Cobbler du Monde

Buttermilk Biscuits

2011-12-29T19:51:00.009-05:00

Every Christmas morning, we start the day with a large traditional breakfast. The past couple of years I've been in charge of the biscuits while my grandmother makes the gravy and my mom the eggs.

Buttermilk Biscuits

adapted from Southern Living Cookbook

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 (1 stick) of butter, cold

3/4 cup of buttermilk

1) Mix the dry ingredients

2) Cut in the butter with a fork

3) Lightly stir in the buttermilk, just until mixed

4) Bake at 350 degrees 10-12 mintes or until golden

5) Brush the tops with melted butter

Enjoy!

Apple Cookies

2011-12-26T19:56:00.008-05:00

It's holiday party time! I made these apple cookies using the last of my stash from the fall for a work holiday luncheon. A lot of my coworkers aren't big on very sweet desserts so I went for something fresh and fruity. These cookies are very soft and slightly chewy. The recipe makes four dozen so I thought I might have a few leftover cookies to bring home. But no, they were gone, every single one.

Apple Cookies

adapted from James Beard's American Cookery

1/2 cup of butter

1 1/3 cups firmly packed brown sugar

1 egg

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cloves

1/4 cup milk (I used almond milk)

1 cup diced apple

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1) Cream butter. Add sugar and combine well. Beat in egg.

2) Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

3) Add dry ingredients to butter mixture. Then add milk and combine until the dry ingredients and milk disappear.

4) Stir in apples and pecans.

5) Drop by the teaspoon onto buttered cookie sheets.

6) Bake at 375 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until a light brown.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

2011-11-24T17:09:00.007-05:00

Today, I'm thankful for....

good food....
followed by sweet things....

for beautiful things....

and wonderful family, both furry and human, relatives and friends.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Southwest quinoa salad

2011-11-23T09:33:00.000-05:00

Southwest Quinoa Salad

1 1/2 cups quinoa
1 1/2 cups black beans
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 1/2 cups cooked corn
3/4 green pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped
1 tsp coriander
juice of one lime
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes
2 tsp cumin
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
salt to taste

Mix all ingredients. Season to taste. Can be served cold or heated.

I also enjoyed it as part of a spinach salad.

Sweet potatoes + collard greens

2011-11-21T21:11:00.003-05:00

When I get lazy or busy, one of the first things that gets left behind are fresh foods. Forget going to the grocery store or planning a menu with everything before it starts to turn to the dark side and smell.

Actually, make that several meals. As a single girl cooking for one or two at a time, my trips to the farmer's market leave me with a lot of food. Those big bunches of parsley and cilantro and basil that smell so good end up sagging and turning brown in my refrigerator. I swear I put parsley on everything I ate for a week and still had a bundle sadly going to ruin.

Enter this delicious meal. It's rather quick, super easy and healthy, and perfect for lunches and freezing.

Sweet potatoes & collard greens

4 medium sweet potatoes, each cut into 6-8 pieces
1-2 Tbsp vegetable oil
5 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp sea salt
2 tsp pepper
3 medium apples
6 cups loosely packed collard greens
1/4 cup loosely packed parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss potatoes with vegetable oil, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Bake until potatoes are cooked and caramelized (about 20 minutes).

In a skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Add apples and saute about 15 minutes or until soft.

Put 2 Tbsp butter and 3 Tbsp water into a large pot. Add greens and saute (about 5 minutes). Decrease the heat and add potatoes and apples. Cook for a few minutes and stir in parsley and remaining salt and pepper.

Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches

2011-11-03T23:52:00.001-04:00

At the end of September, it was my turn to be on the committee to host our monthy staff meeting at work. We decided to do an outdoor meeting with a 'last blast of summer' theme.

And what better to go with that theme than homemade ice cream sandwiches?

I have to admit that I cheated a little bit. I didn't have a lot of time so I used a mix for the chocolate chip cookies and then smashed a scoopful of vanilla ice cream in the middle. Then I rolled the sides in sprinkles and immediately stuck them in the freezer.

These were a huge hit! Even my boss was licking away at the sides and chomping into the cookie!

Wisconsin Colby Cheese

2011-10-04T19:52:00.006-04:00

A friend of mine had a layover in Atlanta over the weekend. His trip started in Wisconsin, where his brother just moved, and included touring cheese farms and discovering why Wisconsians wear cheese hats. I went to the airport to hang out with him during his layover. Not the most glamourous setting, but it was great seeing him.

And I got a little cheese out of it. Wisconsin Colby Jalapeno cheese to be exact. It was wrapped in a bag in his carry-on, and was mistaken for a C4 explosive by TSA at security. The TSA woman swabbed it and everything. Thankfully, it was just cheese. Although it may cause explosions in some people, it wasn't going to blow up the plane.

I also learned a new little fact. Colby cheese is colby cheese because it was created in Colby, Wisconsin. It reminds me of Vidalia onions, which come from Vidalia, Georgia. The European Union has protected food names. Part of it protects the product and the producer, and part of it helps consumers know what it is they are consuming. Not a bad idea I think.

Seasonal Food Map

2011-09-28T21:13:00.002-04:00

Epicurious.com has a seasonal food map that I stumbled upon today. I love the idea of knowing what is in season where I am, and where I am going. I imagine myself using it to order fresh seasonal dishes off menus, knowing what to look for in the farmers' market, and planning menus around the seasons. Really, I'll probably just play around with it and compare what is in different states. But it does remind me of the plethora of fruits and vegetables and all the different varieties. We need heirloom tomatoes and vidalia onions and purple peppers.

twd ~ chocolate spice quickies

2011-09-06T01:00:00.001-04:00

Whenever I have someone over for dinner, I spend as much time thinking about the dessert as the main course. I see it as the big finale. I planned an intimate dinner for two last week, and took Dorie's suggestion to pair the chocolate spice quickies with ice cream. It was delicious. The cookies are great solo, and are subtle enough in flavor to be addictive. These aren't rich, despite the spices and chocolate, which is one reason why they paired so wonderfully with Dorie's chocolate ganache ice cream.
The ice cream overshadowed the cookies a bit. I added a little expresso powder and salt to the ganache to bring out the intense chocolate.
Thanks to Jessica of My Baking Heart for this week's pick! Check out her blog for the recipe and some beautiful food pics.

Black-eyed peas with fresh tomatoes and broccoli slaw

2011-09-04T12:15:00.000-04:00

When I visit my mom, I always grab her latest edition of Southern Living. I love the beautiful homes featured, the cities explored, and (of course) the delicious looking recipes and food pictures!

Last weekend, we decided to make a recipe from the magazine on Sunday after church. It needed to be something quick because I had a two-hour drive in front of me before my dance class in the evening.

The little black-eyed pea cakes were perfect. They are an easy, quick mix-up and fry and are balanced with the fresh tomatoe and broccoli slaw. The cakes are lightly mashed black-eyed peas, a bag of buttermilk cornbread mix, an egg, and spices. The slaw is a tangy mixture of broccoli slaw mix, sour cream, spices, lime juice, and lime zest. I can't wait to try it atop a black bean burger!

High Tea Time @ Dr. Bombay's in Atlanta

2011-09-03T11:46:00.003-04:00

I love high tea. It makes a day feel special, and makes it totally acceptable to eat dessert in the middle of the day.

I've only had high tea a handful of times. I studied abroad in England, and we would go in between classes to a lovely little tearoom in Oxford that had something to do with Alice through the looking glass although I can't remember exactly what. I have searched for years for recipes similar to their little granola and honey bar treats!

I've been hearing about Dr. Bombay's Underwater Tea Party for awhile. It's one of those places that I've been meaning to go, but never do. So I made a date with a friend for High Tea!

It was as lovely as I had heard. It has an ecletic arrange of books, games, tables, pillows that fits East Atlanta and gives a very laid back vibe - all mish mashed in and set to some wonderful jazz music. It took a little time to get our dish of finger foods and sweet treats because the scones had just been put in the oven. But the still warm scones made up for the wait! The peanut butter scone completely took me by surprise, as its nutty flavor was perfect smothered in Devonshire clotted cream. We almost finished the entire bowl of cream. Good thing I was going to swing dance classes afterwards, except that I could barely move I was so full!

Black eyed peas with spinach and fried plantains

2011-08-19T13:55:00.003-04:00

One of my favorite dishes in Ghana was Red Red - black eyed peas and fried ripe plantain. The peas would be doused with an unhealthy amount of red palm oil, giving rise to the name red red for the color of the peas and plantains. Unhealthy, but so delicious! It's common street food, and I would usually request no oil. I figured it was a trade-off since I ate it at least once a week.

On a recent trip to the farmer's market, I saw the plantains and immediately started craving red red. It's one of the dishes that immediately takes me back to a wonderful place. It combines something I know well from my childhood growing up in the South - black eyed peas - with an exotic, new fruit that I discovered my love for as an adult.

I let the plantain ripened several more days. For it to be sweet, it needs to be really ripe, almost black. I cut it in one-inch pieces and added some spices - ginger, chili powder, and salt - before frying. The spices help to bring out and balance the sweetness of the plantain.

While this was frying, I boiled half a bag of frozen black eyed peas and half a bag of frozen spinach. I added salt and pepper to taste, and let the peas boil down to a nice consistency.
I had to keep myself from eating the whole pan! Of course, I ate all of the plantain. There was a reason I only got one! I cut up a sweet potato into cubes and fried it to go along with the peas for lunch later in the week. It worked well but nothing beats fried plantain!

twd ~ Tropical Crumble

2011-08-16T00:01:00.002-04:00

I've been fighting with my laptop for the past 45 minutes. It doesn't want to type. It tells me I am holding down the control button, even when I raise both hands above my head and wave a white flag.

What I really don't want to do is get on the phone with tech support people. How long will it take? Will it be under my warranty? If I keep banging around on this thing will it suddenly start working again?

I'm hoping it keeps behaving long enough to make my post. Hey, it's almost midnight.

The tropical crumble, on the other hand, was not a problem at all. It was simple and easy, and turned out to be quite delicious.

I made a few substitutions. I used almonds instead of pecans, and orange zest instead of lime. I added just a little coconut to the topping, and a smidgen of whipped cream at the end. The cream quickly melted, but blended nicely with the fruit anyway.

I've fallen off exercising lately, and finally put in a good 6 miles this evening so I didn't feel too bad about eating this straight from the oven at 10pm. It was too perfect at the park not to enjoy it! I saw a film crew doing scenes for the movie What to Expect When You're Expecting. Chris Rock was the only one I could really recognize or hear.

Thanks to Gaye at Laws of the Kitchen for this week's pick!

Something take my hunger away please!

2011-08-14T13:00:00.004-04:00

I've been constantly hungry lately. I don't know why, and I'm not very happy about it. I like feeling satisfied with good food, and as much as I love eating, I don't actually want to do it all the time. Plus, I don't really want to gain weight. I would prefer the scale to move in the opposite direction.

So I considered what I had been eating and thought I might need a power meal...or actual food. Something with lots of good things in it, and didn't come in the shape of a bar or its own bowl. I was craving sweet potatoes, so I started there, slicing them and putting them in the over until almost done. They were easily punctured, but needed another five minutes or so to be completely tender.

While these were baking, I put on a pan of black-eyedpeas with some sundried tomatoes, salt and pepper. I added some frozen spinach because a healthy meal needs something green right?

I diced the sweet potatoes and added them, cooking for about 15 minutes to give the potatoes a chance to finish cooking and all the flavors to blend.

To finish, I added some hard cheese and devoured. I'm not sure it helped the hunger in the long run, but it certainly was good.

