Based on your responses to my last post, it seems that banana bread and banana cake are blogger favourites! Now that I know what you like, allow me to suggest an accompaniment to your bananas:  rum.

I’m fairly late to the world of rum admirers. To be honest, until I started baking this butter cake with rum glaze, I’d rarely tried rum. But it’s fair to say that I am now a huge fan. And I have gone on to discover that just as coconut goes well with chocolate, rum goes very well with bananas.

While I managed to use most of our overripe bananas for the mini banana cupcakes that I made, I still had some in the fruit basket, waiting to meet their fate. But instead of making more banana cupcakes, I turned to one of the Cream Puffs in Venice Flavours of the Month for November 2006:  More From ACE Bakery. Linda Haynes’ book includes a recipe for banana fritters that she and her family would enjoy while on vacation. I had all the ingredients, but I thought I’d go a step further by adding both rum and coconut to my fritters.

Wow! I would gladly start each day with these fritters. Crispy on the outside, and soft and sweet on the inside. They ooze banana and the hint of coconut and rum is just right.

I must thank Linda Haynes for sending me a copy of More From ACE Bakery. It’s been lots of fun discovering this book and also finally trying some of the bread recipes from her first book, The ACE Bakery Cookbook. While the bread reciopes are rather involved, once you read through them a few times, you’ll see that they’re actually quite simple. There are a lot of steps involved, to be sure, but they’re not hard and anyone with even minimal baking experience should be able to produce some pretty nice bread.

Because the cookbooks contain so much more than just bread recipes, I think they’re very useful. If you’re looking for some new cookbooks to add to your collection or if you’re looking for gift ideas for the baker you know and love, you might want to consider these ones.

Well, that’s it. November is over. Come back tomorrow to see what the Flavour of the Month for December is!

Ciao!

Banana Fritters with Rum and Coconut

Adapted from More From ACE Bakery by Linda Haynes.

• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. kosher salt
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 tbsp. coconut extract (optional)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp. dark rum
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• vegetable oil for frying
• sugar (for garnish)
• 1 or 2 limes, cut into quarters (for garnish)

1. In a bowl, combine the sugar, baking powder, all-purpose flour, raisins, cinnamon and salt.
2. In another bowl, mix together the mashed bananas, the coconut extract (if using), the vanilla extract and the rum. Mix well.
3. Add the sugar mixture and mix well.
4. In a frying pan, heat enough vegetable oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Once hot, drop in tablespoonfuls of the batter. Fry for a few minutes on each side, or until golden brown.
5. Once cooked, remove the fritters to a plate lined with paper towels and sprinkle with sugar.
6. Serve the fritters with the quartered limes. Squeeze the lime juice on the fritters before eating.
7. Enjoy!

Note:  You should get anywhere from 15 to 20 fritters depending on size. These should be eaten right away.

Technorati tags:  bananas, fritters, rum, coconut, ace bakery

When I bid adieu to the October 2006 Flavour of the Month, I promised that you’d be seeing Tish Boyle’s book on this blog again and again. So far, I’ve tried about a third of the recipes from the book and they have all been winners. To be sure, some were more winning than others like the chiffon cake, for example. This book hasn’t let me down yet!

Last week, I found myself staring at a basket full of too ripe bananas and it made me think of a quote from Tish’s book about "banana management." She talks about how she’ll buy bananas, but never seems to use them up fast enough. I can relate. I always have the best intentions when buying bananas, but no matter what, I always end up with at least three or four that are far too ripe to eat.

Thank goodness for banana bread! Like most people, I have a favourite banana bread recipe, but I decided to try a banana cake recipe from Tish’s book. It’s a very standard recipe, most likely similar to many of the countless other recipes out there. But instead of baking this in a cake pan, I decided to go the mini cupcake route. You know sometimes I think it doesn’t matter what you bake, put it in a mini cupcake pan and people will fall all over it. They’re just so cute!

Fortunately this banana cake was delicious as was the frosting, which is an adaptation of a cream cheese frosting from The Cake Book. I topped it all off with a sprinkling of freshly grated nutmeg on the top of each cupcake.

Perhaps I have a future in banana management after all!

Ciao!

Mini Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Adapted from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle.

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cake and pastry flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp. honey (preferably light honey)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt (full fat)
• 2 or 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (you can toast them if you like but I don’t)

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. If using a mini muffin tray, either line the tray with paper liners or butter the mini muffin tray if not using paper liners. Alternatively, you can use mini paper cups as I did. If using paper cups, arrange the paper cups on a cookie sheet. (You will need 35 to 40 paper cups for this recipe.)
3. In a bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, the cake and pastry flour, the baking powder, the baking soda, the cinnamon and the salt. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, on low speed, mix the butter with the paddle attachment until it’s smooth.
5. Add the granulated sugar, the honey and the brown sugar and mix on medium speed until fully incorporated and creamy (2 to 3 minutes).
6. Add the eggs and the vanilla extract and mix for another 2 to 3 minutes (scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally).
7. Add the sour cream and mashed bananas and mix on low speed until combined (about a minute or so).
8. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until combined. Don’t over mix.
9. Once combined, remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the nuts.
10. With a tablespoon, spoon the butter into the mini muffin tray or into the paper cups. (You may want to try doing this with a piping bag if you have one on hand.)
11. Bake the cupcakes for 20 minutes and then test for doneness by inserting a cake tester into the centre of one of the cupcakes. If it comes out clean, they’re done. If not, bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes and test again. In my oven, these took about 25 minutes, but I suggest you check after 20 minutes as ovens vary.
12. Once done, remove the cupcakes from the oven and let cook completely on a wire rack. If you used a mini muffin tray, once the cupcakes are cool you can remove them from the tray.
13. Dust with icing sugar and serve or top with Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows).

Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 package cream cheese (8 ounces), softened
• 1/2 cup butter (4 tbsp.), softened
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup icing sugar, sifted (keep some extra icing sugar on hand in case you need it)
• nutmeg (for sprinkling)

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, with the paddle attachment, mix the cream cheese and butter on low speed until smooth (about 1 minute).
2. Add the vanilla extract, the cinnamon and the salt and mix on low speed until combined (about 1 minute).
3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then add the icing sugar. Mix on low speed at first, just until combined. Increase the speed to medium and mix for at least 2 minutes. The cream cheese frosting should be light and fluffy. If it’s not thick enough, add a bit more sifted icing sugar.
4. Once ready, use the frosting immediately. You can either dollop the frosting onto the cupcakes with a spoon, or you can use a piping bag to pipe the icing on the cupcakes.
5. Once you’ve frosted all the cupcakes, top each with just a tiny bit of nutmeg. Don’t use too much because nutmeg can be overpowering.
6. Enjoy!

Note:  I used mini paper cups and got about 40 cupcakes. You can store the frosted cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a day. Unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen for up to a month. The cream cheese frosting should be used immediately. I love the flavour of bananas and honey so I always add some to my banana bread. You can omit the honey if you like.

Technorati tags:  bananas, mini cupcakes, tish boyle, the cake book

When I received an e-mail from Zorra of Kochtopf about her latest one-off event, Onion Day, I required no convincing. Having missed her Bread Day event, I immediately set about thinking of a recipe I could try to showcase the onion.

Is there a more versatile, important ingredient in the kitchen than the onion? I suppose one could argue that salt or butter might give the onion a run for its money. Nevertheless, I suspect that virtually every culture and type of cuisine utilizes what I shall from now on refer to as "the workhorse of the kitchen" … the most humble onion.

They’re a member of the lily family, they can be spicy or sweet, and they almost always make me cry. For my contribution to Zorra’s event, I decided to try my hand at onions baked in in their skins. I’d had my eye on a recipe in a book I bought earlier this year called Al Forno by Maxine Clark. The book includes a recipe for baked red onions with raisins and capers, in a glaze of white wine and red wine vinegar.

I had shallots and cipolline on hand, and my glaze consisted of champagne and balsamic vinegar with some rosemary thrown in for good measure. Just out of the oven, the onions were tender and the sweet glaze was perfect with the slightly spicy onions. The leftover onions were delicious in a sandwich with cured meats. Wonderfully rustic, this is a quick dish that’s perfect as an accompaniment to any main course.

Zorra, thank you for inspiring us to give onions the the credit they deserve!

Ciao!

Cipolline and Shallots with Champagne and Balsamic Glaze

Adapted from Al Forno by Maxine Clark.

• 10 to 15 cipolline and shallots, mixed
• 3 to 4 tbsp. olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup champagne
• 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• sprig of rosemary

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cut a cross in the top of each onion, but do not cut all the way through.
3. Place the onions in a small baking pan and drizzle with the olive oil.
4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
5. Bake for 30 minutes and then test the onions for doneness by piercing them with a sharp knife. If the knife penetrates the onion easily, they’re done. If not, continue baking until done.
6. Remove the cipolline and shallots from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes. Make the glaze while the onions are resting.
7. Place the champagne and balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, throw in the rosemary sprig.
8. Boil until reduced by half. The mixture should have a syrupy consistency. Remove the rosemary sprig.
9. Place the cipolline and shallots on a serving plate. Drizzle with the glaze and sprinkle on a bit more salt and pepper. Garnish with the rosemary sprig and serve.
10. Enjoy!

Technorati tags:  onion day, onions

There is nothing that Cream Puffs like more than long, slow, decadent Sunday breakfasts. Sometimes it’s pancakes, sometimes it’s waffles and sometimes, it simply has to be French Toast. Now that I have taken my first baby steps in the world of bread baking, I thought it was high time that I tried my hand at actually baking the bread that we’d use for Sunday morning breakfast.

Generally, I favour challah or sour dough bread for French Toast. Challah seems to be a favourite among Sunday brunchers, but I like the taste of tangy sour dough that’s a few days old and then dipped in an eggy/milky mixture and cooked in lots of butter. I suppose I’d like anything cooked in lots of butter.

But for my attempt at baking bread for French Toast, I decided to try my hand at a recipe for pain au lait from Linda Haynes’ The Ace Bakery Cookbook. As you know I’m featuring this book, as well as Linda’s newest, More From Ace Bakery, as the Cream Puffs in Venice Flavours of the Month for November 2006. The Pain au Lait is from Linda’s first book and forms the basis of many subsequent recipes in the book including bread pudding.

