TWD: Mousseless Chocolate Fudge Brownie Torte
October 27, 2009 at 1:41 pm | In Tuesdays with Dorie | 9 Comments
More is more where dessert is concerned so we put a little ice cream with it…
There wasn’t really anything about the mousse that didn’t appeal to me – except for the fact that I had to make it…and buy the ingredients…and wait out a long chill time.
What this post is really about is the complications of modern life. Lack of time coupled with the necessity of placing some restrictions on consumption eliminated the possibility of the mousse. Let me explain…
It could have used a topping disguise.
Usually, I make TWD goodies on Sunday afternoon. We spent this weekend in St. Louis (having a great time, BTW). By the time we got back home there wasn’t time for brownie making AND ingredient buying AND mousse making AND chilling. Why didn’t I make it last weekend, you ask, when the biscuits (which weren’t really dessert anyway) were a disaster? Good question. The boys wanted to make decorated Halloween Cookies. I wanted some TCBY. There can only be so much sugary goodness at once…which is why I couldn’t make this dessert for Monday night.
Seeing as I made the brownie part Sunday after St. Louis, I could have stashed it and made the mousse on Monday, right? Wrong! We spent the weekend in a hotel. You know what that means. Lots of restaurant food. I was willing to scarf down some brownie torte on Sunday night as an extension of our oh-so-healthful weekend eating but there was no way I would even be able to look at it on Monday. And, let’s face it, I am baking for my pleasure here. In fact, when we got home I made a vegetable dish from – no joke – my Monastery cookbook. Very necessary.
If the mousse measures up to the brownies, however, then I missed out. Cuz we loved these brownies. Even Colin. With the Cherries. (I peeled some pears and tried to pass them off as apples in his lunch last week. He wasn’t fooled and told me never to put those “funny apples” in his lunch again. FOILED!)
Next Week: chestnut cake. Oy! I don’t even know where to start with this one. I may postpone this one til later in the month when I can wrap my head around what a chestnut would taste like.
Gratuitous family shot of kids at City Museum in St. Louis. If you have kids and you’re close…GO.
TWD: Flatty McFlat Pumpkin Biscuits
October 20, 2009 at 1:10 pm | In Tuesdays with Dorie | 14 CommentsTags: biscuits, Tuesdays with Dorie
Well, I think these comments about sum it up:
Will (taking a big bite upon discovering them abandoned in the kitchen): They’re supposed to be biscuits? Good. I thought you going to say they were cookies. (he ate one)
Jamie: You mean you read that others had problems with them turning out flat and you thought you were going to be the exception?
I tried to make them for a “breakfast for dinner” night Saturday. I had planned to save one to photograph the next day in the daylight. BUT, after seeing them, it didn’t really seem worth it.
Next week: Chocolate Cherry Torte. I will do my best not to overmix…
TWD: Allspice Crumb (?) Muffins
October 13, 2009 at 8:52 am | In Tuesdays with Dorie | 11 CommentsTags: muffins, Tuesdays with Dorie
Dorie Pies + me = Deep infatuation (despite the singular failure of the Twofer Pie)
Dorie Cakes + me = We will be lifelong friends
Dorie Cookies + me = I dream of the Malted Whopper Drops
Dorie Ice Cream + me = BFF! Love ya like a sis!
Dorie Brownies + me = Can you marry a brownie? No? Guess we will just have to cohabitate in bliss for eternity.
Dorie Muffins + me = Hmmm…friendly co-workers at best at this point. This is the fourth muffin recipe I have tried from BFMHTY and, while none have been total disasters, none have really knocked it out of the park either. In fact, my favorite Dorie muffins were when I turned the blueberry crumb cake into muffins.
These were OK. My streusel sort of melted into the muffin and around the pan. Whatever we did with the blueberry crumb cake muffins worked better. And, frankly, this is just personal taste, but these were too buttery for me. I am not a person who butters bread, pancakes, popcorn or much of anything…so the overwhelming buttery flavor of the topping was a little off putting. I am happy to report that Will loved them. I think he ate almost the entire batch over the course of the week. You can’t argue with that.
Next week: sweet potato biscuits. I only became friends with sweet potatoes a couple of years ago but now we are tight. The full recipe for this week is at Grandma’s Kitchen Table by Kayte. It is a great site – check it out! See how she manages to keep up with 47 different cooking groups and be amazed.
Gratuitous family shot. My spouse, lifelong Cowboys fan, took Will to see them when they came to town to play the Chiefs on Sunday (his first NFL game). It was ridiculously, horribly, unconscionably, unseasonably cold. Better them than me.
TWD: Split Level Pudding two ways
October 6, 2009 at 8:34 am | In Tuesdays with Dorie | 14 CommentsTags: pudding, Tuesdays with Dorie
I usually don’t gaze at a cup of pudding and find it to be a metaphor for my life but this week…I couldn’t help myself. This week’s TWD was split level pudding. One happy layer of ganache topped with a complimentary layer of pudding. Sounds simple, right? I was immediately drawn to the idea of coffee pudding with the chocolate ganache (coffee + chocolate = heaven). But then, I had to consider the fact that my kids like pudding but probably wouldn’t be clamoring for coffee. Since mint is (inexplicably) not universally loved in my house, that left vanilla as the safe choice.
And there you have it – the tension between being a parent and being an individual. Kelly wants coffee pudding, a condo and some new furniture. Mom wants to share her desserts, throw the kids outside to play, and sees the folly in investing in new furniture during these destructive formative years. Kelly loves that everyone can put their own shoes on, use the bathroom and get the food (in theory) into their mouths instead of the floor. Mom misses seeing little baby bottoms and dies a little inside every time she finds a long forgotten toy. You don’t think you will miss Elmo but…
The solution? I don’t know what yours is. Me? I made both and everyone got treated to real whipped cream on top (too late for pictures). It’s great being Kelly and Mom. We’ll leave the dilemma of new furniture for another day. Now, if I could just get someone to explain to me why my ganache was perfect last week but runny this week, I could find some peace. Unfortunately, the runniness had me wishing for the plain chocolate pudding. I am sure this would be great had I gotten it all right.
Next week: Allspice Crumb Muffins. I promise to spare you the allspice analogies. The full recipe is at Flavor of Vanilla by Garrett.
Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Ice Cream (because I like alliteration)
October 1, 2009 at 8:36 am | In Uncategorized | 6 Comments
I am trying to get this one posted before it really gets cold. I don’t know about you, but we had the coolest summer in a long time. If the trend holds, winter could be brutal. I, of course, am happy to eat ice cream any time of year but I realize that not everyone likes a big cold double dip in January.
This is a great ice cream that requires no custard. I love custard based ice creams but, frankly, the ice cream hits your mouth a little quicker if you don’t have to mess with that step. This is sweet and tangy and wonderful.
Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 1 c. sugar
- 1 c. milk
- 2 c. heavy cream
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 1 c. or more chocolate chips or chunks, if using store bought I like to chop them a little more. Regular chips suddenly seem huge in a spoonful of ice cream.
Put the cream cheese, sugar and milk in a blender. Blend until smooth. Slowly add the cream and vanilla. Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker. When it is close to finished add the chocolate chips.
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