Pantry Revisited

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 ...

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...

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!!!

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 ...

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!

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...

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...

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. ...

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 ...