to do with my rose nectar? Two lines from the main chorus became my inspiration.
Every rose has it's thorn Just like every night has it's dawn
Dawn, to me, brings to mind oranges and orange juice. First stop: Morning Rose Madeleines! These weren't quite as rose-y as I would have liked, but they were every bit as yummy as a madeleine should be! ______________________________________________________________ Morning Rose Madeleines Adapted from Baking: From My Home To Yours, by Dorie Greenspan Yield: 12 Madeleines
~1 cup all-purpose flour ~1 teaspoon baking powder ~Pinch of salt ~½ cup sugar ~Grated zest of 1/2 an orange ~2 large eggs, at room temperature ~2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract ~1/4 cup rose nectar (such as Sence) ~¾ stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
For the glaze: ~1/4 cup milk ~Powdered sugar ~15-20 drops of orange extract
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Working in a mixer bowl, or in a large bowl, rub the sugar and orange zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the eggs to the bowl. Working with the whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat the eggs and sugar together on medium-high speed until pale, thick and light, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and rose nectar. With a rubber spatula, very gently fold in the dry ingredients, followed by the melted butter. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the batter and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours, or for up to 2 days. This long chill period will help the batter form the hump that is characteristic of madeleines. (For convenience, you can spoon the batter into the madeleine molds, cover and refrigerate, then bake the cookies directly from the fridge; see below for instructions on prepping the pans.)
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter 12 full-size madeleine molds, or up to 36 mini madeleine molds, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Or, if you have a nonstick pan (or pans), give it a light coating of vegetable cooking spray. If you have a silicone pan, no prep is needed. Place the pan(s) on a baking sheet.
Spoon the batter into the molds, filling each one almost to the top. Don't worry about spreading the batter evenly, the oven's heat will take care of that. Bake large madeleines for 11 to 13 minutes, and minis for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are golden and the tops spring back when touched. Remove the pan(s) from the oven and release the madeleines from the molds by rapping the edge of the pan against the counter. Gently pry any reluctant madeleines from the pan using your fingers or a butter knife. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool to just warm or to room temperature. If you are making minis and have more batter, bake the next batch(es), making certain that you cool, then properly prepare the pan(s) before baking.
To make the glaze, combine the milk, powdered sugar, and orange extract and mix well. Dip warm madeleines in the glaze, or drizzle about 1 Tablespoon over each madeleine. Allow the glaze to set and the madeleines to finish cooling before serving. ___________________________________________________________
I was happy with the madeleines (maybe not as rose-y as I'd like, but darn tasty), but I couldn't stop thinking about that message. Every rose has it's thorn. What's my rose? What's it's thorn? Right now, my rose is baking. I love it, love spending every weekend trying new recipes, new techniques, living to tell about it... and bring the goodies to work. That's where that thorn part comes in. Baking 2 or 3 different baked goods every weekend is not conducive to a slim waistline (hence, if you've been reading, my 2 week divorce from sugar). I pass it all off to my workers (no doubt I am a rose and thorn to them for the same reason!) to lessen the blow, but I certainly take my Quality Control duties quite seriously. I decided to go for one more recipe...Every Rose Has It's Thorn Cupcakes (nice long name, eh?). So....What is your rose? And it's thorn?
Once again, the rose flavor hides behind the orange, so maybe next time I'll skip the zest in the cupcake batter. But, these are SO light and airy and wonderful! Every Rose Has It's Thorn Cupcakes Adapted from Orange Chiffon Cupcakes, from Cupcakes!, by Elinor Klivans Yield: 12 cupcakes (Note: I wanted 18, so increased the recipe accordingly, and wound up with 28 cupcakes... so I'm leaving the recipe as a 12 cupcake yield)
~1 and 1/2 cups of cake flour ~1 cup of sugar ~1 teaspoon of baking powder ~1/4 teaspoon of salt ~1/3 cup of canola or corn oil ~4 large eggs, separated ~1/3 cup water ~1 and 1/2 teaspoons of grated orange zest ~1/4 cup of rose nectar ~1 teaspoon vanilla extract ~1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Sift the cake flour, 3/4 cup of the sugar, the baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Use a spoon to make a well in the center of the flour mixture, and put the oil, egg yolks, water, orange zest, rose nectar, and vanilla extract in the well. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the mixture until it is smooth and thick, about 3 minutes.
