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Showing posts from 2008

CEiMB - Chocolate Cherry-Almond Biscotti

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Hosted by Enjoying My Favorite Things you can find the recipe for this biscotti on page 302 of Ellie Krieger's cookbook, Craving Ellie in My Belly. I love biscotti. I made big fat whole wheat biscotti with dried cherries, almonds, and chopped dark chocolate. I was out of sugar so I had to use half sugar and half brown sugar. Here it is before it baked. I think I should have flattened the log out more, but the recipe said 10x3 which is what I did. Here is the finished product. They were slightly crumbly. I personally needed them to be a bit sweeter. I also made chicken pot pie in my brand new ramekins that were a gift at Christmas. Apparently, these ramekins are special because my son and daughter-in-law went to a lot of trouble to get them for me. They first bought seven ounce ramekins. Then, in a conversation I told them I wanted big ramekins. So they ordered ten ounce ones for me and took the seven ounce ones back. They said I better like the ten ounce ones and I DO! They are

TWD - Tall and Creamy Cheesecake

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I'm having trouble loading photos onto this blog. . . will try again later. It loads the photos, but then they come out as text on the post. Any suggestions - help anyone??? The Tall and Creamy Cheesecake was chosen by Anne of Anne Strawberry. You can find the recipe on pages 235-237 of of Dorie Greenspan's book Baking From My Home to Yours. Or, you can hop over to Anne's blog and check for it there. Since the beginning of time, chefs all over the world have blended cream cheese, neufchatel cheese, ricotta cheese, and eggs together trying to concoct that perfect cheesecake. The one that will beat all others. If you are like me and you visit a Cheesecake Factory restaurant, you will be in awe of all the different kinds to choose from. I think the famous New York cheesecake has no added ingredients, just more of a plain version. First, let me say that although I am not a fan of cheesecake, I've made plenty of cheesecakes in my day and all of them good. Just last wee

NO TWD this week! Sorry.

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I'm in awe of all of you bakers who are able to run errands, clean house, wrap presents, and still find time to bake food and take photos of it all. I'll be back next week, but with everything I have to cook this week, I just could not find the time to make pudding today. I'm sure it was delicious. I can't wait to read about all of your puddings. Have a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a happy and prosperous new year. I look forward to what 2009 holds for us in baking blogland. I've really enjoyed baking with all of you for the past few months and learning new things every week. Hope "Big Daddy in the Red Suit" brings wonderful surprises to all of you!!!

TWD - Buttery Jam Cookies!

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I'm in love - with a cookie. I prefer not-too-sweet chewy cookies and that is exactly what these are. Additionally, they were incredibly easy to make. And in the middle of the season, with plenty going on already, easy was so nice. Thanks to Heather of Randomosity and the Girl by Heather for choosing this recipe. Check out her site for the recipe. I had two tiny substitutions. First, I sent the yankee to the store to get apricot jam. Of course I get the expected phone call from him saying they did not have apricot jam. So instead we went for spreadable fruit. It worked fine. I am beginning to think this city is lacking in the grocery department. (Not my favorite Publix of course). Second, I had ginger in my pantry. But when I pulled it out to put in the cookies, I discovered there is ginger and then there is ginger. My ginger was a version you use in meats. (Could I be wrong about this?) So rather than go back to the store, I used pumpkin pie spice (which had ginger in it) in the

CEiMB - Ratatouille Tart

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Well better late than never. Today was Craving Ellie in My Belly day and I am a tad late posting. Hosted by The Wiivers - the Ratatouille Tart. It was supposed to snow here today. All I see so far is cold, cold rain. The tart. Surprisingly easy to make. Not surprisingly easy to eat. I made a couple of substitutions. I added a bit of yellow squash to the mix and used chopped onions instead of shallots. You can get the recipe on page 98 of The Foods You Crave by Ellie Kreiger. Note to self - buy a tart pan. I used a regular cake pan and it was difficult to get out of the pan upon completion. The cornmeal crust sort of crumbled a bit. There was no liquor in this dish. Imagine that. I highly recommend this dish!