Pain au lait, as the title suggests, is bread made with milk. The bread begins with a starter of yeast, water and unbleached hard white flour (flour that is very high in protein). The starter is allowed to ferment for about six hours, at which point it is ready to use.

The dough for the bread consists of water, more unbleached hard white flour, semolina flour, sugar, butter, whole milk, eggs, yeast, salt and of course the starter. Once the entire mixture has been combined and kneaded to the point where the dough is smooth, you let the dough rise for a few hours, or until it has almost doubled in size.

The dough can be shaped and baked in loaf pans, or it can be shaped into boules (or whatever other shape you  prefer). After another two to three hours of rising time, the loaves are baked in a hot oven for about 40 minutes.

The end result are very light loaves with a lovely golden crust. The crumb reminds me of brioche, but isn’t quite as eggy or heavy as brioche. The bread generally has a slightly sweet taste and is perfect for soaking up butter, jam or whatever else you choose to top it with.

I decided to use my pain au lait for one of my French Toast favourites:  Coconut French Toast. Instead of mixing milk, eggs and sugar for the French Toast base, I like to use coconut milk, eggs and sugar. I also add a few drops of coconut extract to really emphasize the coconut flavour. I defrost a handful of the blueberries I squirrel away during the summer and somehow the little blue gems don’t make me feel so bad about all the butter and syrup!

Ciao!

Coconut French Toast

Adapted from Brunch by Louise Pickford.

• 8 slices of bread (I like to use challah or sour dough, but today used pain au lait), thickly cut (about an inch)
• 1 cup canned coconut milk (use full fat coconut milk)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 tbsp. sugar or maple syrup
• 1 tsp. coconut extract (optional)
• 1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• butter (for the frying pan)
• icing sugar
• blueberries

1. In a large bowl, combine the coconut milk, the eggs, the sugar or maple syrup, the coconut extract (if using) and the vanilla extract. Whisk until well combined.
2. Melt a few tablespoons of butter in a large fry pan.
3. Dip a slice of bread in the coconut milk/egg mixture, letting it soak up the liquid for about a minute on each side.
4. Place the bread in the melted butter and saute until it’s nice and golden on each side (about 2 to 3 minutes). Transfer to a serving dish.
5. Repeat with the remaining slices of bread.
6. Once the bread has all been cooked, dust with icing sugar and serve with blueberries and lots of butter and syrup.
7. Enjoy!

Note:  Serves 4. The original recipe from Louise Pickford uses panettone as the bread of choice.

For some other posts about pain au lait, check out these posts:

• Rosa’s Yummy Yums
• Banlieue Blog

Technorati tags:  pain au lait, ace bakery, french toast, coconut

It’s Friday evening and I for one am seeking refuge from this cold Autumn night with a cup of hot tea and a weekend’s reading worth of holiday magazines. But wait. Something is missing.

Is it chocolate? No, I have that.

Is it my favourite blankie? No, I have that.

Is it Daniel Craig? Just kidding … I don’t have that … wish I did, though.

Ah, yes. I know what it is.

I don’t have anything sweet.

But this is not a problem. I shall remedy that with a delicious apple pastis based on a recipe I found at www.epicurious.com. Warm and spicy, it goes perfectly with my tea. So I shall spend my evening drinking tea, eating apple pastis and dreaming about my 13-course holiday dinner with Daniel Craig.

What?

I’m allowed.

Have un bon weekend!

Ciao!

Apple Pastis

Adapted from a recipe at www.epicurious.com. For the original recipe, click here.

• 1 cup, sliced blanched almonds (you can toast them if you like, but I don’t)
• 3-1/2 to 4 pounds apples (between 8 and 10 depending on size), peeled, cored and cut into thick slices (I used Gala apples as in the original recipe.)
• 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 10 phyllo sheets, thawed (I used a standard package of phyllo. The sheets were about 17 x 12 inches)

1. Place a rack in the centre of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.
2. Combine the apples, the lemon juice and 1 tsp. of the cinnamon. Set aside.
3. In a large pan, combine 1 tbsp. of the butter, the honey and granulated sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring often until the sugar has dissolved.
4. Raise the heat to medium-high and continue cooking for 5 to 6 minutes until the mixture reduces slightly and turns a golden colour (be careful not to burn the mixture).
5. Add the apples. The mixture may harden slightly but don’t worry, it will melt again. Over medium heat, cook the apples for about 10 minutes until they are tender. Drain the apples and place in a bowl to cool for about 20 minutes. (Note:  The original recipe directs you to make a caramel glaze with the reserved liquid, but the first time I made this I found that it didn’t work very well so I no longer make the caramel glaze. Instead I reserve the liquid and add a teaspoon or two to flavour my tea. It’s very good!)
6. After the apples have cooled a bit, add the sliced almonds, reserving a few tablespoonfuls for the top of the pastis.
7. Brush a 9-inch springform pan with a bit of the melted butter (bottom and sides).
8. Mix together the 1/2 cup of icing sugar and the remaining 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.
9. Take one sheet of phyllo, brush with butter, and line the bottom of the springform pan with the phyllo. The edges of the phyllo will come up the sides of the pan and hang over slightly. (When working with phyllo, be sure to cover the unused phyllo with a damp cloth to prevent it from drying out.)
10. Sift a bit of the cinnamon sugar over the sheet of phyllo.
11. Brush a second sheet of phyllo with butter and lay it over the first sheet, turning the pan slightly before putting in the phyllo layer. Sift a bit more of the cinnamon sugar on the second sheet.
12. Repeat with 7 more sheets of phyllo, making sure to brush each sheet with butter and turn the pan slightly each time you are about to lay in a sheet. And don’t forget to dust each layer with some cinnamon sugar.
13. Once you’ve layered in the 9th sheet, take your cooled apples and pour them in the centre of the pan. With a spoon, even out the apples.
14. Grasping the edges of the overhanging phyllo sheets, pull them all in towards the centre of the pan. They should cover the apples.
15. Brush your last sheet of phyllo with butter and place it on top of the pastis. Scrunch it up slightly for effect. Brush again with butter and sprinkle on the reserved sliced almonds. Sift some of the cinnamon sugar over the almonds.
16. Bake the pastis for 30 minutes. It should be golden and you should be able to smell the apples.
17. Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F. and bake for an additional 10 minutes. The pastis will be deeply golden.
18. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack. Once cool, carefully remove the springform ring and bottom.
19. Before serving, dust with any remaining cinnamon sugar.
20. Enjoy!

Technorati tags:  apples, pastis, daniel craig

I would like to extend my very best wishes to all for a most Happy Thanksgiving! Here in Canada we celebrated our Thanksgiving in October, but I’m of the opinion that one can never have too many opportunities to give thanks.

To celebrate, I decided to prepare some delicious pumpkin doughnuts. These are beyond easy. You mix the batter, let it chill and then fry up these tender, cakey doughnuts full of pumpkin flavour. A generous dab (or two) of powdered glaze and you’re good to go. This recipe comes from the ever-inspiring Epicurious. For the recipe, click here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

ALL THE NEWS THAT’S FIT TO PRINT

Canadian Blogging by Post #2

CBBP #2 was a huge success! Thanks to the efforts of my dearest Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Sensual Gourmet, we had an even larger turnout than CBBP #1. Judging by the lovely gifts that were exchanged by bloggers across this country, everyone ended up with many wonderful treats.

I had the honour of sending a CBBP package to Sarah Lou of One Whole Clove. While I’m relatively new to Sarah Lou’s blog, I’m so impressed with the variety of dishes she prepares and bakes, as well as her ability to constantly prepare whatever it is that I seem to be craving. We must be cosmically linked!

Most importantly, however, I would like to thank Mamma Tiff of Life Changes After Birth who sent me the loveliest package! It included the tenderest Apple Cookies I have ever tasted (they didn’t last very long) as well as the recipe for the cookies. Mamma Tiff also very thoughtfully included a CD with music from Glen Gould, a booklet of Sudoku puzzles and a delicious hot chocolate drink bar. I was thrilled with my goodies and am enjoying them all. Mamma Tiff, thank you so much! It’s been a pleasure to meet you!

The Tea Towel Swap

The sweet Jackie of Wren’s Nest hosted a tea towel swap in October. I don’t know about you but I have a huge thing for tea towels. Linens are of the utmost importance in my family, especially since my maternal grandmother was taught to operate a loom. She always taught us about the importance of nice linens.

My swap partner is the gracious (and patient) Raesha of My Love. Raesha sent me exquisite tea towels that are perfect for a Cream Puff like me that loves to bake. I would show you a picture of the tea towels, but I’m planning a special post about them (to be posted in the next week or two) so you’re just going to have to wait. In the meantime, though, I want to thank Raesha for her thoughtfulness. I shall always treasure these tea towels!

Onion Day!

The ever-creative Zorra of Kochtopf has decided to host another one-off event. Her Bread Day event was so popular that it’s still going on. I unfortunately couldn’t participate in Bread Day due to oven troubles (am I glad that those are over!), but I thought I’d take a moment to let you know that Onion Day is November 27th. You can read all the details of the event by clicking here, or just head over to Zorra’s blog. Happy onion-chopping and crying!

Swedish Anyone?

I’ve mentioned this before on my blog, but in case you’re interested, the too cute Clivia of Clivia’s Cuisine has taken it upon herself to teach the world Swedish by offering a new Swedish word every time she posts. I’m you’re interested in expanding your language repertoire, check it out!

Cream Puff and Co-Workers Become Famous!

Well, maybe we’re not quite famous yet, but certainly we are being recognized for our cooking and baking abilities! Tanya Wenman Steele, the editor of Epicurious’s epi-log blog pointed out the incredible Thanksgiving potluck that my co-workers and I enjoyed for Canadian Thanksgiving. Tanya has requested an invitation to next year’s potluck to which I reply that she is welcome anytime! Thank you to Emily of Appetitive Behavior for pointing that post out to me.

Italian Anyone?

For all the Italophiles out there, check out SevenFishesBlog.com. It’s a great new blog about all things Italian, especially food. Big surprise there!

The Holidays and Health Concerns

Last but certainly not list, I wanted to direct your attention to a wonderful resource for anyone with concerns relating to sugar intake and diabetes. My own family has been touched by diabetes so I know how challenging the holidays can be. I received an e-mail from Tom Karlya of dLife.com about the wonderful recipe database available on this site. In addition to some important information about diabetes, there are a number of great recipes available to help everyone make it through the holidays.

