I have pretty much fallen off the wagon in regards to the Baking with Julia stuff, but it did get me to buy and use a wonderful cookbook. So instead of sticking to the schedule I will continue on in my own way and maybe some day get back on track.
Which brings me to the lovely bread pictured here. On New Years I decided to bake a brie, but the big question was what to serve with the cheese. I asked Larry what he would like and he said French bread. Which is a bit of a challenge since I have yet to have found an easily accessible loaf of good French bread in the area. So I decide to make it myself, how hard could it be?
Well it turns out it isn't particularly hard, but it is very labor intensive.
I had to first make pizza dough for a 1/2 once of starter. From there I had at least 3 different rises, an in the fridge rest, and a steam filled oven. The end result was very good, precious little of the four loves made to the new year, just a four inch stub that Nate devoured the next day. A good crust, chewy bread, a faint sour tang, and a lovely open structure. The bread was a roaring sucess and it was the first time I had ever baked French bread. I think I will do it again, but really it took a good 24 hours to make it. What is it with French and their complicated bread products.
Showing posts with label Baking with Julia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Baking with Julia. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 07, 2014
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Baking With Julia- Summer Vegetable Tart
This week's baking challenge was a savory Summer Vegetable Tart. to see other Tarts head on over to Baking with Julia. Since there is no host I'll give a brief run down on the recipe.
For the crust I used half a package phyllo dough, each sheet brushed with clarified butter and seasoned with freshly ground pepper. The sheets wee draped on a 9 inch tart pan with the edges resembling the points of a handkerchief. The dough was then baked for a bit under 10 minutes in a 375 oven. It was then placed on a rack and allowed to cool.
About an hour before serving saute in olive oil a sliced onion and two cloves of garlic. Once the onion is translucent add two sliced peppers and a half a pound of sliced mushrooms. Once the peppers are soft remove from heat and add salt and pepper to taste, fresh thyme, and half a cup of crumbled goat cheese. The objective to to warm the cheese, not melt it.
The dish is best slightly warm or at room temperature.
I was very pleased with how the phyllo dough worked out for me. Sometimes it can be a royal pain, shredding every time you handle a sheet. I got the corners all artfully draped and backed to a lovely golden color. The filling was delicious, at least to the older half of the family, those 14 and under really didn't care for it. My only complaint was how messy the dish is to serve, the phyllo dough would keep breaking off. Mess aside it is a recipe well worth repeating. I had it as a vegetable side dish for my chicken piccata and the light lemon flavors worked well with the tart.
For the crust I used half a package phyllo dough, each sheet brushed with clarified butter and seasoned with freshly ground pepper. The sheets wee draped on a 9 inch tart pan with the edges resembling the points of a handkerchief. The dough was then baked for a bit under 10 minutes in a 375 oven. It was then placed on a rack and allowed to cool.
About an hour before serving saute in olive oil a sliced onion and two cloves of garlic. Once the onion is translucent add two sliced peppers and a half a pound of sliced mushrooms. Once the peppers are soft remove from heat and add salt and pepper to taste, fresh thyme, and half a cup of crumbled goat cheese. The objective to to warm the cheese, not melt it.
The dish is best slightly warm or at room temperature.
I was very pleased with how the phyllo dough worked out for me. Sometimes it can be a royal pain, shredding every time you handle a sheet. I got the corners all artfully draped and backed to a lovely golden color. The filling was delicious, at least to the older half of the family, those 14 and under really didn't care for it. My only complaint was how messy the dish is to serve, the phyllo dough would keep breaking off. Mess aside it is a recipe well worth repeating. I had it as a vegetable side dish for my chicken piccata and the light lemon flavors worked well with the tart.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Baking With Julia- Cheese and Tomato Galette
Last week's baking challenge for Baking with Julia was Cheese and Tomato Galette. I could have tried making it last Tuesday, but considering I came home that day after a lovely weekend away with my husband, I decided against such foolishness. It was hard enough getting back into the groove cooking dinner and such, an optional treat such as this was too much.
Which brings us to today.
The recipe called for 1/2 a batch of galette dough, conveniently I had such a thing stashed in my freezer. The dough was a leftover from the Berry Galette I made way back in August of last year.
Oh, that was quite a while ago, however the dough was fine. I really should label things better in the freezer and keep better tabs on little odds and ends like this.
Anyhoodle, as the dough defrosted I combined the cheese and basil. The recipe called for 2 oz mozzarella and 2 oz Monterey Jack. I had the mozzarella, but not the Jack so I substituted Swiss and cheddar. As for the basil, 1/4 cup of chopped fresh basil was called for. I had only dried, my basil plant are quite big enough, though I did trim off a couple of small leaves for garnish. Once the dough was thawed I rolled it out and transferred to to my pizza pan. I tossed the cheese on top, sliced some tomato, and then layered on the slices on top of the cheese. The edges of the dough were folded up and then the whole thing was backed at 400 for about 40 minutes.
