Baking with Susan

Chocolate with Francois - Chocolate Tiramisu

2011-05-01T23:49:00.000-04:00

I'm back! A day late (and a dollar short!) but I have a legitimate excuse for not posting yesterday. I was at Richmond International Raceway with my Mother-in-law, attending the NASCAR race. She and I attend both Richmond races and the May race in Charlotte. We have been doing it since 1994. No hubbies. Just her and me. We make a full day of it, tailgating, people watching, hanging out. I think she enjoys it more than I do, and that's just fine with me. So, that explains why I didn't post yesterday. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. :)

So, the April pick for CFW was Chocolate Tiramisu and Seattle Pastry Girl made it her pick. I don't know if I ever would have made it if she hadn't chosen it for April. I like Tiramisu. I made a Tiramisu cheesecake a while back. Just tried to find the post for it in my blog, but I guess I never blogged about it. :] I wish I had, and maybe I will one day. It's a great recipe and the cheesecake it made was fabulous. But, would I have chosen to make this recipe? I am not sure I would have. But, boy am I glad I did.

This was (is) a slightly complicated recipe. You have to make a ganache, a cake and a mousse. Then you have to put those three components together.

The ganache was pretty easy. Chop up some bitter-sweet chocolate, add some mascarpone cheese, and pour some boiled cream over and stir till the chocolate melts. I reread the recipe to see if it said "finely" chopped, when the chocolate that I just "chopped" didn't melt. But, no, I read it right. I ended up setting my bowl of clumpy, lumpy chocolate/cream/mascarpone on my burner which I set at low and stirred the mixture until it melted. Once it cooled down I tried it and found it to be most excellent!

I started on the cake next. ~~After tasting the ganache again to make sure it was still okay~~. I am lucky enough to have two mixers so I was able to have the yolks and sugar mixing in one bowl while I whipped the whites in another bowl. The cake baked up in the 10 minutes recommended and was set aside to cool.

Making the mousse was a real test of muscle power for my arms. It took all of the 5 minutes, if not more, to first get the mixture of egg yolks and sugar hot and thick and then to get it cooled off, all while whisking it constantly, ~~except when I stopped to check the ganache~~.

~~After tasting the ganache again~~ I gathered all the components for the tiramisu to begin putting it together. Francois called for using a 1 or 1 1/2 quart bowl to assemble the tiramisu. I looked at my 1 1/2 quart bowl then ~~tasted the ganache~~ the amount of mousse, cake and ganache ~~that I tasted again~~ that I had on hand and decided to go with the largest bowl I had. Good thing too because ~~more ganache~~ it would have been far too much for a smaller bowl. ~~More ganache~~ Once I had ~~ganache~~ everything ready it took no time at all to assemble it.

I brew my coffee on the strong side but still added some Via to the coffee. I wanted to be sure that the coffee flavor was strong and didn't get lost in the cake and mousse and mmmm ganache. Once the tiramisu was assembled ~~licked the bowl the ganache was in~~ I covered it in plastic and put it in the fridge to cool.

I was pretty sure that I would like it. I wasn't sure about the hubby. He isn't a big coffee person and sometimes textures are an issue with him. I thought he might find the coffee soaked cake a turn-off. However, I worried for nothing. He said it was really, really good. In fact, he went so far as to say he thought it was one of the best recipes I have made from Chocolate Epiphany. The bowl I used, the large size of the Pyrex mixing bowl set I have, to assemble the tiramisu in? It was empty by the third day. Gone! All of it! I work most nights and without me here to portion control the serving sizes the hubby fixed much larger servings than I do and each night I got home, more and more of the tiramisu was gone. I think I might have gotten 1/4 of the amount there was, with the hubby eating all the rest. He asked me yesterday when I was going to make that Chocolate cake/pudding thing I made a couple of weeks ago. Men!

So, my advice to you is make this recipe. Seattle Pastry Girl has it posted on her blog. It ~~the ganache~~ is well worth the effort and dirty dishes it takes to make it. Fabulous dessert. Impressive dessert. Ganache filled dessert. Need I say more. :)

A day off - Vegetarian Lasagna - Orange Scented Chocolate Cheesecake

2011-04-26T23:38:00.001-04:00

Hey there. Hi there. Ho there. It's me. Thought I would drop in and say hi to any followers who might still be following me. :)

I had a day off today. A day off from my house cleaning business and a day off from Starbucks. That meant I could sleep in and play in my kitchen. Playing in my kitchen makes me happy. In fact, playing in my kitchen makes me very happy. I knew ahead of time that I would have today off and had chosen a couple of recipes I wanted to try. One was for my Chocolate with Francois group and the other one was a practice run of an all vegetable lasagna. My beautiful daughter-in-law, who is pregnant with my first grand-child, is a Vegetarian. I am getting together next week with her and my son, my daughter and her hubby and we are going to have dinner together and play Quelf, a really fun board game. It will probably be the last time we can all get together before Baby Gulla is born. I plan on baking a pan of the vegetable lasagna and putting it in the freezer so that Sean and Katey have something they can just heat up and eat when they come home from the hospital with the baby. At least one night they won't have to worry about cooking dinner. :)

So, today I decided I would make a vegetable lasagna that I had come across a recipe for. It's from Italian Food Forever and it sounded easy and yummy. I even made the home-made sauce she links to. I used my submersible blender so that there wouldn't be chunks of tomatoes but kept to the basic sauce recipe.

I also bought my lasagna noodles. I do have a pasta roller, but I use it for my cake decorating business. Besides, I was more interested in what was going between the noodles rather than the noodles themselves. The recipe suggests using eggplant, roasted red peppers, fennel, and onions. I could not find fennel anywhere (and should confess here that I wouldn't know fennel if I bumped into it) so I decided to go with zucchini, eggplant, red peppers and onion. Knowing my hubby and his "it has to have meat or it isn't dinner" attitude, I bought some "Gimme Lean" sausage style veggie protein. I know, it isn't meat, but, I wanted to see if he would even notice.

I also cheated by buying roasted red peppers in a jar. I could have roasted some, but, I don't have a gas stove, it's electric. I do have a gas grill, but hated to crank it up to roast three red peppers. Thus, the jar of already roasted peppers.

I made the sauce first. It was super easy. Heat up some oil, drop in some minced garlic, pour in diced Italian style tomatoes, bring to a boil, lower heat, add salt and pepper and fresh chopped basil. And, any other spices or seasoning you would like. Super easy and really good.

I worked on the veggies next. Sliced the eggplant, brushed it with olive oil and grilled it under the broiler. Sauteed the onions till they were soft and light brown. Sliced the zucchini and sauteed that up. Fried the "sausage". Drained the roasted red peppers. Once I had all the ingredients cooked and on separate plates I began to assemble the lasagna.

A little sauce on the bottom of the baking dish. A layer of noodles. A little more sauce. Some "sausage", cheese and eggplant. Cover with noodles. Sauce. "Sausage". Cheese. Roasted red peppers. Noodles. Sauce. "Sausage". Cheese. Onion. Final layer noodles, sauce, "sausage", cheese, zucchini. Last layer of noodles, a little more sauce and a good amount of cheese. Covered the whole thing with foil and put it in a 375 degree oven and baked it for 45 minutes. The recipe on Italian Food Forever doesn't call for covering the dish with foil and it bakes for a shorter time, but I think that's because the noodles are fresh made rather than boxed.

The lasagna smelled fabulous while it was baking and looked wonderful when I took it out of the oven. I let it set for about 20 minutes before cutting and plating it.

I loved it!! So many flavors blending together. It was not greasy or overly heavy like some lasagnas can be. The vegetables were soft but not mushy. There was just enough sauce, not overpowering the dish or drowning the noodles, but just enough to enhance the flavors of the veggies and bind the noodles, cheese and veggies together. What was even better was that the hubby also loved it! At one point he asked about the ingredients, wanted to know if it was all veggies, besides the sausage. It was then that I told him the truth about the "sausage". He shrugged and kept eating. Success!!

Even if you aren't a Vegetarian, you should try this lasagna. Trust me when I say you won't miss the meat that's not in it. Or the ricotta cheese that's not in it. Or the eggs. Just roast or grill some veggies. Layer them with some shredded Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. A little sauce and you are good to go. :)

In the title of this post I mention an Orange Scented Chocolate Cheesecake. That recipe is from my CWF group and it is my pick for the month of June. According to the rules of our group, I am afraid I can't post my review until the 30th of June. But, trust me (again) when I say you need to come back at the end of June and get the recipe for it. Wonderful! Light yet rich. Orange and chocolate flavors blending together. A tender, sandy, sable' crust. The cheesecake baked up tall and beautiful. I really liked it. The hubby thought it was okay. He said I have made better cheesecakes before. However, he is not a big orange/chocolate combination fan. Guess you will have the try the recipe and decide for yourself.

I will be back on the 30th of this month, if not before, to post the latest CWF review...Chocolate Tiramisu. This was unbelievably delicious! I kid you not when I say that the 11/2 quart bowl I made lasted just over two days. And, there were only two of us here to eat it. :] You can find that recipe at Seattle Pastry Girl's blog. It's worth the effort. Trust me. :)

Rewind - Tuesdays with Dorie - "Tarte Noire"

2011-04-18T10:44:00.001-04:00

I recently posted a picture of this tart on Tumblr and as of now, only 8 hours later, it has been re-blogged over 100 times. So, I thought I would re-post the original post, with the recipe, for anyone who might have missed it the first time. This is a Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from her book "Baking, from my home to yours". If you could only have one baking cookbook, this is the one to have.

Hello again! I hope that this finds everyone well and rested after a big holiday weekend. Did you have a cookout? Did you watch a fireworks show? Did you spend time with friends and family? I did all of that and also played in the pool, slept late, and, made one of the best desserts I have made in a long time. What dessert would that be you ask? It was this weeks TWD choice, Tarte Noire, that Dharmagirl of bliss: towards a delicious life picked. If she lived closer I would visit her so I could kiss her for choosing such a fabulous recipe. Well, I probably wouldn't kiss her, but I would definitely hug her or shake her hand or something. This may be my favorite recipe so far. I kid you not. Please drop by Dharmagirl's blog and get the recipe. You won't be sorry.