AN OVERDUE MEME

Every time I’m tagged for a MEME, I’m thrilled! Unfortunately I don’t get to them so quickly because I generally have so many other planned posts to get through first. But I have made a commitment to respond to all MEMEs, even if it takes me the equivalent of 100 Blog Years!

Way back in March, the brilliant Ilva of Lucullian Delights tagged me for the "Around the World MEME." If you’re not familiar with Ilva’s blog, you should visit for the incredible recipes and the even more incredible photographs. Ilva is one of those individuals that can see beauty all around her, in even the simplest of objects or scenes. Her blog is a constant reminder that the world, even with all its imperfections, is a beautiful place.

Thank you so much for tagging me, Ilva!

So here we go …

Please list 3 recipes you have recently bookmarked from food blogs to try:

1. Raspberry and Chocolate Ganache Tarts from Rubber Slippers in Italy
2. Fried Cardamom Cookies from Gattina
3. Fettuccine with Fresh Figs, Chard and Gorgonzola from Albion Cooks

A food blog in your vicinity:

I had the good fortune of actually meeting the "Muffin Man" from Do You Know the Muffin Man? As it turns out the Muffin Man also lives in the Greater Toronto Area and as luck would have it, we were both enrolled in the same class at George Brown’s Culinary School. The Muffin Man is an avid and passionate baker and his blog is a journal of all that he makes. Mouth-watering!

A food blog located far from you:

There are so many blogs to choose from in this category! Every day I discover a new blog that I admire. But today I’d like to direct your attention to the delicious Foodbeam-100% Sweet. The baking talent behind this blog is the adorable Fanny. She is from the Cote d’Azur in France (jealous yet?). She bakes the most delicious things. She takes the most wonderful photographs. And I truly believe that she is 100% sweet. Go and pay her a visit!

A food blog (or several) you have discovered recently? Where did you find it (them)?

A blog that I just recently discovered (and am really enjoying) is called Grignote et Barbotine. I discovered this blog after "Grignote et Barbotine" left a comment on my blog. While my high school French isn’t what it used to be, I’m a firm believer that beautiful food transcends all languages. Check out their blog … it’s wonderful!

Any people or bloggers you want to tag with this MEME?

I’ll leave this one open for anyone that wants to try it! You’re all it!

Ciao!

Technorati tags:  pumpkin, doughnuts, pumpkin doughnuts, thanksgiving, canadian blogging by post, tea towel swap, onion day, around the world meme

For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by Vienna. My fascination began at a very young age when I fell in love with The Sound of Music. Laugh if you will, but to this day all I need to hear is one note of Edelweiss and I will instantly become teary-eyed.

What can I say? I’m a sap that way.

But it’s true that I grew up in a household that appreciated the Austrian culture. Much of this had to do with the fact that for many years my father worked for a business that was owned by two very colourful Austrian men. My parents would attend social events organized by Austrian immigrants and my father would regularly stop at a wonderful Austrian deli near his work. He’d bring home all sorts of smoked meats and the most delectable little sausages.

My brother and I loved it! Until the dancing lessons, that is. I blame it all on the Viennese Waltz.

You see, my parents believed that part of being a well-rounded individual included the ability to dance. So on Sunday mornings, after one Italian League soccer game had finished and before the second one started, my brother and I were forced to submit to dancing lessons, in our basement, given by our father.

You can only imagine how thrilled we were.

Whatever love I may have felt, whatever affection I may have harboured, whatever dreams I may have had of one day visiting Austria, they disappeared as soon as my father hit play. Like the resentful adolescent that I was, I begrudgingly submitted to the lessons, making it as difficult for my father as I possibly could. Eventually, the lessons stopped and I reveled in my small victory.

If my father was disappointed, he never let me know it. Whenever we went to weddings or parties, he’d always dance with my mother and then lead me onto the dance floor to dance with me. However bratty I had been during those lessons, he always asked me to dance.

Looking back on those days, it’s hard to believe that very soon, we will mark the fifth anniversary of my father’s passing. There are still moments when I’m amazed that he’s gone. But lately, I seem to feel his loss most when we’re at weddings and I know that he will not be asking me to dance. And it never fails to make me think of those lessons.

And Vienna.

This longing for a place I’ve never been inspired me. So for twelve days in December, I will be visiting three cities that I’ve always longed to see:  Berlin, Prague and finally, my beloved Vienna. Between work and other commitments, I haven’t really had much time to think about my trip, but now that I am barely three weeks from departure, it’s time for the reality to sink in.

And to help get me in the mood, I decided to bake one of my very favourite cookies from one of my very favourite cookbooks:  Rick Rodgers’ Kaffeehaus. I usually make these at Christmas time, but I simply couldn’t resist making them now. They are buttery and rich Austrian cookies, fragrant with vanilla bean. Over the years, I’ve intensified the vanilla flavour by adding extract and also a drop of almond extract. Sometimes I’ll even add orange zest, but not always. Piled high on a beautiful dish, it’s impossible to resist these cookies.

Just as I suspect it’s impossible to resist Vienna.

When I’m there, I know I’ll think of my father. It’s funny because when we were in the midst of those dancing lessons, I used to wonder to myself if my father knew how lucky he was to have a daughter who would actually dance the Viennese Waltz with him.

But really, I was so lucky to have a father who would dance the Viennese Waltz with me.

Berlin, Prague and Vienna … I’m on my way!

Ciao!

Note: The cookies pictured above are Vanilla Crescents (Vanillen Kipferln) from Kaffeehaus by Rick Rodgers.

Technorati tags: vanilla, almonds, vienna, viennese waltz

Okay. They’re not perfect, but they’re not bad for a first try either!

I cannot even begin to describe to you how much I am loving all the bread-baking that I’m doing this month. It’s like the doors to the world of flour and yeast have been unlocked and I’ve passed through them, never to turn back.

My dough hook has been retired and I’m kneading, kneading, kneading all the time, notwithstanding the no-knead bread phenomenon that has taken the world by storm. I spent most of Sunday afternoon in a warm kitchen kneading to my heart’s content and occasionally looking out the window at a squirrel foraging for some last minute food before winter really hits us.

Am I worried? Nope. Why? Because I am baking bread!

And what type of bread did I bake today? Pretzels.

While I’m not completely sure if pretzels qualify as a bread, they do require flour, yeast and water and my new favourite activity:  kneading. I’d never made pretzels before and my decision to attempt them came about after Lisa of La Mia Cucina and I happened to come up with the idea of baking pretzels. Since neither of us had ever tried it, we decided it would be fun for both of us to bake pretzels on the same day and post about it. We both tried the same recipe. You can head over to Lisa’s blog to read about her journey into pretzel world.

As for my experience, I decided to try a recipe for hot-buttered pretzels from The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion. After reading the description of the pretzels, they sounded very much like the sort of pretzels I used to enjoy when I was a child. There was a nearby vendor that we would buy them from and my favourite were the buttered pretzels sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.

I didn’t stray too far when trying the King Arthur version. I used unbleached all-purpose flour, salt, sugar, instant yeast and warm water. After mixing and kneading the dough for about 8 minutes, I let it rest for an hour during which time the dough expanded to almost double the original size.

I then divided the dough into eight equal pieces, and rolled each piece into a long rope. I twisted the rope into a pretzel shape with a double twist down the middle. As the recipe directed, I dipped the unbaked pretzel in warm water mixed with sugar, sprinkled them with kosher salt and then let the pretzels rest for a bit before going into the oven.

I baked the pretzels at 500 degrees F, however, I baked them for longer than the recipe directed (about 12 minutes). Once they’d cooled, I enjoyed them with some spicy mustard. They were delicious!

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have seven more pretzels that require my attention!

Ciao!

Hot Buttered Pretzels

Adapted from The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion.

For the dough:

• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 package (2-1/4 tsp.) instant yeast
• 1 cup warm water (you may need a little more)

For the pretzel topping:

• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 tsp. sugar
• kosher salt
• 3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

1. Combine all the dough ingredients in a large bowl with your hands. Work the ingredients together until you can form a ball. If the dough is very dry, add a bit more warm water until it comes together. The dough will look messy, but don’t worry about it.
2. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and begin kneading by pushing the dough away with the heel of your hand, and then folding it back in onto itself. Push the dough away again and then fold back in. Continue this motion, working the dough until it’s smooth. This should take anywhere from 8 to 10 minutes. (Alternatively, you can knead the dough in a mixer with your dough hook for 5 to 6 minutes).
3. Once the dough is done, sprinkle some flour on the dough and put it in a large, oiled bowl. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 30 minutes to an hour. It will rise considerably.
4. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
5. Dissolve the sugar in the warm water and set aside.

Divide your dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece out into a long rope that’s roughly 24 inches in length. (Don’t make it too long or your pretzels will be too thin.)

6. Taking hold of the ends of the rope, cross the rope over itself to form a circle with about 4 to 5 inches on each end that are sticking out. Twist the ends over themselves and secure each end on either side of the pretzel.
7. Carefully dip the pretzel in the water and then place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the other pieces of dough.
8. Sprinkle the pretzels with the kosher salt and let them rest for about 15 minutes.
9. Put the pretzels in the oven for 6 minutes, then rotate the trays and bake for an additional 6 minutes. Keep an eye on the pretzels so that they don’t burn.
10. Remove the pretzels from the oven and immediately brush them with the butter. Keep brushing them with butter until you’ve used it all.
11. Serve the pretzels warm with plenty of mustard or another condiment of your choice.
12. Enjoy!

Technorati tags:  pretzels, bread

What better way to begin the weekend than with a virtual library of comforting dishes to keep you warm and happy?

My dear friend Orchidea and I can only thank you for your incredible and enthusiastic participation in the one-off event:  Dishes of Comfort. I want to extend a very special thanks to Orchidea whose beautiful blog was the inspiration for this event.

Your beautiful entries have proven that food is nourishment for the body, the mind and the soul!

Let the round up begin!

Viaggi e Sapori:  Caffè e Latte

I’m beginning the round up with my event partner Orchidea’s post about caffè e latte and how it was such a staple of childhood breakfasts. I too enjoyed caffè e latte for many years, and still do from time to time. As always Orchidea, thank you for the sweet post!