It smelt heavenly and I had a hard time waiting the proscribed 10 minutes for the galette to cool. But wait I diid and it was well worth the wait. I thought it was outstanding as did Larry.
Which brings us to today.
The recipe called for 1/2 a batch of galette dough, conveniently I had such a thing stashed in my freezer. The dough was a leftover from the Berry Galette I made way back in August of last year.
Oh, that was quite a while ago, however the dough was fine. I really should label things better in the freezer and keep better tabs on little odds and ends like this.
Anyhoodle, as the dough defrosted I combined the cheese and basil. The recipe called for 2 oz mozzarella and 2 oz Monterey Jack. I had the mozzarella, but not the Jack so I substituted Swiss and cheddar. As for the basil, 1/4 cup of chopped fresh basil was called for. I had only dried, my basil plant are quite big enough, though I did trim off a couple of small leaves for garnish. Once the dough was thawed I rolled it out and transferred to to my pizza pan. I tossed the cheese on top, sliced some tomato, and then layered on the slices on top of the cheese. The edges of the dough were folded up and then the whole thing was backed at 400 for about 40 minutes.
It smelt heavenly and I had a hard time waiting the proscribed 10 minutes for the galette to cool. But wait I diid and it was well worth the wait. I thought it was outstanding as did Larry.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Baking With Julia- Savarin
Last week's challenge over at Baking with Julia was Savarin. Yes I'm a week late, but it is the end of school and things are even crazier than usual. Between potluck dinners, end of soccer season parties, and hey lets give 5th grade pizza for lunch, I've been a wee bit busy. Also in my defense I made a complete hash out of my first attempt.Fortunately all I wasted was an egg, a bit of flour, sugar, and yeast. I had enough sense to toss the flat mess and not just plow forward.
So as you can see by the picture here I was very successful in the end.
As I mentioned before in my first attempt, the bread base was a flat and miserable failure. The second time around I halved the rising times and doubled the dough. Combine that with going all out on greasing the ring mold, I had a far more successful go of it. It still slumped a bit, but once you start soaking the bread with simple syrup, splashing a bit of pear flavored vodka (the recipe called for pear eau-de-vie and that's the closest I was going to get without shopping, hurrah for freebie sample bottles come with the regular stuff), filling the hole with whipped cream and ladeling warm berry sauce on top, who cares.
I admit I was a bit dubious of the whole thing, I nibbled on the flop and found it wanting in flavor. However, the full on savarin was fantastic. I don't know if I'll make it again, it was easy but certainly required a huge amount of tarting up.
So as you can see by the picture here I was very successful in the end.
As I mentioned before in my first attempt, the bread base was a flat and miserable failure. The second time around I halved the rising times and doubled the dough. Combine that with going all out on greasing the ring mold, I had a far more successful go of it. It still slumped a bit, but once you start soaking the bread with simple syrup, splashing a bit of pear flavored vodka (the recipe called for pear eau-de-vie and that's the closest I was going to get without shopping, hurrah for freebie sample bottles come with the regular stuff), filling the hole with whipped cream and ladeling warm berry sauce on top, who cares.
I admit I was a bit dubious of the whole thing, I nibbled on the flop and found it wanting in flavor. However, the full on savarin was fantastic. I don't know if I'll make it again, it was easy but certainly required a huge amount of tarting up.
Friday, June 07, 2013
Scary Cupcake
At the band potluck we attended Tuesday Rebecca snagged this mini-cupcake. As she was unwrapping it she decided to make is scary. A slight tear to the cake, two dots of frosting for the eyes, and voilà one frightening (or frightened) cupcake.
I'm posting this picture because this is how I feel about this week's Baking with Julia challenge. It's savarin and the first one I made was a complete and utter disaster. It completely collapsed on itself and refused to unmold. I think I sussed out went wrong, I over raised the dough and did an inadequate job greasing the mold.
I'm giving it another crack and this time I'll closely watch the dough and not let it rise out of control. I will also double the dough since I don't have a small ring mold and the dough looked a bit lost when I plopped it in.
I'm posting this picture because this is how I feel about this week's Baking with Julia challenge. It's savarin and the first one I made was a complete and utter disaster. It completely collapsed on itself and refused to unmold. I think I sussed out went wrong, I over raised the dough and did an inadequate job greasing the mold.
I'm giving it another crack and this time I'll closely watch the dough and not let it rise out of control. I will also double the dough since I don't have a small ring mold and the dough looked a bit lost when I plopped it in.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Baking With Julia- Savory Brioche Pockets
This week's challenge on Baking with Julia was Savory Brioche Pockets. For the full recipe and many pretty pictures head on over the the challenge's host, Loaves and Stitches.