As I'm writing this post, I can't help but think of the situation in Somalia, and all the people seeking refuge from the famine in places like Dadaab, Kenya. God bless the women and children who are walking hundreds of miles in search of life sustaining nourishment. The organization I work for has a prescence in Dadaab, and the reports are heart wrenching but hopeful.

twd ~ Carrot Spice Muffins & Banana Peach Brekkie

2011-08-09T06:23:00.003-04:00

I love baked goods packed with little treasures - carrots, nuts, seeds, raisins - each bite brings a new combination of tastes. I love Morning Glory muffins and always am tempted when I see one sitting in a pastry case, regardless if it's morning, noon, or night.

These carrot spice muffins are no disappointment. In fact, they are too darn good. The are moist and packed with some of my favorites - carrots, coconut, ginger, cinnamon, walnuts, and raisins! Now that's a mouthful.

I used half whole wheat flour and half white, which worked well. For breakfast, it's hard to eat just one delicious muffin so I paired it with my new favorite fruit combination. One lovely, ripe Georgia peach + one banana + a spoonful of sunflower seeds + a little bit of whipping cream poured over = yummers!

Thanks to Nancy of The Dogs Eat the Crumbs for this week's pick. Head over to her blog for the recipe.

Quinoa Salad

2011-08-07T21:10:00.006-04:00

It's Sunday night. I just got home from my first swing dance lesson. It was a lot of fun. We learned the basic quick-quick-slow--slow steps. We switched partners throughout the class. It's amazing how much difference it makes when you're dancing with an experiened lead! I felt so cool with the instructors and totally lost with other students. I'm hoping to work up to the weekly group dances. Not yet, though. I need a little (a lot) more practice!

Since I was mostly taking small steps around, it wasn't too taxing. I realized that if I didn't make dinner, I wouldn't have leftovers for the week at work. I've already got dinner plans Monday and Tuesday with some girlfriends, so I want something filling but healthy and low calorie for lunch.

Quinoa is a great grain, especially for vegetarians, because it has protein. Enter something green and some spices and it's a meal.

Quinoa Salad

1 cup quinoa

sundried tomato strips

1 Tablespoon sunflower seeds

2 Tablespoons raisins

1 can 28 oz green beans

Caesar dressing (~1/2-1 Tablespoon)

salt and pepper to taste

Put dry quinoa, sundried tomatos, seeds, and raisins in a pan with 2 cups of water. Add salt. Bring to a boil and let cook about 20 minutes, or until the quinoa is done.

Add pepper and green beans. Stir. Add dressing and stir well.

Can be served hot or cold.

CNN's world's 50 most delicious foods: What? No kelewele?

2011-08-04T14:25:00.003-04:00

I'm not sure how CNN came up with the world's 50 most delicious foods. I feel like I have a new favorite, most delicious food everytime I go to a new country or try a new ethnic restaurant. I am glad to see lots of Asian, including Thai and Indian, on the list. The way they use spices...they've got something there.

What's the food I really want to see on the list?
Kelewele = fried, spiced plantain

Picture source

When I was in Ghana, kelewele could be a whole dinner. By the time I got home with it, the newspaper it was wrapped in would be completely clear from the oil. That made me feel a little better about eating a deep-fried dinner - a little less fat and oil to eat! I've tried unsuccessfully to make it in the U.S. Perhaps it's time for another try!

Showering Sweets on Baby S

2011-07-31T12:06:00.009-04:00

Yesterday, we threw a baby shower for a very dear friend. She flew in from California this weekend for a baby-filled weeked bash! She's having two showers and lots of lovin' coming her way!

I was in charge of the punch, the favors, and the tableware.

For the favors, I got different colors of pink nail polish...because we're tickled pink about the baby! Yes, I go for the silly puns.

I also made cake pops for people to take home. I made red velvet cake, crumbled it, and added cream cheese frosting. Then I used a tablespoon to make balls. These went into melted pink chocolate and then dipped in sprinkles.

That's how it was supposed to work. In actuality, the balls fell off the sticks in the chocolate. I guess I made them too big, ahem. Putting them in the freezer helped some, but by then the chocolate had been on the stove too long and started separating. At this point, it's midnight and my mom (who had just come up that night to help and go to the shower) voted for going to bed and grabbing some pastel jelly beans on the way to the shower. Give up on the cake balls? No way. Not until ultimate defeat. I grabbed a rubber spatula and used it to brush on the chocolate. Then covered the balls in sprinkles to hide any defects. We kept them in the freezer overnight and in the morning...they were cute. And yummy.

These cupcakes are adorable! Warning: the pacifier is not edible.

I'm not a fan of punch, so I was a little nervous about making it. I went with something simple, and stayed away from the sherbet! The foamy sherbet punches remind me a 70s perfume! Yuck.

Pretty in Pink Punch

1 can frozen cranberry juice concentrate

1 can fronzen orange juice concentrate

one bottle of ginger ale

water to taste

Mix all together until the frozen juices are melted. Taste. Add water if too tart.

Add rubber duckies right before serving.

Kitchen Sink Tuna Salad

2011-07-23T10:39:00.001-04:00

Coming back from vacation, I had a couple of very nice surprises waiting for me.

Firstly, my mom had planted beautiful assortments of flowers in two flower boxes I have on my balcony. They had been sitting empty for awhile, relegated to being deterents to my cat jumping off. They are now beautiful and add so much to the space, which is one of the best feautures of my apartment!

Secondly, the guy I'm seeing left two bunches of flowers.

Did I mentioned I love plants and flowers?

I also love food. I had a late flight that arrived after midnight, and worked the following day. When I got home, I was left searching around for food. I had a few staples and random food, and threw it together for a kitchen sink tuna salad that was quite satisfying eaten with carrots and pita chips.

Kichen Sink Tuna Salad

one can of tuna in water, drained but keeping some water

one can of Northen white beans

mayonnaise to taste, I used about 2 Tablespoons

handful of sunflower seeds

one apple, shredded

cayenne pepper, black pepper, and cumin to taste

Mix, chill, enjoy!

Coconut Twix

2011-07-22T22:18:00.003-04:00

On roadtrips, pit stops are definitely the most redeeming part for me.
It's a reason to go in and pick out a snack or a little treat for the road.
Heading to Slide Rock Park in Sedona, AZ, we stopped by a cute gas station and convenient store. Looking over their selection I saw something I hadn't seen before....coconut Twix!
I love the trend of candy companies now making coconut chocolate goodies! I love the coconut M&Ms, but my favorite has been the coconut cream Hershey Kisses! Too good. I devoured the bag in a week!

I know coconut is a love/hate item. I fall completely in the love category. One of the things I like most about the Kisses is that there is real shredded coconut inside. The M&Ms and Twix are coconut flavored.

We threw these into the cooler and munched on them before and after slipping and sliding around Slide Rock Park. This is a crazy place! Lots of people, lots of kids, lots of noise and laughing...a little too much for me at first, until I got in the water and started slipping around myself. I ended up with ripped shorts, a huge bruise on my elbow from a wicked fall, and a stitch in my side from laughing so hard. We ventured upstream and the walk paid off; we scampered over lovely rocks to a magnificent pool of water, perfect for diving off and coming up floating in the cold, clear water. Ahhh.

Backpacking Food

2011-07-14T16:59:00.006-04:00

On Saturday, I'm heading out west.

I'll be in Arizonia for 6 days. Three nights will be at the Grand Canyon. We'll be taking the Hermit Trail and spending two nights in the canyon.

My last overnight hiking trip was several years ago, when I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro. We had an entire team of porters and guides and...an excellent cook...who made the journey a lot less stressful and a lot more lively. Breakfast and dinner were hot meals served straight from the pot; lunch was a bagged affair that always included a candy bar. It was great.

This time, though, no cook. No porters. No guides. Just a backpack, a friend, and a travel stove. During my two hours shopping adventure at REI last night, I picked up a freeze dried package meal (Cheese Enchilada Rancho) and a dessert (Apple Cinnamon Streusel). The plan for the rest of the food is to go grocery shopping in Phoenix upon arrival and stock up.

But then the question arises, what to stock up on? What can be carried, is nonperishable and needs only a small heat source to be super tasty (cause this girl needs good food)? Thankfully, there are a few good blogs I've found for recipes and ideas.

http://www.wildbackpacker.com/backpacking-food/
http://www.backpackingchef.com/index.html
http://www.trailcooking.com/

Hitthetrail.com has been a great all-round resource for hiking in the Grand Canyon. At least, it has made me feel more prepared for the experience.

I'm looking forward to trying the freeze dried meal! It's a little like mixing potions and making mud pies!

Facelift for a Frame

2011-07-11T15:50:00.004-04:00

This picture frame is one that I've had around for a long time. It had a panda bear motif paper on it, that I loved when I saw it in fifth grade. I wanted to keep the frame, but needed an updated design. I pulled the paper off, and replaced it with squares of scrap book paper. I used Mod Podge both under to glue it, and over to seal it.

Now all I need is to process the film I just took with my Holga and pick out a nice pic!

Blueberry Picking

2011-07-10T13:37:00.000-04:00

It's summertime, which means berry picking! In high school, I would go down to the end of the culdesack and pick blackberries from the wild bushes. This year, I went berry picking in earnest. The Saturday before July 4th, I hopped in the car with two friends and headed out to the Hard Labor Creek Blueberry Farm in Social Circle, Georgia.

This is a family home and blueberry farm that is so well cared for and wonderfully welcoming. We picked for about an hour and I gleaned 9.5 pounds of blueberries! At just $1.65 a pound, I can afford the two monstrous bags I got.

It seems so extravagant to be able to open the refrigerator and grab a handful of berries for my cereal, yogurt, salad, afternoon snack, midnight snack.

twd ~ Chocolate Chocolate Chunk Muffins

2011-07-05T01:22:00.001-04:00

This recipe could inspire a great debate - is it a muffin or a cupcake?

I meant to follow the recipe exactly, but I just can't seem to make it happen. Instead of using half the chocolate melted in the batter, I melted all of it and poured in. So when I got to adding the chunks, I had to reach back in the bag and add a little more. This is really chocolate chocolate chocolate chunk muffins.

I wonder if the added chocolate makes these even more cupcake like. My first reaction is that they are straddled between the two worlds, and not very satisfying as either. I added almonds on top to some, just for a little decor.

They are a beautiful color. I only got 11 out of the recipe because I purposefully made the first six big. I'm out of town for the 4th of July, and my cat is having a sleep over with the guy I'm seeing. My mom said this must mean he really likes me. I figured, just in case cat sitting is more than he expects, big chocolate muffin-cakes are in order.

Thanks to Bridget of The Way the Cookie Crumbles for this week's pick! Head over to her website for the recipe.

Googie Burger in Centennial Park

2011-06-29T22:56:00.006-04:00

I love to get on community listservs, especially ones from public places like libraries and parks. I know it's a little quirky, but I love community and people getting outside and enjoying each other and their environment. Every once in a while, the annoyance of getting an inbox full of generic emails pays off.

Like this past Wednesday. After work I headed down to Centennial Park in downtown Atlanta for their Wednesday WindDown outdoor concert series.

It was so packed in the amphitheater that we walked right through security and right back out to find a place on the lawn. By this time, we were laden down with yummy food and ready to start grubbing. Thanks to Scoutmob, I had heard of a little gem of a place, Googie Burger. They have spiked Twinkie milkshakes. Wow.

I presented the idea of a jazz concert to my friend and threw in that we could grab dinner down there. Truth be told, I wanted to use my Scoutmob at Googie Burger and found the concert as a great excuse. Both turned out to be excellent.

I got the Veg Out Burger, which is one of the best veggie burgers I've had in Atlanta. With all the gastropubs and burger boutiques around here, someone actually is doing a decent veggie burger! Go Googie Burger. I paired this with the peach shake - real peaches! - and stole some fries from my friend.

