As for the crust it came out so beautiful and golden but (there it is again) it was a bit too buttery for me. Martin didn't complain though, he just loved it. Maybe I'm just not a pie girl, or perhaps I haven't found the perfect pie yet. All I know is I enjoyed making, and eating this one so I'm really glad I made it. If you're big on pie or just curious to see what the other Tuesdays with Dorie members thought of this blueberry beauty, check out the blogroll! If you're interested in the recipe you can find it in Baking from my Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan or on Amy's blog, South in Your Mouth.
What was I doing ten years ago?
I was working as a designer for a sign company. We made all kinds of signs, menus and corporate imaging for companies such as Starbucks, McDonalds, Esso, etc, as well as smaller local companies.
What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today:
1. Make pie dough for the next Tuesdays with Dorie (I might not get to it today after all...)
2. Dishes
3. Laundry
4. Clean the apartment
5. Menu planning for next week
5 Snacks I enjoy:
1. Sun Chips (The person who invented these is EVIL!)
2. Anything chocolate
3. Scones, muffins, anything bread-like
4. Cashews (they are my favorite nut)
5. Cheese
Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. Build my dream house
2. Build my parents and my brother their dream houses
3. Get better equipped for photography (I am photography obsessed!)
4. Travel, that’s for sure!
5. Contribute to charities that help children in need
Places I have lived:
1. I was born in Montréal, Québec and lived there until age 8.
2. Edmundston, New-Brunswick, from age 8 to 20.
3. I left Edmundston for Québec City to go to Laval University. I lived there for 4 years and that’s where I met Martin.
4. I moved back to Edmundston (with Martin this time) and we lived there for almost 4 years before moving back to Québec City.
5. Now we live in Lévis, which is about 20 minutes from Québec.
Jobs I have had:
1. The first job I had was in my parents’ restaurant. I was about 10 years old, I started washing dishes and working in the kitchen, then a little while later, I moved up to waitress. I loved it, I got to meet a lot of people as it was a tourist stop in the summer. I guess that’s where I got my love of all things food.
2. Babysitter (a LOT)
3. I worked as a salesgirl in Old Québec while I was at University. Again I got to meet lots of different people. I also worked in the shoe department of a big department store.
4. Designer for a sign company (that’s what I was doing ten years ago).
5. And now I’m a stay at home mom of three!
As for who I'm tagging for this meme, if you haven't been tagged yet, consider it done!
And I love scones, all kids of scones. I have a tried and true recipe, one that never fails. I can add anything to it, reduce the amount of sugar and make savory scones with it, it’s perfect. But, since I love scones so much, I was happy to try Dorie’s recipe, you know, to see if it would measure up to my go to scones. I did make a few changes though. Just a few! I used fresh apples instead of the dried apples called for in the recipe. I just didn’t relish the idea of dried apple chunks in my moist and tender scones. I used aged cheddar with port wine from Fromagerie Perron. That cheese is fabulous I tell you, fabulous, and I wanted to see if its taste would complement the apples.
The last change I made was to pat the dough into a circle onto a parchment lined pizza pan and score the scones into 12 wedges. I prefer baking them this way since I get the best of both worlds: the exterior of the scones get golden and crispy, and the middle stays moist and tender. Oh, and once the dough was scored I brushed it with a little milk and sprinkled the scones with a bit of coarse sugar, just for fun. That's it!
The resulting scones were incredible. We could taste the cheese and the apples, the scones weren’t too moist or too dry, they were just perfect. And the hint of crunch from the cornmeal was surprisingly pleasant. Mom heartily approved of this week's choice of recipe, so if you'd like to try these for yourselves you can find the recipe in Baking From My Home To Yours or on Karina's website. And don't forget to check out the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll!
PS: Happy Canada Day to all you Canadian foodies out there!
To me lemonade has to have the perfect balance of tartness and sweetness. Once again using the trusty Food Blog Search widget, I found the Perfect Lemonade courtesy of Elise at Simply Recipes. Making lemonade couldn’t be simpler and really, I don’t know why I’d never tried it before! The kids totally loved it and they were so impressed that lemonade was something we could make ourselves.
I think its important to show them that a lot of things we find ready made at the grocery store can be made right here in our kitchen. And that homemade beats store bought any day! Summer is only just starting and I can’t wait to try a few lemonade variations. Something to make the warm days ahead a little cooler.