I enjoyed making these little pockets full of yum, though they are a bit labor intensive with the brioche dough. I planned a head this time and decided very early on to tweak the recipe more to our liking. I love asparagus, but not everybody in my family can or will eat it. Therefor it was time for a bit of substitution.
Spinach came to mind, I could promote the pockets as a sort of spinach pie. So I blanched the spinach and used roughly a heaping tablespoon per pocket. The end result was quite good even with my forgetting to add the chives (and dang it I was looking forward to cutting back my seemingly immortal chives), all it needed was an extra bit of salt. I don't know if I'll make them again, the dough is a bit fussy, but they were a very tasty experiment.
I enjoyed making these little pockets full of yum, though they are a bit labor intensive with the brioche dough. I planned a head this time and decided very early on to tweak the recipe more to our liking. I love asparagus, but not everybody in my family can or will eat it. Therefor it was time for a bit of substitution.
Spinach came to mind, I could promote the pockets as a sort of spinach pie. So I blanched the spinach and used roughly a heaping tablespoon per pocket. The end result was quite good even with my forgetting to add the chives (and dang it I was looking forward to cutting back my seemingly immortal chives), all it needed was an extra bit of salt. I don't know if I'll make them again, the dough is a bit fussy, but they were a very tasty experiment.
Tuesday, May 07, 2013
Baking With Julia- Fresh Rhubarb Upside-Down (not so) Baby Cake
This week's Baking with Julia challenge was Fresh Rhubarb Upside-Down Baby Cake with the host being Erin over at When in Doubt... Leave it at 350. Hopefully she'll post the full recipe and at that point I'll fix the link to go directly to the recipe. Yay link works!
As y'all probably guessed by the title I did not make Baby Cakes, I didn't feel like messing around with my four inch pans and decided to make a 12 inch cake alternative instead. And why yes I do have a 12 inch spring form cake pan, I'm hard core.
As y'all probably guessed by the title I did not make Baby Cakes, I didn't feel like messing around with my four inch pans and decided to make a 12 inch cake alternative instead. And why yes I do have a 12 inch spring form cake pan, I'm hard core.
The resultant cake was delicious. There is nothing like fresh rhubarb and loved the flavor it imparted. I couldn't find crème fraîche nor did I feel like making it so I used the third alternative listed in the recipe, sour cream. It worked out very well, though I would like to try making the cake sometime with crème fraîche. Also I think it was easier to make it in one pan than 8 (!) mini cake pans, it would be tricky dividing the caramel between all those pans.
Oh and my one modification, I lined the cake pan so I wouldn't mess up the rhubarb when I turned out the cake. It was very easy to peel off after I removed the spring form pan from the overturned cake.
This would make an excellent brunch or tea-time treat. Next time, and there will be a next time, I might just halve the recipe for a more manageable quantity of cake.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Baking With Julia- Madeleines
Woo hoo! I'm back on schedule!
This week's baking challenge from "Baking with Julia" is madeleines. For the full recipe head on over to Counter Dog, Katie will give you the recipe with pictures.
Technically I made ladyfingers, not madeleines. I don't have the pan and I have no great need to buy one. Conversely my ladyfingers don't look like ladyfingers either. I didn't feel like making the tradition finger shaped cookie and decided to use a really big star tip and do a sort of free hand madeleine piping. The earlier cookies came out better, probably because the batter was beginning to break down in the bag from the pressure and the warmth of my hands on the piping bag.
Anyhoodle, the cookies came out quite well. They are a bit on the dry side, but this recipe seemed to be geared towards a dunkable creation. I liked it and it was a very quick treat to knock out, I got the whole thing done in under an hour. As for making them again, I don't know. Maybe if I make a trifle and want to use home made ladyfingers.
This week's baking challenge from "Baking with Julia" is madeleines. For the full recipe head on over to Counter Dog, Katie will give you the recipe with pictures.
Technically I made ladyfingers, not madeleines. I don't have the pan and I have no great need to buy one. Conversely my ladyfingers don't look like ladyfingers either. I didn't feel like making the tradition finger shaped cookie and decided to use a really big star tip and do a sort of free hand madeleine piping. The earlier cookies came out better, probably because the batter was beginning to break down in the bag from the pressure and the warmth of my hands on the piping bag.
Anyhoodle, the cookies came out quite well. They are a bit on the dry side, but this recipe seemed to be geared towards a dunkable creation. I liked it and it was a very quick treat to knock out, I got the whole thing done in under an hour. As for making them again, I don't know. Maybe if I make a trifle and want to use home made ladyfingers.
Friday, April 12, 2013
Baking With Julia- Rustic Potato Loaves
The Rustic Potato Loaves were actually from last week over at Baking with Julia, however with it still (barely) being Passover I elected to give a miss until this week. For the full recipe head on over to Simply Sweet and see what Dawn cooked up.
