Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Tuesdays With Dorie - Summer Fruit Galette

From the moment I read the recipe for Dorie's Summer Fruit Galette, I knew I wanted to make it with peaches. But, I also knew I couldn't get Martin to buy peaches if they weren't Ontario peaches. They're the only ones we ever buy and they weren't in season yet.

So fast forward to this past weekend when we're at the store to get a few things for dinner and there they are, baskets full of gorgeous, ripe, fragrant Ontario peaches. Woohoo! As Homer would say. Since I had no problems with the Good for Everything Pie Dough for the Blueberry Pie a few weeks back, except for the fact that I found it too buttery, I decided to tweak it just a bit and reduce the butter by a few tablespoons. That did the trick.

I actually preferred the taste and texture of the crust this way. And it came together just as easily. I used amaretti cookies instead of graham crackers to absorb some of the juices, and peach jam, just to make sure the peach taste would come through. And I tossed my sliced peaches with a little cornstarch before assembling the galette as I didn't want it to leak.

The part I wasn't so sure about was the custard. But it was delicious! I love how it made the peaches glossy and the creaminess it gave to the galette was just right.

I can't think of one thing I didn't like about this recipe, except maybe that it was gone too quickly! That's entirely my fault though as I halved the galette recipe. But I do have enough pie dough in the freezer to make another one, that's not too shabby!

For the recipe, visit Michelle in Colorado Springs, she chose this beauty! I can't wait to see what the rest of the Tuesdays with Dorie gang came up with this week!

Pin It!

Friday, July 25, 2008

A Change of Taste

Can you imagine just a few short years ago, I didn't eat raspberries? Not because I didn't like the taste but because of the seeds. Then one day we had some friends over for lunch and they brought the dessert. A cream pie with fresh raspberries from the farmer's market to serve alongside. Not wanting to be rude, I had a few raspberries with my pie, and I couldn't believe I had been missing out for so long. The seeds didn't even bother me!
From that moment, I promised myself I would always taste something I thought I didn't like, just in case. Even olives. And someday I promise to give you the recipe a friend of mine uses for marinating olives, the only olives I've ever actually liked! But this is not a post about olives, it's about a fabulous raspberry sherbet that Cookie Baker Lynn posted very recently. The color and the simplicity of the dessert was just so tempting, I couldn't help but make it that very same day! It is so refreshing and you know what? No seeds, just that beautiful raspberry flavor. So if raspberry seeds bother you, this is the dessert to try! I was going to enter this in Grace's Beat The Heat event, but I have something else up my sleeve! Just wish me a few good picture taking hours and I'll be good to go. Heck, even just a few minutes would make me happy these days!
Give Cookie Baker Lynn a visit for the sherbet recipe, and while you're at it take a peek through her archives, you're bound to find one or a dozen recipes that make you go: "Oooh, I HAVE to try this!".
Pin It!

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Tuesdays With Dorie - Cherry Rhubarb Cobbler

This is going to be another short and sweet Tuesdays with Dorie post as the only word that comes to mind when I think of that Cherry Rhubarb Cobbler is "uninspiring".

I was quite disappointed as I love cherries, I love rhubarb but the two together just didn't do it for me. Even Martin who usually loves fruit desserts like this just said it was good but ordinary.

I had really high hopes because as I said, I love all the ingredients separately and everything came together really easily. Plus it's a really beautiful dessert, the fruit filling turns a gorgeous red, and I had sprinkled some coarse sugar on top of the dumplings so they were really shiny and crunchy.

But once I scooped out a piece it was a whole different story. I found the filling was too soupy, the dough was bland and the fruit didn't complement each other at all, in my opinion. I'm not being negative or anything, but I couldn't just tell you guys this was a fabulous dessert and you should all try it right away. I'm not saying you shouldn't either though as I'm sure others in the group really liked it or tweaked it to their liking.

So should you be curious about it visit Amanda at Like Sprinkles on a Cupcake who chose this week's recipe. Now I'm off to visit the other members and see what they all thought of this cobbler!

Pin It!

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Making Memories with a New Cheesecake

Cheesecake is one of my all time favorite desserts. When we lived in Montreal, my mom would take me and my brother for walks and stop off at this wonderful bakery, of which I don't remember the name, typical. We would share a huge piece of the thickest, creamiest, strawberry cheesecake ever. To this day, I've never been able to find a cheesecake to top that one. Maybe it's the memories attached to the cake that makes it so special, or maybe my tastes have changed since those early days, but one thing's for sure, I still love cheesecake.