I learned something new as well, and that's how to say "Googie." It starts with goo, as in baby talk, and ends in gee. Each person who picks up there order is a Googie Guest.

twd ~ Sour Cream Chocolate Cake Cookies

2011-06-28T06:52:00.003-04:00

Thanks to Spike of Spike Bakes for the wonderful pick this week! I was very happy to have something 1) chocolatey and 2) a cookie.

These disappeared way too quickly. I baked them on Wednesday for a gathering on Friday. When they came out of the oven, a guy I'm seeing was over, so he had to try them. Then a friend came over and we made dinner, so naturally we had one for dessert. Since she was going back to work, she needed to take a few. Three dozen down to two dozen.

Two dozen for a gathering of seven sounds fine. Within five mintues they were gone. The thing I didn't take into account was that this was a gathering of our organization's summer interns. College kids eat a lot, especially after running from the park to a bookstore to get away from thunderstorm that was dropping gallons. But the great thing about college kids: it didn't matter a bit and we were able to laugh it off and have a wonderful, wet time!

Since I'm not a big raisin and chocolate fan, I subbed chocolate chips. Everytime I bit into one, I thought it would be wonderful with icing or filling of some sort. This would be a great base for whoopie pies!

Savory Spinach and Cheese Bread Pudding

2011-06-22T20:29:00.004-04:00

Savory bread pudding? Is this possible? Edible? Wh-at?

I was thumbing through my co-worker's Mediterranean Harvest cookbook by Martha Rose Shulman and saw Savory Bread Pudding. Honestly, I had been thinking I needed to do something with all the bread piling up in my refrigerator. I'm not a big bread eater, but somehow I've been getting a lot lately. After a day or two I pop it in the frig because my kitchen gets a lot of sun and tends to warm up during the day, especially in the hot days we've been having down here in Georgia.

How weird it must look to people who come over and open up the frig for a glass of water or wine and are greeted by half full bags of bagels and breads sticking out from every shelf! Throwing it away would be the normal thing, but that seems wasteful to me, so I was very happy to have just the recipe for not so fresh bread.

I used a combination of crusty French bread, challah, seseme seed bagels, and whole-wheat bagels.

Strata
*adapted from Mediterranean Harvest

1/4 pound stale bread, sliced into cubes about 1/2 inch thick
1 garlic clove
grated cheese, about 1/4 cup or more
1/4 cup frozen chopped spinach (could use fresh)
2 eggs
1 cup of milk
salt and pepper (black and cayenne)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Dice garlic and add to cubed bread. Layer half in a baking dish, add cheese and spinach, and then other half of bread.

Beat eggs and milk until mixed well. Add about 1/4 tsp salt and pepper to taste.

Bake 40 minutes until puffed and browned

Can be served hot or cold. It was delicious at room temperature served with a fresh green salad.

twd ~ Date Nut Loaf

2011-06-21T06:54:00.000-04:00

Calling this a loaf makes it sound like bread. But as my friend said after taking a bite, "Hey, this is like cake!"

It's cake dressed up like bread. It has lovely walnuts and dates that take the stage, and lots of butter and cream cheese hiding in between. I'm now thinking of making muffins out of this batter and putting cream cheese icing on top for cupcakes.

I stuck to Dorie's recipe this time completely! I didn't have the correct size loaf pan, so I made a regular and a mini loaf. The mini was done in the specified time, however, the larger one took another half an hour. It made me a little nervous because that's a long time over, but it turned out a lovely golden brown and very moist.

Check out all the lovely walnuts and dates! The walnuts are definitely the best part for me. Thanks to Mary of Popsicles and Sandy Feet for a great pick this week!

twd ~ Chocolate Biscotti

2011-06-14T01:00:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Jacque of Daisy Lane Cakes for a wonderful pick this week!

I love biscotti. It's so nice to have a perfectly dippable sweet treat to accompany coffee or tea. It feels much more grown-up than cookies, and perhaps that's why I've never thought about making it. I tried once before, with mixed results. This recipe was great - almonds, chocolate chips, cocoa.

I only made two slight changes - it might be a record for me with a TWD! I halved the recipe, and I mixed the chocolate half bittersweet chips, half dark chocolate chunks.

The dough was very sticky and I had a little trouble shaping it into logs. The recipe says to bake for 20 mins or so, remove and cut into nice biscotti strips, and bake for another 10 mins or so. I think I baked it a little too long during the first baking round because I had trouble cutting it without making a crumbly mess.

One of the things I enjoyed most about this biscotti was the keeping factor. I went out of town unexpectedly because of a feline death in the family. When I came back last night, and pulled the biscotti out of the cabinet, it was just as good as last Monday when I made them!

twd ~ Peach Brown Sugar Plain Cake

2011-06-07T22:15:00.002-04:00

This cake may not have turned out to be the prettiest, but what it lacks in looks, it makes up for in taste.

This week's TWD was chosen by Cindy of Everyday Insanity. The original reciped calls for blueberries; I subbed two peaches and cut the recipe in half. It ended up a little heavy on the peaches for it to stay together. One would have been plenty but I do love the moisture they added. I used barely ripe peaches to retain some of the tartness you get with berries.

I really enjoyed making this one tonight. Sometimes TWD sneaks up on me, and it can feel like one more thing hanging over me. It's been a stressful past couple of days trying to catch-up from being gone last week on a work trip. I love the work trips to New York because I get away and get to visit my sister, but it's coming back to the same old stressors and the work piled up that is daunting. Being able to turn on the radio, have a glass of wine, and bake up a delicious, simple cake really raised my spirits tonight. It made me remember what I first loved about baking.

Las Vegas: Brunch at Simon's

2011-06-06T10:18:00.000-04:00

Being the oldest in my grade meant getting my driver's license first, turning 21 first, and....turning 30 first. Thankfully, I love birthdays and haven't hit an age that scares me yet. But it's a milestone birthday that must be celebrated, and celebrated well. So my high school crew and I decided to have a we're turning 30 bash in Las Vegas!

Thanks for storms in the mid-west, some of us had a few canceled flights and arrived a day late...and all the more ready for relaxation and fun! We stayed at Mandalay Bay, which was great. Lovely pools and a fake beach, a wave pool and a lazy river, were perfect for daytime catching up over Poolade (it's blue) and Pina Colodas. By the third morning, we needed a little something else so we headed over to Simon's for brunch.

This is Kerry Simon's, aka the Rock n Roll chef, restaurant. We were a bit embarrassed when he came to our table and it took a few minutes to realize who he was. Hey, after four nights in Vegas we were a little slow on the uptake. The brunch was amazing! We sit down and start and the next thing we know it's four hours later and we are the last ones in the place. The waiters didn't seem to mind, and came out and threw confetti on our table...confetti in the shape of men's...parts. But the sweetest ending was the plate of treats.

NYC: La Esquina Taqueria

2011-06-05T10:05:00.003-04:00

Whenever work sends me to New York, I get excited. It means a weekend vacation with my sister who lives there!

Yesterday, we ventured to SoHo to browse and shop. I love looking in the Pearl Market and getting some little cute gag gifts. Then we grabbed some tacos and plantains at la Esquina Taqueria on Kenmare Street. It was delicious and had great vegetarian options.

The top taco is Hongo y Espzote - the hominy in it was genius! It provided great texture with the sauce and a nice mellow flavor. The bottom taco is the Aguacate con Queso. Advocado + queso + black beans = my idea of a well-rounded taco.

We ate at the walk-up counter just inside, but they've recently opened a cafe side that was busy. Added bonus, the logo is a Mexican wrestling mask!

Baby Shower Onesie Sugar Cookies

2011-06-04T15:58:00.001-04:00

It's starting...the babies are coming. First it was wedding bells, chiming every few months, until about half of my friends were married. They still chime, but since we've approached and hit thirty, it's much more of a slow affair.

Currently, two of my close girlfriends from high school are pregnant. It's a first for us. I am incredibly blessed with my high school friends. We have remained close over the years and distance, and each followed different paths. Now some are adding "mother" to their list of incredible undertakings.

For the past couple of months, I must have looked like a baby crazed woman! I checked out how to throw a baby shower books from the library, hit up the baby section in every Michael's, Party City, Target, and department store in the metro Atlanta area looking for way to ensure a great baby bash. At the end of the day it was fantastic, due to the wonderful people there and all the laughs we shared. The best was bobbing for nipples followed by decorating onesies and taking a Mommy IQ quiz.

For favors, I made sugar cookies cut like onesies and decorated with royal icing. I was a little nervous with the icing since it was my first time using royal icing to get a hard, glossy affect, but it couldn't have been easier. It was harder finding meringue powder to use, which I finally found at Michael's.

twd ~ Oatmeal Nutmeg Scones & Maple Cornmeal Biscuits

2011-05-24T10:48:00.002-04:00

I'm so excited for this weekend. Not only is it long weekend (yay federal holidays!) but I will get to bake up Oatmeal Nutmeg Scones and Maple Cornmeal Biscuits for one of my good friend's baby shower! This is the first baby shower I've ever helped host, and I'm both nervous, feeling like I'm forgetting something, and excited because I know it's going to be a fabulous time!

We decided on brunch for the menu. So in addition to the scones and biscuits, there will be grits, egg & artichoke pie, home-style potatoes, fruit, mimosas, and muffins.

Both the scones and the biscuits were super easy to mix up. I was pleasantly surprised. They are currently sitting in my freezer, awaiting the big day. Hopefully they'll bake up wonderfully light and delish!

Baked Pimento Cheese Dip

2011-05-07T18:23:00.003-04:00

This weekend the entire family is at my mom's house to celebrate Mother's Day. My sister is down for a visit from NYC, so it's extra special that we can all get together. My mom used it as a reason to make this yummy dip. I'm keeping it in mind for any future pot lucks. The fact that we all liked it best at room temperature means I can make it ahead.

Baked Pimento Cheese Dip
from Southern Living

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1/2 (12-oz.) jar roasted red bell peppers, drained and chopped
1/4 cups chopped green onions
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 (8-oz.) block extra-sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
1 (8-oz.) block pepper Jack cheese, shredded

Served with pita and tortilla chips

1) Stir together first four ingredients in a large bowl. Add cheeses and stir.
2) Spoon mixture into a lightly greased 2-quart baking dish.
3) Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden and bubbly.

This is best eaten at room temperature.

twd ~ Cornbread Shortbread Cookies

2011-04-26T20:44:00.004-04:00

I've been utterly slack with twd lately. The weather has been perfect...that ideallyic time down South when he warm and breezy, before the humidity sets in. I made a resolution to make this week's selection regardless of how hard or time consuming. Thankfully it was neither. It was Monday night before I got around to making it, nothing like a deadline to light a fire under me, and didn't have a lemon or any citrus. Divergence one.

Monday after work. I had stopped for a quick workout at the gym, then booked it home for a quick shower before a friend picked me up. Since the dough had to chill, I decided to make it during the 30 minutes I had to get ready. I usually don't take very long, but that's stretching it a little. Hurrying, I accidnetally read the sugar amount for the cornmeal amount and dumped in twice as much cornmeal as needed. Divergence two.

To try and correct this, I added a couple of extra tablespoons of butter. Divergence three.

Hmm, I wasn't sure how these would turn out at all. I stuck the dough in the frig, in a nice little ziplock baggie, and crossed my fingers hoping for the best. Three hours later, I popped a few little squares in the oven; just a few for pictures and tasting. The rest of the dough will stay until Wednesday night, and get baked up for my sister's visit on Thursday.

These were delicious! Even with the extra cornmeal. I had two tasters and they both loved these. The cornmeal adds a lovely texture that adds that something I always find missing from shortbread. Added bonus - no eggs! No eggs = guilt free cookie dough :)

twd ~ Pecan Puffs

2011-04-05T01:13:00.000-04:00

I'm a week behind with this one, but I couldn't resist.