We had my hubby's best friend come and stay with us for the weekend. He arrived on Saturday and settled in for the festivities. We cooked steaks on the grill...nice juicy rib-eyes. Some corn and some baked fries rounded out the meal. We went out in the field after dinner and had our own little fireworks show. My hubby set off the fireworks while I snapped photos and the hubby's best friend shot video.

The guys hopped in the pool after the fireworks show and floated around for a while. I passed...it was a bit too cool for me to get in the water. Then, before bed, I served the two of them a slice of the Tarte Noire. They loved it! They both scarfed it down in what seemed like seconds, and all but licked the plates clean. I like it when something I make brings such a satisfied expression to my hubby's face, not to mention his friend's face(who, after all these years, is also my friend).

I put this recipe together in no time early Saturday morning. I decided to make the chocolate shortbread crust and it came together quickly and perfectly in my food processor. I baked it after letting it sit in the freezer for 30 minutes. When I pulled it from the oven, to cool before adding the ganache, I got the brilliant idea to cover the bottom of the crust with a thin layer of caramel! I thought about nuts, but decided to just go with the caramel.

The ganache came together as easily as the crust, becoming this dark, shiny, smooth bowl of deliciousness. :) I used a combination of bitter-sweet and semi-sweet chocolate and poured it over the caramel in the crust. Put the tarte in the fridge for 30 minutes to set up and then sliced a piece for ~~myself~~ a picture. Yeah, that's it. For a picture. :)

I also tasted it, just to see if it was okay before serving it to the guys later that night. Couldn't serve them something I hadn't checked was edible, right? The ganache was silky smooth and so creamy. Not too sweet. Rich and delicious! The caramel underneath was a perfect touch, adding just a little sweetness and texture to the chocolate. And, the crust? Crunchy, tender, buttery, chocolate-y, and perfect against the creamy chocolate and chewy caramel. With as easy as this was to put together, I can see making it again and again. I wonder if you could do a white chocolate version. Almonds would be wonderful in this too. Maybe in the crust. Of course, it was fabulous just as I did it, and I would certainly make it the same again.

So, a really big, BIG thanks to Dharmagirl for this weeks pick. Just awesome! And, check out what the others thought of it by clicking here. :)

The Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Icing

2011-04-11T01:28:00.001-04:00

Oh my! Two posts in less than a month! This could be the start of something beautiful! :D

I had a rare Sunday off today (or I guess yesterday since it is past midnight) and I was looking for things to do that would keep me from cleaning my house. I will probably clean it tomorrow, but just didn't want to deal with it today. I was good and did two loads of laundry and put away and reloaded the dishes in the dishwasher. But, beyond that, I wanted to do something fun. And different. Sooo...

I had never attempted to bake "from scratch" cinnamon rolls. I have always had that little dough boy help me out whenever I felt the urge. I know it's crazy to think I had never made cinnamon rolls from scratch, but it's true. I have always been a bit intimidated by the whole yeast proofing and rolling out the dough and then rolling it up and the other complicated steps that I thought went into making them. Silly me! These couldn't have been easier and they are probably the best cinnamon rolls I have ever eaten, hands down! I wish I could take credit for the recipe, but that goes to Ree aka The Pioneer Woman.

I have Ree's cookbook (see my post about meeting her here) and knew her recipe for these rolls was in it. And, I had all the ingredients on hand, so I got everything together and got started.

These really were easy to put together. I think the hardest, or scariest part for me was scalding the milk. It was not supposed to boil and I stood over it watching like a hawk eyeballing a mouse in the field. Once your milk, oil and sugar cools back down to lukewarm you add your yeast and let it set for 1 minute. Then you stir in almost all of the flour and let it rest, covered with a clean towel, for an hour.

After that, you add the last cup of flour, along with salt, baking powder, and baking soda. It's a bit hard to stir these last things into the dough, but hang in there until you get all those dry ingredients incorporated into the dough.

Then you roll out the dough into a rectangle, cover it with butter, sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over it (I also added chopped pecans) and then roll it towards you in a tight tube. Slice the tube into 1" slices and place them into buttered pans. Cover again with those clean towels and let rise for 20 minutes while your oven preheats.

Ree says to bake these 13 to 17 minutes, but I found I had to bake mine for closer to 20 minutes before they were done. While they were baking I made the Maple icing. Powdered sugar, butter, milk, coffee (yes, coffee) and maple flavoring. Whisk it up and while the rolls are still in the pan, hot and fresh from the oven, pour the icing over them, getting it around the sides. Ree says not to be afraid of really dumping the icing on as the rolls will soak up much of that yummy-ness.

I hardly let the first batch cool before I cut out one roll and cut a piece to try. It was so good it "made me want to slap my granma" as my mother-in-law is fond of saying. Tender, sweet, maple-y, oooy, goooy, deliciousness!! I am ashamed to admit that I have eaten a total of three of them since taking them out of the oven around 5:30 this evening. I will be eating bread and water tomorrow to offset the calories I had today. But, oh, it was so very worth it. You really need to give these a try. Now that I know how easy they are to make, there's no stopping me now! :)

Catching up on my Chocolate with Francois group

2011-04-05T00:56:00.000-04:00

Wow! Has it really been almost two months since I posted on my blog? I am ashamed to admit that. But, when you work two jobs, bake on the side (though not as much as I wish) and keep up (somewhat) with a household, I guess the time can get away from you. Or me. Which is what happened. That's my story and I am sticking to it! :)

Though you can't tell it because of the lack of posts, I have been baking. I had a bridal shower cake last month. The woman who ordered it gave me a copy of the invitation and there was a tree with many branches on it. She wanted the cake to reflect that. Here's what I came up with.

I later heard back from the woman who ordered the cake that "the cake was wonderful...everyone was blown away". Pretty high compliments I thought.

I also had a baby shower cake. That cake was for my daughter-in-law, Katey. Yup! I am going to be a Grandma! My first grandbaby! Baby Gulla is due in May, the 20th, and my son and daughter-in-law couldn't be happier. I called her aunt, who was hosting the party and told her I would supply the cake for the party. This is what I made...

It was such fun!! All of the characters are made of either fondant or chocolate, covered in fondant. Humpty Dumpty, three blind mice, the dish and the spoon, the cow and the moon. Oh, and twinkle stars. :) The "books" are cakes. The cake was a White Almond Sour Cream cake and I filled one layer with caramel icing, one layer with orange buttercream, and the last layer with almond/vanilla buttercream. When I came in with the cake no one could believe it was cake! I think it was one of my best so far. Maybe that's because it was made with so much love. :)

Back in December I baked a birthday cake for a little girl who was having a pool party and the Mom wanted a "Summer in December" theme. I had fun with this one and thought I would share it with you here...

Fondant characters, blankets, ball, flip flops and life preserver. The "water" was blue icing. This was another fun cake to make.

But, this was supposed to be a catch up post for my CWF group. I have made the last two recipes...Cracaos and Chocolate Pudding Cake. I just hadn't gotten around to posting my reviews and pictures. So, here goes...

First off? The February pick, which was Cracaos. This is a traditional European cookie, with walnuts and pistachio nuts. Chocolate, as are all the recipes in CWF. With a touch of cinnamon.

These were pretty simple to put together. I read over the recipe and seeing that it made 80 cookies decided to cut the recipe down to better suit my family size (the hubby and me). I ended up making 1/4 of the recipe, which took a calculator and a scale that weighed grams to figure out.

I also used almonds instead of pistachios. I looked around and couldn't find pistachios anywhere. I thought about using hazelnuts, but couldn't find them either. (Of course, the other day while shopping, because I didn't need them, I found hazelnuts, lots and lots of hazelnuts). Other than that, I kept to the recipe.

I liked these. Chocolate? Good. Nuts? Good. Cinnamon? Good. All of those together, in one cookie? Good, good, good! Mine baked just a tad too long. I think next time I would check them after 9 minutes. But, all and all, they were great! I believe that Astheroshe-accro picked this recipe and I say she deserves a big "Thank You" for her pick.

March's choice? That would be Charlie's Chocolate Pudding Cake which Pantry Revisited picked. All I can say to Peggy is... "Oh My Goodness!! What an amazing cake!!"

I almost didn't make this one. I have been working hard at watching what I eat and I started Body By Vi shakes back in January. Since then I have lost 20 pounds. I feel great and have lots more energy than I used to. So, when I read the recipe and saw that there was a total of 15 tablespoons of butter, 19 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate, and 2 1/4 cups of heavy whipping cream, well, you can imagine my reaction. But I really like our group and decided to bite the bullet and make the cake. Boy am I glad I did. Well, I will probably hate that I did in the next day or so, because the cake is so good that I probably won't be able to leave it alone and will probably gain 10 pounds eating it, but, hey, for the group? It's the least I can do. :D

I thought this was a fairly easy cake to put together. The cake is just a few simple ingredients...flour, butter, chocolate, sugar, eggs and heavy cream. Mix it all together and bake it. There was a bit of confusion for me and for several other bakers. In the opening paragraph Francois mentions the cake being baked in a water bath. However, in the actual directions? There is no mention of placing the pan in a water bath. I decided to use a water bath, since he mentions it. I baked the cake according to the directions. I think I could have baked it another minute or two during the beginning baking as I thought the center was a bit soft. I know it's called "Pudding Cake", but I still think it was a touch under-baked. I will confess though, it in no way impacted the flavor of this cake.

This cake is so rich, so smooth, so creamy, so chocolate-y. My hubby practically licked his plate clean when he finished his slice. I cut myself a small slice and think I actually moaned out loud when I first tasted it. Incredible! If you want to impress someone, make this cake! You can find the recipe at Pantry Revisited's site.

Now, as Porky Pig used to say... "Th-Th-Th-Th-Th-... That's all, folks."

Operation Baking Gals - Round 27 - Team Country Cookies Wrap Up

2011-02-17T01:09:00.000-05:00

While cleaning for one of my customers back in December I mentioned that I was affiliated with Operation Baking Gals. For those of you who might not know about OBG it is a group of people who bake for soldiers stationed overseas. (If you need more info, go to our website, bakinggals) I joined two or three years ago and have baked almost every round.