It is an easy bread to make, though you really do need a stand mixer to do it. I'm sure the 11 (!) minutes of beating by hand or a hand mixer would get very old, very fast. Apart from being sticky and my apparent inability to make a torpedo shape loaf, it was one of the easiest breads to bake so far. It has a nice chewy crust and a pleasant tang from the potatoes.
We had this instead of challah tonight and the loaf was quickly devoured. Rebecca didn't care for it, but Jacob was ecstatic. He loves potato bread and is very happy boy. This is definitely a keeper.
It is an easy bread to make, though you really do need a stand mixer to do it. I'm sure the 11 (!) minutes of beating by hand or a hand mixer would get very old, very fast. Apart from being sticky and my apparent inability to make a torpedo shape loaf, it was one of the easiest breads to bake so far. It has a nice chewy crust and a pleasant tang from the potatoes.
We had this instead of challah tonight and the loaf was quickly devoured. Rebecca didn't care for it, but Jacob was ecstatic. He loves potato bread and is very happy boy. This is definitely a keeper.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Baking With Julia- Mocha Chocolate Chips
This week's Baking with Julia challenge is Mocha Chocolate Chips. As always there is a full run down over at the challenge's host blog, Galettista. Now on to the cookies.
One baker commented that this recipe was pretty close to the Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chip cookie recipe, and by gum she was right. Shave off a 1/4 of flour and add apricots, extra chocolate, and coffee from the Tollhouse cookies and there go. Which made this week's baking dead easy for me.
I normally add only 2 cups of flour so it was just like making my tried and true chocolate chip cookies. Of course I didn't follow the recipe perfectly. I don't like apricots so I substituted white chocolate chips, I didn't feel chopping chocolate so I used regular chocolate chips, and I baked them at 375 instead of 350.
They came out marvelous.
I only used 2 tablespoons of instant coffee because all I had was instant espresso powder and I did not want to go overboard. I think next time I go for three, a stronger coffee flavor would have been nice. I also will leave out the extra 1/2 pound of chips, it was just too much. This is the first time that my substituting chocolate for an unwanted ingredient, apricots in this case, did not work out. Interestingly a fair number of bakers had an issue with the cookies spreading too much, but that is never a problem for me. These are delightful cookies and will do the mocha variation again.
One baker commented that this recipe was pretty close to the Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chip cookie recipe, and by gum she was right. Shave off a 1/4 of flour and add apricots, extra chocolate, and coffee from the Tollhouse cookies and there go. Which made this week's baking dead easy for me.
I normally add only 2 cups of flour so it was just like making my tried and true chocolate chip cookies. Of course I didn't follow the recipe perfectly. I don't like apricots so I substituted white chocolate chips, I didn't feel chopping chocolate so I used regular chocolate chips, and I baked them at 375 instead of 350.
They came out marvelous.
I only used 2 tablespoons of instant coffee because all I had was instant espresso powder and I did not want to go overboard. I think next time I go for three, a stronger coffee flavor would have been nice. I also will leave out the extra 1/2 pound of chips, it was just too much. This is the first time that my substituting chocolate for an unwanted ingredient, apricots in this case, did not work out. Interestingly a fair number of bakers had an issue with the cookies spreading too much, but that is never a problem for me. These are delightful cookies and will do the mocha variation again.
Tuesday, March 05, 2013
Baking With Julia- Croissants
This week's Baking with Julia challenge was croissants and miracle of miracles I actually completed it on time!
For a full rundown on how to make this time consuming yet delicious treat head on over to Girl + Food = Love.
Now lets get down to brass tacks. Croissants are very involved and take a solid two days to make. I was aware of this and started making mine on Saturday. I spent a lot of time wielding my rolling pins and figured at least one of them deserved to be featured. For the bulk of the rolling I used my marble rolling pin, meanwhile my wooden pin got the honor of whacking at the dough to distribute the butter.
Sunday was a bust, so I did most of the work on Monday, leaving the final rolling and proofing for today.
I finshed making them at round 2:30 pm today, allowing just enough time for them to cool down and be ready for afternoon snack when the kids get home.These little beauties were a big hit with my crowd. My biggest problem was their size, they started out far too small. My dough wasn't very stretchy and seems that I cut my triangles too small. I only used half the dough so the next batch will be a bit nicer looking now that I have a feel for the whole process.
They are very good, but I'm not sure I'll be investing so much time in them again. They are tasty, just not two days of rolling dough tasty.
For a full rundown on how to make this time consuming yet delicious treat head on over to Girl + Food = Love.
Now lets get down to brass tacks. Croissants are very involved and take a solid two days to make. I was aware of this and started making mine on Saturday. I spent a lot of time wielding my rolling pins and figured at least one of them deserved to be featured. For the bulk of the rolling I used my marble rolling pin, meanwhile my wooden pin got the honor of whacking at the dough to distribute the butter.