All Things Edible:  Old-fashioned Tapioca Pudding

Based in Ottawa, Quellia decided that it was time to go back to her roots and make a tapioca pudding. I’ve actually never had tapioca pudding so Quellia has definitely inspired me to try it. But I found her memories of her grandmother’s cooking and her mother’s cooking most inspiring of all!

Grazie, Quellia!

An Open Cupboard:  Kashe Varnishkes

Frahnkenshteen (is that a cool name or what?!) broadened all of our horizons with her contribution of a dish called Kashe Varnishkes. The dish originates in Eastern Europe and is composed of pasta, buckwheat and mushrooms. I especially love the description of sneaking leftovers of this intriguing and special dish!

Grazie, Frahnkenshteen!

Appetitive Behaviour:  Tuna Noodle Casserole

Emily comforted us all with one of the most recognizable comfort dishes out there:  tuna noodle casserole. As with tapioca pudding, I’ve never had a tuna noodle casserole so I thank Emily for showing me the ropes. Perhaps I can finally try this dish! In the meantime though, I’ll just enjoy reading Emily’s sweet post on the subject.

Grazie, Emily!

Asian and Pacific Sweets and Treats:  Thai Rad Nah (Fresh Rice Noodles with Pork Gravy)

One of the pleasures of hosting blog events is that you get to meet new bloggers! I was so happy to make Yvonne’s acquaintance, in particular since she shares my name! Yvonne very generously shared a reliable cure for difficult matters of the heart. I suspect this dish would cure a lot of other things as well!

Grazie, Yvonne!

Avenue Food:  Mixed Bean Soup & Cheddar, Apple and Bacon Panino

Well Sarah gets a special award for contributing not one but two comfort dishes! What I especially liked about Sarah’s contribution is that she reminds us how delicious, nutritious and comforting beans are. So we’d better all get in that kitchen and start cooking up some beans! And since bloggers cannot survive on mixed bean soup alone, there’s a delicious cheddar, apple and bacon panino to go with it.

Grazie, Sarah!

Boxcar Kitchen:  Fontina Macaroni and Cheese (*UPDATED ON NOVEMBER 19*)

Esther of the absolutely lovely blog Boxcar Kitchen sent me a reminder that I forgot to include her in the roundup! My apologies, Esther! She has very generously shared a recipe for macaroni and cheese with Fontina. Now if you’ve never tried Fontina you must make a point of doing so. It’s such a delicious cheese! Esther also shares a very sweet tribute to her mom’s cooking.

Grazie, Esther!

Britt-Arnhild’s House in the Woods:  Oat Porridge

Ah, the simple life! A quiet home in the woods. Nature all around you. And oat porridge to keep you warm. Britt-Arnhild reminds us, with her lovely post, that simple things really do matter and really can be satisfying.

Grazie, Britt-Arnhild!

Champaign Taste:  Pastina

When I saw that we’d received an entry about Pastina from Lisa, I couldn’t help but smile! Anyone who was raised in an Italian household will instantly identify with this heartwarming concoction of chicken broth and tiny pasta. Lisa’s family added garlic slivers for flavour! This definitely brings back some happy memories!

Grazie, Lisa!

Chez Loulou:  Grandma’s Meatballs

Isn’t it funny how Grandmothers always end up being the best cooks?! Loulou provides more proof of this with her post on her beloved Grandma’s meatballs. Simply made with pork, eggs, parmesan, garlic, parsley and breadcrumbs, I can only imagine how satisfying and comforting these are.

Grazie, Loulou!

Coconut & Lime:  Chai

How I would love a cup of this chai tonight! Rachel shares her husband’s recipe for this lovely chai, which is sure to chase away the chills of autumn and provide lots of comfort. I’m relatively new to chai but thrilled that I have a recipe that I can now try at home.

Grazie, Rachel!

Coconut Cutney:  Zucchini Frittata

Don’t Monisha’s pictures make you want to run out and buy some zucchini?! I certainly longed for them when I saw her entry as I was suddenly overcome with the most overwhelming urge for zucchini frittata. As Monisha points out, while we may not always have time for these comfort dishes, the weekend is the perfect time to make them. Maybe I’ll try some frittata this weekend …

Grazie, Monisha!

Columbus Foodie:  NY Style Cheesecake

There isn’t a lot that excites this Cream Puff as much as a great cheesecake. Becke generously shared a post about her mother’s fabulous cheesecake. While it may be a simple cheesecake, it sounds like it’s been pleasing many people for many years. Understandably so!

Grazie, Becke!

Cook (Almost) Anything at Least Once:  Cavolfiore alla Besciamella (Cauliflower with Béchamel)

Only Haalo could make cauliflower look like the most irresistible vegetable on earth! Mind you I suppose you could drown anything in this luxurious béchamel and find it drool-worthy. Haalo very considerately took the time to weigh out the ingredients for the béchamel so that we can all reproduce it at home.

Grazie, Haalo!

Culinary Concoctions by Peabody:  Orange Pecan Rolls

Anyone who lives in a place with lots of snow must remember the childhood joy of snow days! Those precious days when Mother Nature would ensure you had a holiday. Free of school, you usually spent it outside submerged in snow. But now that Peabody has so generously shared her mom’s recipe for Orange Pecan Rolls, I’m thinking we’d all rather stay inside to eat these as soon as they’re out of the oven! Peabody’s photos will make you swoon!

Grazie, Peabody!

Dans la Cuisine de Sophie:  Mousse au Chocolat (Chocolate Mousse)

Dear and talented Sophie shares the joy of beautiful and rich chocolate mousse with all of us. She invites us in to her kitchen for a reminder that simple is beautiful. And all the lovely spoons in her photo are just begging to be dipped into this rich mousse.

Merci, Sophie!

Food Lover’s Journey:  Beef in Red Wine Sauce

All the way from Melbourne, Australia, Anh introduced her blog to both Orchidea and I and we’re thrilled. Anh’s post is about how this dish comforted her on cold days. Interestingly, she also talks about how this dish, as so many dishes do, has changed and grown over the years under the influence of different cultures. I’m glad she shared it with all of us.

Grazie, Anh!

Foodbeam-100% Sweet:  Millionaire’s Shortbread

It’s a stormy night. Your home alone. The car won’t start. Sound like a scary movie? Well it’s not. It’s what inspired Fanny to bake these bars otherwise known as Millionaire’s Shortbread. Reading Fanny’s post, I knew she’d survive the storm. After all, she’s 100% sweet just like her blog says!

Grazie, Fanny!

Gattina:  Iron Lady’s Rice Noodles

For a tribute to mothers everywhere, check out Gattina’s post about Iron Lady’s Rice Noodles. Comfort often comes in numbers and it must have been quite comforting to watch all these incredible prepare this dish. And how lovely that Gattina shared this memory with all of us!

Grazie, Gattina!

Gluten-free by the Bay:  Knishes

I couldn’t help but laugh when I read this post about knishes (which I’d never heard of) and ByTheBay’s uncle … the Knish King of the Hudson Valley! Now there’s a title! But this post is so sweet and a real tribute to an ethnic food that was clearly beloved by many.

Grazie, ByTheBay!

Habeas Brulee:  Stuffed Cabbage

I have fond memories of my own grandmother’s stuffed cabbage so I was thrilled to read Danielle’s account of her own grandmother’s expertise with dish. Like all grandmothers, she was ready to produce it at a moment’s notice and even ensured that Danielle could enjoy stuffed cabbage when she was abroad … now that’s love!

Grazie, Danielle!

In Search of Dessert:  Upside Down Chili Pie

Based in Switzerland, Jessica writes about how thrilling it is to receive packages from home especially when those packages include all the fixings for a good ol’ upside down chili pie! A dish that features Fritos at the bottom, this one sounds like a must-try if only for the pure delight of telling people that you ate it! Seriously though, it sounds like it’s very comforting and I’m so happy that Jessica introduced herself. Anyone who is searching for dessert is okay in my books!

Grazie, Jessica!

Jumbo Empanadas:  Macaroni and Cheese

I was waiting for a post on macaroni and cheese, mainly because I love it so much! Creamy pasta smothered in cheese … oh it’s so good! Brilynn traces her history with macaroni and cheese and how she came to love the homemade kind. The entire post is mouth-watering!

Grazie, Brilynn!

La Mia Cucina:  Mom’s Roast Chicken

Roast chicken could probably be the emblem for all comfort food. Lisa proves that this is true by sharing her mother’s recipe for old-fashioned roast chicken with all the trimmings. So easy, so versatile and so comforting, if you like poultry, this is a dish you should learn. And of course Lisa presents it all in her own unique way.

Grazie, Lisa!

Ms. Adventures in Italy:  Lasagna

Who could possibly resist a piece of lasagna, warm out of the oven, with rich noodles, bold sauce and maybe some béchamel oozing out? Not me! Sara reminds us that lasagna is the king and that no matter where you are in the world, it’s worth trying your hand at.

Grazie, Sara!

My Kitchen in Half Cups:  Navy Bean Soup

Tanna, so kind and encouraging, writes a lovely post about her mom and all the wonderful memories she has of her, especially when it comes to food. And when she misses her mother, she likes to make up this simple yet satisfying soup, which must have comforted the family on so many occasions. And she does it all in typical Tanna style!

Grazie, Tanna!

Nosh:  Tomato-Rubbed Bread

I’d never met Mia prior to this event and I’m so glad that I did. She has a lovely blog and she shares a very touching post about how this dish reminds of her mother. I hope this dish brings back only the happiest of memories!

Grazie, Mia!

One Whole Clove:  Boeuf Haché en Sauce

I was thrilled that Sarah Lou took part in this event since she was my partner for the recent Canadian Blogging by Post #2! Sarah Lou posts about a comforting beef dish her mom used to make for her when she was young … especially on those cold, dark and creepy November nights.

Grazie, Sarah Lou!

Only Turkish Food:  Yayla Corbasi (Yoghurt Rice Soup)

Ceviz, based in Melbourne, Australia, took the time to write about this fascinating soup that was an enormous comfort particularly on cold winter days. Made with rice, yoghurt and chicken stock, it’s an intriguing dish that must be creamy and soothing to the core. What an honour for Ceviz to share the recipe!