Barefoot Bloggers - Coq Au Vin

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In our Barefoot Bloggers group, Bethany of this little piggy went to market chose Ina Garten's Coq Au Vin for us to try this week. Thanks Bethany! Does anyone know where the phrase "under the weather" comes from? Well that is me. I'm not sure if I am under it or over it or crushed by it, but it has been a challenge of a week physically. I decided a good chicken dish might be just what the doctor ordered. My Yankee has fallen ill today too and we are just hoping he manages to recover quicker than I have. We are getting so far behind on our Christmas festivities. We missed one dinner party last weekend and this Friday night is my big Christmas dance. I'm hoping Mr. Man will be well enough to attend with me or I will have to dance solo. Of course it never fails when I go to the store that I forget to buy one or two ingredients that I need, or that they are out of said ingredient. This time I forgot the mushrooms. So we are dining tonight on Coq Au Vin without mushro

NO TWD this week!

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Well tis the season - the season to be sick that is! I somehow came down with the flu bug - YIKES -and I don't have time for this right now!!!! Just cannot cook this week - check back with me next week. Check out http://tuesdayswithdorie.wordpress.com/ to see what the other bakers are up to this week. For stopping by my blog, I'll leave you with a bit of history about the candy cane! The TRUE Story of the Origin of the Candy Cane A candymaker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that would be a witness, so he made the Christmas Candy Cane. He incorporated several symbols for the birth, ministry and death of Jesus Christ. He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy. White to symbolize the Virgin Birth and the sinless nature of Jesus, and "hard" to symbolize the Solid Rock ~ the foundation of the Church and the firmness of the promises of God. The candymaker made the candy in the form of a "J" to represent the precious name of Jesus, who came to earth as ou

CEiMB - Jewel Roasted Vegetables

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This week's recipe was chosen by A Year From Oak Cottage . I had doubts at first. Even though I like beets, I have never eaten a fresh beet much less looked for them in the market. The clerk tried to charge $3.00 per beet, but finally rang up the $3.00 for the entire bunch. I thought that was still a bit spendy. And what do you do with all that greenery that comes with? I once took a photography course. Don't snicker. I can hear you! Apparently I did not learn much. Note my carrot teepee below. It might look more like orange towers, but don't be deceived. It's a teepee. I get bored with just chopping sometimes. I added one large yellow onion to my vegetables. I was surprised at how easily the beets peeled after cooking them. However, I had red fingernails when I finished. Yikes. Should have worn gloves. I forgot to buy fresh thyme, so it cooked without that. My kids have asked me for a list of things I want for Christmas. I'm having trouble coming up with things.

TWD - Linzer Sables

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Living the Life by noskos chose Linzer Sables for this week's TWD challenge! Excellent choice, especially with the holidays right around the corner. I am exhausted from my trip to Orlando. Therefore, I make no apologies for bad photos, misspelled words, or incomplete sentences. Or bad hair. Linzer Sables are cookies, easy to make, easy to eat. I used pecans instead of almonds. I told the yankee that once we returned from our Thanksgiving trip I was going on a diet to lose a few inches around my middle so that my Christmas dress would fit. Right now it doesn't. So I show up to work this morning and my sweet friend, June, surprised me with brownies. My favorite. So I did what any sweet, loving, friend would do and I ate them. I shared, but I also ate. Ok, back to the Linzers. Here is a photo of my piecrust, oops I mean cookie dough. Here are the beautiful flowers my son, Cameron, sent me for my birthday last week. I like this picture better than the cookie dough one, don't

Barefoot Bloggers - Chicken Tortilla Mexican Soup

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This week my Barefoot Contessa's recipe was chosen by Judy of Judy’s Gross Eats . I love soup so I was really thrilled to get to try this one. I went to the store, list in hand, and got all the ingredients I needed. Or so I thought. Once I started chopping and cooking, I realized I had purchased tortilla chips rather than the fresh corn tortillas. I sent my DH to the store with yet another list. As usual, he called from the store and said he had been to two grocery stores and there were no tortillas. He was tired and he was coming back with taco shells as a formidable substitute. One store had a space for them he said, but they were sold out. I did not have the heart to fuss at him for trying. So my soup is sans tortilla strips. I broke up some of the taco shells and threw in there, but I doubt it is the same as the fresh tortillas. We loved this soup and I will be making it again this winter! It had a tiny kick to it and was very tasty. Here is the recipe if you want to try it! M