Back to my customer...when I mentioned the group, she told me that her son-in-law, Ian, was stationed overseas in Afghanistan. She said it was his 4th!! tour. I asked for his address and some info about him and told her I would personally lead a team to bake for him.

My team was called Country Cookies. Team Country Cookies was one of twenty teams this month. In addition to me there were 8 other members on my team. Now that the round is over (shipping dates were February 1-12) I wanted to take the time to acknowledge my fellow bakers by posting what they baked or bought for Ian.

The first baker I heard from was Maggi. She sent me the following email:

Just a note to tell you I mailed my package to Ian on Wednesday, February 2nd.

It included: homemade Snicker Doodle cookies

a bag of Tootsie Roll Pop suckers

Cornuts

can of almonds

3 packages of gum

box of Valentine Dots candies

heart-shaped chocolate cakes - 8

2 bags of nut snack mix

a bag of Hershey chocolate drops

bottle of hot sauce

1 left, right, center game - it's a lot of fun to play :)

5 cigars - from my husband - to share with his buddies :)

Thanks for taking the time to be a leader! This has been a lot of fun! Ian is the 4th soldier I have baked for, so you can see I have only been doing this for 4 rounds!

The next baker I heard from was Debbie. I wish I could include the picture she attached to the pdf file she sent me, but I couldn't figure out how to attach it. I was able to copy and paste the words, just not the picture. And, that's a shame because it looked like a picture of three generations of women baking for our soldier. Debbie wrote...

February 5, 2011
Howdy from Houston, Texas! I sure hope you enjoy this little care package. It’s only a small token of my appreciation, but the cookies were baked and the package was assembled with much love and thoughts of gratitude for our mighty warriors. My family and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your service.
Ms. Debbie
Packing List for Ian
2 dozen peanut butter cookies 1 ½ dozen oatmeal cinnamon chip raisin cookies 8 large Valentine heart sugar cookies 10-count pkg. individual Nestle hot chocolate drink mixes 8 2-oz. pkg. nuts 10 lens cleaning wipes 1 travel size Gold Bond lotion 1 travel size Dial bodywash 1 shower loofah 2 1-oz. beef jerkies 6 2-oz. trail mix
6 5-stick packs of Wrigley’s spearmint gum 1 Texas Fish & Game magazine

I had two Debbie's baking for me this round. Debbie #2 sent me this email after she shipped her box to Ian.

Just wanted to let you know that I sent Ian's package yesterday.  I have a great

cookie recipe that starts with a brownie mix so I made those.  Sent some pringles,

gum, Valentines candy, p-nuts and sunflower seeds too.  Thanks again for your hard

work!
Debbie

Christine was the next baker I heard from. She sent a picture of the things she baked and included in

her box along with a quick note.

Happy Valentines Day! Attached is a picture of the box I sent to Ian . Thank you for hosting Round 27 of Operation Baking Gals!

Sincerely,

Christine

AKA: Betty Crocker

My daughter Beth joined me this round. She baked with me the last time I headed a team and jumped on board this time when she found out about it. She has become quite the baker ( a chip off the ole' block!) and sent this wrap-up email:

Mom,
I completely forgot to take pictures this time but I still wanted to send you an email to let you know my box was sent off on Friday. I sent a batch of Rick Katz's brownies, a batch of pebernødder (peppernuts), several GameInformer magazines, two packages of Iced Via, and two bags of Wurther's caramels: the regular and coffee-caramel flavor. I definitely got my money's worth in shipping for that box. :D
Love,
Beth

Laura was another of my bakers. She is a friend of mine on Facebook and saw my post about

 this round. Here is the email she sent to me:

Hi, Susan!  I got my box sent off to Ian and included a handmade card

with my thanks to him for his sacrifice.
 
Because you mentioned that Ian favors brownies, I tried out a couple

of new recipes I've been holding onto.  All in all, my box included:
 
 - 1.5 doz. Butterscotch blondie brownies
 - 1.5 doz. Cherry chip chocolate brownies
 - 3 doz. Traditional fudgy brownies
 - 8 mini loaves of friendship bread
 - 3 doz. Snickerdoodles
 
I hope he enjoys his treats and I appreciate you putting together a

team to get us all baking.  Thanks for your efforts - I had a great

time baking for Ian!

Laura S

Vicki was another generous soul who took the time to do something nice for a complete stranger.

 Her email reads as follows:

Hi, Susan-
I was able to send out a package last Tuesday to Ian, however, I cannot

say for sure what ended up in Ian's box!  I travel for my job, and bake

on weekends.  I also joined more than one team this round, and my daughter

packed and shipped the items for me, not realizing she should break down

the different bags!  So, I know each box got a lemon cake, a peanut

butterpound cake, and an assortment of cookies, but I don't know what

kind of cookies!
 
Hope that helps.
 
Thank you for hosting this round.
 
Vicki

I also sent a box to Ian. Normally I would bake several different kinds of cookies and load the box with

anywhere from 10 - 20 dozen cookies. This time I did things a little different. I baked cookies...a

Toffee Chocolate Chip cookie which is like a brownie in cookie form, but I also packed the box with

some useful(and not so useful) goodies. Three different kinds of peanuts, sunflower seeds, Wet Wipes,

hand sanitizer, Mentos gum, disposable toothbrushes, cereal bars and two different kinds of Slim Jims.

I included a letter from me and a couple of pictures of my family and pets.

And, that wraps up Round 27 for Team Country Cookies. I would like to give all my teammates a

heart-felt thank you for taking the time to do this with me. It is wonderful to share in doing something

so simple that means so much to someone.  If anyone reading this would like to share in the fun...check

out Bakinggals.com. We can always use another baker or two. :)

Chocolate with Francois - Chocolate Nut Loaf

2011-02-02T19:18:00.000-05:00

So, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I did bake the Chocolate Nut Loaf that Leslie of Lethally Delicious picked for January. The bad news is I am just now getting around to posting about it. Better late than never as they say. :) My apologizes to my fellow CWF bakers for not posting on time. As always, my crazy schedule keeps me pretty busy. Some weeks I don't see my hubby for days on end. He goes to bed before I get home from Starbucks and I get up after he has left for work. Depending on my mood that can be a good or bad thing. :)

But, back to the recipe.

I looked over the recipe to see what if any ingredients I needed to buy. I keep a pretty well stocked pantry, but occasionally need one or two items. For this recipe I needed the pistachio nuts, almond paste, and hazelnuts. No problem I thought. I will just pop into Kroger because they always have the odd ingredients I need. Yeah, right! Not this time. No hazelnuts, no almond paste, no pistachios. Okay, let's try Food Lion. Nope, not there either. Okay, how about Walmart? Ah, pistachios, but no paste or hazelnuts. By now I am tired, grumpy and running out of gasoline! I decided I would try and be creative with what I had on hand at home.

The first thing I did was make my own almond paste. Or at least I think I did. :) I took some blanched almonds, powdered sugar, corn syrup, water and processed it in my food processor. Since the recipe called for such a small amount I figured my homemade stuff wouldn't affect it much.

The next thing I did was use pecans in place of the hazelnuts. Having all three nuts for the loaf I proceeded with the recipe.

Like Leslie, I have one of those beater blades that scrapes the side of the bowl for you while it is mixing the ingredients. If you don't have one you should really invest in one. They are wonderful and I wouldn't be without one. (I sure used "one" a lot in those two sentences!) :D

I really hesitated when I read the part about 20!!! tablespoons of butter. 20?!? Sure seemed like an awful lot of butter (Paula Deen I am not!) but I trusted Francois knew what he was doing and went ahead and did as the recipe stated.

My loaf baked for about 55 minutes. It smelled wonderful while it baked. Of course, anything chocolate smells wonderful while baking. I found waiting for the loaf to cool in the pan until room temperature and then cool completely before trying it a bit taxing, but being made to be patient is good for me from time to time.

Once sliced I decided it was worth waiting for. I zapped it in the microwave just to warm it up a tad, and the hubby had his with whipped cream on it. It was moist, chocolate-y, nutty and very satisfying. I love nuts in my baked goods and having three different ones, each with it's own texture was great. Along with the chocolate chips with was one rich and yummy loaf. I am not sure how much better it would have been with hazelnuts. Maybe, if I ever find any, I will try this again. But, it was just fine like I made it this time.

Thanks again, Leslie for a great pick. The hubby and I both enjoyed it.

Chocolate with Francois - Chocolate Pecan Tart

2010-12-30T00:58:00.000-05:00

I cannot believe it is the end of December! This past year has just flown by! Has it seemed that way for everyone else, I wonder? Crazy! I hope everyone had a blessed holiday filled with family, friends and lots of joy. :)

It was my privilege ( or should I say is?) to end the year with this month's pick for Chocolate with Francois. My first pick was a bit fancy...Chocolate Paris-Brest. It was very impressive when finished and tasted good, but this go round I wanted something a bit more down to earth. Right away I knew I would bake the Chocolate Pecan Tart, again. I have baked this tart at least three times. My hubby absolutely loves it and while I am not big on pecan pies, I think this tart is wonderful! And, this time I added a secret ingredient, which I will share with you, and only you. :)

The only negative thing about this post is the fact that there is no picture of a slice of the tart. By the time I got around to slicing it the lighting was terrible. Then, though I told myself over and over not to forget, I kept forgetting to take a picture each time I cut another slice from the tart. And, soon, there were no more slices to photograph!

This is a fairly simple tart to put together. For me the scariest part was making the candied pecans. I was so afraid I would burn them that I checked them every minute or so. But, they turned out fine.

My tart crust wasn't the one from the book. I am extremely fond of the sweet tart dough from Dorie Greenspan's book and use it whenever I need a tart dough. It is so very easy to put together and has turned out perfect for me every time. Why fix something if it isn't broke, right? :)

I also ended up baking my tart about 40 minutes if memory serves me right. Oh, and I had about a cup or more of the filling left over that wouldn't fit in the tart pan. Not sure if my crust was too thick (it didn't seem to be) or my pan too small (it was a 9" pan), but I couldn't get all the filling to fit in the pan. And, I had no chocolate chips so I used chopped bittersweet and milk chocolate instead. I almost forgot to share with you the secret ingredient! That was espresso powder. I added a teaspoon of it to the filling and it added a wonderful layer of flavor...sweet, mocha flavored filling with crunchy pecans, bits of bittersweet and milk chocolate in a tender buttery tart crust. Heaven on a plate! This one is so good. Try it for yourself. Here's the recipe...

