TWD: A loophole the size of Lake Michigan
March 31, 2009 at 9:00 am | In Tuesdays with Dorie | 21 CommentsTags: cookie, Tuesdays, Tuesdays with Dorie
Um…how to put this without sounding blasphemous…what was the point of these cookies? The answer to that one completely escaped me. I suppose it has more than a little to do with the fact that I am just not a big fan of butter cookies. Still. They had a generous helping of coconut but you couldn’t taste the flavor of the coconut (frankly, a plus for me) which brings us back to the original question. We added coconut just for the subtle texture? They weren’t attractive or even consistently unattractive. Some -from the same baking sheet!– looked sort of like shortbread while others (see below) didn’t look like anything appealing.
Shocking that there was no photo of these in the book…
Posters on the P&Q commented heavily on the appearance but generally seemed to love the flavor. I didn’t have high expectations but I left out the nuts to give them a fighting chance with my nut-averse taste buds. And you know what. They were fine. Just plain old fine. The husband and son #1 liked them well enough but there were several in the cookie jar a full two days later. And I only made half a batch. I really cannot envision when or why I would make these again. As easy as they were, the effort still outweighed the result. C’est la vie.
Clearly one of these so-so cookies wasn’t going to hold me for the week. So, I opened another loophole. I decided a rewind recipe counted for my weekly TWD. It is an official TWD recipe and I do not consider one raggedy butter cookie an official serving of dessert by any stretch of the term. I am treading dangerously close to Patty territory here but I stand by that logic. My belly full of Gooey Chocolate Cake and ice cream will back me up.
(terrible picture taken at night before cake hastily eaten)
If the Gooey Chocolate Cake (and ice cream!) is the price of admission to hell, book my trip. And, who are we kidding? Everyone who knows me in the least realizes that the Lent thing for me is convenient form of self-discipline and nothing more. A way to get back on track after a long indulgent winter. The religious underpinnings are far from my mind. So, I am not going to hell. Woo hoo.
If you haven’t made these, get on it. Now. Tonight. I know you have the ingredients in your pantry. They take about 8 seconds and are guaranteed to make any day better. Even Colin ate one. Need I say more?
Thanks to Jayne of the Barefoot Kitchen Witch for picking a cookie where you can’t taste the coconut. Next week: Banana Cream Pie! April should be a doozy.
TWD: Kickin’ Sara Lee’s…
March 24, 2009 at 10:18 pm | In Uncategorized | 14 Comments
Two questions that have been swirling in my brain for the last few days: 1) Why was Gene Kelly in the movie version of Xanadu?; and, more importantly, 2) Why did I spend valuable time watching it last weekend?
The answer to 2 is easy but I don’t know about 1. I don’t recall hearing about any addictions, bankruptcies or other tawdry scandals involving Gene Kelly that would explain his participation. You know the story, he lost his house to that little gambling issue and now has to scramble to pay Tiny and the gang before they break his feet. I guess it will remain a mystery.
The answer to 2 is nostalgia plain and simple. And it sucked over an hour of my life last weekend (thank god for the DVR or it would have been even longer). I can’t even tell you how bad this movie is and that is saying a lot. I have a high tolerance for musicals and deep affection for Olivia Newton-John. I saw Grease four times at the theater and wrote my first love letter to John Travolta (which I addressed simply to “John Travolta” and popped in the mailbox). Olivia Newton-John was my first concert at age 11 and, if you think it didn’t involve a headband and leg warmers on my part, you would be wrong. Have I mentioned how thankful I am that my embarrassing years pre-date camera phones and the digital world in general? Let me just sum up the movie by saying that there are a lot of goofy special effects, ONJ gets lots of costume changes and Gene Kelly rollerskates. Any more detail would cause me to spork my eye out.
BUT I saw this at the theater and worshipped the soundtrack. One of the songs is even on my Ipod. I memorized all of the lyrics with my childhood best friend Wendy. She lived next door. Neither of our mothers was particularly known for her cooking but, on special occasions, Wendy’s mom would whip out a Sara Lee coffee cake. And we LOVED it. We knew we were special. I had no idea for years that people could or would make homemade coffee cake.
Years later, as a full fledged adult, I bought one and baked it. And it wasn’t the same. Funny how that works. The cake we made this week reminded me of those “special” coffee cake days only this one kicks it’s a**.