Sunday was a bust, so I did most of the work on Monday, leaving the final rolling and proofing for today.
I finshed making them at round 2:30 pm today, allowing just enough time for them to cool down and be ready for afternoon snack when the kids get home.These little beauties were a big hit with my crowd. My biggest problem was their size, they started out far too small. My dough wasn't very stretchy and seems that I cut my triangles too small. I only used half the dough so the next batch will be a bit nicer looking now that I have a feel for the whole process.
They are very good, but I'm not sure I'll be investing so much time in them again. They are tasty, just not two days of rolling dough tasty.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Baking With Julia- Boca Negra
This week's Baking with Julia challenge was Boca Negra. As always the full recipe is hosted on another site, this time it's
A Frederick Food Garden.
It doesn't look like much, but this cake packs a wallop. a bourbon laced and chocolate flavored smack down on the taste-buds. And the cream, I could just rhapsodize about the white chocolate cream sauce all by itself.
For once I actually planned ahead. I made the white chocolate cream sauce (of awesome) a day before the main attraction. As I made it I had a little taste to see if I got the bourbon amount right. I have never been a big fan of bourbon, but I appreciate how alcohol can really kick up the flavor in cooking. The taste was electric. It took some serious effort on my part to put the spoon down and not just suck down the sauce in one go.
The next day, which just so happened to be Valentines day, I made the cake using the food processor method. I was able to bang it all together in under half an hour and then it was off to the oven in it's water bath. I had a slight water leakage problem with my springform pan, a bit of water collected on the surface of the cake. I remedied that by broiling the cake for a few minutes after the 30 minute cooking time. The offending spot quickly dried out and I had a luscious cake.
Flipping out the cake was not a problem and soon we were enjoying an incredibly moist and chocolatey cake that literally melted in your mouth. The white chocolate cream was utterly divine on top. Boca Negra is an amazing dessert and I will be repeating it sometime in the future.
It doesn't look like much, but this cake packs a wallop. a bourbon laced and chocolate flavored smack down on the taste-buds. And the cream, I could just rhapsodize about the white chocolate cream sauce all by itself.
For once I actually planned ahead. I made the white chocolate cream sauce (of awesome) a day before the main attraction. As I made it I had a little taste to see if I got the bourbon amount right. I have never been a big fan of bourbon, but I appreciate how alcohol can really kick up the flavor in cooking. The taste was electric. It took some serious effort on my part to put the spoon down and not just suck down the sauce in one go.
The next day, which just so happened to be Valentines day, I made the cake using the food processor method. I was able to bang it all together in under half an hour and then it was off to the oven in it's water bath. I had a slight water leakage problem with my springform pan, a bit of water collected on the surface of the cake. I remedied that by broiling the cake for a few minutes after the 30 minute cooking time. The offending spot quickly dried out and I had a luscious cake.
Flipping out the cake was not a problem and soon we were enjoying an incredibly moist and chocolatey cake that literally melted in your mouth. The white chocolate cream was utterly divine on top. Boca Negra is an amazing dessert and I will be repeating it sometime in the future.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Baking With Julia- Focaccia
Here is the promised focaccia that I supposed to make last week for Baking with Julia. As always there is a full run down on the recipe, just head on over to host of the week's site: Wandering Through...
I decided to target the bread for Friday and started making the dough Wednesday. I wanted to give the dough the full 36 hours rise time in the fridge. The longer the rise the more developed the flavor and I'm all for more flavor. Thus the dough was duly divided up Wednesday night and tucked in the fridge until Friday morning.
The recipe has the dough dived in thirds and top with fresh herds such as rosemary and thyme, salt, and olive oil. I didn't have any fresh herbs so I used my dried rosemary on one of the loaves, while the other two got garlic or Italian seasoning.
It was a good call on all three toppings. Two of the loaves were quickly gobbled up and the third was gone by mid-day Saturday. Jacob said they were all good, with the Italian being the best. My four children declared this was the best bread yet and want me to make more ASAP.
I decided to target the bread for Friday and started making the dough Wednesday. I wanted to give the dough the full 36 hours rise time in the fridge. The longer the rise the more developed the flavor and I'm all for more flavor. Thus the dough was duly divided up Wednesday night and tucked in the fridge until Friday morning.
The recipe has the dough dived in thirds and top with fresh herds such as rosemary and thyme, salt, and olive oil. I didn't have any fresh herbs so I used my dried rosemary on one of the loaves, while the other two got garlic or Italian seasoning.
It was a good call on all three toppings. Two of the loaves were quickly gobbled up and the third was gone by mid-day Saturday. Jacob said they were all good, with the Italian being the best. My four children declared this was the best bread yet and want me to make more ASAP.
