Baking with the Boys

As I was pitting cherries for the cobbler this week, I was immediately and immensely grateful for my humble little cherry pitter.  I have pitted cherries pre-pitter and it is just plain annoying.  That got me thinking about other little advances that make life easier.  While I am eternally grateful for the big things like anesthetic, indoor plumbing, and electricity (my husband always says he doesn’t camp because his ancestors would have killed for toilets and AC and he isn’t one to spit on their memory), I am thinking of the little things.  You know…the stuff that you wish you had thought of.  So, today I am grateful for:

• self adhesive stamps
• flip top toothpaste tubes
• mega rolls of toilet paper
• washable markers
• flip top soup cans
• resealable bags of brown sugar and raisins
• adjustable baby bath tubs
• Tide pens

The cobbler?  Oh yeah, the cobbler.  This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was Cherry Rhubarb Cobbler chosen by Amanda from Like Sprinkles on a Cupcake.  And it was OK.  Fine.  Good.  We liked it but we didn’t love it.  I don’t have much experience as a consumer or baker of rhubarb.  I wouldn’t say I was a convert.  With so many great recipes in Dorie’s book I doubt this is one I will come back to unless I end up with a surplus of rhubarb.  Since that hasn’t happened before in my 36 years, don’t look for this one again.

My dough didn’t exactly make it into balls.

Check out the many many many cobblers here.  Next week:  Summer Fruit Galette.

What I like about pudding:

• The whole family likes it.
• It is good any time of year.
• It does not require chopping, rolling, or a thermometer.
• It is one of the ultimate comfort foods.
• It is pure chocolatey goodness.
• It is just fine plain.
• It is just fine all dressed up.  I might actually have been tempted to dress this one up had I not still been REELING from the decadent pie crust last week.

What I discovered about pudding:

• Homemade is absolutely totally worth it.
• Whole milk is probably worth it but 2% was really really good.
• It can be like a shot of chocolate straight into your veins.
• It does not take that long to make.   It was a whirlwind during the actual cooking part, especially with a six year valiantly trying to help.  BUT it was over quickly.  Thankfully.  The six year old had requested - loudly - that we have Chinese steamed buns for dinner and that is a time consuming process (said six yr old then complained that they weren’t as good as last time.  Lucky I love him.)  We also attempted Part I of our great chocolate chip cookie experiment.  All that and we had still had time for a little fun outside…

Yes, it is the good ol Slip ‘n Slide.  One classic to go with another classic.

Yes, they wanted it to go down hill…

Back to the pudding…

So, thanks to Melissa of It’s Melissa’s Kitchen for picking a great recipe and turning me on to homemade pudding.  Honestly, it had never occurred to me to make it from scratch before, and now I am not sure I can go back to the box.  My mom even suggested replacing it as pie filling for an old family chocolate pie standard.  High praise indeed.  To get the recipe check out Melissa’s blog and to see how everyone else fared, check out the TWD Blogroll.

Next week:  Cherry Rhubarb Cobbler.  I have never cooked with rhubarb.  I wonder if it is still around in these parts…

Wow!  Let me just start by saying that I served this pie to several family members and they all lived.  Not a small feat considering the calories loaded into this “fruit” dessert.  Our Dorie recipe this week was Double Crusted Blueberry Pie chosen by Amy of South in your Mouth.  Great choice for the 4th weekend.

Somewhere in the inner reaches of my mind (OK, in all of my mind) I like to pretend that fruity desserts aren’t as decadent as chocolatey creamy peanut buttery desserts.  I have made pies and cobblers and tarts before and have turned a happily blind eye to the sugar, butter and cream therein.  Not really possible with the obscene amounts in this pie.

I am with Dorie on using a combo of butter and shortening in the crust.  Pie crust is the only time I ever use shortening but it just seems to work.  I just don’t recall ever using quite this much.  Dayum.  It was, however, an outstanding crust.  I will try to reduce the amount of fat in the future, but I am sure it will lose something.  It’s all about the trade-offs, isn’t it?  I did reduce the amount of sugar in the filling.  I am glad I did.  It didn’t need another granule.  I also skipped the egg wash and sugar (my thighs cry no more) so Jamie would enjoy the pie too. 

My mother-in-law had Cool Whip in a can.  Ever seen it before?  Not me.