Chocolate Pecan Tart

Candies Pecans

Vegetable cooking spray, for the pan

1 1/4 cups (125 grams) pecan halves

1/2 cup (60 grams) granulated sugar

Filling

1/4 cup (25 grams) all-purpose flour

1 cup plus 3 tablespoons (340 grams) light corn syrup

3/4 cup (155 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar

Pinch of salt

4 large eggs

12 tablespoons (6 ounces; 180 grams) unsalted butter, melted

Tart shell

1/2 cup (95 grams) semisweet chocolate chips

One 9-inch tart shell made from Sweet Tart-Dough (page 249) unbaked

(this is where I used Dorie's recipe)

Make the Pecans: Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Generously spray a baking sheet with vegetable cooking spray. Place the pecans in a bowl.

Place 1/4 cup (60 grams) water and the granulated sugar in a meduim saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, and immediately pour over the pecans.

Stir the mixture with a silicone spatula, then pour it in the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, until the pecans are candied and golden brown. Check the pecans every 5 minutes, as they can turn from golden brown to burnt very rapidly. Remove from the oven, and lower the heat to 350 degrees F if you plan on baking the tart immediately. Let the pecans cool fully.

Make the Filling: Place the flour, corn syrup, brown sugar, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until the mixture is well combined. (I added the espresso powder here) Add the eggs and beat until the mixture is smooth, then add the melted butter and mix until it is incorporated. Remove from the mixer. If not using immediately, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Assemble the Tart: Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F if necessary. Place the candied pecans and chocolate chips into the prepared tart shell. Pour the filling over the nuts and chocolate, and bake for about 30 minutes, until the tart shell is golden and the filling is set but still soft in the middle. Remove the tart from the oven and set it aside to cool completely before serving.

If you haven't made this tart, I highly recommend giving it a try. If you have made it, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Thanks to all the CWF bakers who joined me this month. Be sure to stop by CWF & see who did join me. :)

Oh, one more thing. I must apologize to my fellow group members for not posting last month's finished product. I did make the Chocolate-Coconut Rochers and fully intended to post how they turned out, but one thing led to another and next thing I knew it was the middle of December. I have included a couple of pictures as proof. :D I really liked these the first day, freshly baked and just cooled enough to bite into them without burning my mouth. After that though, they did not improve with age. The next day they were soft, and almost gummy. The day after that...I ended up tossing the few that were left. I only baked half the recipe and probably ate half of those baked the first day, so I didn't feel too bad about tossing two or three away. :}

Chocolate with Francois - Chocolate-Honey Madeleines

2010-10-30T17:09:00.000-04:00

Prior to this month's choice, by Julie of Little Bit of Everything, I had never baked Madeleines. I have seen them, and the pans for them, but never had any desire to try them. They looked to me to be fussy cookies, and I assumed they would be a lot of work and they just didn't interest me. Having said all that, when I saw that it was Julie that had picked this recipe I decided I had to give it a go. The fact that they were chocolate madeleines certainly didn't hurt. :)

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. These cookies were really quite simple to pull together. I decided to only bake half of the recipe, not knowing if I would like them or not. I had all the ingredients on hand except for the orange. However I did have orange extract and added a scant 1/4 teaspoon in place of the zest. I had everything mixed up and in the fridge in less than 30 minutes.

I ended up baking the Madeleines the following night after I got home from Starbucks. I knew if I didn't bake them that night I wouldn't have another chance to bake them before the 30th. So, after the hubby went to bed I heated up the oven and got ready to bake my first ever Madeleines.

Not having a Madeleine pan I used my mini muffin pan. Thanks Julie, for posting that hint. I also used cooking spray to prepare the pan. I used a star tip and pastry bag to pipe the batter into the pan. I was hoping the cookies would retain the swirls. They didn't. :( But, they baked up in the time recommended in the recipe and smelled delicious as they baked.

When I pulled the pan from the oven I saw I had about a dozen mini muffins. As I mentioned, no ridges or swirls remained after baking. I flipped them onto the prepared pan and after placing the pan in the sink, I picked up one to try. What? Thirty seconds isn't enough cooling time? :D Maybe not, but after smelling them bake I couldn't wait!
Delicious! A bit hot, but so yummy. Tender inside, a slight crunch on the edges. I can't say I tasted the honey. I had my doubts about whether I would taste it considering there was only 1/2 a tablespoon in the recipe. I could taste the orange flavor. It didn't overpower the chocolate, and I like the combination of orange and chocolate. I tried another one, just to be sure the taste and quality was the same. And then tried another one. :) So good! I may have tried one or two more before putting them away. In my defense I was only following the directions in the recipe. Francois says these should be eaten the day they are baked, as they aren't as good the next day. You know what? He's right. The next day I had one and it was nowhere near as yummy as the couple 5, ~~or maybe it was 6~~ that I had the night before. It was chewy-er, rubbery-er (is that even a word!?!). The flavor was still good, but the texture had changed completely. Definitely better eaten the day they are baked, fresh out of the oven.

Overall? I would call them a success. Simple to put together. A lot of flavor. Light and delicious. I would love to try the regular ones as the recipes I have read call for lemon zest. I also think if I made these again I might add a bit more honey and skip the orange zest altogether. See if the honey flavor comes through. So, my thanks to Julie for choosing a great recipe. I am glad to be able to cross Madeleines off my list of things I haven't baked. Still have to try fresh croissants but that will be another day. :) Swing by CWF to see who else tried these and what they thought of them.

One (or several) reason I haven't been blogging lately

2010-10-18T13:47:00.000-04:00

I have a few minutes this afternoon and thought I would try to post some pictures of the reason I haven't been blogging lately. Besides cleaning houses during the day and selling coffee at Starbucks at night, I have had several cake orders in the past two months. Thought I would share a few pictures of them with you. :)

This first one is a topsy-turvy cake I did for a baby shower. It is a White Almond Sour Cream cake with a simple butter-cream icing. I was given an apron and I scanned the design and then used my edible printer to print out several sheets of the design which I cut into ribbons and wrapped around the cake. I used a photo editing program to erase what was written in the hearts and write "baby girl" in each one. (They knew it was going to be a girl). I also cut out one heart and one rose from the pattern and placed them on the cake. It was a big hit at the shower.

The next cake is a birthday cake for a woman who likes the west. Her sister ordered the cake and asked me to do a "western-y" themed cake. This is what I came up with. It is another White Almond Sour Cream cake with the "ground and hills" in Fluffy Dark Chocolate buttercream and the sky and clouds in an Almond buttercream icing. The horse is a frozen buttercream transfer.

After that I did a groom's cake for a UVA graduate. The bride asked me to make a Red Velvet cake with Cream Cheese icing and to make it in a UVA theme. I decided to color the icing blue and ice the cake with it. Then I did a frozen buttercream transfer of the "V". The sabers are made from gum paste colored orange. I heard from the bride (as I was setting up her wedding cake) that everyone, including the groom, loved the cake.

Next we have the first of two weddings I had on the same day. This one was two tiers of White Almond Sour Cream (what can I say...it's my most popular flavor) cake with Cinnamon buttercream and one layer of Espresso Sour Cream cake with Caramel filling. The cake was covered in fondant, which was impressed with a diamond pattern and small silver dragees were attached to each point of the diamonds using royal icing. The flowers are gum paste, hand painted and then dusted with a pearl luster dust. When the bride told me what she wanted I thought it would be too busy, but once I finished setting it up, I loved it!

The other cake that day was actually both cupcakes and a small 8" cake. Around the top of the 8" cake were ribbon roses made from chocolate fondant. The bride had a cupcake stand made and I placed 144 cupcakes iced in almond buttercream colored blue and chocolate buttercream. The 8" cake was to be placed on the top of the stand and used for the bride and groom to cut. They didn't have the cake topper when I set up the cupcakes so the cake with the topper was going to be placed on top of the stand later that day. Which is why I don't have a picture of it on the stand with the topper on it. :) The cupcakes were vanilla, chocolate and white almond. :)

This last one is not really a cake but a 12" chocolate chip cookie. The Mom (who last year I did a "Pizza" cake for one of her other sons) contacted me and asked if I could do a Lego cake only use cookie in place of cake. Turns out this son doesn't like cake or icing. I made all the legos using fondant. The squares and rectangles were easy. Each little nub though was a bit more labor intensive. I cut out the nubs using a #10 icing tip. Then, each block got 4 or 6 drops of water and each nub was placed on the drop of water, gluing it in place. Once dried I used royal icing, sparingly, to attach each block to the cookie. When the Mom picked it up she was thrilled with how it turned out and hugged me. I love baking for people. :)

So, that is one of the reasons I haven't been around lately. Or I guess it's 6 reasons. :) Hope to "see" you soon!

I'm still alive :)

2010-10-09T22:59:00.000-04:00

Long time, no "see". :}

I recently received an email from a fellow blogger/friend, Pam (Thank you for your concern Pam). She noticed I hadn't posted anything recently and wanted me to know she noticed, and to let me know that she was thinking of me and hoped all was okay. So, I thought I would take a couple of minutes tonight and say hello to anyone who has missed me.

Life has been extremely crazy for the last couple of months. I can't recall if I mentioned that my husband's Uncle had been murdered. It was pretty traumatic for the family. The trial for the man accused of the murder was in September. I am glad to say that he was found guilty of the murder and of the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. The jury gave him 3 years for the firearm charge and 25 years for the 2nd degree murder charge. While it won't bring back Uncle Jerry, we are pleased that justice was served.

Then, later last month, my Mom's oldest sister passed away. As much as I wanted, I was unable to go to South Carolina to be with her and the rest of the family. I had two weddings booked on the same day (at the same time an hours drive from each other!) and had to stay at home to take care of business. The cake for one wedding and the cupcakes for the other wedding turned out great. I will post pictures later.