As a kid, I loved the Danish wedding cookies from the grocery store that came in the pepto-pink bag.

These remind me of those - except, of course, Dorie has made them better.

Glazed Carrot and Spinach Soup

2011-04-04T21:33:00.004-04:00

I find it really hard to get a good picture of soup. Especially this one, because it has a little butter which creates a lovely sheen on the surface. This lovely sheen means that it reflects light, and ends up looking like a little puddle of swamp water in pictures. But believe me, in real life, it looks just like it tastes - delicious!

I know this soup is destined to become part of my regular repertoire, if I ever form one that is.

First of all, it's a carrot soup. Carrots are that thing I always have in my refrigerator. It's usually a very lonely bag of mini, ready-to-eat carrots lying in the produce drawer in their plastic bag, one corner unceremoniously ripped off. I munch and crunch them standing in the kitchen, leaning on a counter while trying to figure out what's for dinner.

Secondly, it's a glazed carrot soup. The butter and honey add just a little sweetness, balanced by the cayenne, black pepper, salt, and stock. Yum!

Third, it's pretty healthy and light, while being thick and rather creamy. The added spinach gives a little extra goodness. It's good hot and cold.

Glazed Carrot and Spinach Soup

*adapted from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman

1 1/2 lbs carrots, sliced

2 Tbs butter

1 tsp honey

salt, black pepper, and cayenne

6 cups vegetable stock (or 6 cups water and 2 vegetable bullion cubes)

cream to top (optional)

1) Put the carrots, butter, 3/4 cup water, and honey in a large saucepan on high heat. Add salt and peppers and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and cook for about five minutes.

2) Uncover and increase heat to high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid evaporates and the carrots are cooking in the butter. Reduce heat and cook until the carrots are tender.

3) Add stock and stir well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until it thickens slightly (about 10 minutes).

4) Puree soup, either using an immersion or regular blender. Serve hot or chilled, with a teaspoon of cream on top if desired.

twd ~ Honey Nut Brownies

2011-03-22T05:57:00.001-04:00

Thanks to Suzy of Suzy Homemaker for this week's pick!

These brownies are all about the honey!
The honey makes them very dense and very sweet. It overplays the chocolate a bit. I used pecans for the nuts, and loved them. You definitely need nuts in these.
These were good straight out of the oven, but better the next day when the flavors seemed to have mixed and mellowed a bit more.

twd ~ Citrus Fig Sunshine Muffins

2011-03-15T01:11:00.000-04:00

Lauryn of Bella Baker picked these week's twd recipe - Citrus Current Sunshine Muffins! As you can tell from the title of this post, I did a little substituting. I actually played around with these more than usual.

To begin with, I used vegetable oil instead of butter. I didn't read ahead to the "butter, melted and cooled" and didn't have time once I started mixing the other ingredients. Okay, I really didn't have the patience. I left out the lemon juice and extract because I didn't have it, and didn't quite have enough orange juice. I added a couple tablespoons of wheat germ, a couple of figs, a tablespoon of raspberry preserves, some chopped pecans, and a little agave. Everything but the kitchen sink!

So how did they turn out...delicious! They are a little on the dry side, but very grainy and good. The orange taste comes through nicely, but isn't overpowering at all.

twd ~ Corniest Corn Muffins

2011-03-08T07:00:00.001-05:00

March has sprung it's madness already.
Fights breaking out outside my office building just when I'm sneaking out for a mid-day coffee.
Unfriendly people suddenly becoming friendly.
Friendly people becoming stressed and jumpy.
It's all very strange.

Which is kind of what happened with these muffins. I made them at the end of February, and tasted one as soon as it was cool. Delicious! Especially with a little butter and honey slathered on. But a couple of days later, when March rolled in, I bit into a muffin to discover that the kernels had morphed from crunchy yellow spots to hard, chewy blots. Now I know a muffin two days old isn't going to taste as good. I was expecting that, but these had done something funny with the kernels.

So I just put more butter and more honey on them and noshed away.

I love corny things, and used stoneground meal and frozen corn kernels. Somehow I ended up with lopsided tops.

Thanks to Jill of My Next Life for a great pick this week!

twd ~ Toasted Almond Scones

2011-02-22T15:56:00.000-05:00

Mike of Living Out West was the lucky twd'er that got to choose this week.

I quartered the recipe and ended up with four little cutie scones. I used all milk, no cream, and somehow ended up with a very sticky, wet dough. I added a couple of tablespoons of wheat flour and crossed my fingers, hoping for the best!

These were delicious! They aren't very sweet, which I really like in a scone. The toasted almond taste is wonderful! I wasn't sure these were going to be worth the trouble, but they definitely are. And, actually, they aren't that much trouble. I forgot all about these, all weekend, and remembered Monday night at 10pm. They were done by 10:30 and waiting in a little box for breakfast! Yum!

Happy Birthday Java Jive!

2011-02-21T16:43:00.003-05:00

My sweet Mom came up on Saturday to pick me up on the way to my grandmother's house. We had planned that nice noon pick-up would be good, so I could sleep in. Which is exactly what happened...I slept until the phone rang at exactly 12:00. Oops! But what a better way to get a late start to the day than brunch??

And what place in Atlanta has better biscuits than Java Jive? None, as far as I'm concerned. They are the best!

Little did we know that it was Java Jive's 17th birthday! So they shared the love and brought us these cute little 17 chocolate shortbread cookies after our tofu and egg scrambles. Ahh, thank you Java Jive...all meals are better when ended with a little something sweet!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAVA JIVE!!!!

twd ~ Chocolate Oatmeal Drops

2011-02-15T05:34:00.004-05:00

A big thank you to Caroline and Claire of Bake With Us for this week’s twd pick! These were amazing! One of the reasons I love baking along is that I make things I otherwise wouldn’t. Kugelhopf anyone? Or how about Cottage Cheese Pufflets?

Usually, I like what I make. There’s a rarely a time when I don’t, and then you can make a safe bet that I messed up the recipe somehow. But very rarely will I actually make things again, not when there are so many new recipes and old favorites. These however, are going into the old favorites file very quickly!

I knew I would like these just looking at the ingredient list. I love chocolate cookies with oats, and these have both cocoa and melted chocolate. Very chocolaty! They have a great texture, crispy on the outside like chocolate chip cookies, but very fudgy in the middle. I took them to a Super Bowl party and they disappeared pretty quickly. It was hard keeping my spoon out of the dough! These are delish pre-baked and baked!

Homemade Bread Take 1: Simple Oatmeal Bread

2011-02-14T19:46:00.000-05:00

The other weekend I put in a few hours at an annual fundraiser sale put on by my Junior League. I noticed a West Bend bread machine that no one had picked up. By the end of the day, it was still there - and discounted 75%. Well, that sealed the deal. I took it home for $2.50.

A woman who works next door let me borrow her book. This is my first attempt. I didn't use bread flour, which has more protein and gluten, just regular ol' all-purpose flour and I think the taste will improve a lot with bread flour. It was still good, especially toasted with a nice slathering of butter.

Simple Oatmeal Bread, adapted from Bread Machine Baking by Lora Brody & Millie Apter

2/3 water
2 teaspoons butter
2 teaspoons molasses
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 old-fashoined oats
1 1/2 white flour
1 1/2 teaspoons yeast

Monkey Bread

2011-02-02T10:26:00.000-05:00

Weekend before last I headed down to Auburn, AL, and ran the Auburn Classic Half Marathon. Virtually all course descriptions say something about rolling hills and "fast course." I was hoping it was going to hold true in this case because I had only run once in the preceeding two weeks. Well, I don't think going up 830+ feet and down 840+ qualifies as rolling. I would even say very hilly. But hey, I did a personal best so I can't complain too much.

Since Auburn is only a short hour from where I grew up, I headed over to my mom's house after the race. I knew just how great of an idea this was when I stepped into the house and smelled something....cinnamonny and delicious! She made me Monkey Bread!

It was just half a recipe of biscuit dough dipped in sugar and cinnamon, layered in a loaf pan and drizzled with a mixture of melted butter and sugar. YUM! I have to say it was just half, since it completely disappeared that day. No leftover monkey bread. It's just not as good the next day. ;)

twd ~ Great Grains Muffins

2011-02-01T06:14:00.001-05:00

Thanks to Christine of Happy Tummy for the great pick this week! This was one that I had highlighted as a possible pick for my turn. I didn't end of picking it, so I'm very excited to get the chance to make it now.

I hardly ever make a full recipe for twd. Since we bake every week, I like to downsize the servings by at least half, usually by three-quarters. But this week, I made the full recipe because I knew I was going to love these!

As much as I did love these, I would like them grainier. I can't pick out the oats at all, though the cornmeal adds a nice, subtle taste. I love prunes so this gave me a great excuse to buy them.

In the cookbook, Dorie's picture shows the muffin with a nice chunk of (what looks like) cheddar cheese. I haven't tried that yet, but I think it'll be great!

twd ~ Nutty, Chocolately, Swirly, Sour Cream Cake

2011-01-25T00:01:00.000-05:00

This week's post is chosen by Jennifer of Cooking for Comfort.

This cake knocked my socks off! It was a very pleasant surprise.

The name intrigued me, but also made me a little wary. Nutty, chocolately, swirly, and sour cream all in a bundt cake? Sounded high maintenance. But it turned to be very simple.

I substituted yogurt for the sour cream, and went heavy on the swirl spices, nuts, and chocolate chips that get layered in the batter. I quartered the recipe and baked it in a mini loaf pan. It was the perfect amount.

It smells lovely baking! Not just normal baking good, but licking the air good. It's an incredibly moist cake with a nice crispy top. I put in two layers of swirl. Perhaps I was being dense tonight, but I didn't quite understand Dorie's directions for making an indentation in the batter with the back of a spoon in the middle of the bundt cake pan...don't bundt cake pans have a hollow center? So I just did two layers - simple and it got the job done.

twd ~ Tangerine Muffins

2011-01-18T06:36:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Betsy of A Cup of Sweetness for this week's TWD pick. I was happy to see the muffins on the list amid all the chocolate cookies and cakes this month. It's nice to have something a little different.

Keeping with that thought, I took a few liberities with the recipe. I used tangerines instead of lemons because 1) that's what I had and 2) I was curious how they would turn out. My grandmother gave me a loaf of Lemon Poppyseed Bread at Christmas that is still sitting in the fridge. I also didn't use poppy seeds at all. I didn't want to buy them because I simply don't understand them. My mom LOVES poppy seedy things - bagles and muffins and breads. She loves poppy seeds. But to me, they don't have much taste, look like little dead bugs, and get stuck in people's teeth.

So no seeds - except those in the raspberry jam that I used to fill the center of each muffin. On top, lots and lots of sugar + tangerine juice drizzle! Putting it on reminded me of making Pilsbury Orange Danish rolls as a kid. Only, these are much better. They are more like little cakes than hearty muffins. Really good.

Onion and Mushroom White Pizza

2011-01-15T20:21:00.003-05:00

The other day I stopped by Smitten Kitchen, and saw her pizza with onion, bacon, and cream. It put homemade pizza in my mind. My plan was to use store bought pizza dough because it's easier and I was already hungry on my way home tonight. When I didn't find any there, I decided to wing it.

I combined white flour and whole wheat flour (two heaping serving spoons of each), added a pinch of salt and a half-spoonful of baking powder (aw, my precise measurements) and combined. Then I added water until it came together in a dough. I kneaded it a few times, rolled it out, and put it on the pan to rest.

Then I combined equal amounts of ricotta cheese and...ahem...french onion dip. The original recipe calls for sour cream, which I didn't have. Then I added salt and pepper and stired until nice and creamy. This mixture gets spread onto the dough.