I decided to go for the muffins. I made half blueberry/lemon and half cranberry/lime. Spouse and I both slightly preferred the cranberry while Will opted for the blueberry. I think my frozen blueberries were too bland. I tried to cram as much batter into my twelve muffin tin so I didn’t have nearly enough surface to hold all of the crumb topping. I used maybe half and we still liked it. I wasn’t successful in getting all of the batter in so I ended up throwing the rest into a small springform.
Thanks to Sihan of Befuddlement for choosing this one. I thought it was a great coffee cake alternative. And, for the record, it easily could have been breakfast.
Next week: coconut and macadamia nuts. I am still working on this one…
TWD: French Yogurt Cake (or everything goes better with Chocolate)
March 17, 2009 at 11:42 pm | In Tuesdays with Dorie | 20 CommentsTags: cake, Tuesdays with Dorie, yogurt
If you give up (most) sweets for Lent, what are the chances you won’t be slathering this cake with some rich topping? If you said none or even less than none, you are on the money. Let’s face it. It’s all about gaming the system. The year I gave up chocolate, I OD’d on Golden Nuggets. For the uninformed, a Golden Nugget is a tasty little concoction made of equal parts vanilla ice cream and orange sherbet blended with a healthy dose of Sprite. Sounds like deprivation, doesn’t it?
My mother really stretches credulity with her logic. Every year she gives up sweets but eats chocolate doughnuts with abandon. With the innocence of a child she claims, “that doughnuts are breakfast. They are a MEAL, not a dessert.” And, for added emphasis, “why do we have to have this argument every year?” The fact that you are less likely to miss dessert when you have spent the morning in a powdered sugar haze seems not to faze her.
In truth, I really have no claim to the high road. For one, I am not one of the more religious people roaming this Earth. Secondly, as my husband was quick to point out, I am happy to exploit – or create – the loophole. That law school education is paying off for something! So, I limited my sweets to Tuesdays with Dorie, or in this case Tuesdays with Dorie + Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce. (Will had his with ice cream, too and, believe me, I considered it.)
The CAKE: I used orange zest instead of lemon and glazed it with orange marmalade. I liked it but I am not sure I liked it as much as everyone else seems to have. That could be because I over mixed it. I was on the phone during the “folding in of the oil.” Folding scares the bejeezus out of me so I should have known better. It also sunk but I had to mess with it in the oven some (added foil tent, etc). A couple of other people who tried it liked it, but I wish it had turned out better for them. Patty liked it too but she was probably still on a sugar high from breakfast.
Why so many people don’t care for marmalade…
I was planning on using Greek yogurt but the teensy carton at my local store was way more than I pay at Whole Foods. When Whole Foods is the economical option the apocalypse is upon us.
The SAUCE: Do liquids really come to boil over a medium low heat? Mine never do – unless you are supposed to wait an hour, which I do not. It wasn’t as good as the caramel from the back of the book but that didn’t stop me from liberally pouring it over my slice. Twice.
The full recipe is Cookbook Addiction by Liliana. Next week: blueberry crumb cake. Breakfast?
TWD: Gone Momentarily Green…
March 17, 2009 at 3:30 pm | In Uncategorized | 2 CommentsI did make the cake but haven’t had a chance to finish my post. I will post it tonight. I am in meetings in all morning and will be at the bar celebrating St Patrick’s Day all afternoon. How, you may ask, will I be coherent enough to finish the post after an afternoon celebrating? Well, it is truly a family affair. I will be there with my kids, cousins, aunts and uncles, etc. So, the celebrating runs more heavily toward laughter and the 387th retelling family stories than imbibing copious amounts of alcohol. (these days…)
Have a Great St Patrick’s Day and I will make the rounds tomorrow!
YWPWT: Tortilla Pie
March 14, 2009 at 5:22 pm | In You want pies with that? | 12 CommentsTags: cumin, pie, tortilla
Despite my lacking photography capabilities (still camera-less and using laptop), I am back for the March You Want Pies With That. This month the pie was supposed to celebrate herbs and spices.
My natural inclination would be to go with cinnamon or nutmeg or anything normally associated with a sweet delectable pie (snickerdoodle pie immediately came to mind). BUT, and it’s a big one, I gave up most sweets for Lent. I am far too weak to make a succulent sweet pie and not even taste it.