In addition to all that, I have also been busy working...cleaning during the day and Starbucks at night and weekends. Today I worked 9 to 5 at Starbucks. It has left little time for me to do other fun things, like baking and blogging. Not that I am complaining. I am grateful to have the work. But, it seems like the only baking I have done lately has been for customers. I did bake for my Secret Baker last month, and baked for my Secret Baker this month. And, I made some delicious Caramel Crumble Bars after receiving some from my Secret Baker. (Thank you Leslie!) They were soooo good I had to find the recipe and make them again. I baked a delicious Pumpkin bread recipe that I will post later. It makes two 8x4 inch loaves. I kept one and am mailing the other one to my Secret Baker.

I am doing well emotionally at the moment. My doctor has tweaked my medication and we seemed to have found a good combination for me. I am feeling better about myself and my life and finding I have a bit more energy to do the things I need and want to do.

So, for the moment, that's that. :) I promise to try and post on a more regular basis. I am not sure if I can keep up with my commitments to my baking groups and may have to drop out of them. But I will still try and bake an occasional recipe that's picked. In fact, last week I made the Chocolate Ganache ice cream from Dorie's "Baking" book. It was (is) fabulous!! Creamy, rich, so chocolaty. The hubby mentions how good it is each time he has some. :)

Thanks again for checking in on me. It is really nice to know I have friends out there that miss me. <3

TWD - Espresso Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

2010-08-31T00:14:00.001-04:00

I love, love, love shortbread cookies. The sandy, buttery, melt in your mouth goodness that shortbread cookies are all about. And, since finding Dorie's cookbook, I have learned to bake my own crumbly, crunchy shortbread cookies. This week, Donna of Life's too short not to eat dessert first (which is one of my motto's btw!) chose Dorie's Espresso Chocolate Shortbread Cookies. And, what a wonderful choice it was. Thank you so very much Donna! Not only was it a big hit for me, I shared it with the gang at Starbucks and even with a couple of favorite regulars and everyone who tried one Loved! them. Can you say Christmas presents? :)

Super easy to put together. I even made it easier on myself by using mini chocolate chips. I used two packages of Via, Starbucks instant coffee (really good to drink and great in recipes) (And, no, I don't get commission!). The hardest part for me was leaving the dough in the fridge for several hours to chill. Oh, and waiting for the wonderful smelling, as they baked, cookies to bake.

The finished product was a perfect shortbread cookie with a strong coffee flavor and just a hint of chocolate, in spite of how loaded with chips each cookie looks. The espresso was definitely the dominating flavor. Which was fine with me. The only person who really wasn't crazy about these was the hubby. He is not a big coffee drinker and found the flavor to be too strong for his tastes. But, he was in the minority. :)

So once again I would like to send out a great big thanks! to Donna for her choice. This recipe would lend itself to indefinite variations and I can't wait to try some other combinations. Like cinnamon and apple bits. Or chocolate and peanut butter chips. Or pecans and chocolate chips. Hmmm, wonder if it's too late to start a batch now. :) If you would like to see what the other TWD'ers did, go here.

I will leave you with a couple of pictures of my last two cakes. The mermaid cake was for my Starbucks boss's little girls. They were having a combination birthday/pool party Saturday. And the presents cake was for a co-worker of my daughter. A baby shower cake for the soon to be mom.

TWD - Oatmeal Breakfast Bread (muffins!)

2010-08-16T21:07:00.000-04:00

Hi all! I missed the first two recipes this month,(busy working) but I am here with the third recipe for August. That recipe, Oatmeal Breakfast Bread, was picked by Natalie of Oven Love. She has lots of yummy recipes posted and great photos to go along with them. Be sure to stop by and check them out.

I have family visiting right now. My Mom, Dad and younger brother are here from Florida. They will be staying till Wednesday morning. Last night we had a house full with the three of them, me and my hubby, and my two kids came out with their spouses. We had spaghetti, fresh baked bread, and for dessert, chocolate bread pudding (from Dorie's cookbook!) There was a lot of talking and laughing. Tons of pictures taken. Great time!

This morning I decided to bake the Oatmeal Breakfast Bread to have with our coffee. Only I decided to bake muffins instead of a loaf of bread. I thought the muffins would be easier for everyone to grab and eat and that muffins would be ready much quicker than bread.

This was a quick recipe to put together. Mix up the topping using brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans. The batter was easy to mix up. Flour, sugar, eggs, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves,salt, baking powder, baking soda, oil, applesauce. I folded in some raisins that I plumped with some boiling water. Then lined two muffin tins with baking papers and using my large scoop, I filled each of the muffin papers about 3/4 full and popped them into the oven.

I set the timer for about 25 minutes and when I checked them, they were done. I pulled them from the oven and set them out to cool. My brother was chomping at the bit to try them. He said they smelled delicious, which was true. My Dad said he wasn't interested in them, because he doesn't like oatmeal baked...he likes oatmeal in a bowl with milk and brown sugar, but doesn't like oatmeal cookies or oatmeal bread. Kind of like me with bananas. I love bananas fresh but can't take them baked in anything. Mom was neutral, though she did say the muffins smelled good while they were baking.

Once I had photographed the muffins for my blog, I tried one and my brother tried one. Delicious!! Dorie says to wait for the bread to cool before eating it, but the muffins were wonderful warm from the oven. Soft with a tender crumb, and the light taste of cinnamon. The topping was crunchy and sweet. The raisins nice and chewy. I ate two and my brother ate 4!! He was going to eat more, but decided he was going to show a little self-control. :) Mom tried one and talked Dad into trying one. And, he liked them! He was going to have a second one, but thought I had counted them and didn't want to eat muffins that were set aside for someone else. Oh well, he can have more tomorrow morning!

So, thanks Natalie. Great choice! It was a big hit here at my place. If you want to see what the rest of the bakers thought stop by TWD and check it out.

"Chicken" and Dumplings with Oven Baked Carrot Fries

2010-08-06T00:03:00.000-04:00

Back in early July my daughter's best friend, Leslie, posted this message on her Facebook page...

"My aunt is putting together a family cookbook and wants 4 recipes from me. I'm pretty sure I know which ones I want to submit, but I need to make sure the recipes are clear and repeatable. Anyone willing to be a recipe tester for me?"

I should probably mention that Leslie is a Vegan, so that meant that any recipes she wanted tested would be dairy-free, meat-free, egg-free, and so on. Not my usual fare, but I have read Leslie's blog, 'Cause I Eats Me Spinach, and have often thought that many of the dishes look and sound delicious. So, when Leslie posted the request I volunteered to try one or two of the recipes. I offered to try either Oven baked Carrot or Sweet Potatoe Fries, or "Chicken" and Dumplings. Leslie took me up on the offer and sent me the recipes for both dishes. So, last week I gathered all the ingredients I would need and printed copies of her recipes, and dived into my first Vegan dinner.

Other than having trouble getting my hands on the "chicken", all the ingredients were easy to find. Carrots, vegetable broth, garlic, flour, spices. I decided to use frozen spinach in my dish, rather than kale or mustard greens. I know I like spinach and I wasn't sure about the others. :) The chicken I finally found in the refrigerator section in the specialty foods section of a local grocery store.

The main dish was very easy to put together. Leslie's directions are precise, clear and easy to understand. I kept the printed copy of the recipe nearby and referred to it as I put everything together.

The carrot fries were even easier to put together. I have done a similar dish with zucchini in the past and was excited to try the carrot version.

I brought everything to the table, and set it in front of the hubby. Bless his heart, he will eat anything I cook at least once. He has often told me I don't have to make a particular dish ever again, but he always gives it a try. He was a bit apprehensive but dug in.

We were both very pleasantly surprised! The soup was rich and flavorful. The dumplings were soft yet hearty. I cleaned my bowl and looked over to see that the hubby had cleaned his too. Next thing I knew, he was standing by the island, eating "seconds" straight from the pot! Even Patches liked the "chicken"! As for the carrot fries...fabulous! Baking brought out the sweetness of the carrots and the spice blend I used added just enough flavor without overpowering the carrots natural taste.

So, if you would like to give a Vegan dish a try, make it this one! I don't think you will be disappointed. Thanks Leslie! It was fun making this and a delicious surprise eating it! :)

"Chicken" & Dumplings
Serves 2

Soup Ingredients:

1 packet fake chicken product of choice (Morningstar Farms' Chicken-Style Strips, available in the freezer section of just about every grocery store anywhere these days, is perfect for this)
2 to 5 cloves garlic, minced (depending on how much you love garlic; I typically use 4)
1 large carrot, cut into half-rounds
2 handfuls coarsely chopped kale, mustard greens, or collard greens (optional - I love the added color and nutritional value the greens give to the soup)
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 tbsp olive oil, or vegan non-hydrogenated butter substitute (Earth Balance is incredible)
4 cups vegetable broth of choice - the richer in flavor, the better!
1 to 2 tbsp animal-product-free Chicken Seasoning OR a combination of rubbed sage, oregano, thyme, black pepper, and basil
1/2 tsp salt

Dumpling Ingredients:

1 cup flour (I use whole wheat, but I think just about any flour would do)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp olive oil, or room temperature vegan non-hydrogenated butter substitute
1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsweetened plain soymilk, rice milk, almond milk, or vegetable broth

Directions:

1. Brown the fake chicken in a medium-sized skillet with a little olive oil. Set aside.
2. Mix your dumplings: In a bowl, combine all dumpling ingredients and mix until a slightly wet dough is formed. Set aside.
3. In a medium-sized stock pot, heat the olive oil/vegan butter sub over medium heat for just 1 minute. Add the minced garlic and carrot and cook 2 minutes, stirring often to keep the garlic from burning.
4. Add the 1/4 cup of flour and combine with the olive oil/vegan butter sub to make a paste, or roux. Add a little of the veggie broth to help incorporate the flour, if needed, until your roux is a nice, smooth paste.
5. Add the rest of the veggie broth and the seasonings and stir to fully combine. Also add the kale/greens at this point, if you are using them. Bring the soup to a boil, stir in the pre-browned fake chicken, and then make the dumplings by dropping small spoonfuls of the dough into the boiling liquid. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to low, and cook for about 15 minutes, until the dumplings have cooked and the soup is nice and thick.