Next, I sauteed one small onion, two cloves of garlic, and some portabella mushroom slices in olive oil until the onions caramelized. These get placed on top of the cheesy mixture. Then the pizza goes in a 400 degree oven for 12-15 minutes. This was very good with a glass of Malbec! Enough for two, but of course I finished off most of it myself.

SunO Dessert

2011-01-14T23:47:00.003-05:00

I first heard about SunO from Scoutmob. I'll skip over how much I love Scoutmob, and say that the write-up intrigued me. Shaved ice made from condensed milk...what? I don't know about ya'll, but it sounded very good to me!

Turns out, SunO is on my way home from work, now that my office moved in mid-December. I pass it everyday! Tonight, even though Atlanta has had more than it's fair share of snow and freezing temps this week, I was craving a frozen treat - ice cream, froyo, the real tangy frozen yogurt...something. So I decided to stop at SunO and give it a try.

At first, I was a little overwhelmed with all the pretty menu choices: wheel pies, crepes, custards, bubble teas, powders, caramels, syrups, red beans - the list goes on of all the things to mix and match to make your own creation. It being way too cold outside, I wasn't too surprised to be the only one there, but I didn't want to stand and stare blankly at the menu too long. I sampled the mango, which was a little odd to me, but I know I can be picky with fruity dessert. So I went with the plain chocolate and it was great! The small was $1, and I had to ask the cashier twice "how much? really?" When has any good ice cream been a dollar? Wow. That makes it even more dangerous as a potential stop-off after work; it's good and it's cheap.

It's also very light and fluffy, which makes me feel like it's not as bad for me as regular ice cream. The consistency did take a second to get used to, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Next time, I might have to go for one of the fancy ones with cookie crumbles.

Great American Cookie Snickerdoodles

2011-01-08T18:45:00.003-05:00

Today I ran the Red Nose Half Marathon with two wonderful friends. It was a first for one of them and she totally rocked it! I'm so proud.

A plus to this race is that it takes place in my hometown, so I got to spend a little time with my sweet mom. She made Snickerdoodles for after the race, and they came out perfectly! Soft and chewy. She used a recipe that I pulled off the internet 10+ years ago when I was in high school. It makes the best Snickerdoodles I've had yet, and is based on a recipe from the Great American Cookie place.

Snickerdoodles
makes 16-18 cookies

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

1) Cream the butter and sugars on high
2) Add egg and vanilla, and beat until smooth
3) Combine flour, salt, baking sod, and cream of tartar in another bowl
4) Pour dry into wet ingredients and mix well
5) Preheat over to 300 degrees
6) Refrigerate the dough for 30-60 minutes
7) Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl
8) Take 2 1/2 Tbsp of dough and roll into ball
9) Roll in sugar and cinnamon mixture
10) Bake 12-14 minutes

Happy New Year! twd ~ Midnight Crackles

2011-01-04T06:12:00.001-05:00

Thanks to Laurie of Slush and Jules of Someone’s In the Kitchen who chose Midnight Crackles for the anniversary recipe. TWD is three years old and still going strong! Thanks to Laurie for starting it, and to everyone whose comments and blog posts have made this a wonderful experience for me. Bring it on 2011!

Now to the recipe. I'm very curious to see how these turned out for everyone else. Mine came out rather cake-like - very thick for a cookie and not at all chewy or crispy. I made the dough before Christmas, and put it in the freezer for a few days. When I took it out to bake, the dough was very hard, so hard there was no scooping or shaping involved. It was more breaking and beating into the semblance of a circle.

Baked up these are good, but there's something that makes me look at them askew. Are these little cakes in cookie clothing? I can't quite put my finger on it, but something is odd. I spiced these up, adding the "Playing Around" suggestions of ginger and coriander. Perhaps it's the ginger + chocolate combo that's throwing me off. I've still got dough in the freezer, so I'll play around with next batch, make them smaller and thinner and bake them less time.

For all those making resolutions - Good Luck!

Knit Coffee Sleeve

2011-01-03T22:11:00.003-05:00

Tuesday is one of my dearest friend's birthday. We've known each other since Kindergarten; accompanied each other through elementary, the wider halls of middle school, the exciting times of high school, and even into the dorms at college. Everytime we get together there is so much to talk and laugh about that we usually end up having lunch for four hours, or closing down the coffee shop.

As a little gift, I made this coffee sleeve. She's a Starbucks fan. Seriously. She's there everyday, and even attended her favorite barista's wedding.

It's a simple horseshoe cable pattern with a knit border. This is my first cable work, and was surprisingly easy (and quick). Here's the pattern:

CO 20 sts
Row 1: k20
Row 2: k4, p12, k4
Row 3: k20
Row 4: k4, p12, k4
Row 5: k4, c6b*, c6f**, k4
Row 6: k4, p12, k4
Row 7: k20
Row 8: k4, p12, k4
Row 9: k20
Row 10: k4, p12, k4

Repeat 10 rows until you reach the desired size, i.e. the circumference of the cup. BO and stitch ends together.

*c6b = slip 3 sts to cable needle, hold to back, k3 then k3 from cable needle
**c6F = slip 3 sts to cable needle, hold to front, k3 then k3 from cable needle

twd ~ Apple-Coconut Family Cake

2010-12-14T00:01:00.004-05:00

I can hardly believe - it's my turn to pick! After a little more than two years, I'm happy to still be baking along with all the other twd bakers and have a reason to make a new delicious dessert every week!

***********************************************************************************
As found in Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours:

Apple-Coconut Family Cake

The tastes in this light, moist cake are coconut, a hint of cinnamon and the sweetness of apples, all of which put you in mind of early fall. Our friend Michael Vogel aptly calls it a "family" cake.

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
3 apples (I use Golden Delicious), peeled and cored
2 large eggs, preferably at room temperature
1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup plain yogurt
6 tablespoons flavorless oil, such as canola or grapeseed
1 tablespoon dark rum
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup shredded coconut, preferably unsweetened
About 1/2 cup apple jelly, for glaze

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

Cut 2 of the apples into a small dice, cover with plastic wrap and set aside. Cut the third apple from blossom to stem into slices about 1/4 inch thick; cover.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and 1/2 cup of the sugar together for a minute. Whisk in the yorut, oil, rum and vanilla and whisk for about a minute, until smooth. Still using the wisk, or switching to a rubber spatual, fold in the flourt mixture, followed by the coconut and the diced apple.

Scrape the batter into the pan and jiggle the pan from side to side a couple of times to even the batter. Arrange the sliced apples in an attractive pattern over the top of the cake - I like to make a sunburst pattern - and sprinkle the apples with the remaining 2 teaspoons sugar.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the apples and cake are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the springform pan to a rack, and cool the cake for 20 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, make the glaze. Warm the apple jelly with a splash of water just until it liquefies.

Once the cake has cooled for 20 minutes, run a knife around the edges of the cake and release the sides of the pan. Using a pastry bursh, give the top of the cake a generaous gloss of glaze.

Makes 8 servings.
Serving: The cake can be served warm or at room temperature. While it is great as is, it's scrumptious with a little whipped cream.
Storing: This cake is a good keeper. Wrapped well, it will keep at room temperature for about 4 days. Because of the apples and glaze, it isn't a good candidate for freezing.

Playing Around:Coconut-Nut Family Cake
Keep the coconut in the cake, but add 1/2 cup ground pecans or walnuts and an equal amount of the same nut, finely chopped. This double-nut cake is just as good made with slices of pineapple or pears as it is with apples.
*************************************************************************************
I tried to make this by sticking to the recipe. I managed to do mostly that. I used coconut rum instead of dark rum because that's what I had. For some strange reason, the store didn't have apple jelly so I used raspberry. It made the cake a nice red color - very festive for the Christmas season!

Saturday I ran my first marathon. Afterwards, I was ready for a little cake on Sunday and this was perfect.

twd ~ Honey Tuilles Disaster

2010-12-07T18:20:00.002-05:00

This recipe has only four little ingredients - butter, brown sugar, maple syrup (I subbed honey), and flour. Simple means easy right? Wrong for me last night. So wrong.

I started by quartering the recipe. Math is not my forte and I was too lazy to use a calcular to find one-fourth of 1/3 cup + 1 Tb flour. So I guestimated and had really sticky dough. I added more flour and baked. I ended up with tiny round, cute little cookies that didn't look anything like Tuilles.

So I tried again, this time with less flour. You know what happened? They spread...and just for a second...looked like tuilles. Yes, I was watching through the glass door of the toaster oven. Then, before I could reach in, they burnt. I scraped off what I could and dumped it on a plate. Sad little hard ball.

Then I decided to go to bed, and try to conquer Tuilles another day. For the real thing, check out Hindy's blog Bubie's Little Baker.

Caramel Corn

2010-11-24T07:41:00.000-05:00

I've been looking for a way to make sweet and salty popcorn using air popped corn. I couldn't really find one, but they all seemed to have a few things in common.

This version makes a crispy caramel that won't get soggy.

Caramel Corn

1 cup popcorn kernels
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
Salt

Pop the corn in an air popper. Salt to taste.
Over medium-high heat, melt the sugar until it becomes a dark amber.
Stir in the butter until it smoothes out.
Pour over the popcorn and stir/toss to coat.

Enjoy!

twd ~ Rewind: Pumpkin Muffins

2010-11-23T10:25:00.001-05:00

This week, we're mixing it up. All twd bakers will be rewinding to a recipe of their choice.

My pick was easy. I made Pumpkin Muffins for my sister's visit at the end of October. I made them ahead and froze them. I just had to read that again, it sounds so funny coming from me. Ms. Last Minute made muffins ahead of time and prepared. Well, this was a month ago when life (and work) was a little less busy.

Back to the muffins, which were delicious! I added dried cranberries instead of raisins, and they worked great.

Veggie Lasagna

2010-11-22T19:00:00.001-05:00

Whole wheat lasagna noodles layered with zucchini, carrots, butternut squash, tomato sauce, and cheese. It may not photograph well, but it's wonderful comfort food!

Carrot-Oatmeal Cookies

2010-11-21T08:00:00.001-05:00

Oh people, I have met my batch-made-in-heaven cookie. It's called a carrot oatmeal cookie and uses coconut oil.

That's the secret weapon ingredient.

And not just any coconut oil, fragrant coconut oil, which makes it smell delicious and taste delicious.

These were part of the baking my sister did for my visit. The recipe is from the lovely 101 Cookbooks. The taste is simply addictive. Everyone thought so, which is why they didn't make it to sunset on the second day.

A great bonus to making these is the coconut oil. My sister kept using it on her arms and hands as a moisturizer. It's like being in a tropical paradise in the middle of winter.

Berry Muffins

2010-11-20T07:48:00.001-05:00

In addition to the savory, Pumpkin-Feta muffins, my sister baked sweet Berry Muffins using a recipe from Southern Living. These were delicious with both blueberries and blackberries. Real berries...not the Jiffy faux berries that gave blueberry muffins a bad name and convinced me that I didn't like them until I was in my 20s.

Pumpkin-Feta Muffins

2010-11-19T05:42:00.002-05:00

This past weekend on my trip to NYC, my sister welcomed me in with wonderful treats. I felt very special that she baked something especially for me, and had it there waiting under a cute little welcome sign.

One of the treats were Pumpkin-Feta Muffins. They were absolutely amazing! These are savory muffins, but can were great for breakfast with Dave's famous cheesey eggs as well as an afternoon snack. I really like the bits of pumpkin and feta coming out, and the seeds on top.

The recipe is from 101 Cookbooks. My sis used an old trick from Martha Stewart by cutting 5x5 inch squares to line the muffin tin. It made for a very rustic, pretty presentation.