Tuesday, February 05, 2013
Mini Apple Tart
I fully intended to make focaccia today for the whole Baking with Julia thing. I cracked open my cookbook, all ready to make bread, when my eye caught the line "This dough is mixed quickly in a heavy-duty mixer, allowed to rise, and then refrigerated for at least twenty-four hours, the time it needs to set that bubbly structure in place."
Whoopsie, I guess the focaccia isn't going to be baked today.
Which turned out for the best because I ended up making a quick apple cranberry pecan pie/crisp for Larry to take to a shiva call this evening. Thus bringing us to the mini apple tart.
I had a small amount of dough left after I trimmed the edges of the pie crust. I didn't want it to go to waste and since I wasn't going to get any pie, I decided to make a little tart for myself using one of my 4 inch tart pans.
Two apples were peeled, cored, and cut into small pieces. I tossed the apple chunks with a bit of brown sugar and squeezed on some lemon juice. The apple mixture was then packed into the waiting crust in the tart pan. For the topping I made a mixture of flour, brown sugar, ground ginger, and butter. I cut the butter into the dry ingredients and then sprinkled it on top of the apples. Into the oven at 350 and about half and hour later I had a luscious little tart.
Using just ginger was a nice change of pace. The pie I sent off with Larry had just ginger and I decided to give it a whirl. Both the tart and the pie were very tasty, Larry told me the one he brought got rave reviews. I'll have to post about it another time.
Whoopsie, I guess the focaccia isn't going to be baked today.
Which turned out for the best because I ended up making a quick apple cranberry pecan pie/crisp for Larry to take to a shiva call this evening. Thus bringing us to the mini apple tart.
I had a small amount of dough left after I trimmed the edges of the pie crust. I didn't want it to go to waste and since I wasn't going to get any pie, I decided to make a little tart for myself using one of my 4 inch tart pans.
Two apples were peeled, cored, and cut into small pieces. I tossed the apple chunks with a bit of brown sugar and squeezed on some lemon juice. The apple mixture was then packed into the waiting crust in the tart pan. For the topping I made a mixture of flour, brown sugar, ground ginger, and butter. I cut the butter into the dry ingredients and then sprinkled it on top of the apples. Into the oven at 350 and about half and hour later I had a luscious little tart.
Using just ginger was a nice change of pace. The pie I sent off with Larry had just ginger and I decided to give it a whirl. Both the tart and the pie were very tasty, Larry told me the one he brought got rave reviews. I'll have to post about it another time.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
French Apple Tart
This week's Baking with Julia challenge was a French Apple Tart, For the full recipe head on over to Laws of the Kitchen or, better yet, get the book (oh look, it's on sale now).
Now I already make a mean tarte tatin, so the whole apple tart thing was not that far off the beaten path for me. The big challenge was that this is a far more elegant dessert in presentation. I was a bit daunted by all the slicing I needed to do, but it turned out to fairly easy.
I really liked the whole thing, the crust was very delicate and the apples were nice and tart. The soft creamy filling contrasted nicely with the slices on top. I think the only thing I'll do differently next time, and there will be a next time, is to cook it a bit longer.
Now I already make a mean tarte tatin, so the whole apple tart thing was not that far off the beaten path for me. The big challenge was that this is a far more elegant dessert in presentation. I was a bit daunted by all the slicing I needed to do, but it turned out to fairly easy.
I really liked the whole thing, the crust was very delicate and the apples were nice and tart. The soft creamy filling contrasted nicely with the slices on top. I think the only thing I'll do differently next time, and there will be a next time, is to cook it a bit longer.
Tuesday, January 08, 2013
Baking With Julia- Pizza with Onion Confit
This week's assignment from Baking with Julia was a twofer, Pizza and Onion Confit. For a full rundown on the recipes, go check out The Boy Can Bake.
I'll start with the pizza dough first. The ingredients are pretty much the same as my normal dough, recipe courtesy of King Arthur Flour. However there is a major difference, with King Arthur there is only one rise with BWJ there are two separate rises. The resulting crusts were different with BWJ having a smidgen more taste and a bit more chew. This falls in line with the extra rise, flavors have a longer time to develop and the enzymes get to work their magic on the structure of the dough. The new dough is worth repeating, but only if I have the time.
Now for the confit.
I was happily tossing onions into the pan, letting them soften, and rounding up ingredients when I realized I was missing Thyme. I seriously thought I had some, but I was very wrong. I was then stuck with having to improvise. After rummaging around my spices for a good ten minutes I found a container of Greek Olive Spice Larry had brought home from Canada. Since I was planning on using Feta cheese I decided to toss it in. It smelt good, so how bad could it be? Turns out that was a very good idea.