Grazie, Ceviz!

Ordinary, Average Girl:  Dutch Chicken Pot Pie

Based in Texas, Kelly should blog more about food in my opinion! Recipes like this Dutch Chicken Pot Pie should be shared with as many people as possible. This is Kelly’s first food blogging event and I hope she participates in more.

Grazie, Kelly!

Our Adventures in Japan:  Shrimp Pineapple

One of the very first bloggers that I met, Kat continues to be the best source I know for all things chocolate! She very kindly shared one of her mom’s special recipes with all of us. Kat is sweet and generous and I’m sure her mom must be so proud.

Grazie, Kat!

Qualcosa Blogga in Pentola:  La Genovese

Thanks to Orchidea, a number of Italian food bloggers participated in this event and I’m thrilled that we can all get to know more of them. LaCuocaRossa shared a mouth-watering recipe for a dish called "La Genovese" which is a meat dish that produces a very thick ragu that can be used on certain pastas or can be eaten on its own (with lots of bread I would imagine). The pictures alone are mouth-watering.

Grazie, LaCuocaRossa!

Rustic:  Rose Petal Jam

How lovely to see this post now that all plant life has practically disappeared here in Canada! The leaves are all gone and roses will not be seen for months and months to come. Betul of England shares this beautiful recipe for Rose Petal Jam to be enjoyed by all. Surprisingly easy, I hope to try this one soon.

Grazie, Betul!

Saffron and Pepper:  Memories of the Family Kitchen

Have you ever seen a more adorable child??? Saffron shares many sweet memories of her family’s kitchen and many of the incredible dishes they prepared.

Grazie, Saffron!

Something So Clever:  Baked Rice Pudding and Breakfast Rice

As I mentioned to Alicat in my comment on her post, I had to literally mop up the drool when I saw this entry. I love rice pudding and I love that now I have a new version to try. It is the most comforting dish and I’m so happy that Alicat generously shared an adaptation of her mother’s recipe with us! I was also intrigued by the breakfast rice which sounds like a great way to use up leftover rice.

Grazie, Alicat!

Tartelette:  Walnut Chocolate Cake

Helene is such a brilliant baker! And she sent all of us this lovely post about Walnut Chocolate Cake and how she "encouraged" her brother to ask for it for his birthday cake. Smart girl!

Grazie, Helene!

The Sour Dough:  Cinnamon and Sugar Toast

When the Breadchick sent us this entry, I was so happy because toast with butter and sugar was always such a special treat for me! It will cure what ails you as you Breadchick explains so well.

Grazie, Breadchick!

Tip of the Iceberg:  Oyster Stew

My sweet Sally writes a very funny and touching post about her mother’s oyster stew. I can just imagine Sally as a little girl eating this dish. Clearly, it brings her much comfort to this day.

Grazie, Sally!

Un Piozzo di Pane:  Sfinci della Nonna

This is my first time meeting Vally and I’m so glad she took part in this event. Based in Rome, Vally writes about her grandmother’s sfinci. Little fritters rolled in sugar, these bring back many happy memories for Vally. As I’ve said before, grandmothers rule!

Grazie, Vally!

Vannescipes:  Crock Pot Bean Soup

I may have to put a crock pot on my Christmas wish list. Between Vanessa’s delicious account of her favourite crock pot bean soup and the positive experiences many cooks have been sharing with me in terms of their own crock pot cooking, I’m thinking it would be a great investment. Vanessa made this for her mom so it’s extra special.

Grazie, Vanessa!

Veggie Friendly:  Cauliflower Cheese

Kate sent us this wonderful recipe all the way from Sydney, Australia! A family dish that would appear at special events, it sounds so luscious! Cheesy cauliflower … how can you go wrong?!

Grazie, Kate!

What Did You Eat?:  Meta Givens Tomato Bread

I’m so happy that Sher took part in this event. Her blog is beautiful and a joy to read and she is an incredible cook and baker. Her tomato bread had my mouth watering! The recipe is from a cherished family cookbook and I’d say we’re all lucky that Sher has passed it on.

Grazie, Sher!

What’s For Lunch Honey?:  Chinese Vegetable Noodles

Meeta is such a joy! Her blog is like home. Beautifully photographed, it’s impossible not to get hungry. Meeta’s post is a thoughtful piece about the street food that she’s had the pleasure of sampling in various places. I’m so hungry!

Grazie, Meeta!

Weekly Dish:  Angel Hair with Buttery Tomato Sauce

My long-lost blog sister Jennifer shared her recipe for a comforting buttery tomato sauce that features roasted tomatoes. How could I possibly live a carb-free existence with such beautiful dishes???

Grazie, Jennifer!

Yum Yum Mum Mum:  Venn Pongal

I just love learning about new dishes! This particular one was comforting on bad-weather days. As @ explains, the dish consists of white rice cooked in clay pots until the rice boils over. Garnished with cashews, among other things, it sounds so enticing.

Grazie, @!

That’s it for the round up! Thanks again for taking part and may your weekend be filled with dreams of all these comforting dishes!

Ciao!

Technorati tags:  dishes of comfort

Flickr:  http://www.flickr.com/groups/picturingdishesofcomfort/

On the menu for Weeks 5 and 6:  Sour Dough Bread and Yeasted Coffee Cakes

I have fallen way behind with my posts on baking class. Here’s my attempt to begin catching up!

The Art of Breads

In my Week 5 post, I should have clarified that for my Art of Breads course, it was actually Week 4. Breakfast Breads began a week before Art of Breads.  For Week 5, we were scheduled to prepare a fruit/nut bread and challah, however, my work schedule prevented me from attending class so I missed the lesson. This was a contributing factor to my desire to try challah at home.

In Week 6, I was thankfully back in class for a lesson that I was eagerly anticipating:  sour dough. After my trip to San Francisco where I ate some truly incredible breads, I was interested in learning about sour dough starter and making a quality bread.

I was a bit disappointed.

While we did make a sour dough bread in class, we made it using a powdered sour dough starter. I missed the first part of the class so I’m not completely sure how this powdered starter comes to be. My understanding is that it’s freeze dried starter that’s used to speed up the process of making this type of bread since you don’t actually have to take the time to start, feed and ferment your own starter. Besides the powdered starter, our dough consisted of bread flour, cold water, and yeast. It certainly was easy to make but the final result was disappointing. The flavour of the bread paled in comparison to the real thing which I remember so vividly from last year’s trip to California. Local bakeries like ACE Bakery also make sour dough breads that are far superior to the taste of the one we made in class.

All was not lost, however, as we did learn about making a proper starter. While I would have preferred to make one in class and actually learn how to do it, I’m assuming that the reason we didn’t is that we would have had to either make it at school one week and hope that it survived to the following week, or we’d have to make it on our own at home. If some of us failed in our attempts to make it at home, it would certainly make for a challenging lesson. Still, though, in a course about making bread it would have been nice to actually make the proper starter. In any event, our instructor did provide us with a lot of background information and numerous recipes to try so I’m thinking I’ll take the initiative and try my own sour dough bread once the holidays come around and I have the time.

Breakfast Breads

Unlike the Art of Breads, Breakfast Breads is an elective course and much shorter in length (only six classes). But don’t get me wrong … those six classes are intense to the core! For our final class, we covered the wonderful and yummy topic of yeasted and filled coffee cakes.

Like many people, my idea of a coffee cake was always a cake baked in a tube pan or bundt pan with butter, flour, eggs and sugar. I’d never tried a yeasted coffee cake, much less one that had a filling.

I was seriously impressed!

We began by making a sponge of warm water, yeast and pastry flour. After letting this rest for about 30 minutes, we made our dough using the sponge, warm milk, more yeast, bread flour, malt, salt, an egg and butter (finally we use butter!). After mixing and rounding up the dough, we let it rest for 30 minutes.

We made two types of filling for our coffee cakes:  poppy seed (poppy seeds, sugar, honey, water, graham crumbs, egg yolk, cinnamon, lemon zest) and almond (almond paste, butter, sugar, eggs, flour).

For the poppy seed filling, we rolled our dough into a rectangle and spread the filling on the dough. We then rolled up the rectangle like a jelly roll being careful to seal the ends. we made a deep slit down the middle of the roll (leaving the ends intact) and then pulled one end under and through the slit creating a twist. We brushed the roll with egg wash and after it was baked, we brushed it with apricot glaze.

For the almond filling, we also rolled the dough into rectangles and spread the filling on the dough. But we added strawberry jam to the almond filling as well. After rolling up the dough, we placed the rolls in loaf pans. We scored the tops of the cakes so that the filling would bubble through when baking. We also brushed these with apricot glaze and topped them with drizzles of fondant.

The cakes were delicious! I even liked the poppy seed one and I’m not the biggest fan of poppy seeds.

While I didn’t get off to the best start in this course, it certainly ended on a very positive note. Our instructor who was with us for four of the six classes was amazing and I look forward to taking more of her courses in future. The first two instructors (who were substituting for our regular teacher) left a bit to be desired. They didn’t set the tone for the class and I think this contributed to the somewhat disorganized and tense atmosphere of the first two weeks, which were at times unpleasant. Happily, things settled down once our regular instructor returned and everyone began to work together in a more organized fashion.

I’m thrilled that I finally tried my hand at making croissants and danish pastry. While I haven’t had time to try them at home yet, I know that I will and I’ll be able to put my experience to good use when I finally do attempt those pastries. I wasn’t crazy about the bagels or the chelsea buns, but the brioche turned out well and again I gained valuable experience making something I hadn’t tried before in my own kitchen.

Overall, I was very satisfied with my experience in this course. Two down and only eight more to go before I earn that certificate!

Ciao!

Today would be a day that I would describe as the "typical" Autumn day. Not "the perfect" Autumn day … the typical one. Grey skies, leaves blowing here and there, quiet, and chilly, bordering on cold. A "perfect" Autumn day would have been basically the same, except the gray skies would be lightened by the sun.

As far as I know, there’s only one way to deal with typical Autumn days and that’s the application of a variety of comforting dishes to your stomach. Apply directly and as often as necessary.