In another bowl, with clean beaters, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until the whites are foamy and the cream of tartar is dissolves. Beat on high speed until the egg whites look shiny and smooth and the beaters for mines in the mixture; if you stop the mixer and lift the beaters, the whites should cling to the beaters. Slowly beat in the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, about a tablespoon at a time, then beat for another minute after you get all the sugar incorporated. Stir about 1/3 of the beaten egg mixture into the egg yolk mixture. Then, with a rubber spatula, fold in the remaining egg white mixture. Folding over and over until no white streaks remain.
Wohoo! No over-beaten egg whites!
For easy pouring, transfer the batter to a pitcher with a lip. Using about 1/2 cup for each, pour the batter into the cps. The batter will come just to the top of each cup. Do not smooth the tops, let the batter remain in fluffy mounds. Bake for about 35 minutes, until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry. The cupcakes will rise about 1/2 inch above the top of each cup.
This actually didn't work out so nicely and I resorted back to scooping with the spatula after this photo. And yes, that's a gravy boat.
Carefully loosen the cupcakes from the pan, cool on a wire rack until completely cooled, about 45 minutes. I used a simple buttercream icing with a few drops of orange extract added, to taste.
They looked so beautiful! (I will spare your eyes (and their embarrasment) by not showing what happened next... total shriveling!)
Wow! I am so honored to be chosen by Dani of Make No Little Meals as the "winner" of Platinum Chef Challenge #7. Along with the accolade, comes the responsibility of hosting the next round. I wanted to choose ingredients that we have not used already, and that hopefully will be attractive to a large number of people (I hate to see the numbers dwindling!). Though in the past we have done 2 week deadlines, I think with it being summer and having a holiday coming up, I'll extend it quite a bit.
Here is a review of the rules (from our fearless and ever creative leader, Cara of Cara’s Cravings): "Platinum Chef Challenge started as an activity on a cooking message board to encourage members to create a meal out of 5 selected ingredients. You might think they go together, and you might not. You might have used them before, or maybe not. Maybe you will have a recipe in mind, and maybe you will create a new one. Most likely, you'll put on your creative (chef's) hat and whip out something new and exciting.
To play, just create a meal using the five given ingredients and blog about it. Please link back to this post, and feel free to include the event logo in your blog. The meal can consist of 1 or 2 dishes - so you can use all the ingredients in one recipe, or make two. Example: main dish + side, appetizer + main dish, main dish + dessert, etc. But, if more than one dish is created, each dish must use at least two of the ingredients (and, any ingredient may be repeated and used in both dishes if desired). You can add whatever other ingredients you like."
To participate, please post your dishes on your blog (linking back to this post), and send an email to tpox08@gmail.com by midnight (PST) on Sunday, August 10th, with the following information: Name Location Name of your dish(es) and your blog Pictures you want in the Round-up Link to the PCC8 post in your blog
(If you don't have a blog, send recipes in your email and I will include you in the Round-up that way!)
So... what do we have this time around? Your five ingredients are:
I am really loving this new cooking group! We had another winner this week, Parmesan Chicken chosen by Megan of My Baking Adventures. This was very easy, quick, and VERY tasty! Instead of the salad greens, I tossed some roasted spaghetti squash in the dressing. It was great! I'll definitely be keeping this one around in the recipe book! Check out the other Barefoot Bloggers here to see how theirs turned out!
As promised, I am back with the Mixed Berry Cobbler. This week's recipe was chosen by Beth of Our Sweet Life, and I was very excited to have yet another easy recipe! I was quite proud of myself for diving right into the dough without batting an eyelash. I made a few changes after reading comments from other bakers... I used brown sugar instead of white, and added some cinnamon and nutmeg. I cut the whole recipe down by about 1/5, and baked it in a little soup crock (which I love!), for just about the same time as the full recipe. This was very simple to put together. Yes, I am still omitting sugar from my diet, but I snuck a bite of this to try it out. It was GREAT, even without the ice cream! I can only imagine this warmed up and topped with a nice scoop of vanilla...mmmmm! And cutting down the recipe went very smoothly, I could definitely see making myself a personal cobbler every so often when I roast some spaghetti squash (gotta love two things that bake at the same time and temp!). Check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers here.