The resulting confit was delicious, I kept sampling forkfuls as it cooled down. Just for the confit alone this recipe was a success. I heaped the onions on the pizza dough, added some thinly sliced tomato, and topped it all with crumbled Feta cheese. The finished pizza was amazing. The kids avoided the onions on their pizzas, though Jacob did try a bite of my pizza and was immediately won over. I loved the confit with the other toppings and didn't miss the red sauce one bit. I will absolutely be making this again.
I'll start with the pizza dough first. The ingredients are pretty much the same as my normal dough, recipe courtesy of King Arthur Flour. However there is a major difference, with King Arthur there is only one rise with BWJ there are two separate rises. The resulting crusts were different with BWJ having a smidgen more taste and a bit more chew. This falls in line with the extra rise, flavors have a longer time to develop and the enzymes get to work their magic on the structure of the dough. The new dough is worth repeating, but only if I have the time.
Now for the confit.
I was happily tossing onions into the pan, letting them soften, and rounding up ingredients when I realized I was missing Thyme. I seriously thought I had some, but I was very wrong. I was then stuck with having to improvise. After rummaging around my spices for a good ten minutes I found a container of Greek Olive Spice Larry had brought home from Canada. Since I was planning on using Feta cheese I decided to toss it in. It smelt good, so how bad could it be? Turns out that was a very good idea.
The resulting confit was delicious, I kept sampling forkfuls as it cooled down. Just for the confit alone this recipe was a success. I heaped the onions on the pizza dough, added some thinly sliced tomato, and topped it all with crumbled Feta cheese. The finished pizza was amazing. The kids avoided the onions on their pizzas, though Jacob did try a bite of my pizza and was immediately won over. I loved the confit with the other toppings and didn't miss the red sauce one bit. I will absolutely be making this again.
Tuesday, January 01, 2013
Baking With Julia- Cranberry-Pecan Pumpkin Loaves
Friday I made Cranberry-Pecan Pumpkin bread to bring to services the next morning. I've been meaning to make this bread for months, it was the October 1st Baking with Julia challenge, but I had a hard time finding time to make it. It requires an overnight rise and I kept forgetting about how much time it would take when I found a good event to bring the bread.
Technically it should be walnut and not pecans in the bread, but pecans are what I had on hand. Oh and I blew off the raisins because I don't like them and refuse to use them if I'm going to eat the finished product, I just bumped up the cranberries to a full cup. For the full recipe head over to This Bountiful Backyard, she made a proper Cranberry-Walnut Pumpkin Loaves.
It was a fairly easy bread to make, it just is time consuming. I started early in the morning and I was just able to finish it before bed. The bread smelled lovely as it was baking and was quite tasty the next day. Next time I think I'll add a bit more spice to the dough, it was just a bit on the bland side. I think a little candied ginger would do wonders for this bread.
Technically it should be walnut and not pecans in the bread, but pecans are what I had on hand. Oh and I blew off the raisins because I don't like them and refuse to use them if I'm going to eat the finished product, I just bumped up the cranberries to a full cup. For the full recipe head over to This Bountiful Backyard, she made a proper Cranberry-Walnut Pumpkin Loaves.
It was a fairly easy bread to make, it just is time consuming. I started early in the morning and I was just able to finish it before bed. The bread smelled lovely as it was baking and was quite tasty the next day. Next time I think I'll add a bit more spice to the dough, it was just a bit on the bland side. I think a little candied ginger would do wonders for this bread.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Baking With Julia- Finnish Pulla
Ha! I did it! I'm back on schedule, at least for now.
This week's baked good for Baking with Julia was Finnish Pulla and the host is The Daily Morsel.
The bread is absolutely outstanding, it is a slightly sweet bread with a wonderfully fluffy texture. The cardamon adds a wonderful flavor to the bread and made the kitchen smell amazing while it baked. My loaf isn't as pretty as the others, I couldn't be bothered to roll out the dough to the full 36 inches. Two feet was enough for me and I ended up with a chunkier loaf.
Looks aside, Jacob and Nate loved it and I almost had to beat them off with a stick. Half of the loaf is gone and I expect the rest will disappear tomorrow. I will certainly make this bread again, the boys said they want it every week. I see it at most a monthly thing, cardamon is just too expensive to bake with on a weekly basis. Either way this recipe gets a big thumbs up from me.
This week's baked good for Baking with Julia was Finnish Pulla and the host is The Daily Morsel.
The bread is absolutely outstanding, it is a slightly sweet bread with a wonderfully fluffy texture. The cardamon adds a wonderful flavor to the bread and made the kitchen smell amazing while it baked. My loaf isn't as pretty as the others, I couldn't be bothered to roll out the dough to the full 36 inches. Two feet was enough for me and I ended up with a chunkier loaf.