I was pretty ambivalent about blueberry pie before but this one was fantastic.  I love it when that happens.  Even Colin, who never eats anything that grows naturally on the planet despite how much sugar, cheese or sauce I pile on, ate some pie.  (Yes, we have tried everything.  We are resigned to hoping he grows out of it while he is still actually growing).  I tried to get a picture but this is the best I could do.  The boy is a moving target.

I made this pie at my mother-in-law’s house over the holiday weekend and she was very generous with her kitchen.  I love this rolling pin.  It was her mother’s.  It is homemade and it is hefty.  I am not sure I did them justice but it was fun to think of all of the pies rolled before this one.

PS  To all of the sweet people who suggested I go ahead and try the sconedisks from last week…well, I did.  They were decent but, for the calories, not worth it.  Especially after this week.  I may have to move into the gym.  sorry kids.

Check out the fabulous pies here!

Well, this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie challenge: Apple Cheddar Scones chosen by Karina of The Floured Apron.  This post was originally going to be about how I didn’t grow up in a cheese eating family and never in a million years would we have added cheddar to any baked good but I was game.  Well, that was until the scones (using that word VERY liberally) came out of the oven…

I do not know what happened but they looked about as much like a scone as a rock looks like blueberry pie.  No resemblance at all.   When my older son saw them coming out he asked when we could eat the cookies.  “They’re not cookies.”  “OK, when can we eat the pancakes?”  Not muffin, not biscuit and certainly not scone.

I am certainly no expert baker but I have made scones before, and (possibly miraculously?) they looked, smelled and tasted like a scone.  Maybe I overmixed?  I was confused by the last “kneading” step, but what do I know?  I also made them eggless so Jamie could enjoy them, too.  BUT I make lots of things eggless with no problem.  See muffins I made Monday below.  No eggs - not flat. 

I was a little distracted on Sunday — scone day.  I made this triple layer chocolate cake for my mom Patty’s birthday (it was FABULOUS) but still?

[ Picture is terrible but it was good...]

I was on my way to the trash with my precious little disks when my Grandma Sophie’s inner spirit took over and turned me to the freezer instead.  So, I am looking for suggestions as to what to do with six apple cheddar sconedisks and six apple cinnamon sconedisks (I couldn’t make them all with cheddar…what if it was nasty?).  Suggestions, anyone?

Next week: double crusted blueberry pie.  Yeah, I have made lots of pie but let’s not get our hopes up.  To see an army of fabulous scony looking scones click here.

Cobbler was definitely a dessert of the moment.  Our Tuesdays with Dorie selection this week was Mixed Berry Cobbler, chosen by Beth of Our Sweet Life.  Berry cobbler screams summer and all that goes with it (the pool, sunscreen, lemonade, cut grass). 

We enjoyed our Mixed Berry Cobbler on a warm Saturday evening after a typical summer day.   Dorie says that you can substitute frozen berries and I suppose you could.  I have no idea.  It has never once occurred to me to make any kind of cobbler when the chosen fruit is out of season.  I only want a cobbler, crisp or similar when the fruit is so abundant and pervasive I can’t avoid thinking about it.  Chocolate chip cookies?  Anytime.  Anyplace.  Berry desserts?  Only in season and only after a great relaxed summer meal.  So, I won’t be eating cobbler after chili or pizza delivery.  We had pasta with roasted tomatoes and corn.  Perfect.

I had cherries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries on hand.  I could seriously eat bowls of this all day long, especially cherries.  I know I can’t have them all the time so I eat them compulsively for a few weeks.  I am in the middle of my cherry feast now and loving every minute of it.  [Note: had to grab a few while writing this post]. 

I read the comments before making the cobbler and there was some discussion about the cobbler dough lacking flavor.  I added a little cinnamon and vanilla and thought it was great.  I will admit that, while I truly enjoy cobbler, I am certainly not wedded to any particular topping.  I didn’t really grow up eating a lot of cobbler dishes and have no strong feelings either way.  Everyone enjoyed it so there you go.  Well, everyone except Colin who eats nothing that has the slightest hint of appearing in nature.  Cobbler = fruit; not for Colin. 

This is a silly picture of Will but he loved the cobbler and the “pool hair” is the perfect accessory to cobbler!

Check out the other cobblers here.  Next week: Apple Cheddar Scones.  A first for me.

Hmmm…it is past 11:00pm on Monday night and I am just now getting around to this post.  I made the dish last week, but I clearly am not too enthusiastic about reliving it.  [NOTE: because of unexplainable computer issues, I couldn't even post this until this morning.  I think I am ready to move on to the cobbler.]