Egg Cream in Brooklyn

2010-11-18T17:21:00.004-05:00

I just got back from a short, wonderful trip to NYC. It was a business trip with meetings on Monday and Tuesday, so of course I went up early and spent some wonderful time with my sister and her boyfriend.

I decided to venture out of Manhattan and into Brooklyn for the first time ever, and my sister and I did it right - by walking the Brooklyn Bridge. It was a nice little walk, and we completely lucked out on the other side when we happened upon the Jack the Horse Tavern. Thanks to my Droid, we found not only a clean bathroom, but also a nice place to grab drinks.

After rambling around a bit more and having a wonderful dinner at Wild Ginger, we found our way to Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain. So cute! I will have to go back on a Sunday just for Sticky Bun Sunday. Hot sticky buns = yum! This time, though, I went total tourist, and got an Egg Cream.

I was a little worried by the name. I'll eat them scambled, fried, baked, or boiled...but I don't want to drink an egg. Thankfully, there are no eggs in egg creams. No cream either, just chocolate syrup (or vanilla), milk, and seltzer water.

My sister got a coffee egg cream, and I got a traditional chocolate. They were both pretty good. It tastes (and sounds) like something I would have concocted in my mom's kitchen as a kid. Except this thing actually caught on with people.

Coconut Curried Carrot Soup & Israeli Couscous Salad

2010-11-17T07:32:00.001-05:00

This soup is pretty simple. It starts with a little oil and a couple of onions, sauteed in a pot. Add curry powder and continue to sautee for a moment or two, until it becomes quite aromatic. I put in about two tablespoons of curry. Then add vegetable stock and carrots and boil away. Once the carrots are tender, blend to get a nice creamy texture. Add a tablespoon or two of coconut milk and swirl in.

The soup was great with this salad. It's romaine lettuce, beets, tomatoes, and Israeli couscous. I saw Israeli couscous at the farmers' market and just had to try it - it's so big and puffy looking for couscous! It's also very good. This is dressed with a little olive oil and a little salt.

twd ~ Cranberry Lime Galette

2010-11-16T08:00:00.004-05:00

Whitney, April, and Elizabeth of Celestial Confections chose Cranberry Lime Galette.

This is the first galette I've ever made. I wanted it to be spectacular! It's like pie - but easier because the dough is just folded over instead of trimmed and pinched. That's what I thought anyway. But my first bite had me thinking "what in the world did I do???"

To start, I'm not a big fan of Dorie's good for anything pie dough. So I. Found another recipe and tried to third it. I got too much salt, way too much salt.

Then I didn't have lime or orange so I used a little hibiscus tea for the liquid. What I didn't think about was that hisbiscus tea is tart and cranberries are tart so tart + tart = pucker!

It didn't help that my gallette sprouted holes in the oven and all the lovely brown sugary liquid filled the baking sheet and burned.

I couldn't even eat it, it went straight in the trash. A snow of powdered sugar couldn't even save this one.

Baked Pinto Beans with Sweet Potatoes

2010-11-15T09:46:00.001-05:00

This dish is adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. On my last trip to the store, with the Fall weather just beginning to find its way down, I got a little optimistic in the dried bean section - pintos and black beans, lentils and chickpeas! Perfect for soups and cold weather feasting. Of course, it's back in the 80s here this week, but I still wanted to break out the beans.

This recipe is really great, and could be used to stuff tortillas or as a side. I've been eating it with salad and it makes a great pairing, although it's giving me a craving for cornbread.

Baked Pinto Beans with Sweet Potatoes

1 bag of dry pinto beans cooked
1 can of diced tomatoes
2 small sweet potatoes, cut into chunks
salt and pepper
1/4-1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1 Tablespoon virgin olive oil

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spread the tomatoes in the bottom of a 9X13 baking dish. Add the sweet potatoes. Add a little water until the liquid covers most of the sweet potatoes chunks. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 15 minutes.
2) Remove the foil and add the beans, cheese, seasoning to taste, and oil. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling. Cool a few minutes before serving.

It was so good that I forgot to get a picture before it was all gone, but still wanted to share the recipe. I'm sure I'll be making this again this winter.

Fried Plantains - Kelewele Style

2010-11-14T07:25:00.003-05:00

Fried plantains are one of my ultimate comfort foods. Of course, I haven't been able to get it quite like I had in Ghana. The kelewele there was a mouth smashing hit! Kelewele is essentially spiced, deep fried ripe plantain. The best is found on the street, dished out in that day’s newspaper or yesterday’s magazine.

I tried my best though, and was pleased with the result this time. I’ve had to throw away attempts a few times before. This time I chopped fresh ginger, and put it in a bowl with some cayenne pepper and salt. Then I cut the ripe plantain in wedges and tossed the pieces in the spices. Plantains are similar to bananas and show they are ripe the same way, by getting darker and softer.

I fried some in a nonstick pan with no oil just to see if I could create a healthier version. Hmmm, no. Some things are just not the same. I guess it’s like trying to make a funnel cake with frying it, it just doesn’t work. So I poured in an inch of oil and fried those babies up. Yum!!!

Apples Apples Apples

2010-11-13T08:00:00.001-05:00

Apple season is so special! Grocery stores and farmers' markets get flooded with ripe, local apples and apple houses fill-up with bustling pickers. My grandmother lives in North Georgia and gets my Mom half a bushel of her favorite - Stayman Winesaps - each year.

Lucky me, I'm living in Georgia this year, and am getting in on the apples!

What am I going to do with half a bushel of apples? I believe this was my grandmother's question. Well, eat them of course. Just as they are...and in muffins, stewed down to applesauce, baked and fried with sugar and cinnamon, shredded with slaw, sliced with cheddar cheese - oh all the possibilities!

farmstead 303

2010-11-12T10:00:00.002-05:00

For everyone in Atlanta and NYC, if you haven't met Scoutmob, you need an immediate introduction to the mustached world of fabulous deals at yummy local eateries. It speaks to the cheap skate in my soul and has totally spoiled me rotten. Good food at 50% off, no mess, no hassles, no strings attached.

Okay, so now that that's out...last night I feasted at Farmstead 303 in Decatur. It's in the old train depot and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it's not country kitsch in the least...more country chic. Lovely wooden tables and chairs, and a large patio adorned with autumn squash resting amid the little urban flower beds. The food was enough for many more people, and all of it fresh. The veggies were mostly vegetarian friendly (yay!) - even the black eyed peas! - and as farm to table as possible. My mom and I captured the last bit of warmer weather out on the patio. We had a wonderful sample platter - pimento cheese, jalepeno hushpuppies, homemade pickles, spiced pecans, cauliflower, deviled eggs - all sorts of good things. We also split the veggie plate which was great. We'll have to go back for the bread pudding. We were just too stuffed!

This jumbled picture is what was left and boxed up, and is now sitting in my frig waiting to be my dinner tonight.

Ruffled Scarf

2010-11-11T09:00:00.000-05:00

I recently finished this scarf, and get to wear it today! It's always a little exciting to wear a new piece after working on it for a while.

This one is based on a pattern that is based on a Marc Jacobs scarf from last season. The yarn is anybody's guess as I unraveled it from a H&M piece that was no longer useful. So that makes it eco-friendly right?

I finally gave up on using the timer function and trying to properly position myself in front of the camera, and went for the bathroom mirror pics.

Tuna Slaw

2010-11-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

This combination has been in the back of my mind for a few weeks. It's one can of tuna, chopped cabbage, cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, cumin, cayenne, salt, and pepper. I made it last night and could have eaten the entire thing in one sitting with a few whole grain Ritz crackers.

I didn't measure anything out, just mixed it to taste the way I normally do with tuna salad and cole slaw. It's a combination of the two, and is a great way to use the leftover cabbage from the cole slaw my mom sent me home with last week after a family dinner.

twd ~ Not-Just-For-Thanksgiving Cranberry Shortbread Cake

2010-11-09T08:00:00.003-05:00

This week's TWD pick is by Jessica of A Singleton in the Kitchen.

Thank you Jessica!

This dessert is definitely one that I would never have made on my own. It involves making a jam of cranberries, oranges, and sugar, and then putting that between two layers of shortbread. Sounds finicky. Plus, the name both intrigued and intimated me - Shortbread Cake...shortbread cookies I know, cake I know, what is shortbread cake?

It's delicious! And it's much simpler and easier than it sounded to me. I was even left thinking that this would be a great dessert to whip-up for guests at a dinner party. You are supposed to let the dough refrigerate for about 20 minutes or so. I didn't want to wait and only left it in about ten, and it still turned out wonderful.

I halved the recipe and put it in four ramekins. It was the perfect amount for all four. (Notice only three in the pictures? Alas, one didn't make it to photo-time.) The ramekin was the perfect thing to eat it in because the filling was a bit messy around the edges. The cranberries gushed out such a bright, beautiful color! This would be great for Christmas parties!

Blonde Redhead Show

2010-11-08T08:00:00.001-05:00

I love music, but I tend to stick to my old favorites instead of searching out new tunes and rockin' up-and-coming bands. I know people who spend lots of time and energy finding awesome music, and it works for them because it's a passion that brightens their lives. I let them pass their wisdom on to me. I don't mind secondhand goodness.

So when my sister was going to be visiting for the weekend, and wanted to go see a band I'd never heard of before, I was in without a second thought. The band - Blonde Redhead. Nice name huh? I liked it, and the venue was great.

We got there a little late and a little stressed. Right before leaving, a full glass of water got accidentally spilled into my sister's boyfriend's laptop who is a grad student and had lots of hours and papers and whatnot inside. Who wants to go to a concert when the darn thing won't turn on and all might be lost? (Why are these things not waterproof yet?) But he handled it well, and we went off to catch what we could of the show. Best idea ever. It cheered everyone up a bit.

The music was ethereal in a way. The guitarist/singer and drummer are twins, which I didn't know until I noticed they both looked a lot alike onstage. It threw me at first, and had me wondering if the lights and stage were playing tricks on me. The female singer/guitarist was rockin. Her voice is very unique and crystal pretty. Although I couldn't understand a single word she sang, and for one song she donned an alien jellyfish mask. I think I needed to know the lyrics to understand that one.

Most of the songs were swaying tempo, but one was a complete rock-out. It was my favorite. Good show.

Since it was the Friday before Halloween, my sister and I painted our faces and sprayed our hair red and purple for the show. Such fun!

Grilled Watermelon

2010-11-07T09:40:00.000-05:00

Back in September, I prescribed myself a week at the Southern Cross Guest Ranch in Madison, Georgia. It was just the week away I needed! It was lovely and fun and absolutely relaxing. And the food...oh, it was heaven!

This was one dish that I just had to ask the owner about - grilled watermelon. So simple that it can be easily added to any grill-out and so delicious that it'll be a star! Plus, it's pretty.So what's the recipe?
Grilled watermelon wedges - they seemed to be lightly grilled on both sides, just enough for flavor but the middles were still fresh. The wedges were about 1/2 inch thick and the width of a small saucer.
Salad - greens! sprinkled on top of the watermelon.
Goat's cheese - sprinkled on top of the salad.
Balsamic reduction - Balsamic vinegar heated over medium heat until reduced and drizzled on top.

The combination of the sweet watermelon and balsamic, the salty cheese, and the crunchy greens is so genius. I ate two big slices!

This was another great dish - toasted pita with pan-fried feta and tomate on top, drizzled with herbed olive oil. Yum!

Around the Family Table - A Sheep in Wolf's Clothing?

2010-11-06T10:23:00.005-04:00

Laurie David, the producer of "An Inconvenient Truth," is out with a new book - "The Family Dinner: Great Ways to Connect with Your Kids, One Meal at a Time." I've never seen the movie, haven't read the book, and don't have kids...but it interested me nonetheless, especially when I saw all the comments sparked on the Huffington Post article announcing their new Friday night Family Dinner Downloads - oh, yes, they will provide ALL the materials needed to make a perfect family dinner and dynamic - the recipes, the tips, the questions and topics. Given the perfect set-up, a perfect family follows, right?