A little more than a week ago, I got this undeniable comfort food/dessert craving. This all started when I was looking for recipes to use up some Quark cheese I had in the fridge. Of course, I turned to Food Blog Search and came across this wonderful recipe. I printed it out and started thinking about how I could switch things up a little. I had some raspberries to use up as well and I remembered this post from Elle about raspberry-lime muffins. As soon as I made these muffins using lime zest instead of lemon, I knew why Elle had become obsessed with those flavors! So, raspberry-lime cheesecake it was!

My craving was totally satisfied. This cake is not too moist which makes it perfect with the raspberries bursting in every bite. And the lime pulls it all together, it just makes the flavors pop! I'm sure this would be great with lemon and blueberries, or maybe strawberries and orange. Really there are so many possibilities, I don't know why you guys are still here! Get baking already!

And because I liked this cake so much, I decided to send it to sweet Susan from Food Blogga who is hosting Sugar High Friday #45. The theme is berries, what else! I can't wait for the berry-liscious round-up! SHF is a monthly event created by Jennifer, The Domestic Goddess.

Raspberry-Lime Cheesecake
Adapted from Kedai Hamburg

100g flour
1 tsp baking powder
200g superfine sugar
Zest of 1 lime
200g cream cheese, softened
250g Quark cheese
3 eggs
125g butter, melted
Juice of 1 lime
150g fresh raspberries

Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Line a 26 cm (10 inch) spring form pan with parchment paper. Also grease the pan well.

In a small bowl, mix the flour with the baking powder. In another bowl, mix the sugar with the lime zest, mashing it together with a fork. Set these aside. In a large bowl, with your mixer of choice, combine the cream cheese with the Quark cheese until well blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well in between each addition. Add the sugar mixture, then the melted butter and the lime juice. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Pour the batter in the prepared pan and distribute the raspberries evenly throughout the surface of the cake. Bake in the preheated oven for about 45 to 50 minutes, until the edges of the cake are golden brown. Let the cake cool in the pan. Once the cake has cooled, run a knife in between the cake and the pan before unmolding.

PS: I apologize to those of you who don’t have a kitchen scale, I was too lazy to convert to imperial units. That being said, I highly recommend purchasing a kitchen scale. I just got one recently and I love it!

Pin It!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Tuesdays With Dorie - Chocolate Pudding

I have a bunch of really good reasons why I haven't been around much lately but I'll spare you the boring details. What I will tell you about is the chocolate pudding that Melissa from It's Melissa's Kitchen has chosen for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie.


First off, let me just say that although the recipe calls for a food processor, I don't have one and you don't need one to make this pudding. A whisk, a saucepan and a large bowl is pretty much all you need. What I love about this pudding is that it is so smooth and chocolatey.


There's not much else to say about it! If you've never tried homemade pudding before, you're missing out. You can find the recipe here, here or on page 383 of Baking from my Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.

Pin It!

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Tuesdays With Dorie - Double Crusted Blueberry Pie

I've probably said this before, but I'll say it again, just in case you're new here. I'm afraid of pies. Not eating them but making them. I haven't had a lot of good experiences making pies so when I saw that Amy of South in your mouth had chosen Dorie's Double Crusted Blueberry Pie for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, I was afraid. But, when I told Martin of this week's choice he looked at me with a "you better make this pie" sorta look and well, I couldn't refuse the man his pie, it is one of his favorite desserts.


The part that I usually have the most trouble with is the dough. It's almost always too dry, never comes together for me, crumbles when I try to roll it out, every single problem you can have with pie dough, I usually have it. I made the dough by hand with a pastry cutter and my own two hands, no food processor here. So you can imagine my surprise when the dough did come together quite easily, no extra water required. I guess all that butter is in there for something! It rolled out pretty well too, although it was a little crumbly I managed to get it into the pie plate. The filling had me a bit perplexed, I actually read the recipe a few times before I could wrap my mind around the idea of flour in there. But, as I had decided not to tweak this time, since I'm so bad at pie making, I followed the recipe to the letter. I thought it looked a bit dry but I told myself the berries were fresh and hadn't given out their juices yet and I didn't want a runny filling, so I put the pie together sprinkled it liberally with sugar and into the oven it went.


After the alloted cooking time, the crust was beautiful but it was so buttery that there was butter dripping out of the pie plate! The filling wasn't bubbling much, it wasn't overflowing at all and my pies always overflow! I took it out of the oven anyways and waited, and waited while the pie took its sweet time cooling down. It was pure torture! After a few hours, and many a photo later, we finally cut this baby open. It is quite delicious, but... Yes there is always a but when I make a pie. Although the filling was very, very good, with the hint of lemon and the gorgeous blueberries, I think the flour in the filling was too much. Or maybe it works best with frozen fruit, but my filling didn't look the way it should. There were patches of whitish juices and it was a bit too thick.