Oven-Baked Carrot or Sweet Potato Fries
Serves 4 as a side-dish

Ingredients:
8 large carrots or 4 medium-to-large sweet potatoes, washed and peeled
2 tbsp olive oil
1~2 tsp sea salt

Optional Ingredients:
1~2 tsp chipotle chili powder, Garam Masala, or any spice or combination of spices you like, really.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the olive oil, salt, and any spices. Set aside to let the flavors mingle.
3. Chop the carrots or sweet potatoes into large fry-sized pieces. I like "steak fry"-esque wedges for both kinds. These fries - especially the carrot variety - will shrink as they roast in the oven, so you might want to cut them bigger than you think you should. I usually cut a large carrot in half along its length, then cut the thicker upper part into quarters and the narrower part in half.
4. Add the carrot/sweet potato pieces to the bowl and toss to coat evenly with the oil, salt, etc. Spread the pieces on a lightly greased baking sheet so that they aren't touching one another.
5. Let cook in the oven for about 15 minutes. Stir them around a bit, put them back in the oven, and let cook for another 10~15 minutes, until the fries are soft and lightly caramelized. Serve by themselves or with something to dip them in!

Chocolate with Francois - Chocolate Beignets without Creme Anglaise

2010-07-30T06:43:00.000-04:00

Here we are with another installment of the monthly group Chocolate with Francois. This month we are are making Chocolate Beignets with Creme Anglaise. That is the recipe that Julia of Always...leave Room for Dessert picked for July. Be sure to stop by her beautiful blog. Its filled with gorgeous photos and fabulous recipes.

Francois says in his book..."This is my version of the American doughnut: a ball of ganache that is dipped in a great beer-based yeasty batter, then fried and served with a creme anglaise dipping sauce instead of icing..."

I read the recipe and seeing that it served 8, I decided to scale it back. I was also making Chewy, Chunky Blondies that day and knew we didn't need full recipes of two different desserts. And, since the Beignets should be served immediately I decided to just make a few so we could try them, and not spoil our dinner. :)

There are four parts to making these...the batter, the ganache, frying, and the dipping sauce. I decided to skip the creme anglaise. I have made it in the past and while it was delicious, I didn't feel like going to the trouble of making it just to dip a couple of beignets.

I am pretty sure I did my math right with quartering the recipe, but I started having trouble when I added the flour into the beer and yeasty water. Instead of having batter, I had dough. :( I added some more beer until the dough thinned out some and became more batter like.

Then I did the ganache. That turned out fine. I put the little balls in the freezer to firm up before the next step.

I mixed up an egg in a small bowl and put some panko (Japanese bread crumbs) in a another bowl. I added some fresh oil to my fryer and pulled the ganache balls from the freezer. My beer batter had been sitting on the counter and it had bubbled up as described in the recipe.

It seemed weird to dip the luscious ganache balls into egg and then into bread crumbs. After all, that is something that I would usually do with chicken. I tried to then be sure to completely cover the balls with the batter. As I pulled each ball from the batter, I dropped them into the hot oil. Fried them for 2 or 3 minutes, then scooped them out and placed them on paper towels to drain.

I dusted mine with a little powdered sugar. Once I was sure they were cool enough, the hubby and I tried them.

Yummy! The frozen ball of ganache in the center becomes soft and melted. The batter surrounding the ganache is crispy/chewy. The beignets aren't really sweet. But they are delicious! Don't let them cool off and then try to eat them...once cold they become rubbery. They are definitely best served warm from the fryer.

I would like to try these again...perhaps for breakfast some lazy Sunday. And maybe I will make the Creme Anglaise and try them dipped instead of dusted. :) Be sure to stop by CWF to see what the other bakers thought of this pick. Thank you Julia! I really enjoyed these.

Tuesdays with Dorie - Chewy, Chunky Blondies

2010-07-27T17:08:00.000-04:00

I'm baaaaaack! Skipped last week due to the bananas in the recipe and because the hubby and I, with two of our friends, went on a motorcycle trip to NC. We went to Grandfather's Mountain, Linville Falls, and Mount Mitchell. We had a really great time and were gone from Thursday afternoon until late Sunday afternoon. I spent last Monday recuperating from the trip and 827 miles on the back of a motorcycle. Oh, but the sights we saw and the memories we made...well worth the callouses on my butt! :)

This week Nicole of Cookies on Friday picked our recipe, and she picked a winner. I knew when I read this recipe that I wanted to make it. While I am a die hard chocolate fan, every once in a while there is something very comforting about a Blondie. Chewy. Brown sugary. Rich and satisfying. But, I seldom think to make them. It always seems to be brownies.

I was off Monday (as I usually am) and decided to bake for two of my groups...TWD and Chocolate with Francois (which I will post later). (I also made "Chicken" and Dumplings and Baked Carrot Fries and will post about that later too). But, right now, it's all about these Blondies.

I made these just as called for using chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, walnuts and coconut. I had them whipped up and in the oven in no time. I baked mine for 45 minutes, which was when the knife inserted in the center came out clean. About an inch all the way around the border of the pan the blondies were tall. But, the middle or rest of the blondies didn't rise as much. I flipped them out of the pan and then flipped them back over and allowed them to cool.

When I was pretty sure they were cool enough I cut them into small bars. I anticipated them being rich so I cut the bars smaller than I would cut brownies.

Man, are these ever good. Someone in the comments said something about "crack blondies". So true!! These are addicting. They are chewy with a thin crust on top that starts out crispy then disolves into buttery, sugary goodness. Though not usually a big butterscotch chips fan (still don't know why I had a bag of them in my cupboard!) the chips added a warm, caramel-like undertone to the blondie. The walnuts added great texture and the chocolate chips just the right amount of richness. Soooo good!! I'll be right back...

Sorry, I had to go grab another one of these. That last paragraph got my mouth watering. :D

So, thank you Nicole! I loved these and so did the hubby. If you would like to see what the rest of the gang thought of this week's pick, click here. :)

Tuesdays with Dorie - Brrrr-ownies!

2010-07-13T00:12:00.001-04:00

Karen of Welcome to our Crazy Blessed Life picked this weeks TWD choice. She picked Brrrr-ownies. I was excited to see brownies as the choice, until I read the recipe. When I saw that Peppermint Patties were to be used I started having my doubts.

I am not a big peppermint person. I used to like peppermint. But that was before a Christmas party at which I got a little over intoxicated on Rumplemintz, a very potent peppermint schnapps, and finished my night praying to the porcelain god. :}For some reason, ever since that night, long, long ago, I am not too crazy about peppermint. Go figure.

However, the hubby loves peppermint. Peppermint patties, peppermint gum. Peppermint ice cream. I love him in spite of that. And, because I love him in spite of his love of peppermint, I decided to bite the bullet and make these brownies for him.

These were so simple to put together. Melt some chocolate and butter. Mix in some sugar, eggs, vanilla and flour. Fold in some chopped up peppermint patties. I have to admit, it seemed a terrible shame to me to "ruin" a perfectly delicious tasting brownie batter by adding the patties, but I went ahead and added them. Poured the whole bowl of batter into a buttered foil lined pan and baked away.

I peeked at the brownies after about 28 minutes, to see how they looked and was horrified to see white bubbles of peppermint patties oozing up out of the crust. (At this point I had not read the P&Q). I figured it was too late to do anything about it, and left the pan in the oven for another few minutes till they were done.

I followed Dorie's directions for peeling off the foil, but had several spots of brownie/melted patty that stuck to the foil. I forged ahead, grabbed a knife and cut the batch into 16 small bars. Took some pictures and set the brownies aside.

Later, when the hubby tried them, and sang his praises about how delicious and chocolate-y and moist and chewy they were, I decided to try a little bite to see what all the fuss was about.

Wow! These things are soooo good. Dangerously good. Moist. Chewy. Rich. Full of dark chocolate-y flavor. Surprisingly not overly peppermint-y. There is a cooling sensation in your mouth as you eat them, but I really didn't feel like I was eating peppermint patty laced brownies. I loved them!

These I will make again and I am thinking all kinds of candy bar additions...Milky Ways, Snickers, peanut butter cups...the list goes on and on. If you would like to see what the other bakers thought, head over to TWD and find out. Me? I think I might go eat me a brownie. :)

On a different note...I had a busy week (busy compared to how it's been anyway) in my baking business. Thought I would leave you with a few pictures of the cakes and cupcakes I made this week.

Tuesdays with Dorie - Tarte Noire

2010-07-06T00:48:00.001-04:00

So, a really big, BIG thanks to Dharmagirl for this weeks pick. Just awesome! And, check out what the others thought of it by clicking here. :)

Chocolate with Francois - Chocolate Macarons

2010-06-30T00:29:00.000-04:00

Hello fellow Chocolate with Francois bakers! Long time no post from me. I have missed you all and can't tell you how wonderful it is to be back!

This month's recipe was Chocolate Macarons chosen by Leslie of Lethally Delicious . Leslie is a fabulous baker (you really are Leslie!) and someone I am glad to call friend. Be sure to stop by her blog and check out some of the wonderful recipes she has made.

I have made macarons before, but never using this method. I almost didn't make these as I was afraid of the whole cooked sugar into whipped egg whites juggle I would have to do, but, since it had been so long since I had baked with the group, and, since it was Leslie who was hosting, I decided to put my fears aside and just dive in.

I am so glad I did! I did have some of the sugar harden on the side of my mixing bowl and some small pieces of that hardened sugar made it into the cookies, but, other than a few bumps here and there, the cookies turned out wonderful. Well, actually the first batch ended up scorched a little. I think they baked a tad too long and I ended up cutting back on the baking time by 2 or 3 minutes. The rest of the batches turned out perfect. All but a few of the cookies had "feet", that ring of bubbly looking cookie around the bottom edges. Each puffed up and spread out perfectly. I think I could have piped them a bit larger as I ended up with about 50 individual cookies and I only made half the recipe!