As many of you know, Orchidea and I are hosting an event called "Dishes of Comfort" where we’ve asked bloggers to share a comforting dish with all by November 15th. It could be a dish from your childhood or perhaps a dish you learned to make when you first left home. Whatever the origin, it should be something that puts a smile on your face every time. I’ve already talked to you about le patatine fritte and how they are the very essence of comfort for me.

But another dish that does it for me every time is rice pudding. And this is most strange as I’ve only been eating rice pudding for about three years. I grew up eating rice and lots of it, but always in savoury dishes. I first heard about rice pudding from a close Swedish friend who explained that it was one of her husband’s specialties. Each Christmas, they would enjoy his stellar rice pudding.

Intrigued, I searched out recipes for rice pudding and tried many before I settled on one that made me happy to the core. I like it for two reasons:  it’s easy and I don’t have to share it. Now there I go again, betraying my generous nature, but what can I do? We’re talking about hot milk, butter and vanilla sugar and plump grains of rice swollen with milky goodness.

Are you going to blame me for not wanting to share?

I learned to make this recipe from Nigella Lawson’s book Nigella Bites. The recipe is called "Stovetop Rice Pudding for Emergencies" and yields enough rice for one person. Say what you want about this woman, but she certainly knows how to indulge. And on days like today, I find it almost impossible to come up with reasons not to support her.

But today, in an attempt to expand my horizons, I decided to experiment a bit with my rice pudding so that I’d finally be able to participate in the Spice is Right event, which was originated by Barbara of Tigers & Strawberries with this round being hosted by exceptional Danielle of Habeus Brulee. The theme for this round is using a spice in a different way than you normally would. Well not only am I doing that, I’m using a spice I don’t normally use at all:  cardamom.

The idea of using cardamom struck me when I stared at my screen and began drooling over the Fried Cardamom Cookies made by Gattina. I know almost nothing about cardamom so I began doing some research and was surprised to discover that it’s actually part of the ginger family and that in some parts of the world, it’s revered for its medicinal properties. Like most spices, it’s best and most powerful in its unadulterated form. In this case that would be the actual cardamom pod, but I wasn’t about to hunt out cardamom pods. Instead, I visited my local gourmet shop and bought a small amount of the freshest ground cardamom.

The aroma was heady and almost pungent, but pleasing. I couldn’t imagine tossing a handful of this spice into any food (as I often do with cinnamon … seriously), but I could imagine sprinkling in just the tiniest bit.

So as my rice pudding bubbled away, flecked with vanilla bean and slurping up the hot milk I kept adding to it, I blessed it all with the tiniest pinch of cardamom.

Heaven! And all for me!

Ciao!

Rice Pudding For One (with Cardamom)

Adapted from Nigella Bites by Nigella Lawson.

• 2-1/2 cups milk (the original recipe calls for whole milk but you can make it with any type of milk except skim)
• 1/2 a vanilla pod, split down the middle (if you don’t have a vanilla pod, then use 2 tsp. vanilla extract)
• 3 tbsp. butter, divided
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 4 tbsp. arborio rice (or any rice used for risotto)
• an additional 2 tbsp. sugar or 2 tbsp. vanilla sugar if you have any on hand
• 1/8 tsp. cardamom (optional, you can also add more if you like)

1. In a pan, heat the milk. As the milk heats, scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod and add to the warming milk. If not using the vanilla pod, then add the 2 tsp. of vanilla extract to the warming milk and stir.
2. Just as the milk comes to the boil, turn off the heat.
3. In a large, wide saucepan, melt 2 tbsp. of the butter with 1 tbsp. of sugar. As soon as the butter is melted and bubbling, add the rice and stir for 1 minute.
4. Begin adding the milk to the rice, one ladle full at a time. Cook over medium-low heat, being careful not to scorch the rice. Stir constantly.
5. As the milk is absorbed, add another ladle full of milk and continue cooking the rice.
6. After about 20 minutes, taste the rice. If it’s plump and soft, then you know it’s cooked. If not, continue adding milk and cooking until the rice is done. If you need more milk, warm up some more.
7. Once the rice is cooked and the milk has been absorbed, take the rice pudding off the heat and add the remaining tablespoon of butter, either 2 tbsp. of sugar or vanilla sugar and the cardamom if using. Mix well to combine everything.
8. Enjoy!

Technorati tags:  rice, rice pudding, dishes of comfort, spice is right

I am seriously behind with my posts about baking class. I promise I’ll catch up soon, but I’m just having too much fun baking and blogging about bread! Several weeks ago, in bread class, we were scheduled to make challah. Unfortunately, work commitments meant that I had to miss that class and I was more than disappointed. I love challah, and I especially love using it for bread puddings and French toast.

It was a stroke of luck then when I noticed that Linda Haynes had included a recipe for challah in her new cookbook, More from ACE Bakery. Excited and eager, I set about making challah for the very first time.

The process began with a starter (called a pâte fermentée), which I made the night before I planned to bake the challah. The starter consisted of water, yeast (traditional dry yeast), hard white flour and fine sea salt. Unlike other bread recipes where the yeast has to be developed before adding it to the flour and other ingredients, Haynes’ recipe for starter calls for everything to be combined in a mixer for a few minutes and then allowed to rest for 15 minutes. I was under the impression that only instant yeast could be added to flour in this way, but I guess I’m wrong. After the starter rested for 15 minutes, I kneaded it for an additional few minutes before placing it in a greased bowl to rise in the refrigerator overnight.

The following morning I found a starter that had more than doubled in size and had lovely bubbles and holes all over it. That was a clear sign that it had been fermenting. All those little bubbles represented the gas being created throughout the fermentation process.

To make the challah, I added water, yeast, hard white flour, semolina flour, egg yolks, honey, butter and sea salt to the starter. I mixed everything in the mixer using the dough hook and within minutes, I had a beautiful dough that was smooth and heavy. Once again, I let it rise for a few hours in a greased and covered bowl. At that point, I was ready to form my challah.

Haynes advises that if you’re intimidated of the entire braiding process, you can easily form your challah into rounded loaves. But looking at the braiding illustrations, I felt reasonably confident that I could manage.

I divided my challah dough into 5 equal pieces, which I then rolled into strands. I lined the strands up and joined them at one end. I then moved two strands slightly to the left and the other three slight to the right. Over, across, over, across, repeat, repeat, repeat. I actually ended up with a decent braid! But my one mistake is that I rolled my strands a bit too long. As I braided the strands and struggled to move them out of the way, I inadvertently begin laying them over the edges of the counter. As I did this, the weight of the dough began to pull the strands downward, which meant they were getting longer and longer! Instead  of a neat, compact braid, I ended up with a rather longish and skinny one.

I would have gone ahead and baked it that way except I was worried it wouldn’t fit on the baking sheet so I did the logical thing (to me, anyway) and I turned my braid into a braided ring. I brushed the top with egg wash and let the dough rest to rise again for about 30 minutes. Another brush with egg wash and into the oven it went. About 30 minutes later I had a golden, eggy ring of pretty good challah if I may say so myself!

The only problem I had with the recipe was the honey. I don’t think I’ve ever seen challah recipes that call for honey so I was intrigued to see it on the ingredients list. But when I tasted the challah, I found that it tasted predominantly of honey which overwhelmed the buttery egginess that I enjoy in challah. Haynes’ recipe calls for wildflower or acacia honey and I used wildflower because that’s what I had on hand. If I made the bread again, I would omit the honey.

However, one thing bread class has taught me is that many breads require both a sugar as well as a salt. Yeast feasts on sugar so I’m guessing that if I omit the honey, I’ll have to replace it with another type of sugar. Clearly I need to research this further and just keep trying my hand at challah.

It’s a tough job but someone’s got to do it!

Ciao!

Technorati tags:  bread, challah

Is it wrong to eat an entire raised almond coffee cake all on your own?

No?

Phew! I was worried there for a second.

Ciao!

Raised Almond Coffee Cake

Adapted from Wanda’s Pie in the Sky by Wanda Beaver.

For the coffee cake dough:

• 1 envelope active dry yeast
• 4 tbsp. sugar
• 2 to 3 tbsp. warm water
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup light cream
• 2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1. In a bowl, mix together the warm water, yeast and 1 tbsp. of the sugar. Stir to dissolve and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes or until the mixture begins to look creamy and foamy.
2. Add the other 3 tbsp. of sugar, the salt, the egg and the cream. Combine well.
3. Pour the mixture in to the bowl of an electric mixer and add 1-1/2 cups of the flour. With the dough hook, mix on low speed until smooth (a few minutes).
4. Add the remaining flour and mix on low speed until the dough is well mixed. It will be a bit stiff.
5. Flour a work surface and turn the dough out. Roll the dough to a thickness of a 1/4 inch. Spread the softened butter on two-thirds of the dough.
6. With a knife, mark the dough into thirds by place a tiny mark at the top edge of the dough. Fold 1/3 of the dough over the middle third. Take the last third of the dough and fold it over that.
7. Do a quarter turn and roll the dough out again to 1/4 of an inch thick. Once again, fold the dough into thirds. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Repeat the rolling, folding and quarter turn three more times, refrigerating the dough for 30 minutes between each time. Once you’ve completed these steps, keep the dough in the refrigerator until you’re ready to fill it and bake the coffee cakes.

For the coffee cake filling:

• 1 cup blanched whole almonds
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup fine breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1. In a blender or food processor, grind the almonds with half the sugar. The almonds should be finely ground, but not pasty.
2. Add the rest of the sugar, the breadcrumbs, the 2 tbsp. melted butter, the egg, the extracts and the cinnamon. Combine well and set aside.

To assemble the coffee cakes:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide in half.
3. Roll each half into a rectangle that’s roughly 9 inches long by 6 or 7 inches wide.
4. Take the 1/4 cup of melted butter and brush the surface of the dough with some of the butter.
5. Spread half the filling over the first rectangle of dough. Be sure to leave a 1 to 1-1/2 inch border all the way around to avoid the filling leaking out.
6. Beginning with the top edge, roll the rectangle towards you to form a long roll. Join the ends of the roll to form a ring. You may want to wet the ends slightly to ensure that they stick together.
7. Transfer the ring to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. With a knife or with scissors, cut the ring of dough into slices that are about 1 inch thick. Don’t cut all the way through, but cut almost to the centre of the ring. Turn the pieces of cut dough slightly upwards so that you create a fan effect.
8. Cover the dough with a towel and let it rise for 30 minutes. Repeat with the other rectangle of dough.
9. Bake the coffee cakes for 30 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack before glazing.