This week’s recipe was Peppermint Cream Puff Ring chosen by Caroline of A Consuming Passion.  Making this reminded me a lot of the Florida Pie week.  Despite my ambivalence towards cream puffs and eclairs (I like them but have never craved them), this recipe has intrigued me for awhile.  I am a sucker for any chocolate/mint combination.  But, like the Florida Pie week, my turn for Friday Breakfast at work fell during an already jam packed week. 

In a typical week, I would have made this on Sunday afternoon but we had plans for Father’s Day and I didn’t think cream puffs were a good choice for pool party.  (Well, it was supposed to be a pool party.  Nobody lives in the midwest for the weather.)  So, I shoehorned it into Friday Breakfast Club which meant scrambling to get it done Thursday night after work and family time.  There was also a learning curve as I have never made cream puffs before.  I hate it when baking feels like a chore.

This spoon is representative of the whole experience.  I have had this spoon forever.  It is not difficult or cost prohibitive to get a new spoon but I never think about it.  Well, my arm pratically burned off stirring the dough in the pot.   The tone was set for this recipe when I went to my favorite kitchen store — which has everything — and they didn’t have a large enough pastry tip.  They were, in fact, ordering tips while I was there.  I should have been smart and picked up a new spoon.

I love peppermint and my neighbor said I could have some mint from her backyard.  Alas, it was too late to grab it and too late to make any successful substitutions.  Mint was in my head though so I threw in more than a few drops of peppermint extract.  Good thing I saved half as plain.  The mint had some bite.

I did like the bittersweet glaze but found that, even though the recipe made enough dough for rings, puffs, eclairs, etc., the amount of glaze was not so generous.  I made a semi-sweet ganache for the cream puffs.

The co-workers ate it all up but my husband reported that neither of the kids liked the puffs I left behind for them.

 Colin happy before actually consuming cream puff.

This whole post is a really a long of way of saying these cream puffs…were…well…cream puffs to me.  I would eat them again but can’t imagine making them again.

Next week:  Mixed Berry Cobbler.  Perfect timing. 

I guarantee not everyone stuck to the original recipe.  Check out all the variations here: TWD.

[This is a terrible picture.  I took the only broken piece - none of the others could wait before digging in.]

When I lose my laser like focus (ha!) in the kitchen, my mind wanders to random series of thoughts.  What will my kids look like in 5 years?  Where is that skirt I haven’t seen in months?  Why is there only one clean spoon in the drawer…always?  You get the idea.  Lately though, one thought keeps bubbling to the top:

How in the hell is Dorie Greenspan so thin?

Seriously.  It’s not that I think her recipes are any more calorie laden than anyone else’s…but…by her own admission, she bakes almost every day (see Introduction) and eats ice cream every day, even if only a spoonful.  I followed a similar schedule in 2007.  It ended with weekly Weight Watchers’ meetings and a self imposed limit on baking (and consuming) all the good stuff (butter, sugar, cream).

This week’s recipe (chosen by Marie of a Year from Oak Cottage) is La Palette’s Strawberry Tart which, all things considered, is one of the lighter recipes…if you ignore the fat stick of butter in the crust.

I love strawberries and we had plenty of them but we also had apricots and cherries.  Plus, it being summer, I am in the mood to grill.  Everything. (unexpected from a vegetarian of 10+ years?)  I brushed lightly with oil and sprinkled a little brown sugar and grilled away.

I also changed the crust.  My spouse doesn’t eat eggs and I had made this crust for the lemon tart.   Since I wasn’t yet a member when the Pecan Brown Sugar Shortbread cookies had their week, I subbed that in for the crust.  Yum.

Colin came in at the tail end of rolling the shortbread dough and was very irritated when I put it in the fridge.  This is actually him rolling the dough for the second set of cookies he talked me into.  See the very bottom for the less than successful results.

  Finally, I topped with a little caramel whipped cream (see Weight Watchers’ above).  Caramel sounded so appealing with the grilled fruit.  I found a recipe from Daniel Boulud and, despite my initial misgivings about my own skills, it worked!

We consumed every last bite of it after Sunday dinner with Grandma.  Perfect end to a summer meal.  Go check out the other tarts here.

Next week: Peppermint Cream Puff Ring.  I have been wanting to try this recipe.  The challenge this week will be finding the adequate time to devote to it. 