TWD - Twofer Pie

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Beautiful tree, but no TWD. Sorry, I am traveling this week and time does not permit me to make this week's selection. But be sure to check out everyone else's wonderful pies on Tuesdays with Dorie. And today is my birthday - I'm not cooking today!! I kind of feel like being pampered. . . just this once! Back next week and a very happy holiday this week to all of you wonderful bloggers! May you have safe journeys and many blessings this Thanksgiving!

New Awards!

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I'm so excited. I love getting presents and to me an award is like a surprise present! Nancy of The Dogs Eat the Crumbs sent me this award and thank you so much Nancy for thinking of me!I'm truly touched. I think it is the prettiest and coolest award I have seen! Of course, there are always rules that go with awards. You have to pass to ten friends. I always find that to be the hardest part because there are way more than ten blogs that I enjoy reading each week! I'm passing to you, but just because I want you to know that I love reading your blog. If you do not have time to pass it along, I certainly understand that! And this award is apparently getting around fast so you may get this more than once. I hope you do of course! All of you inspire me. I have learned so much from each of you. Happy baking this week and happy Thanksgiving! 1. Amy Ruth Bakes 2. Andrea In The Kitchen 3. Anne Strawberry 4. Chocolatechic by Tanya 5. Culinary Delights by Marthe 6. Flourchild by Mich

CEIMB - Oven Fried Chicken

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Did you know there is actually a Fried Chicken holiday? It is on July 6. Crazzzzy. All you have to do on that day is eat some fried chicken. Heck, everyday for me could be fried chicken holiday! I could handle it. I've even been craving fried chicken. Then I joined a new group. How odd that this week's choice for Ellie Kreiger's Craving Ellie in My Belly was oven fried chicken. Hosted by Lonely Sidecar . Thanks! I'm so excited about this group because the recipes are healthy! I seriously could not take a pretty picture tonight of my wonderful oven fried chicken. And it was worthy ... sooooo worthy. It called for four chicken breasts. I had three, but they were large. Mammoth even. It called for sesame seeds, I used sunflower seeds. It called for yogurt, I used buttermilk. But the end result was fantastic. It was the juiciest, crunchiest, wonderful chicken. I've never had any fried chicken that was better than this - and I am a true Southerner wher

TWD - Arborio Rice Pudding - Black or White

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Isabelle of Les gourmandises d’Isa by Isabelle chose the Arborio Rice Pudding for this week's baking challenge. I love rice pudding so I could not wait to make this. Thanks Isabelle for a great choice! After going to three different grocery stores looking for arborio rice, I finally found it. It was in a beautiful jar and was $5.99. I didn't care about the cost because I actually had the rice in my hand and was on my way to making my pudding. After getting home with it and checking out the recipe and seeing that only 1/4 cup was used I was like - what am I going to do with all this rice I bought! Oh well, I'm sure I'll find a use for good risotto rice at some point and I have this lovely jar to boot! It took forever to cook. Thank goodness for all the comments left by fellow TWDers and even Dorie herself saying the timing was off in the recipe. By the time it was done, for just one second I was actually thinking minute rice would have worked, right? Don't slap me,

BAREFOOT BLOGGERS Herb Roasted Onions

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I'm married to a meat and potatoes kind of guy. That's all there is to it. I keep telling the Yankee that because I am skinny I would love to have more meat and a couple of larger potatoes (if you know what I mean), but he seems happy with me the way I am. That is, as long as I keep feeding him good food! Having said that, there are three things that he absolutely will not eat - bell pepper, turnips, and ONIONS! So when Kelly from Baking with the Boys chose Herb Roasted Onions for this week, I was a bit sceptical of how I was going to incorporate it into our menu and keep Yank on the happy side. I decided to add something to it that he loves and maybe I could save the marriage. So I added - you guessed it - potatoes! I forgot to buy thyme at the store, so I had to leave that out. Also, I was not sure how large the onion wedges were supposed to be, so I cut each onion into four large ones. I was a bit disappointed in how little dressing there was. I barely had enough to cover