Looks aside, Jacob and Nate loved it and I almost had to beat them off with a stick. Half of the loaf is gone and I expect the rest will disappear tomorrow. I will certainly make this bread again, the boys said they want it every week. I see it at most a monthly thing, cardamon is just too expensive to bake with on a weekly basis. Either way this recipe gets a big thumbs up from me.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Baking With Julia- Gingerbread Baby Cakes
Or in my case, one week late gingerbread cake.
I have no excuses about this one, I simply spaced making it. Which is a shame, it would have been a good dessert to bring to our congregation's Chanukah party last Sunday. I did fairly well with keeping up with the deadlines until a fe months ago and then the wheels came off.
Anyhoodle, the host for Baking with Julia's Gingerbread Baby Cakes was Karen's Kitchen Stories. The recipe is a snap to make and I was very happy to see both ground black pepper and minced fresh going into the batter. The best gingerbread, at least in my opinion has a nice peppery edge. The only problem I had was a brief moment of panic when I realized how much molasses was called for. Two whole cups! Luckily my pantry is well stocked and I had another bottle stashed in the back.
As for the eating, well I will update this post in the morning. I thought this would make a good breakfast treat.
Update:
And the verdict is in, it is scrumptious. There is a great depth in flavor and the cake is very moist. Max didn't care for it, nor did Rebecca(considering she dislike gingerbread in general that was to be expected). Jacob, Larry, and I thought it was excellent and well worth repeating.
I have no excuses about this one, I simply spaced making it. Which is a shame, it would have been a good dessert to bring to our congregation's Chanukah party last Sunday. I did fairly well with keeping up with the deadlines until a fe months ago and then the wheels came off.
Anyhoodle, the host for Baking with Julia's Gingerbread Baby Cakes was Karen's Kitchen Stories. The recipe is a snap to make and I was very happy to see both ground black pepper and minced fresh going into the batter. The best gingerbread, at least in my opinion has a nice peppery edge. The only problem I had was a brief moment of panic when I realized how much molasses was called for. Two whole cups! Luckily my pantry is well stocked and I had another bottle stashed in the back.
As for the eating, well I will update this post in the morning. I thought this would make a good breakfast treat.
Update:
And the verdict is in, it is scrumptious. There is a great depth in flavor and the cake is very moist. Max didn't care for it, nor did Rebecca(considering she dislike gingerbread in general that was to be expected). Jacob, Larry, and I thought it was excellent and well worth repeating.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Baking With Julia- Best-Ever Brownies
Hooray! I'm actually baking/posting on the official day!
Sort of, kind of. The picture will have to wait until tomorrow because I can't take a decent picture of a brownie indoors when it's dark out.
But! We have brownies! And that is always a good thing.
As always this is being done under the auspices of Baking with Julia via Tuesdays with Dorie and the host this time around is A Beautiful Mess.
These are very good brownies, nice and gooey with a fudge like texture, just what I like in a brownie. But best-ever, I don't know. They are wee a bit fussier to make than my regular brownies that have garnered me a first place ribbon at the county fair. A recipe, mind you, I got off of the Baker's chocolate box. I'm not sure if I'll make these again, I'll have to see what my in house panel of judges thinks about them.
Oh and I almost forgot to add, I extended the baking time a good 10 minutes. I use an eight inch brownie pan vs the nine inch called for in the recipe, which gives me thicker brownies that need a bit more time to cook.
And here is the promised picture. The brownies along the edge of the pan were a bit more cake like, but move a bit more to the center and it's fudgey goodness.
Nobody has remarked about the brownies being any different, apart from one snarky boy who hasn't had one, but was reading whilst I type (heathen). I thing they are a touch saltier than the norm, but quite good. I'll stick with my tried and true, however it is nice to try alternatives.
Sort of, kind of. The picture will have to wait until tomorrow because I can't take a decent picture of a brownie indoors when it's dark out.
But! We have brownies! And that is always a good thing.
As always this is being done under the auspices of Baking with Julia via Tuesdays with Dorie and the host this time around is A Beautiful Mess.
These are very good brownies, nice and gooey with a fudge like texture, just what I like in a brownie. But best-ever, I don't know. They are wee a bit fussier to make than my regular brownies that have garnered me a first place ribbon at the county fair. A recipe, mind you, I got off of the Baker's chocolate box. I'm not sure if I'll make these again, I'll have to see what my in house panel of judges thinks about them.
Oh and I almost forgot to add, I extended the baking time a good 10 minutes. I use an eight inch brownie pan vs the nine inch called for in the recipe, which gives me thicker brownies that need a bit more time to cook.
And here is the promised picture. The brownies along the edge of the pan were a bit more cake like, but move a bit more to the center and it's fudgey goodness.
Nobody has remarked about the brownies being any different, apart from one snarky boy who hasn't had one, but was reading whilst I type (heathen). I thing they are a touch saltier than the norm, but quite good. I'll stick with my tried and true, however it is nice to try alternatives.
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