So, I decided to showcase the spices I probably use more than any others: Cumin and chili powder (chipotle in this case). I don’t know if they are my favorite but I use them over and over and over. I also threw in some cilantro which I love and usually have around.
Clearly, we have deviated from sweet. There is no real recipe. The crust is made of flour tortillas. The filling is black beans, onion, garlic, red pepper, cumin, chipotle chili powder, oregano, salt and tomatoes. Saute all that and then top it with some cilantro and a mexican cheese mix. Pop it in at 350 for about 20 minutes. Voila! Tortilla pie!
TWD: Faux Flan
March 10, 2009 at 4:13 pm | In Tuesdays with Dorie | 17 CommentsTags: custard, flan, Tuesdays with Dorie
Apparently, if you want to make a significant portion of this group of bakers run screaming, you should describe something as eggy. In addition to expanding my own baking horizons, this group has exposed me to the (very vehement at times) preferences of other bakers. I have loved raisins since I was child and considered them a harmless little somewhat healthy snack. I did not know they were the devil. I could eat apple pie and cherry pie for at least two meals of the day. I was innocently unaware that cooked fruit is an item to be shunned like Barbie at a NOW convention.
I, of course, have my own “preferences.” I have a thing about nuts and, truth be told, I am not so into eggy myself. Reading the P&Q, I briefly considered skipping this week but with good reason. You see, I gave up all sweets, except my weekly TWD, for Lent. My husband thinks this is weak and you either give it all up or you don’t. He may have a point but I’m ignoring it. He also clearly does not need a little bite of dark chocolate to get through the afternoon. Baking is a stress reliever for me and does anyone really want to live with me if I can’t enjoy what I have baked? Cutting down to once a week is plenty. He should be glad (no, THRILLED) that I have never considered giving up all sweets. It would not be pretty. Just ask him about last time I gave up chocolate.
(Custard in thermal. I am bored with the laptop…)
So, I thought maybe I would do a little unsanctioned rewind. That almost fudge gateau has been calling my name. A lot. But….I have been pleasantly surprised in the past and, frankly, I am going to have to come up with some kind of work around for the coconut macadamia cookies at the end of the month. Just no and no to those ingredients. My precious gateau would have to wait.
The lemon didn’t sound like a viable option to overcome the eggy flavor. I thought about cinnamon or maybe chocolate (always a viable contender) and then someone posted that it was like flan without the caramel. Ding ding ding. We have a winner. Flan isn’t my favorite but caramel is like chocolate’s little sister. It usually makes everything better. Not wanting to mess with homemade, I spooned a little good ol’ Smuckers into the bottom of my ramekins.
Frankly, it wasn’t my cup of tea but caramel was a very welcome addition. It alone may have staved off a crazed sugar deprivation binge later this week (but check back with me on Thursday). Patty, who loves flan, loved it. She was pleasantly surprised when I told her to just go ahead and eat the third ramekin. I had no reason to hoard it. It was so easy to make that, if it traveled better, I probably would make it for her again. But we all know she would never return my dishes so this was her one shot. Maybe someday, in a generous mood, I will make the real flan recipe from the book for her. It is one of the few recipes I missed before joining. But it will be looonnng after Lent. I can promise you that.
So, thanks to Bridget of the Way the Cookie Crumbles. You made my mom smile.
NOTES: thanks for everyone’s well wishes about sister-in-law. She had a brain aneurysm, had surgery and is on the long road to recovery. Unrelated – got the estimate back on the camera. Too much relative to the worth of the camera. Guess I am in the market for a new one. If anyone has any recommendations for basic digital model, let me know. I have been trying some new recipes but haven’t been posting anything because of the photography issues.
TWD: Prune Brandy Cake
March 3, 2009 at 9:53 am | In Tuesdays with Dorie | 15 CommentsTags: cake, prunes, Tuesdays with Dorie
My sister-in-law is having a medical emergency so this will be short and I won’t be reading the blogs tomorrow. I am sure everyone’s cake was fabulous.
I used prunes – what the hell? – and brandy. Even the airport size bottles of cognac seemed far too costly for just a cake. I made a couple of other substitutions – almonds for the nuts and semi-sweet for the glaze. They were what I had around.
The cake was good even if the 637 steps required about as many pans. I would probably make it again and try it with cherries (and no nuts). I took the leftovers to work and the plate was literally licked clean. Guess we weren’t the only ones to enjoy it.
And Dorie’s husband was right. It was better chilled.
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