The cookies were delicious just plain, no ganache. They were crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. Rich with the flavor of the chocolate. I really had to sternly talk to myself in order to stop eating the cookies as they were cooling on the rack. I kept popping one into my mouth every time I walked by them. :)

I did manage to save a few and dipped them into the cooled and slightly thickened ganache. I didn't think they could be any better than they were, but I was so wrong. The ganache added a whole other dimension of chocolate, richness, and texture to the cookies. Absolutely Fabulous! I lost count of how many I tasted, strictly for quality control purposes. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it! :D)

I had only one complaint. Once the cookies went into the fridge, as Francois says they should be stored, the texture changes. They are no longer crispy on the outside. Don't get me wrong, they were still delicious and it didn't keep me or any of the people I shared them with (the hubby and the gang at Starbucks) from devouring them, but I think I liked them better freshly baked, still crisp and airy. But, crispy or soft, these are some dangerously delicious cookies, at least around me. They are a little bit of work, but so worth the effort. Give them a try!

TWD - Hazelnut/Nutella/Vanilla Cakes

2010-06-29T00:53:00.000-04:00

Here we are again with another Tuesdays with Dorie recipe. This weeks recipe is Rum-drenched Vanilla Cakes that Wendy of Pink Stripes picked. Please be sure to drop by her blog and check out the great pictures of her version...yummy!

I had every intention of making this as the recipe is written. That is my usual routine. I don't often vary from the instructions. I am not that adventurous. At least not when it comes to baking. But, I guess the past year or so that I have been baking with TWD has loosened me up a bit. I have come to realize, mostly from reading the posts of other TWD bakers, that it is not only okay to vary from the recipe, sometimes it can be fun.

Take this recipe. As I mentioned, I was going to play it safe and make this as Dorie suggests. However, a funny thing happened to me on the way to the dark rum...I stumbled upon a bottle of hazelnut syrup I had in the pantry. That made me go "hmmmm". I know the hubby isn't crazy about rum in baked goods. I have tried it a couple of times and he says he can taste it and doesn't like it. So, when I saw the bottle of hazelnut syrup I thought "why not?". In addition to the syrup I decided to toast some hazelnuts I had and add them to the batter.

I followed the recipe exactly for everything else, only I halved it and baked just one cake rather than two. I had some vanilla sugar on hand that I made a while back with some vanilla beans I had and I used it in the recipe.

The cake came together so easily. Not many dishes. And, I liked that I could whip it up by hand and not use the big mixer.

I loved how wonderful it smelled while it was baking. I did have to tent it after about 30 minutes of baking as it seemed to be browning rather quickly.

When it was out of the oven I poked holes all over with a wooden skewer and then brushed about 1/3 cup of the hazelnut syrup over the top. Then I was struck with a ingenious idea...Nutella!! I got out my jar (I always have a jar on hand) and spread a little over the top of the still warm cake.

The verdict? The flavor was fabulous...nutty and buttery with the flavor of vanilla mingling throughout. The texture was terrific. A nice tight crumb, moist and tender. The crust around the edges and sides had a nice crunch to it. I ate a small slice and then decided that I should eat another one, just to be sure it really was okay. :)

I can see making this one again. Next time I will bake two loaves. Swing by TWD and see what everyone else thought of this one.

TWD - Raisin Swirl Bread

2010-06-15T11:18:00.001-04:00

I get a lot of emails from friends and family. Jokes. Stories. Prayers. And questionnaires. You know the kind...what's your favorite season? What's your favorite color? What's your favorite smell? Whenever I am asked what's my favorite smell (and isn't smell a verb??) I always list two...fresh ground coffee and fresh baked bread. Guess the fresh ground coffee explains why I chose to work at Starbucks part-time. :)

As for the fresh baked bread...I don't think there is anything that smells as wonderful as the yeasty aroma of bread as it is baking. Unless you add cinnamon. Cinnamon smells fabulous coming from the oven. Think apple pie or cinnamon buns. So, when I saw that Susan of Food.Baby had chosen Raisin Swirl Bread for this week's TWD I was ecstatic! I love making home-made bread. For me it is an almost zen-like experience. The aromas, the kneading, the blending of flour and yeast resulting in something so wholesome and comforting as fresh bread. I am always much more relaxed after baking fresh bread. What a perfect recipe for me to get back into my baking with.

My only disappointment in this recipe was I didn't get to knead the bread! The kneading is done in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Or at least mine was. I suppose there are those who aren't lucky enough to have an electric mixer with a dough hook, but I am. And, I used it to make this bread.

It came together quite easily. In fact, each step turned out exactly as Dorie writes in the recipe. It rose beautifully and smelled divine even before I baked it. I didn't use the orange zest, as I had no oranges. I was going to add the nutmeg, but forgot. :} I did add the vanilla and the cocoa. I was intrigued by the addition of cocoa and couldn't wait to try it. I love raisins so not adding them was never an option. Well, in all honesty I did think about not adding them, because the hubby doesn't like raisins, but, decided this one was for me!

As the bread baked the house filled with the wonderful aroma of cinnamon and yeast and I found myself taking deep breaths as I puttered around. Within minutes of removing it from the oven I was cutting a slice from the end of the loaf. The swirl inside looked perfect. All along the swirl, like little travelers on a road, were the raisins. The steam rising from the slice was scented with a sugary cinnamon smell. I popped it into the toaster (I always toast raisin bread) and spread some butter over the freshly toasted slice and took my first bite.

Heavenly! The bread had a tender but tight crumb. The crust on the outside was chewy and crisp. The raisins were moist and chewy. The cinnamon swirl was delicious...I did not notice the cocoa, but felt that a bit more swirl would have been nice. In fact, the next time I make this I think I will double the amount of swirl. As easy as this was to put together (lengthy but easy) I can see making it again and again. I took two slices into work and shared it with my co-workers. They loved it! The rest is here, with me. In fact, I had two slices this morning for breakfast. And, I may have two slices for lunch!

So, thank you Susan for such a terrific choice. It was a wonderful way to come back to baking and blogging. If you would like to see who else tried this fabulous bread, look here.

Walnut Chocolate Tart

2010-06-12T22:22:00.001-04:00

Today's dessert is brought to you by the letter "W". The letter "W" stands for walnuts. And warm. And wickedly wonderful! All words that describe this delicious and incredibly easy dessert. Just a handful of simple ingredients, many I know I always have on hand, and I am sure you do too. In no time at all you can have this fabulous dessert baked and cooling on your counter.

I found the recipe for this for tart on the Taste of Home website. My daughter gets their magazine and is always telling me about this or that great meal or baked good. I forget now what I started looking for the day I came across this recipe, I think it was savory tarts, but when I saw the recipe for this tart, I knew I had to make it.

It calls for a simple to make tart crust, that whips up in minutes. But, you could use your own favorite tart crust as long as you prebake it. Then, cook up some butter, brown sugar, dark corn syrup and heavy cream, pour the cooked mixture over a couple of cups of chopped walnuts and put the whole thing back in the oven for about 10 to 15 minutes and, voila! One, simple, delicious, warm (and it is better warm, trust me on that!)

The only change I made to the recipe was I added mini chocolate chips. Everything is better with chocolate, right? and as good as this recipe sounded, I thought it would be better with a little bit of chocolate. I added about 3/4 of a cup of mini chips to the freshly baked crust when I first took it out of the oven. The chips softened and anchored the walnuts that you fill the baked crust with.

The hubby had his doubts when I first told him what was for dessert. Walnut tart? Walnuts in a tart shell? As always, I told him to trust me. He was blown away by it. Said it was one of the best desserts I have made. And, you know what? He might have been right! Give it a try. I have posted the recipe as I found it on the website. Make it that way, or add the chocolate chips. Either way, I don't think you will be disappointed. :)

One last note...thank you all for the kind and thoughtful words you left me after my last post. It warms my heart to know that there are so many people "out there" who care about me and what I am going through. It's nice to be back. :)

Ingredients

1/3 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1 cup all-purpose flour
FILLING:
2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1/4 cup dark corn syrup
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, divided

Directions

In a small bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolk. Gradually add flour just until blended (mixture will be crumbly).
Press onto the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9-in. tart pan with removable bottom. Place pan on baking sheet. Bake at 375° for 12-14 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack.
Sprinkle nuts over crust. In a small heavy saucepan, combine sugar, butter, corn syrup and 2 tablespoons of cream. Boil and stir over medium heat for 1 minute longer. Pour over walnuts.
Return pan to baking sheet. Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes or until bubbly. Cool on a wire rack.
In a small bowl, beat remaining cream until stiff peaks form. Serve tart at room temperature with whipped cream. Yield: 10-12 servings.

Editor's Note: An 11-in. x 7-in. x 2-in. baking pan may be used instead of a tart pan.

Hello...it's me...

2010-06-08T23:40:00.004-04:00

...and I have been lost for a while. I am trying to find my way back. It's slow. But, I know I can do it. I have done it before. I will probably have to do it again. And, I thought perhaps I should share some of it, some insight; that perhaps someone else out there is feeling like I do, that perhaps my pain can help someone. Isn't that what it's all supposed to be about? Reaching out? Helping and being helped? I hope so.

There's a line from a song that goes..."Most of every day is filled with tired excuses. But it's too hard to say, I wish it were simple"...those words touch me, describe me.

Confused? Sorry. I don't mean to confuse anyone. If there is anyone still following me after, hmmm, 5 weeks? 6? (I did hear from someone who missed me. She left me not only a comment, but sent me an email, and I was very touched) Where was I? Right...no posts. No comments left on anyone's blog. No baking. No pictures. Kind of like I fell off the face of the world. That's what depression does to me. Maybe it does the same to everyone, but I can only speak for myself. And, I struggle with depression.

I have actually struggled with it for years. As far back as I can remember. I am often filled with self-doubt. Feelings of worthlessness. Insecurity. Emptiness. Sadness. Tiredness. I look at my life and all my blessings and berate myself for feeling down. For feeling so empty, so inside of myself. I think about doing something that normally brings me joy and calm, and it seems like too much effort. Too much work. I think, why bother?

I can't get to sleep at night, and then I can't get up in the morning. I'm tired. I hurt all over. I feel like I am on the outside looking in. I feel like an impostor. I don't feel anything at all. I am on a roller coaster ride, climbing up and up with feelings of happiness and then plunging down into despair and sadness. I never know when the depression will overwhelm me, when I will begin to feel it's all just too much.