So it made me wonder, who is the "they" that flies so easily off my tongue.

Well, looking at her Bio, I found out that Laurie David had a hand in Ideal Bite! Never head of it? It used to be a daily email that arrived in my inbox, very chic and cute, giving tips and reasons for going green. I loved it and missed it when it stopped coming. It got turned over to Disney Family and the Ideal Bite that I liked disappeared.

Please don't do this to family dinners. They don't have to fit a formula. Both the Arianna Huffington and Laurie David expostulate this as well, that it can be simple food and the important part is sitting around together talking and eating and sharing. But as written, it comes off to me more as a disclaimer. Anyone can do it! Just to make sure, we'll sell it to you by telling you exactly how to do it, so you don't mess up. We've got your back.

Plus, both use generalizations of the days past when everything was rosy and families sat down to dinner together, and use experiences from their own pasts to illustrate the point. It's a 'what we and our families did right, and the rest of America is doing wrong.' Is this the only difference between their families and the families sitting in the middle or low-income class brackets? I highly doubt it. So where's the methodology behind the reasoning that family dinners will solve all a family's problems?

Where are we? Evidently still in a U.S. where access to big names (which are in abundance in the book) and big money can give you an opportunity to turn your everyday experiences and ideas into more money and big names. Now I love trashy reality tv shows, but that's what they are. What is this? Is it really part of the rumblings of the push for a food revolution in the U.S.? I suppose I'll have to read the book to find out. However, unless my library gets it, I'm not going to have a chance. Nope, I'm not buying this one. While I agree with the general theory behind it, heck, I even did a research project on the folklore and importance of food preparation and family dinners, too much surrounding it smacks of an elitist enlightenment that makes me want to vomit last night's dinner. Is there a chapter on cleaning it up?

twd ~ Peanuttiest Blondies or Werewolf Balls

2010-11-02T18:55:00.005-04:00

This week's pick promised to be delicious! It has lots of chunky pb, the batter tasted great, and it smelled so good baking...until it started burning. I made the blondies a week ahead, and put the batter in the freezer, planning to bake them the night my sister and her boyfriend flew in from nyc. The burning really threw a hitch in my plan.

So, I scraped off the burnt tops, and crumbled it into pieces. Then I made a caramel sauce with sugar and milk, drowned the blondie bits in it, and used the caramel to bind the bits into balls. Since it was just before Halloween, I called them Werewolf Balls. The name got an odd look, but guests had no problem finishing them off. Oh well, they turned out okay, but I'll definitely be trying the real recipe again soon!

For the recipe, check out Bakeologie http://bakeologie.blogspot.com/ by Nicole.

twd ~ Mini Caramel Pumpkin Pies

2010-10-19T07:00:00.000-04:00

Janell of Mortensen Family Memoirs picked Caramel Pumpkin Pie for this week's TWD. Oh, Janell, thank you.

Thank you for picking such a wonderful seasonal dessert. Pumpkin in October!

Thank you for making it one that's so easy to mini-fy.

Thank you for making it one so good that everyone in my women's group now thinks I'm a great baker.

I stuck to the recipe this time, except that I cheated a little on the crust. Since I was baking it during the week for a meeting, I bought pie crust and cut circles out, like cookies, and put them in my muffin tin. It made perfect little caramel pumpkin pies that were a huge hit! A couple of people even took some for the ride home. This was two yums up!

twd ~ Pear Torte

2010-10-12T05:35:00.005-04:00

Cakelaw of Kitchen Laws had a wonderful pick for this week - perfect timing to take advantage of the lovely pears this season! I did what I often do, and made it sans crust. So it's not really a torte, but it is delicious!

Broiled 3 Bean Salad

2010-10-05T09:35:00.002-04:00

This salad is one adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. I turned to this monstrous, awesome cookbook for ideas on picnic food to take to work. September marked the end of a fiscal year for us, and so we took advantage of the warm (but not stifling hot) weather to have a picnic. There were lamb burgers and all kinds of meat on the grill. One co-worker did remember us veggie-eaters and brought veggie burgers, but really, they weren't needed with the amazing spread. I work for an international organization, and the food on the tables were a testament to it. Pot stickers, quinoa, Indian curries, Nepalese beans, chips and brownies and fruit tarts. It was good eating. But back to the salad...

I needed something that would be sufficiently festive for a picnic, but could be made the day before and sit in the refrigerator all day before eating. This salad was perfect! The curry and spices really needed time to do their thing, and the beans didn't become soggy in the least bit. It was a hit, and I only had a couple of spoonfuls left in the bowl.

Broiled 3 Bean Salad

1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons curry powder
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 pound creamer beans, or some other variety of green bean, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 can of chickpeas, drained
1 can of kidney beans, drained
up to 1/4 cup neautral oil, like safflower

1) Heat the broiler and adjust the rack so that the pan is 4-5 inches from the heat.
2) Put the onion, garlic, and ginger in a large heatproof bowl and sprinkle with sugar, curry, salt and pepper. Drizzle on the vinegar and toss gently to coat.
3) Spread the green beans on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle lightly with oil. Toss to coat. Broil, shaking the pan occassionally, until they begin to blister (about 5-7 minutes). Add beans to onion mixture and toss to mix.
4) Spread the chickpeas and kidney beans on the baking sheet and drizzle with oil to coat. Broil until they get brown and the chickpeas are crunchy, about 5 minutes. Add them to the bowl and toss. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

I was a little worried about having raw onions, but the dressing really toned it down. It's a little strong with the curry and onion and vinegar, but still light and refreshing enough for a warm day and picnic. I really liked it and would definitely make it again. Plus, there's lots of variations to be had with this one!

twd ~ Double Apple Cake

2010-10-05T08:26:00.004-04:00

After a long, hot summer, Mother Nature has completely skipped fall and flung us straight into winter. Oh, fall - come back!

Hopefully this week's pick by Lynne of Honey Muffin will help. It's full of autumn flavors - apples, cinnamon, and ginger. It smelled delicious baking! I didn't have enough apple butter so I added some applesauce and yogurt. I omitted the nuts simply because I didn't have any, and wasn't feeling raisins. I don't have a bundt pan, so I halved the recipe and baked it in a loaf pan.

It's quite good, and super dense and moist. I think it'll be nice toasted with a little butter. I actually displayed some willpower and waited until the next day to dig in, as Dorie suggested, to let the flavors ripen. It seems to be missing a little something though. Maybe it's the nuts I left out.

twd ~ Coffee Break Muffins

2010-09-21T06:12:00.001-04:00

Caffeine! That is definitely the theme of these little muffins. They may not look like much, but they pack a poweful punch!

Expresso powder and a cup of coffee makes these very appropriate for crazy mornings when you have just enough energy to get out of bed and then have to rush to get ready. I personaly prefer muffins with lots of goodies in them - oats and nuts and fruit - so I may not make these again, but they were very good.

twd ~ Peanut Butter Crisscrosses

2010-09-07T18:13:00.003-04:00

Jasmine, of Jasmine Cuisine, chose PB Crisscrosses. I made them this weekend with my mom, who was up visiting for my birthday. It's quite appropriate she helped because I remember a similar pb cookie being the one she baked the most. It also had the forked crisscrosses on the top, and was a little chewier than Dorie's.

I omitted the chopped peanuts because I don't like them in cookies. I did use chunky pb, and natural at that, which Dorie says not to. They tasted good though. They didn't take the full baking time, and the first pan was burnt. The second one was just right - still a light brown. Lovely for munching on with a cup of strong hot tea!

twd ~ Expresso Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

2010-08-31T08:42:00.001-04:00

I haven't always been a fan of expresso or coffee for that matter. There was a coffee shop in the mall when I was in middle and high school, and everytime I passed it I would turn up nose - I thought it smelled awful! Even my friends who didn't like coffee liked the smell, but I couldn't stand either. Of course, I find this very strange now, as I sit here drinking my coffee, in bed, with a lovely week of vacation spread out in front of me! VACATION YAY!

So on Tuesday morning when this posts, I will be at the Southern Cross Guest Ranch enjoying a few days of swimming, mountain biking, relaxation, and (drum roll) learning how to horseback ride! I'm super excited. I've always wanted to learn and so it's my gift to myself for turning thirty. Now if only there are some cute cowboys there...

Back to the recipe, and to something else I haven't always been a huge fan of - shortbread. I mean, it's sweet and a dessert so of course I'll eat it, but it's not what I would pick-out and I've passed it up before. Someone who is a HUGE fan of shortbread AND coffee - my mom. Add chocolate and you've got something that sounds kind of strange to me, but should be right up her alley.

As it turns out, my mom came up to visit me a couple of weekends ago. She wanted to go back-to-school shopping. Nope, she's not in school (although at a petite 5'2 she's been mistaken for it), but she's an elementary school Assistant Principal. It was great to have a little shot of caffeine and sugar to keep up our shopping strenth. I was surprisingly pleased by these and thought the combination was actually pretty good...still a little strange for me...but good. I left them out to cool while I went out, and they got a little soft waiting around for me to stick them in an airtight container. Whoopsie. Otherwise, I think I did pretty well this week - no major mishaps!

Interested in making these - Donna at Life's Too Short Not to Eat Dessert First has the recipe!

twd ~ Crunchy & Custardy Peach Tart

2010-08-24T12:24:00.004-04:00

Rachel of sweet tarte had such a great idea when she picked this! It's perfect for summer, and living in Georgia, we have some great peaches.

It was also great timing to have something that could sit in the frig overnight. My sister, who is 2.5 years older, has been living in Shanghai for the past two years. She’s truly more than a sister so I’m very excited that she is moving back to the states. She arrived on Thursday afternoon and moved to NYC on Monday. I made the tart on Wednesday, and served it to my mom, sister, and my sister’s friend Greg, after she came in from the airport. We all met at my apartment, and It was a hit – everyone had a piece and cleaned their plates!

The tart kept well in the refrigerator overnight. The streusel topping was a little soft, but otherwise, it was perfect. I ran out of butter when I was making the Sweet Nut Tart Crust, so I used oil instead. Surprisingly, it turned out really well. The texture was definitely different, and not quite as good, but it worked.

Meet Charlie! The adorable black cat who is now fully recovered from dental surgery and feeling very frisky! Well, when he's not sleeping.

twd ~ Oatmeal Breakfast Bread

2010-08-17T07:00:00.002-04:00

Natalie of Oven Love picked Oatmeal Breakfast Bread for this week's TWD.

I knew I was going to love this. I love oatty things, and this one has raisins and cinnamon and a lovely brown sugar topping. Breakfast breads with toppings are just better. My favorite is one that has coconut, butter, and sugar for banana bread. They need to start making bread tops, and add them to the pastry cases right beside the muffin tops.

This bread is quite dense and uses applesauce in the batter. It’s quite good. If you need evidence, I baked it for a work celebration honoring two of our employees that have been with us for 10 years, and all that remained afterwards were a few crumbs. 10 years...wow!

twd ~ Chocolate Ganache Ice Cream

2010-08-10T14:07:00.004-04:00

Katrina of Bakings and Boys! picked Chocolate Ganache Ice Cream this week. It's a perfect pick for the heat wave we've been having!