For the glaze:

• 1/2 cup icing sugar, sifted
• 2 to 3 tsp. light cream
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract

1. Mix all the ingredients until you have a smooth glaze. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled coffee cakes and let set (about an hour or so).
2. If the glaze is too thick, add more cream until you achieve the consistency you want.
3. Enjoy!

Note:  This recipe will yield two coffee cakes that are roughly 8 to 9 inches. Each coffee cake will serve 6 to 8, or one hungry Cream Puff!

Technorati tags:  almond, coffee cake

After the success that I had with Dorie’s Buttery Jam Cookies, I decided that I would try one more recipe from her cookbook, Baking:  From My Home to Yours, for the Cookbook Spotlight that I was invited to participate in by Sara of I Like to Cook.

Instead of randomly choosing a recipe, I decided to make something that I was craving. So this past Sunday, I looked out the window at the chilly fall weather and thought one thing:  apples. I didn’t particularly care what form they came in, but I wanted hot, cinnamony apples to comfort me.

I checked the cookbook index and was immediately drawn to to the recipe for Flaky Apple Turnovers. While I love apple pie, I’ve always been slightly resentful of having to share. After all, a pie is meant to be shared. But why should I share my delicious apples wrapped in buttery, golden crust. Is it wrong to want them all to myself?

This is why I think that the inventor of the turnover deserves our never ending gratitude. Instead of having to split it eight or ten ways, like a pie, you get your very own little pie. All for yourself.

Or in this case … myself.

The dough for the turnovers was a snap to make. And interestingly, the dough called for sour cream which added a slight tangy flavour, but also made the crust super flaky. While the recipe called for Granny Smith or Fuji apples, I used a combination of Granny Smith and Cortland apples because that’s what I had on hand. I put the filling together in minutes and before I knew it, I was rolling out the lovely dough and cutting circles out to make my turnovers.

I cannot even describe how wonderful the house smelled while these little babies were baking. It was like the union of butter and sugar and cinnamon all rolled into one incredible aroma. While the recipe recommend baking the turnovers for 20 minutes, I baked them for 25 to develop a really golden crust. They were plump and gorgeous when they came out of the oven!

I will confess that I ate most of them.

But I did save a few. While I’m not given to sharing my pies, especially apple pies, I did save a few turnovers for my sweet friend Lisa of La Mia Cucina who celebrates her birthday today (Happy Birthday!!!). Lisa, you better hurry over. The turnovers are calling my name and I don’t know how much longer I can hold out!

Ciao!

Flaky Apple Turnovers

Adapted from Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.

For the turnover dough:

• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1-1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, cold, cut into tiny pieces

1. In a bowl, combine the sour cream and sugar and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine the all-purpose flour and salt.
3. Add the butter pieces and with a pastry cutter or your finger tips, mix in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse oatmeal and has a crumbly texture.
4. Add the sour cream/sugar mixture and gently mix together with a fork or your hands.
5. You want the dough to come together into a ball. If the mixture is still a bit too dry, add a bit of cold water to help bring it together. Be careful not to overmix or overwork the dough.
6. Once you can gather it into a ball, divide the ball in half, flatten each half into a disk and refrigerate (wrapped in plastic) for about an hour.
7. When you’re ready to make the turnovers, remove one-half of the dough and roll it into a rectangle shape that is roughly 9 inches by 18 inches. You’ll need to flour your work surface well as you roll out the dough. Once you’ve rolled it to 9 by 19, fold the dough in thirds (like a letter) and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours. Follow the same procedure for the other half of dough.

For the filling:

• 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• a pinch of nutmeg
• 4 medium-sized apples of your choice, peeled, cored and cut into small pieces
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into tiny pieces
• 1 egg, beaten with a bit of water for the egg wash
• granulated sugar for dusting

1. Combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl. Add the apples and mix well to ensure the apples are completely coated.

To assemble the turnovers:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and be sure to have a rack in the top third of the oven and a rack in the lower third of the oven. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Roll out one piece of dough to a thickness of about 1/8 of an inch. With a cutter that is about 4 to 4-1/2 inches in width, cut out circles. You will probably get between 6 and 8 circles from the dough you have rolled out. You can reroll the scraps to cut out more circles. In total, from both pieces of dough, you shouldn’t have more than 16 circles or you may not have enough filling.
3. Once you’ve rolled out both pieces of dough and cut out your circles, take one circle and put a tablespoon or two of apple filling in the centre. Dot with a few pieces of butter. Wet the edges of the dough with a bit of water and then fold one half over to meet the other half. Seal with your fingers and then use the tines of a fork along the edges of the dough to further seal the turnovers. Poke a few holes in the turnover to allow the steam to release. Lay the turnover on the cookie sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough and apple filling.
4. Once your turnovers are complete, brush each one with egg wash and sprinkle with a pinch of granulated sugar.
5. Bake the turnovers for 20 minutes, rotating the trays from front to back and top to bottom half way through.
6. If you can resist, let the turnovers cool slightly on a wire rack (for about 5 or 10 minutes) before eating them.
7. Enjoy!

Note:  Depending on the thickness of the dough and the size of your cutter, you could get anywhere from 12 to 16 turnovers. If you don’t want to bake them all, you can freeze the turnovers once you’ve assembled them and before baking them. Then you can just pull them out of the freezer whenever you want to bake them. You can bake them frozen, just be sure to bake them for a bit longer.

Technorati tags:  apples, turnovers, dorie greenspan, cookbook spotlight

When trying to explain to people why it is that I have so many cookbooks, and in fact continue to buy cookbooks, one of the comments I make most often is that I love buying a cookbook and feeling like I’ve made a new friend.

No, no. Don’t worry. My cookbooks aren’t talking to me. (At least not yet …)

What I mean by making a new friend is that a good cookbook, a really good cookbook, will allow you to hear the author’s voice loud and clear. So whether you’re trying a recipe for the first time, learning to bake, trying to figure out  how to tie a roast or simply just passing the time on a Sunday afternoon, a well-written cookbook will reach out to you and guide you just like a friend.

To me, a cookbook worth keeping forever is one that is without pretense. The recipes should be spot on, and the instructions should be clear as glass. Whether or not it has photographs is immaterial. While pictures help, a well-written cookbook will guide you and help you along even without photographs or illustrations. Most importantly, however, I want to hear the author’s voice. I want to imagine that as I’m making the recipe, the person who wrote the book is reading it to me, helping me along at every turn.

While I own a lot of cookbooks, I can honestly say that not all of them meet these standards. That’s why cookbooks will come in and out of my life all the time. The ones that aren’t good enough will find a temporary home on The Overburdened Bookshelf, but eventually they’re passed on in the hopes that someone else will see something in them that I didn’t.

When I heard that Dorie Greenspan had written a new cookbook, I immediately looked at my shelf and began mentally calculating what books I’d have to move around to make room for Dorie’s new one. When I saw the actual book in a bookstore, I realized I’d have to say goodbye to a few cookbooks to make room. This is not a small glimpse at the world of baking. This is a 500-plus page ride through the world of all things sweet. I decided that rather than buying it for myself, I’d add it to my Christmas list in the hopes that a generous family member would make my Christmas morning.

You can’t even imagine how thrilled I was when Sara of I Like to Cook offered me the chance to have my own copy of Baking:  From My Home to Yours in return for blogging about it in the latest round of the Cookbook Spotlight. She didn’t have to ask me twice.

Dorie Greenspan is a more-than-accomplished pastry chef and writer. She has authored nine cookbooks, including a collaboration with the great Julia Child on the magnificent Baking with Julia. If you’ve never had the chance to look at that cookbook, I highly recommend it. It is among the finest of cookbooks!

Baking:  From my Home to Yours is a refreshingly simple yet astoundingly thorough look at baking in all its forms. The book covers everything from muffins and scones to cheesecakes to beautifully decorated cakes for the most special of occasions. What is particularly impressive is that virtually every recipe is introduced by an anecdote with Dorie describing either the history of the recipe or how she came to bake that particular item. It’s abundantly clear that a very experienced and knowledgeable baker is offering you these recipes.

But even more impressive, is the sweet, friendly tone of the entire cookbook. It’s like walking into a friend’s kitchen to bake together. Especially for those of us that are novices or perhaps just learning to bake, nothing could be more comforting or encouraging. If Dorie Greenspan is going to help you bake a cake, you’re in good hands.

As I mentioned previously, this is a big book with hundreds of recipes. Certainly it would be a constant source of ideas for any home baker as I imagine it would take quite some time to bake your way through it. And for those of you that like photographs, there are lots of them — full colour and unbelievably tempting. If you’re considering an addition to your cookbook family, or perhaps thinking about a gift for that baker you know, I can’t think of a better cookbook to buy.

For my first attempt at baking something from the book, I had a heck of a time choosing a recipe. There are just so many! Instead, I used the same tactic that I did with the previous Cookbook Spotlight … I simply flipped the book open to a random page and tried the first recipe that I saw. In this case, it was a recipe for Buttery Jam Cookies.

The recipe was simple to make and it gave me the opportunity to use the apricot jam my mother and I made during the summer. As I found with most of the recipes in the book, the list of ingredients is straightforward, with items that most of us would have in our pantries. The instructions were easy to follow, although I did overlook a bit of Dorie’s advice to my own detriment.

The batter for these cookies is very stiff. Dorie notes that in the recipe. But rather than spooning the dough onto the cookie sheet (as directed), I thought I’d practice those piping skills. Not a good idea. It was incredibly difficult to pipe out that dough! The end result looked pretty, but boy did I have to sweat over the piping bag. I think next time I will just listen to Dorie.

In the end, the cookies were buttery and smooth and perfect with a cup of tea. I only wish I could have shared them with Dorie, and of course, all of you!

Ciao!