CLICK: The photo at the top is my entry for this month's CLICK event hosted by jugalbandi. CLICK Yellow for Bri is a special edition of the event and you can find out more about it here and here.
I started by halving the recipe, cutting the butter a bit and replacing it with some Quark cheese, and I used whole milk instead of cream. Then I decided to use half whole wheat flour, half all purpose, added some vanilla extract and used a bit more sugar than was called for. I ended up with a dough that was a bit stickier, like a dumpling, which is what I wanted. For the filling I used a mix of fresh fruit : cherries, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries. I mixed it up with some sugar, cornstarch, lime zest and a bit of lime juice.
I divided the fruit filling into baking dishes, topped it with my dumpling-like dough and sprinkled it with some coarse sugar. I ended up with more of an upside down fruit cake which was quite delicious with a bit of whipped cream. Using the soft cheese and a bit of vanilla in the dough gave it a lot of flavor. Of course, this might not be a traditional cobbler, but we liked it well enough.
The choice this week comes courtesy of Beth from Our sweet Life, you can find the recipe on her blog, or on NPR. For more takes on this dessert, check out the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll.
I’d made many banana breads and muffins before but I had never made banana cake, so I started looking for recipes. I noticed a lot of them mentioned cream cheese frosting. Really? I thought. Cream cheese frosting on a banana cake? Well, I was definitely going to try that! Any excuse to make cream cheese frosting is a good one.
So I used the fantabulous cream cheese frosting recipe from Bill’s Big Carrot Cake, with a few tweaks, and wow, that was one good cake! So if you have a few over ripe bananas, and you need an excuse to make cream cheese frosting, this cake is for you!
Banana Cake
Adapted from Allrecipes
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
4 ripe bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg; set aside.
Cream together the butter and the sugar.
Add eggs one at a time, beating well in between each addition. Add bananas and vanilla extract; mix well. Add the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Pour batter into the prepared pans.
Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Cool and frost cake.
Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from Baking From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan
4 ounces low-fat cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 stick ( 4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 pound or about 2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 to 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or 1/4 teaspoon pure lemon extract
Finely chopped toasted pecans and toasted pecan halves
In a large bowl, working with your mixer of choice, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the confectioner’s sugar and keep beating until the frosting is very smooth. Beat in the lemon juice or extract.
Frost the cake and decorate the sides with the chopped pecans and the top with the pecan halves.
So when I saw that Caroline, of A Consuming Passion, had chosen the Peppermint Cream Puff Ring for this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie, I knew what my cream puff would become. Pâte à choux is quite simple to make and what makes them churros is their shape and the fact that they’re usually dipped in a mixture of sugar and cinnamon. Since I wanted to keep the mint aspect of the recipe, I omitted the cinnamon and added a little vanilla to the dough, for added flavor.
We all loved these, they were a real treat with the Chocolate Sauce and the Mint Scented Whipped Cream. If you’d like the recipe for Dorie’s Peppermint Cream Puff Ring, you can find it on pages 290-292 of Baking From My Home To Yours and on Epicurious. You'll also want to check out the Tuesdays With Dorie Blogroll to see what the other members came up with. If you want something less traditional, give these churros a try, I’m sure you won’t regret it!
Untraditional Churros
1 cup whole milk
4 tbsp butter
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar, for dipping
3 cups canola oil, for frying
In a medium saucepan, mix milk, butter, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Add vanilla. Add flour all at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the dough forms a ball. It will take about one minute. Transfer the dough to a large bowl and let it cool about 5 minutes. Using your wooden spoon, beat in the eggs one at a time until they are incorporated in the dough. It will look lumpy at first, but the dough will come together.
In a large, heavy skillet, heat oil to 350F. Spoon the dough into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Once the oil is hot, pipe in the batter into 3 to 3-1/2 inch long strips, cutting the strip with a knife or kitchen shears. Fry the churros until golden, about 4 minutes total, turning them once or twice. Remove them from the oil onto a paper towel lined baking sheet and let them cool enough to touch. Dip the churros in the granulated sugar to coat.