I followed Dorie's advice and used dark chocolate - 88% cocoa to be exact. I added a pinch of sea salt to the mix before I put it in the ice cream maker. I couldn't actually taste the salt, but I like a little with dark chocolate - it seems to take away any bitter aftertaste. I halved the recipe, but only used one egg (instead of two) for the custard. I was making next week's oatmeal breakfast bread to take to work and only had two eggs. I could have gone to the store but...couldn't quite make myself. The ice cream was still delicious, just a bit icier than I think it would have been otherwise. I also used coconut milk instead of milk and cream. I think this would be great with caramalized nuts thrown in!

twd ~ Gingered Carrot Crunchies

2010-08-03T18:29:00.002-04:00

Dorie set out to make carrot cake cookies, and ended up with a cookie unlike carrot cake but still very good.

I set out to make Dorie's Gingered Carrot Cookies, and ended up with a sweet unlike cookies but still very good.

I quartered the recipe, and evidently got the proportions wrong. I had an inkling when the dough was supposed to be thick, and mine wasn't. But hey, it's hot. So I popped it in the oven anyway and came back 16 minutes later to find, not four individual cookies, but a mass of crispy dessert spread thin over the pan. It was too late to try again, so I broke it up into a bowl and let it cool.

Then I munched on it as I watched the finale of The Bacholette. Oh Roberto, you are too cute! It was very good for munching, and would be very good over ice cream or added to popcorn. The problem with making again is that I'm not sure exactly where I went wrong. But either way, it was a nice mishap!

Thanks to Natalia of gatti fili e farina for the great pick this week! Check out her blog for the recipe, and the real thing as it's supposed to be.

twd ~ Chewy Chunky Blondies

2010-07-24T16:32:00.004-04:00

So I admit it, I can be an emotional eater.

This week, I returned from a fabulous trip to NYC and DC behind on sleep by about 250,098 hours. Even though the trip was for work, I had lots to catch up on in the office. Add on top my lady time (or whatever euphenism you favor) and I was craving something sugary, sweet, and chocolately. You can imagine how happy I was for this week's twd pick!

These blondies are essentially a bar chocolate-chip cookie with add-ins. Yes, they are as good as they sound. Mine came out more crisp than chewy. I did half the recipe and bake half of that, freezing the other half. On Saturday, I took my cat to the vet and found out he needs $2000 worth of dental work! Ouch. For him and me. He's a precious kitty I got from a no-kill shelter about five months ago, and is FIV+. But after that news, a little blondie for me and a little milk for him was in perfect order.

Thanks to Nicole of Cookies on Friday for the wonderful pick!

Froban or Ice Cream without the Cream

2010-07-21T12:24:00.000-04:00

This is the best discovery!

Seriously creamy...cold...perfect for summer....

and all it is a ripe banana.

Those things that turn black sitting on the counter in the summer sun, and only beg a glance when they are too ripe to eat. Throw it in the freezer and then the blender and magic things happen.

That old ripe banana is reincarnated as yummy ice cream. Or something pretty darn close.

I added a handfull of frozen strawberries, and it begs for more playing around. Peaches, peanut butter, chocolate...okay, it's getting less healthy by the word but it's still a great (vegan) option.

Coconut Banana Cakes

2010-07-20T07:30:00.000-04:00

Kimberly of Only Creative Opportunities picked an awesome recipe this week. It's Lots of Ways Banana Cake, and let's you get creative yourself.

I quartered the recipe, which made five cupcakes. I left the batter recipe the same, and added a coconut rum buttercream icing on top, sprinkled with coconut and almond pieces. For the icing, I used 3 Tablespoons of butter at room temperature. I added ~1 Tablespoon of coconut rum, and then confectioner's sugar until the right consistency. I couldn't stop dipping my fingers in the icing bowl while waiting for the cakes to cool! It was really good. The cake was lovely as well. A little dense and moist. I think it definitely needed a little something on top to sweetened the whole deal.

twd ~ Tarte Noire

2010-07-06T12:11:00.004-04:00

I actually made this week's pick, Tarte Noire by dharmagirl, a couple of weeks ago. This is totally unlike me. I was craving chocolate and looked ahead in the TWD schedule...and badabing - Tarte Noire!

Ganache in crust. It's as simple and as good as it sounds. This truly hit the chocolate craving right on the spot. I only got one picture, and it's terrible. How do you get a good picture of cold ganache? I took several, and ended up deleting all but this one. At least you can see the reflection of upside-down trees from outside the window, which I thought was neat.

Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July!

Israeli Couscous with Vegetables

2010-06-30T17:04:00.002-04:00

I love it when I throw things together and it comes out delicious! It makes me fill very accomplished. Of course, this doesn't happen everytime, or even the majority of the time. Oh, if it only would...

This started with Israeli toasted couscous, which is bigger than the standard variety, and has a lovely soft texture. I poured it in a bowl, covered it with frozen lima beans, salt, pepper, and raisins,and covered with boiling water. After the beans were warm and the couscous was ready, I added coconut flakes and almond pieces. For the first bowl, I drizzled it with virgin olive oil, but found I really didn't need it and actually preferred it plain.

twd ~ Coconut Vanilla Rum Cakes

2010-06-29T10:50:00.003-04:00

Back in 2002, I went on a cruise. I was fresh out of undergrad and looking for a little vaca with my then-boyfriend. Oh yes, slightly scandalous, at least to my mom with whom I was living at the time. I was one of those, graduate and go back home until grad school. But my wonderful mom welcomed me home, and we had a lovely cruise to Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.

It was a great trip. The towel animals were cute, the casino was fun, the island trips were cool, and the Jamaican rum cakes...omg. Out of this world! I think we bought a dozen just to eat on the boat. I'm sure I ate one whole cake in one sitting at least once. I loved them!

When I saw Wendy of Pink Stripes pick for this week, my first reaction was...oh, sounds fussy. Then I read the recipe. Oh, it's like the Jamaican rum cakes! My favorite was the coconut, so I decided to try to recreate it.

I subbed coconut rum for regular, quartered the recipe, and used coconut cream instead of regular cream. I tried a little of the pound cake pre-soaking with the rum syrup, and it was delicious. Soaked, omg, it was magical and took me back to a warm, sunny afternoon, on the rocky beaches of Montego Bay.

twd ~ Raisin Swirl Bread

2010-06-15T18:17:00.004-04:00

I don't like to admit defeat in the kitchen. Each challenging recipe makes me feel like an Iron Chef contestant. But this week, for Tuesdays with Dorie, the Raisin Swirl Bread kicked my behind all across the kitchen floor and into next week's recipe.

This was my first yeast bread so I'd like to cut myself some slack. But really, I should have seen it coming. I think the first error was too little flour. I had a sticky dough, too sticky to form, too sticky to roll. So it ended up growing flat and sideways and being one slice thick period. Oh brother.

My saving grace was going to be the taste. I love raisin bread! I thought the orange zest annd cocoa would be great additions. Until I tried it. Dry, and tasteless except for the occassional raisin. This one totally got the better of me. But I will try again!

Oh Wow Raw Oatmeal

2010-06-08T15:41:00.000-04:00

I've been trying to watch what I eat lately, trying to get my waistline back in shape. A couple of years ago, I did the raw food diet for a couple of months and lost some poundage. So I pulled out Ani Phyo's Raw Food Kitchen. Some of her breakfast recipes use oat groats. I found oat groats in the bulk section of Whole Foods. I got about 2 cups and rinsed and soaked them overnight. The groats then go into a food processor with add-ins. I plopped in almonds, wheat germ, cinnamon, ginger, and agave. Whirl and add water or milk to desired consistency. If you use regular milk like I did, it's not raw anymore. There are plenty of milk subs or water will work.

twd ~ Tender Shortcakes

2010-06-08T10:25:00.000-04:00

Cathy of The Tortefeasor chose Tender Shortcakes for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe.

Monday was a day from the devil. One of those days that will either make you cry or fight...forget the whole fight or flight. That theory was probably made up by a man who needed to be more in touch with his emotions.

Anyway...I found some lovely, ripe berries at the farmers' market perfect to top the Tender Shortcakes. I whisked the dry ingredients and cut the butter into it with the music up. Then I poured in the milk and stirred the batter. Batter? Not dough! Immediately I realized that I was quartering the recipe; everything but the milk. The batter tasted good so, refusing to be defeated but not wanting to start over, I pulled out a cupcake pan and made six sweet, biscuit muffin shortcakes. The little babies are sweet and doughy. Can't wait to make the real things!

Atlanta Cupcake Scene: Take One ~ Atlanta Cupcake Factory

2010-06-04T08:44:00.000-04:00

I've searched a few times for bakeries close to me, usually when I'm out and needing a treat & the day seems more special than Starbucks. Usually the bakeries are closed, sadly operating on a skewed early day schedule. On the Saturday before Mother's day, my mom was picking me up on the way up to my grandmother's. Treats are always good when traveling so I did another Google search and out popped....Atlanta Cupcake Factory!

Just reading the flavor combinations on their website sold me! The plan was to get two and split with my mom, but standing in front of the display case, all the pretty choices melted any willpower. Plus, the cupcakes were on the smaller side so four didn't seem like too many. (Ha!) The final choices were strawberry, coconut-almond (the fave of the lady filling my box), sugar cookie with salted caramel icing (best seller), and chocolate peanut butter. Would you be surprised if I said all of them were delicious? They were. The strawberry should be a summer hit - real strawberries folks. I will definitely be back to try the others.

twd ~ White Chocolate Brownies...with Blueberries

2010-06-01T17:04:00.003-04:00

I think this one is a little bit of a misnomer. You say brownies and I think dense little squares, or dense big rectangles, of chewy chocolate, be it dark, milk, or white. But this, this is a nice little to-do, similar to a yogurt cake.

It has ground almonds and blueberries. The original recipe calls for raspberries and meringue. I can't stand meringue and I love blueberries. And I wasn't the only one. My mom, whom I was visiting for the long weekend, felt the same way, so we made the appropriate changes.

This was a nice ending to all the heavy Memorial Day cook-out food. After snithcing on it around midnight, I was too tired to properly store it, so I left it in the pan and popped it in the microwave for safe keeping. And there it stayed. I was in the car halfway back to Atlanta when I remembered. My sweet mom took pictures and texted them to me. Of course, I can't figure out how to upload them so the pictures will have to wait a little while. But at least my mom will get to enjoy the rest of the brownies for her trouble. Thanks Mom!

And also, a big thanks to Marthe of Culinary Delights for picking this week.

twd ~ Banana Coconut Ice Cream Pie

2010-05-25T11:06:00.005-04:00

Check out this recipe on Spike Bakes. Thanks Spike for a wonderful summer pick!

The star of this dessert is the crust. Buttery coconut and shortbread cookies! Magically, it tastes even better than it sounds!

On top of the crust is a thin layer of sliced banana. I did not dig the frozen banana taste or texture. I ended up digging them out. Not really a fan of frozen fruit.

There was another ripe banana mixed into the ice cream. I couldn't really taste it so much. Perhaps because I used German Chocolate Cake ice cream instead of plain chocolate so there was caramel and fudgey cake pieces for the banana to contend with.

This was a great dessert to have waiting in the freezer when my mom came up this weekend. After a yummy dinner of spicey Thai curry, this was perfect for sitting on the balcony in the cool summer evening.

twd ~ Apple Apple Bread Pudding

2010-05-18T07:00:00.002-04:00

Bread pudding is good. Many people think not, but if it's made right it's delicious! Made badly, it's soggy bread. Gross.

Armed with Dorie's Apple Apple Bread Pudding recipe, it wasn't difficult. It's not a quick recipe, because you have to let the custard soak into the bread, and then bake for over an hour. In the end, it was worth it. I think it could be a breakfast dish and dessert. I haven't yet tested out this theory, but there is a little left in the fridge so tomorrow morning will be a little sweeter.

I made one-third of the recipe, and used all 1% milk instead of whole milk and cream. It worked perfectly! Still very good and the proportions didn't seem thrown off by the reduction in servings as sometimes happens.

Thanks Elizabeth of Cake or Death? for a great pick this week!