Buttery Jam Cookies

Adapted from Baking:  From My  Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 8 tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 tbsp. whole milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup apricot jam
• icing sugar for dusting

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and place two racks in the oven, one in the upper third of the oven and one in the lower third of the oven. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar (on high speed) for 2 to 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
4. Add the egg and beat on high speed for an additional minute.
5. Add the milk and the vanilla extract and beat on high speed for 30 seconds.
6. Add the jam and beat on low speed for 1 minute.
7. Add the dry ingredients, with the mixer on low speed, just until they’re mixed in. The dough will be extremely thick and stiff.
8. With a an ice cream scoop our a teaspoon, drop spoonfuls of the dough onto baking sheets, forming cookies that are about 1 inch to 1-1/2 inches in size.
9. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, rotating the trays from top rack to bottom rack halfway through.
10. Once baked, let the cookies sit on the pan for a minute or two and then remove to a wire rack and let cool completely.
11. Dust with icing sugar before serving.
12. Enjoy!

Note:  This recipe will yield between 40 and 50 cookies, depending on size.

Technorati tags:  cookbook spotlight, apricot jam, cookies, dorie greenspan, baking: from my home to yours

The sweet and imaginative Clivia of Clivia’s Cuisine has taken to offering her readers a new Swedish word along with each post. In exchange for visiting her lovely site, you can learn the meaning of a new word.

Now I’m not exactly sure when I developed my love of all things Swedish, but I must confess that I am fascinated with the country, its culture and its food. I have a wonderful friend who lives in Stockholm (Hello, I!) and dream of visiting her one day.

Ah yes, to dream.

In Swedish, that’s till dröm.

What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than curled up on the couch, under the warmest blanket, with a plate of dreams by your side and a lovely cup of tea as well. And by plate of dreams I mean a plate of Drommar Cookies, one of my very favourite cookies in the world!

A cookie, a sip of tea, a nap and a dream … I think I’ll spend the rest of the day repeating this regimen.

Ciao!

Drommar Cookies

Recipe is from Elizabeth Wigg Maxwell and is posted on Epicurious.

Click here for the recipe.

Note:  These cookies are incredible! I discovered them one day when I was trying to figure out what to do with a huge stash of sweetened, flaked coconut. I searched the Epicurious database (such a wonderful resource!), and found these cookies.

They were a hit from the first time that I made them. They are buttery and full of coconut. The exterior of the cookie is crispy and the inside is chewy and so good! You will love them. I promise!

Now I must return to my dreams …

Technorati tags:  coconut, cookies, dream cookies, drommar cookies, sweden, clivia’s cuisine

Madames et Messieurs, I bring you shocking news.

Je ne suis pas Cream Puff! I am not Cream Puff!

Ze girl that you know as Cream Puff has gone out of ze house. She has gone to ze … ummm … magasin??? How do you say that in English … oh yes … store. Cream Puff has gone to ze store.

And this is my opportunity! Allow me to introduce myself.

Je suis Monsieur Mandoline. My name is Mr. Mandoline.

I was born in France, to ze family de Buyer. Several years ago, I made my way across ze ocean to a very fancy magasin … I mean store. And there, ze Cream Puff, she found me and brought me to her home.

Au début, j’étais heureux. At first, I was happy. Ze Cream Puff, she was very nice. She used me … in a good way. I sliced ze potatoes and ze onions and ze carrots. Ah oui … j’aime les carottes!

Ze Cream Puff would use me often, and when she was finished, she would wash me and dry me and make sure that I was shiny like new. I had a very special place in ze Cream Puff kitchen.

But then, something terrible happend. Ze maman of Cream Puff, she bought her a food processor for Christmas.

Oh l’horreur!

Ze Cream Puff, she forgot about me. Slowly, slowly … I began to lose my place. At first I went from ze counter to ze cupboard. And then I went to ze cupboard even higher up. And then … on a day most sad … ze Cream Puff she put me in ze wood cabinet in ze basement.

Quelle angoisse! What anguish!

There, in ze wood cabinet, I was forced to live with ze lowly baking pans, ze discarded trays, ze empty Christmas tins and ze other appliances ze Cream Puff forgot.

My days were spent in darkness, as were my nights. Occasionally, ze Cream Puff, she would come and open ze cabinet doors and take me out. But all too rarely!

But today, mes amis, hope has entered my life! Ze Cream Puff, she went out, but she was sloppy. She left ze wooden cabinet door open. My chance had arrived!

Comme une gazelle, I jumped out of ze cabinet and sprinted up ze stairs. I made my way dans la cuisine and before me, on ze kitchen counter, was ze most beautiful butternut squash! I remembered my maman and my papa telling me of ze times that they were used to prepare butternut squash, and how beautiful it was. I longed for this feeling.

Boldly, I took ze squash and made it mine. Quelle merveille! What wonder! Ze golden, silky flesh of ze butternut was ze best medicine against my loneliness. Having sliced ze butternut squash, I remembered ze recipe ze Cream Puff used to make.

I mixed cooked ze onion dans le beurre. I added ze cream and milk. I cooked ze squash in ze mixture for only a little bit. And then I put it in ze oven with goat cheese and walnuts. What a beautiful aroma! Once out of ze oven, I helped myself to a big spoonful. And now, I am sending this gratin to you for ze Weekend Cookbook Challenge #10, hosted by Sara of I Like to Cook (moi aussi!) and Mary of The Sour Dough.

So this is my story, mes amis. For a few short hours, I have tasted freedom again. And it has been magnifique. But soon, ze Cream Puff, she will return. So I must go back to the wooden cupboard. But do not fear, Monsieur Mandoline shall return!

Vive la liberté!

Butternut Squash Gratin with Goat Cheese and Walnuts

Adapted from Gratins by Tina Salter.

• 1 large butternut squash or several small butternut squashes (2 to 3 pounds in total), peeled, seeded and sliced into 1/4-inch thick slices
• 3 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 tsp. sage, finely chopped
• 1-1/2 cups walnuts, roughly chopped
• 4 to 5 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
• 2 tbsp. parsley, finely chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a gratin dish that has a 3-quart capacity. I use a 9 x 13-inch glass baking dish.
2. In a large pan, melt the butter, add the onion and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for another minute.
3. Add the cream, milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg and sage. Bring to the boil.
4. Lower the heat to medium and add the butternut squash and half the walnuts. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the squash becomes just tender.
5. Place half the butternut squash/walnut mixture in the baking dish. Sprinkle half the crumbled goat cheese on top.
6. Top with the remaining butternut squash/walnut mixture.
7. Sprinkle with the remaining goat cheese.
8. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until the squash is completely cooked through.
9. Remove from the oven and let sit on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with the parsley and the remaining walnuts.
10. Enjoy!

Note:  This gratin will serve 6 to 8 people. It’s wonderful for parties. It can be made ahead of time and then reheated.

Technorati tags:  butternut squash, gratin, mandoline, weekend cookbook challenge

I am officially declaring November "The Month of Bread." Now that I have one bread course under my belt and will soon be completing my second bread course at George Brown College’s Culinary School, I really have no excuses for not putting my newly learned schools to good use.

In a further bit of excellent timing, the generous and talented Linda Haynes, owner of Toronto’s ACE Bakery, kindly sent me a copy of her second cookbook:  More from ACE Bakery. In 2003, when Linda published her first book called The ACE Bakery Cookbook, I greedily snapped it up. Even then I was a big fan of ACE’s bread, due mainly to the fact that I’d been enjoying it for years. The ACE Bakery facilities are conveniently located very close to my family’s shoe company. Easy access means lots and lots of ACE bread and believe me no one around here is complaining.

So here we are. It’s November. For the first time I’m featuring two cookbooks as the Flavours of the Month for November 2006. And it’s all about the bread.

I must tell you that I’ve been enjoying my bread classes immensely. The feeling of creating and kneading dough is endlessly pleasing and satisfying. And now that I have a better understanding of how the combination of yeast and flour works, I want to learn more and more.

It’s my wish that you’ll join me on this journey in the hopes that we’ll all learn just a bit more about baking bread. Of course being a Cream Puff, you can expect the usual assortment of sweets from me as well.

To kick things off, I decided to try my hand at focaccia. While I haven’t done any research on the difference between focaccia and pizza, my understanding is that focaccia tends to be breadier and thicker than your average pizza crust. To be honest, I don’t make focaccia often because I’ve never had much success. It usually ends up looking at tasting very  much like a pizza crust that’s risen a bit more.

But in another example of worlds colliding, Linda’s recipe for focaccia (from The ACE Bakery Cookbook) brought to mind an interesting lesson from one of my bread classes. While I’ve been a bit slow to update you on what I’ve learned in bread class (I’ll catch up on those posts I promise), you should know that recently we practiced making bread with what the instructor referred to as a "sponge." It’s a combination of yeast, flour and water that’s allowed to proof or ferment until it doubles or triples in size. This sponge is then used to make bread.

In The ACE Bakery Cookbook, Linda Haynes uses a "biga" or "starter" to make focaccia. Her biga is made with active dry yeast, warm water and unbleached hard white flour. Once mixed, the biga must ferment for 12 to 14 hours, which of course means that you have to plan ahead. But believe me the results are worth it!

I made the biga on a Saturday night and then picked up the recipe on Sunday morning. Before working with the biga, I mixed flour, water and olive oil and allowed it to rest for about 30 minutes. The recipe refers to this process as "autolyse," which means that you’re giving this part of the dough time for the gluten to develop. In bread class, we’ve never taken this step when using a "sponge" or starter. But because it was relatively easy and because the end result was so good, I will definitely try it again at home.

Once the dough rested, I mixed it with more yeast and water, the biga and salt. After allowing the focaccia dough to rise for a few hours, I shaped it, bathed it in olive oil and let it rise again for an hour or so. A sprinkling of sea salt and the addition of rosemary were the final steps before my focaccia went into the oven.

The fragrance alone made this entire process worth it. But the end result was fabulous. A firm crust, a light and tender interior, the flavour of olive oil mixed with sea salt and rosemary … it was beautiful and I was so proud of my accomplishment! I cannot wait for the weekend so that I can try this recipe again.

For the time being, I’m not going to post the focaccia recipe. I’m not comfortable doing so because to be honest, I did not adapt the recipe in any way. For my first time, I wanted to follow the instructions in detail. As I try it more and more, I have no doubts that I’ll adjust the recipe to further suit my tastes. So while there’s no recipe for now, please feel free to send me any questions you have about this particular focaccia.

It seems incredible that a simple focaccia baked on a quiet Sunday afternoon could bring so much pleasure. But it did. A warm kitchen … a beautiful offering from the oven … the simple things truly do make the difference.

Ciao!

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