 At Colin’s irresistable request to roll more dough, we quickly threw together some of Maida Heatter’s Chocolate Pillows.  I was looking for a cookie that had to be rolled but NOT chilled.  Three year olds are not known for patience.  My apologies to Ms. Heatter.  I have made these before with better results.  In our haste we screwed something up and they totally crumbled.  Better luck next time…

This week’s selection was chosen by Di of Di’s Kitchen Notebook:  French Chocolate Brownies.  I decided to stick pretty close to Dorie on this one.  First, these brownies sounded good just from reading the recipe.  Secondly, I had significantly altered several of the recent recipes (no sticky buns at all, altered quintuple brownies instead of madeleines, Florida “tart” instead of pie sans coconut, etc.).  This week, I was ready to just sit back and let Dorie lead the way.

 I was also without my usual sous chefs.  Summer finally came to KC and we spent a LOT of time outdoors and in the water over the weekend.  They were worn thin by the time I got into the kitchen.  Frankly, that was fine this week.  As I suspect is true of many of us, I often use my kitchen — especially time spent with sugar, flour, butter and eggs — as therapy.  Sunday was a melancholy day and I was happy to be in my kitchen alone without directing traffic.  It was, however, a lonely bowl with no eager taste testers in sight.

I love raisins but wasn’t sure how they would fit into this recipe.  I was too curious not to fire ‘em up.  And I am glad I did.  I thought they added a nice surprise.  My mom (of the infamous sweet tooth) loved the addition without even realizing they were raisins.  I did get a little flame but was not clearly quick enough with the camera.

 I love that crackly brownie crust.  YUM.

I topped them with some whipped cream and put them into little glasses inherited from my Great Aunt Adeline.  I love having pieces in my kitchen that remind me of loved ones and these brought a smile to my face.  The brownies were so good I took the left overs to work…way too dangerous to leave around the house.  They were so easy to make; they could easily become a regular in the brownie rotation. 

 Recent studies claim there is no “sugar high.”  Parents know better.

Next week: La Palette’s Strawberry Tart.  I love fresh berries!  For an overdose of chocolate brownie goodness check out the other posts here.

 French Chocolate Brownies

- makes 16 brownies -
Adapted from Baking From My Home to Yours.

Ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1/3 cup raisins, dark or golden
1 1/2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used 4oz bittersweet and 2 oz semi-sweet cuz that is what I had)
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons; 6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into 12 pieces
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sugar

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 300°F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, butter the foil, place the pan on a baking sheet, and set aside.

Whisk together the flour, salt and cinnamon, if you’re using it.

Put the raisins in a small saucepan with the water, bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the water almost evaporates. Add the rum, let it warm for about 30 seconds, turn off the heat, stand back and ignite the rum. Allow the flames to die down, and set the raisins aside until needed.

Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Slowly and gently melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and add the butter, stirring so that it melts. It’s important that the chocolate and butter not get very hot. However, if the butter is not melting, you can put the bowl back over the still-hot water for a minute. If you’ve got a couple of little bits of unmelted butter, leave them—it’s better to have a few bits than to overheat the whole. Set the chocolate aside for the moment.

Working with a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until they are thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Lower the mixer speed and pour in the chocolate-butter, mixing only until it is incorporated—you’ll have a thick, creamy batter. Add the dry ingredients and mix at low speed for about 30 seconds—the dry ingredients won’t be completely incorporated and that’s fine. Finish folding in the dry ingredients by hand with a rubber spatula, then fold in the raisins along with any liquid remaining in the pan.

Scrape the batter into the pan and bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top is dry and crackled and a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and allow the brownies to cool to warm or room temperature.

Carefully lift the brownies out of the pan, using the foil edges as handles, and transfer to a cutting board. With a long-bladed knife, cut the brownies into 16 squares, each roughly 2 inches on a side, taking care not to cut through the foil.

Serving: The brownies are good just warm or at room temperature; they’re even fine cold. I like these with a little something on top or alongside—good go-alongs are whipped crème fraiche or whipped cream, ice cream or chocolate sauce or even all three!

Storing: Wrapped well, these can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months.

We had a CRAZY week.  Spent 5 out of 7 nights away from home and worked the other two days.  So, no Dorie this week.  I am now convinced I can accomplish brioche with no stand mixer but this was just not the week.  The kids had a great time with their cousins in Texas so it was worth it.  I WILL be back for the brownies next week.  Flaming raisins?  Oh yeah….