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.


Pin It!

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Tags, Memes and Awards Galore!

Today is dark and rainy here in my neck of the woods and that is not picture taking weather. No light = no pics. Boo. It's like Mother Nature doesn't want me to have a blog, or at least not a blog with pictures. I guess I asked for it when I talked of the warm days ahead. Ha. So I decided that if there was to be no photography today, I would do something long (LONG) overdue and answer a couple of memes and pass along a few awards. I want everyone who tagged and awarded me to know I appreciate it very much, even though it may take me a while to get organized!

I was tagged a while ago by three, yes three, fabulous bloggers for the "What Were You Doing 10 Years Ago" meme. Caitlin of Engineer Baker, Jessica of My Baking Heart and Amy of Eggs on Sunday all tagged me for the same meme. I guess I had to get to it sometime! Here goes:

The rules: Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

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!

Another meme I was tagged for is "Your Ten Favorite Food Photos". The incredibly talented Gretchen from Canela & Comino wants to see my favorite food pics, so here they are:


Click the pics to see the original post.

I am tagging 5 bloggers who I think have consistently fantastic food pics so I can't wait to see what their favorites are!

Lynn of Cookie Baker Lynn
Brilynn of Jumbo Empanadas
Patricia of Technicolor Kitchen
Kevin of Closet Cooking
Mari of Mevrouw Cupcake





Another 3 incredible bloggers, Alfie of Cabbage Roses and Cupcakes, Nic of Cherrapeno and Mara of Lick The Spatula all think that my blog has good enough pics to deserve the Arte Y Pico award. I appreciate it very much as all three have an incredible eye for photography. Thank you three so much! I would like to pass this award along to 5 deserving bloggers. Visit their blogs and you'll see that they are really talented photographers.

The rules for the award are:
-Pick five blogs who deserve this award because the content of their blog is creative, interesting, and they inspire the blogging community.
-Each recipient has to have their name and link back to their blog. -The recipient must display the award and link back to the blog that awarded them the award. -The recipient must also show the link back to Arte y Pico blog so everyone knows the origin of the award.

Joey of 80 Breakfasts
Rajani of Vegetarian in Me

Mandy of Fresh from the Oven

Amy of Nook and Pantry

Arfi of HomemadeS


Alfie also sent the "E for Excellent" award my way a few months ago. Thank you Alfie, that is so sweet of you! Lynn of Cookie Baker Lynn had also awarded me the "E" a little while back, you can see who I awarded it to here.


Two of the sweetest bloggers I have come to know, Grace of A Southern Grace and Ginny of Just Get Floury both gave me the "I Love You This Much" award. Thank you so much you guys, I love you this much too! I think that is one of the cutest awards out there and I want to pass it along to bloggers who make me laugh, inspire me and always brighten my day!


Susan of Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy

Elle of Elle's New England Kitchen

Brilynn of Jumbo Empanadas

Aimée of Under the High Chair

Amy of Eggs on Sunday


Ah, the "Yummy Blog Award". Lynn of the fabulously yummy Cookie Baker Lynn blog thinks my blog is yummy! Thank you Lynn, your blog is way yummier, this means a lot coming from you! I think so many food blogs out there deserve this award but here are 5 I think are yummy, yummy, yummy!


What Geeks Eat

Glorious Food and Wine

Couture Cupcakes

Scottish Cow

Gigi Cakes


And last but certainly not least I want to thank The Biscuit Pusher for giving me
the "Blogging with a Purpose" award a while back. I'm so sorry it took me so long to acknowledge it. I want to send it to Bee and Jai of jugalbandi. Not only do they host the wonderful CLICK event every month, they pulled the blogging community together to support a friend and fellow blogger. You guys Rock with a capital "R"!

I hope I didn't miss a tag from anyone, please let me know if I did. If any of you have already received these awards, I promise not to take it personally if you don't pass them along again. I just wanted to let all you guys know I love to read your posts and I always look forward to learning new things about you. I also love to discover new blogs and hope you discovered a few today! Have fun checking every blog out!
Pin It!

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Tuesdays With Dorie - Apple Cheddar Scones

As my mom was visiting this weekend, I was glad that this week’s Tuesdays With Dorie recipe was a breakfast treat. Karina of The Floured Apron chose Apple Cheddar Scones for us and since I love to use company as an excuse to make special breakfasts, this was perfect.

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!

Pin It!