I love hummus, but most recipes call for raw garlic and I find it to be a bit too strong (as much as I love garlic!). I went off in search of a better way to incorporate garlic another way, and came across a recipe for roasted garlic hummus. I made a few modifications and it came out great! This is my go-to hummus recipe now. :-) But, what's hummus without some pita bread? I'm trying to use more whole wheat flour, and found a very simple recipe that was easy and turned out great! I was worried they wouldn't turn out right, as this was my first try at pita bread, but I did achieve the characteristic pocket inside - they even puffed up like whoopee cushions. :-) Roasted Garlic Hummus Inspired by justinsomnia.org
~1 head garlic ~1 15-20 oz can chickpeas (garbanzo beans) with liquid reserved ~juice of 1 lemon ~1/4 cup tahini (sesame paste) ~3/4 tsp cayenne pepper ~1 1/2 tsp ground coriander ~1 tsp freshly ground black pepper ~1 1/2 tsp salt ~1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Preheat oven to 375F. Cut top off of head of garlic. Spray the tops with olive oil and wrap it in foil. Roast for 45 minutes.
Discard the shells of the chickpeas. Squeeze roasted garlic out of the skin, and add to a food processor or blender. Add chickpeas and blend. Add the remaining ingredients and blend, using the reserved chickpea liquid to reach the desired consistency. Whole Wheat Pita Bread Source:Recipezaar.com
~4 cups whole wheat flour ~1 tablespoon dry yeast ( I used one packet of rapid rise yeast) ~1 1/4 cups warm water (120-130F degrees) ~1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 500°F. 2. Sift together 2 cups of flour and the yeast. 3. Add water and salt and mix well. 4. Gradually add in the remaining flour just until the dough begins to clean the sides of the bowl. Once this happens, stop adding flour (so, you might not use all the flour the recipe calls for.). 5. Knead the dough for about 4 or 5 minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic. (While you're kneading, you can get creative and add in some herbs or spices, but only if you want to do that). Be careful not to over-knead the dough. 6. Form dough into 10 balls. 7. On a floured surface, roll each ball into a 5-6 inch circle, about 1/4 inch thick. (Be sure to sprinkle a little flour on both sides to prevent sticking). 8. Place on a non-stick baking sheet and allow to rise 30 minutes, or until slightly raised. 9. Just before you place the pan in the oven, flip each pita over on its other side. 10. Bake on the bottom rack of the oven for 5 minutes. (The instant hot heat will help them puff up). 11. When the pitas come out of the oven they will be hard, but they will soften as the cool. 12. Store them, while they're still warm, in plastic baggies or an airtight container. 13. Cut the pitas in half crosswise and stuff with your favorite fillings (beans and rice, taco fixings, thick stews, curries - anything goes). 14. Pitas can be reheated in a 350°F oven or in the microwave.
NOTE: On the second time around, I added about a tablespoon of italian seasoning - wow, what a difference! It really livened them up! I definitely recommend adding your favorite herbs!
I had myself convinced that I was going to make this week's recipe, Peppermint Cream Puff Ring, in such a way that I could bring it to work (a difficult feat when the recipe won't hold for longer than 8 hours). After some thought, I finally conceded today after looking at my history in the group to make sure I'd be ok with another skip. I noticed that I am following a pattern here... since joining on February 19th (Almost Fudge Gateau), I have missed:
March 18th: Brioche Raisin Snails April 15th: Marshmallows May 13th: Florida Pie
It seemed only fitting that I miss this week, due June 17th (middle of the month), to maintain this pattern that I was completely unaware of. :-)
The other reason being I've given up all sugar for 2 weeks and this sounds WAY too good to resist. I'll be back in the swing next week with Mixed Berry Cobbler, chosen by Beth of Our Sweet Life!
In the meantime, check out the other TWD bakers here. Thanks to Caroline of A Consuming Passion for this week's choice! I will definitely be making it in the future!
Saturday, June 14th, I drove on down to Darien, IL for the Wilton 80th Anniversary Open House (at THE Wilton store... yes readers: ONE store, ALL Wilton - dangerous! [Especially at 25%off]). It was a day filled with cakes, demonstrations, raffles (I didn't win, BOO), more cakes, and of course - shopping. There were 4 demonstrations: Sugar Artistry, Fondant, Gum Paste, and Brush Embroidery, taught by Colette Peters! Gum Paste and Brush Embroidery are, by far, my favorites. In addition, they had a cake decorating contest that morning and displayed the cakes through the day. Here are some of my favorites:
Here is the Wilton 80th Anniversary Cake!
After the demos, I had the opportunity to meet Colette and get her autograph. Yay! (But I certainly felt silly being the only person in line without a book of hers! Hey, I'm just starting out, if you didn't notice.)
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I got to thinking about what I could do for the next round of Eat to the Beat (as the deadline rapidly approached) and I decided I wanted to use the rose nectar in something other than a rose mimosa. Instantly, the 80s hair band memories sprung to the front of my mind, and all I could think about was...
Check out the other Barefoot Bloggers 