Chocolate Sauce
2 ounces bittersweet or dark chocolate
1 cup milk
1/2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp sugar (or to taste)
In a small saucepan, over low heat, place 1/2 cup milk with the chocolate and stir constantly until the chocolate is melted. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch with the remaining 1/2 cup milk and stir it into the chocolate. Add the sugar and stirring with a whisk, cook the mixture until it has thickened. It will take about 5 minutes. If the chocolate sauce is lumpy, whisk it vigorously until it is smooth. Pour into cups or small bowls and top with Mint Scented Whipped Cream.
Mint Scented Whipped Cream
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 to 3 tbsp sugar (to taste)
1/8 to 1/4 tsp peppermint extract (to taste)
Pour the heavy cream in your mixer bowl of choice and whip at medium speed until it starts to thicken. Add the sugar and the peppermint extract and whip until the cream holds its peaks. Spoon onto the chocolate sauce and, if you wish, decorate with some fresh mint leaves.
OK, enough of this feeling sorry for myself. I made these peanut butter cookies a few weeks ago, with every intention of sharing them with you but other things had to be done and they've been patiently waiting their turn. I'm not usually a big fan of peanut butter in baked goods but peanut butter cookies are the exception.
Maybe it's the crispy, crunchy factor that I like in these or maybe it's the chocolate chips but in any case I like these a lot. So much that, I wish I had some right now. So much that I might brave a 350F oven for an hour or so. Oops, out comes the sun again... No, no baking for me today. Excuse me while I get my ice cream recipes out and go make a shopping list.
For the recipe, visit Deb over at Smitten Kitchen.
Everyday as I click on a recipe or a blog link, I keep discovering talented people and wonderful blogs. I have only recently discovered Briana Brownlow’s blog, Figs with Bri, and I really wish I had found it under different circumstances. Bri is fighting cancer and some wonderful people have decided to support her and help her fight. If you would like to help Bri, go to the end of this post and you will find all the information you need about the event that Bee and Jai of jugalbandi have organized.
I decided to share this recipe for Rhubarb Raspberry Galette with you today because it feels to me like a comforting dessert. Something you would bring to a friend’s house when they’re feeling down or just to say: “Hey, let’s have a cup of coffee and talk”.
Although rhubarb is classically paired with strawberries, the raspberries are wonderful in this. The raspberries I used were a bit tart so the galette didn’t turn out overly sweet and you could still taste the tartness of the rhubarb as well. I'm telling you, these are the perfect excuse to forget about housework, visit a friend and have a nice chat.
Rhubarb Black Raspberry Galettes
Canadian Living Magazine June 2008
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 tbsp. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
3 tbsp. sour cream
1/2 cup ice water (approx.)
Filling:
1 cup granulated sugar
3 tbsp. cornstarch
5 cups sliced fresh rhubarb
1 1/2 cups black or red raspberries
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
2 tbsp. butter, softened (I forgot this, oops…)
Glaze:
1 egg yolk
In bowl, mix together flour, cornmeal, sugar and salt; using pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter until in large crumbs. In glass measure, whisk sour cream with water; drizzle over flour mixture, tossing with fork until dough comes together and adding up to 1 tbsp more water if necessary. Divide into 6 pieces. Shape each into disc. Wrap each in plastic wrap; refrigerate for 30 minutes or until chilled. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 24 hours.)
Filling: Remove 2 tbsp of the sugar and set aside for sprinkling over galettes. Whisk remaining sugar with cornstarch; set aside.
In large bowl, toss together sliced rhubarb, berries, lemon juice and cornstarch mixture.
On lightly floured surface, roll out each disc of pastry to 8-1/2 inch circle, leaving edge ragged. Arrange 3 of each on 2 large parchment paper-lined baking sheets.
Sprinkle center of each with bread crumbs. Spoon 1 cup rhubarb mixture over top; dot with 1 tsp butter. Lift pastry up over filling to form about 5-inch circle, letting pastry fall naturally into folds around edge and leaving center uncovered. (Make ahead: Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.)
Glaze: Beat egg yolk with 1 tbsp water; brush over pastry. Sprinkle with reserved sugar.
Bake in top and bottom thirds of 425F oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350F; bake for 10 minutes. Switch and rotate pans. Bake for about 15 minutes or until filling is bubbly and crust in golden. Let cool on rack for 15 minutes.
This month’s photo contest also has some prizes. Details HERE.
You can support this campaign by donating to the fundraiser, by participating in CLICK: the photo event, and by publicising
this campaign.