Check out everyone else’s Pecan Honey Sticky Buns here.

  Hanging out with family in Texas…no cooking at all…

Our neighborhood garage sale was this weekend.  I made a deal with myself.  If I found a madeleine pan, I would embark on this week’s recipe for Traditional Madeleines chosen by Tara of Smells Like Home.  Well, no pan.  Had we needed boxes of unused Christmas cards, a belgian waffle maker circa 1978 or tables full of abandoned beanie babies, I would have been in luck.  I thought about trying the “spoon” method discussed in the comments but opted to go with a past recipe, an alternative approved by our fearless leader Laurie.

My schedule didn’t ease up this weekend so, once again, I was looking for something uncomplicated.   I also wanted to do something nice for mom who got somewhat neglected on mother’s day.  The perfect solution?  Brownies, specifically the Quintuple Chocolate Brownies.

My dear mother has what may be the ultimate sweet tooth.  Others may think they know from sweet but I know better.  Seriously…when Dorie created the serving size for the peanut butter torte a few weeks back (that was universally agreed to be for giants) she was speaking directly to mom.  This is the woman who will always take the corner piece of cake coated in sugary frosting, preferably with ice cream and hot fudge (whipped cream, too?  why, of course). 

With sous chef Colin at the ready, we chopped, melted and stirred our way to chocolate bliss.  Knowing mom has little to no use for white chocolate (amateurs, please), we used bittersweet in the batter and made a thick semi-sweet glaze (still quintuple!).  I don’t care for nuts really and especially not big hunks in baked goods.  So, I don’t have a personal review of the finished product.  The batter, however, (which Colin and I licked CLEAN) was very promising.  I will have to make these sans nuts at a later date.  AND mom did call to report that she ate an obscene number of brownies in one day…a true thumbs up!

To see the Madeleines in all their glory and the other past recipe substitutions check out the other blogs here.

Next week, Pecan Honey Sticky Buns but, alas, not for me.  We are going out of town AND I don’t have a stand mixer.  Dorie’s story of practically stirring her arm off for brioche dough just isn’t tempting me, especially for something with Pecan in the title.  I am sure, however, the others will NOT disappoint.

Quintuple Chocolate Brownies

Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

For the Brownies

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

3 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used bittersweet)

2 tablespoons strong coffee

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

6 ounces premium-quality milk chocolate, chopped into chips, or 1 cup store-bought milk chocolate chips

1 cup chopped nuts

For the Glaze

6 ounces premium-quality white chocolate, finely chopped, or 1 cup store-bought white chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet chocolate)

1/3 heavy cream (just a splash of milk)

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with foil, butter the foil and place the pan on a baking sheet.

Sift together the flour, cocoa and salt.

To Make the Brownies: Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and add, in the following order, the butter, the two chocolates and the coffee. Keeping the pan over low heat, warm just until the butter and the chocolates are melted– you don’t want the ingredients to separate, so keep an eye on the bowl. Stir gently, and when the mixture is smooth, set it aside for 5 minutes.

Using a whisk or a rubber spatula, beat the sugar into the chocolate mixture. Don’t beat too vigorously– you don’t want to add air to the batter– and don’t be concerned about any graininess. Next, stir the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla. You should have a smooth, glossy batter. If your not already using a rubber spatula, switch to one now and gently stir in the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated. Finally, stir in the milk chocolate chips and nuts. Scrape the batter into the pan.

Bake for 35 minutes, or until a think knife inserted into the center comes out streaked but not thickly coated. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let the brownies rest undisturbed for at least 30 minutes. (You can wait longer if you’d like.)

Turn the brownies out onto a rack, peel away the foil and place it under another rack–it will be the drip catcher for the glaze. Invert the brownies onto the rack and let cool completely.

To Make the Glaze: Put the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring the heavy cream to a boil and pour it over the chocolate. Wait 30 seconds, then, using a rubber spatula, gently stir until the chocolate is melted.and the glaze is smooth.

Hold a long metal icing spatula in one hand the bowl of glaze in the other. Pour the glaze onto the center of the brownies and use the spatula to nudge it evenly over the surface. Don’t worry if it dribbles over the edges, you can trim the sides later (or not). Refrigerate the brownies for about 20 minutes to dry the glaze.

Cut into 16 squares, each roughly 2 1/4 inches on a side.