TWD - Kugelhopf

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Yolanda of The All-Purpose Girl chose Kugelhopf for this week's challenge. Thank you Yolanda! Excellent choice. First, I did not own nor could I find in our local stores a kugelhopf pan. So my friend Amanda at Beckett Bakes It by Amanda and I were discussing our dilemma and we decided maybe a bundt pan would work as a substitute. They look very similar. However, unlike a kugelhopf pan, a bundt pan does not resemble a turk's head mold or a turban. So, amidst my kitchen being not only a construction zone, but a danger zone as well, I began to mix my cake. First, I plumped my raisins in the boiling water, but then I soaked them in rum. I wanted a little more taste to the cake. Now let’s talk batter. My batter never crawled up my dough hook. I wouldn’t say it even had future intentions of crawling up anything, much less a dough hook. After 10-12 minutes of beating, I decided to call it good and figured I had done something wrong. So I poured, yes I’m telling you poured, my batt

Award!

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My sweet friend Laura of she's cookin' now! has sent me this award. I am sincerely touched! Most of the time I feel like I am this average person, average cook, average blogger, average everything, and then along comes a nice surprise like this! Thank you so much Laura for thinking of me. However, nothing comes free in life right? Now she wants me to answer questions about myself. Seven of them. And I have to pass the award on to seven other TWD friends! That will not be easy either because there are so many out there worthy of this award and yet I can only pass to seven. Seven things I say most: I'm so over it! Shut up, are you serious? What's for dinner? You have GOT to be kidding me? When is the kitchen going to be finished? I hate incompetence! Love you Seven things I did before: (My question is before what?) played league tennis taught art appreciation to first through fifth graders Taught beginning piano lessons Was on a bowling league Went to South America on a

Tuesdays With Dorie - Rugelach

Sorry fellow TWDrs. Because of our kitchen remodeling project (overwhelming now) I could not enter the kitchen this weekend to manage baking my rugelach. I'm going to make them - I am! But it simply will not be this week. Hopefully next weekend I will have a kitchen and be back in business. Piggy of Piggy’s Cooking Journal chose the Rugelach this week and from the rave reviews I am reading it must be delicious. Check out her link to get the recipe and try it for yourself. Stay tuned for new pictures of the kitchen re-do. Coming next weekend.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN and the WINNER IS . . . . . .

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CONGRATULATIONS to Tea and Scones by The Tea Lady who is the winner of my Pay-It-Forward give-a-way! Tealady please email me so that I can get your email address in order to deliver your Williams-Sonoma Giftcard. Sorry I could only have one winner this time, but honorable mentions go out to Julie Peanut Butter and Julie for leaving so many sweet comments, and to Amanda at Beckett Bakes It by Amanda for making a special effort to leave me a comment while vacationing in Jamaica this week! I want to also say thank you to all the TWDr's that have been so encouraging to me with all their comments. You are all very special to me! Have a safe and happy Halloween!

TWD - CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

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COME JOIN THE HALLOWEEN PARTY! Costumes, Food, Fun, and Prizes! It was an eeery Saturday night, with a slight chill in the air, and spirits were restless. So the DH and I dressed up in our costumes and had the local witch fly us over to the annual Halloween Party at our dance club. Let's hope that big bad wolf doesn't decide he is hungry. Well, I know him personally and he's not big or bad really, but he is usually hungry. Guess what is hiding in Little Red Riding Hood's basket? If you guessed Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes, you guessed correctly. I thought, why not kill two birds with one stone? I wanted to bake these cupcakes for TWD this week, and I needed to take food in my basket to the party - so that worked out perfectly for me! The only problem was since Lil Red Riding Hood only had twelve cupcakes, she had to be selective as to who would get to sample those tasty morsels and not seem to others like she was hoarding them for herself. Thanks to all the TWD comment