Most of the time I can fake it...I go along day to day, doing what needs to be done, working, cooking, cleaning, interacting with others. But, inside my head, in my heart, there is such emptiness. That's when I feel most like an impostor, most like an actor. Few people know of my struggles. My hubby (poor guy has lived with it for the last almost 20 years), my psychologist ( a wonderful woman I have been seeing for about 8 months now) my doctor (who recently prescribed medication for me) (though after a month on it I haven't seen any improvement). My best friend Linda knew, but she's gone. I have acquaintances, but no real friends. Not like Linda. Not that I feel safe to share how I feel. I am sure no one wants to hear my problems. I am sure that they have better things to do than listen to me whine. When I have a great life. A good husband. Two great kids. A nice home. Work. Food. Clothes. No reason to feel like I do. (If you are reading this and consider yourself my friend, I thank you and beg you not to feel offended. I am just stating how I feel.)

During the day I work alone, cleaning two or three houses. At night, at Starbucks, I work with people I like, people who I laugh with and enjoy working with. But when I get into my car to come home, the emptiness swallows me again. I get home and sit in front of the computer, playing mindless games, then berating myself for not "doing something". Problem is, there is nothing I want to do. I don't want to bake...too much trouble. I don't want to take pictures...nothing interesting to photograph. I don't want to clean my house....too tired. I have an excuse for everything. And nothing.

I am hoping, praying, that the medication I started a month ago will help. I get so tired of feeling this way...like it will never be any different. I have felt this way so much of my life. I used to think it was because I was (am) an alcoholic and drug addict. But, after 23 years of sobriety, and 23 years of still having the same feelings I had when I was using, I realize the drug/alcohol abuse masked the depression. My doctor says the prescription I am on can do wonders for people suffering from depression. She tells me to be patient. That it takes time to take effect. I have dealt with how I feel for all these years...what's a couple more months?

So, I am hoping I am back. I am hoping to get back into those things I love...baking, photography, blogging, life. I am sorry I have not kept up with my baking groups...Tuesdays with Dorie, Have the Cake, Chocolate with Francois...I have missed you all. I am sorry if I have offended anyone with my "confession" here. I mean no harm. I only hope to heal myself. And, perhaps help someone else who might feel like they are alone, that no one feels like they do, that no one would understand...I do. And, I know it's hard. But, I am going to keep hanging in there. Because it will get better. Right?

"I'll mend myself before it gets me...falling down, but I'll rise above this doubt"

I met Ree Drummond aka The Pioneer Woman!!!

2010-05-06T00:20:00.001-04:00

Yep. That's right. I met Ree. The Pioneer Woman. In the flesh. And, she is warm and funny and beautiful and gracious. And, I felt and acted like a tongue-tied, star-struck, groupie. More about that in a minute. :}

I follow Ree's blog, The Pioneer Woman.I have been following her for some time now. I love her photography and hold out hope that some day when I grow up I can make photos that are as gorgeous as hers are. Some of it is her photo editing program, as she will tell you herself. I don't have the same program, but do have an editing program and am learning how to make my photos look better. She is a self taught photographer. And, she's very good.

She also cooks and has published a cookbook. I bought the cookbook a while back and have made several dishes from it. I have also made several dishes from her website. My hubby has loved each dish of hers I have made. It's simple down-home comfort food, the kind hard working cowboys eat. I am not married to a cowboy, but to a hard working southern boy who appreciates a good home-cooked meal. Ree's recipes come through every time. I post the recipes of hers that I make to Foodie Fans of the Pioneer Woman, a blog that loves Ree and her cooking.

It was while reading posts on her website that I noticed she was doing another book signing tour. This one was a short 5 stop tour. One of the stops was going to be Fairfax, VA. I used to live in Fairfax. It's a little over 2 hours from me. I was going to finish cleaning houses early on the day of her visit. I wasn't scheduled to work at Starbucks on the night of her visit. I decided to drive up to Fairfax, with my copy of her cookbook, (and my camera) and meet her.

I left Richmond around 1:30. Ree was scheduled to be at Borders at 6:00. I figured if I got there around 4 or so I would be there plenty early enough. I got to the Borders around 3:30. Went inside to scope the place out and find out what you had to do before the signing. One of the things was to purchase a copy of her cookbook, but they let me in with my own copy. I was given a colored tag and it was explained to me that after Ree did a discussion with the group, she would sign our books. We would be called by colors. I had an orange tag and was told that there were two colors before me. I decided to stay in the store, in the area where the discussion would be. Glad I did. Before Ree showed up, right on time at 6, there had to have been over 100 people waiting to meet her. Maybe more like 150. I am not good with guessing the number of people in a group, but I know the crowd spread out far behind me, and far to the left and right of where I was sitting. There were a lot of people there. Mostly women, but a few men too. A lot of people. I think it took close to an hour and 15 minutes from the time Ree finished taking questions till I was standing at the table she was sitting at to sign books. I pitied the people in the final group. The line of people snaked throughout the store, up and down aisles. Ree greeted each and every person, taking time to say hello and answer questions, allow photos to be taken, accept gifts and sign cookbook after cookbook.

I took a bunch of pictures of Ree as she answered questions from the audience. She took a couple of pictures of the crowd before starting to take questions. I was in the third row of chairs from the podium. Maybe, if she posts the pictures on her blog I will see myself. :)

She shared that Josh's thumb had been reattached successfully and that he was still single. She said she was traveling alone and how wonderful it was to take a long, quiet hot bath the night she arrived at the hotel. She said Charlie hadn't come with her. She told us where she got the great boots she was wearing. She said the movie, Black Heels to Tractor Wheels, was still in the making.

After the question and answer period, Ree took her place at a table on the other side of the store, and we all got into lines, color group by color group, to wait our turn to spend a few minutes with her. As I moved ever closer to the table where she was sitting I thought about what I would say. I thought I might ask about photo editing programs. I thought I might mention that I ended up with my hubby because of twist of fate...I answered a phone call from someone who offered me a job; she went to a bar to meet some friends. And, that we were both city girls who ended up in the country with strong country men. I thought about several other things we might chat about when it was my turn to chat with her.

Yeah, right. Something happens to me when I get near someone who is even somewhat famous or when I have a camera pointed at me. It happened when I met Rusty Wallace many years ago. It happened when I went skydiving and was video taped before and after the jump. And, it happened when I got to the table where Ree was. My brain shuts down, my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth and I face the camera, and the person I am meeting, like a deer caught in headlights! I was cool as a cucumber right up to the time the store employee took my camera from me, and another took my book. I was lightly moved toward the table where Ree sat. She looked up at me, smiled brightly and said "Hi Susan!" (Our names were printed on postie notes and stuck into the books so Ree would know who to make the autograph out to). I stepped up to the table, knelt down on one knee as I babbled about how great it was to finally meet her. The employee with my camera spoke to us and we looked toward her while she snapped a photo. I proceeded to babble something about how happy my hubby was that I cooked her recipes. "Oh, which one does he like the best?", she asked. Ahhh, Ranch Chicken I mumbled. She laughed and said "Bacon and cheese makes everything better!" I think I said something like yes, it sure does, and then I was being handed my camera and book and Ree said "Thank you for coming by" and I said again it was great meeting her and walked off. And, as I walked off, my tongue loosened up and my brain began to function again and I started kicking and laughing at myself for becoming so flustered by the meeting. I was telling my daughter about it today, and her and her hubby shared that they have both done exactly the same thing, recently, when meeting some members from a band they love. We all had a good laugh over our foolishness. :)

So, I now own an autographed copy of "The Pioneer Woman Cooks". And, I have several pictures of Ree and a picture of me kneeling next to her, proving that I was really there. I really did meet her. The Pioneer Woman. Very cool. :)

Buttermilk Snacks (that should be called chicken liver snacks) for Patches

2010-04-29T23:19:00.000-04:00

Hi there!! Long time no write. :} I haven't posted anything since the 20th?! Well, maybe that will change. My hours at Starbucks have dropped off. I was working about 30 hours a week, and this week I only have 20 hours. Next week that number drops to 16 hours. While I will miss the extra wages, it will be nice to be home a few more evenings. I know the hubby likes having me home. He doesn't have to fix his own dinner.

Tonight, since I got home somewhat early from cleaning houses and didn't have to work at Starbucks, I decided to make Patches another kind of biscuit from "Baking for your Dog". This is the first recipe I have baked that had a type of meat in it. These had chicken livers as one of the ingredients. Excuse me while I shudder. Eeewww. Chicken liver. Actually, any kind of liver will make me shudder. When I was growing up, Mom made liver for dinner every other week or so. I never liked it (I think it's a texture thing) and remember sitting at the table, for hours it seemed, until I cleaned my plate. I would cut the liver into teeny tiny pieces and "hide" it in my mashed potatoes to try and get it down. I would hold my nose, I would try and swallow the pieces without chewing them, and, when we had a dog, the dog would help. :) I still hate liver. Eeewww!

Anyway, for my dog, I decided to buy some chicken livers and make these "Buttermilk Snacks". Not sure why these are called Buttermilk Snacks and not Chicken Liver snacks or even just Liver Snacks. There is some buttermilk in the recipe, but not much compared to the amount of liver. But, I digress. Four simple ingredients. Mix them up to make a dough, let it rest, roll it out, cut out biscuits, bake and give to your dog, after they have cooled of course. :) Patches loved them. The hubby thought she wouldn't, because he tried to give her a tiny piece of the unbaked dough, and she turned her nose up to it. But, I had faith. She didn't like several of the other biscuits in dough form either. But, after they were baked? She couldn't get enough of them. Same thing this time. :) If you have a dog, try these. Your dog will thank you.

Buttermilk Biscuits

from "Baking for your Dog"

250 g (9 oz) chicken livers

1 tablespoon sunflower oil

100 ml (3 fl. oz) buttermilk

251 g (9 oz) wholegrain flour

Chop the liver very finely (use a food processor or meat grinder) then stir in the sunflower oil and buttermilk. Add the flour and knead all the ingredients together to make a smooth dough. Cover the dough and let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes

Line a baking sheet with baking parchment.

On a floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1 cm (1/2 inch) thick. Use biscuit cutter-any shape you like- to cut out shapes. Place the biscuits on the baking sheet.

Bake the snacks at 180 degrees C (350 degrees F) for 30 minutes. Turn off the oven and let the biscuits dry in the oven for another hour. Store in a biscuit tin. The snacks will keep for about 2 weeks.