Cupcake Camp

Today I finished the cupcakes we're going to be bringing to cupcake camp. I don't have any pictures of these yet, but here is one from a prior batch.

I think I'm finally satisfied with the flavorings for these. I roast apples with 5 spice powder and add them to a cupcake made with 1/2 white and 1/2 whole wheat flour. These aren't further flavored, other than vanilla. For the topping, I make a caramel Italian Meringue Buttercream, but rather than add the caramel to the sweetened buttercream, I caramelize the syrup, then add some water to get it pourable enough to add to the egg whites. At that point it's closer to marshmallow fluff. Then I add the butter. I was hoping I wouldn't need hardly any butter, but I ended up putting in 2 sticks to get it thick enough. The flavorings of the frosting are ginger and cinnamon. Strangely it ends up having a bit of a coconut flavor.

garlicky crumb-coated broccoli - French Fridays w/ Dorie

Ok, recovering from last week's mix-up. Hopefully this won't be too confusing because I'm going to try to do both dishes in one.

The broccoli was wonderful. I do love broccoli anyway, so having a fairly new way to cook it is always welcome. How can you go wrong with garlic, lemon, breadcrumbs, and butter? I used whole wheat crumbs, and less butter, but it worked great. The broccoli I cooked in a microwave steamer. Everyone enjoyed it and I'm going to be bringing it to a dinner tomorrow night.

The quinoa, fruit and nut salad was also great. As I mentioned in last week's post, I used dried sour cherries, dried mango, pistachios, almonds, and prunes. The dressing was walnut oil, orange juice, cilantro, and fresh ginger. I couldn't bring myself to try it with the yogurt. I should have, and will make it again so I can see. I should always trust Dorie, so I'm sure it only enhanced the dish. Unfortunately, I was the only one in the family who really liked it and I'm sure it's because I used the Trader Joe's Harvest grain blend. They didn't like that blend the first time I made it so I shouldn't be surprised they didn't like it this time either. So that meant that I ate the whole thing for lunches.

Shoot

I was just going to post my French Fridays link to the fabulous garlicky broccoli with breadcrumbs and found that I'm on the wrong week!

Will I ever be able to trust my memory? I guess not ( -:  It was supposed to be quinoa, fruit & nut salad. I just went to the market tonight without knowing this but it sounds like I'll be ok, other than the herbs. Like many of Dorie's recipes, this allows for a lot of flexibility.

I think I'll use the Trader Joe's grain blend I have, since it has Israeli couscous, along with red and green orzo, split dried garbanzo beans, and red quinoa. For the fruit, I think a good combo will be raisins, dried mango (if my daughter will part with it), and dried cherries. Wow, can you believe I actually have those on hand. What a coincidence! And for the nuts, I did happen to buy another bag of pistachios because Alan loved the leftovers from the beggar's pasta so much he requested I get more. I also have almonds. Maybe so this doesn't taste just like the pasta, I'll leave out the raisins and replace with prunes. Yes, that's what I'll do. I think I'd like to put some orange juice in the dressing and cut down on the oil a bit. Since I don't have mint, I'll use cilantro, as others have done. Since I don't have any plain yogurt, I may just steal the top off a fruited one. That sounds good to me!
grain blend + dried mango, dried cherries, prunes + pistachios & almonds + orange juice, walnut oil, fresh ginger, cilantro
Really, how bad could it be? I'll let you all know tomorrow...

So I have something new to add, here's the buttercream I made today. Real Italian Buttercream, made with a sugar syrup that I let caramelize, which was great because it cut down the butter by a whole stick. I also flavored this with dried ginger, cinnamon & salt.

Tomorrow I'll be roasting the apples to go into the cupcakes. I'm working on perfecting a recipe to bring to the cupcake camp in Boston - 5 spice apple cupcakes w/ spiced caramel buttercream.

Scallops w/ Caramel-Orange Sauce - French Friday's with Dorie

When I first started making these, I fretted about the scallops because I got them from the super-market and not the fish market. Our local market has the best dry scallops and I'll use them next time I make these because the sauce was great. The scallops I bought were pretty good, but not the greatest, and that may be why the juices ran and messed up the beautiful sauce? They said "dry" and they did brown nicely, but I'm not sure. I'll have to do a comparison.

So I started making the sauce, using orange juice from a carton, rather than squeezing my own because I wanted to know the juice was going to be good and it's hard to tell what you're going to get with fresh fruit sometimes. I've made caramel before, and know that using a white pan is the way to go. So I browned the sugar, added the wine and juice and really didn't like the smell. I noticed this from other recipes of Dorie's, so I waited it out and once it came together, it was wonderful!

Caramel Sauce

I made the sauce first, then got working on the carrots with spiced butter, also from "Around My French Table". Another case where the smell at the beginning didn't do much for me. No need to be nervous, these were wonderful too. Super easy, sweet and fruity, though maybe too sweet to go with the scallops. Next time I think I'll try asparagus and couscous as sides. As you can see from the plate, there isn't a starch. That's because I bought a nice wheat chibatta to go with it. That worked well because I could soak up all the caramel sauce with it!

Scallops & Carrots

Ricotta Gnocchi

I bought some wonderful ricotta cheese from the Naragansett Creamery at the Plymouth Farmer's Market the other week. I wanted a recipe that would do it justice, so looked around and found several for ricotta gnocchi, including one from Mark Bittman. I gave it a shot and they were pretty good and I even got to use the fresh sage from the market as well. I don't think I'd make them again, and I'm not sure why. Maybe they were too rich, or too mushy? Not quite sure, but the sage butter was wonderful! I used the rest of it later in the week on chicken with roast pears and put he leftover gnocchi in a tomato sauce. 

sage butter

chicken w/ sage butter



Raisin-Pecan Bread

Finished another installment of the 12 months of baked goods from the goods & services auction from church last year. Made one for us and one for Karen. Yummy!

Salted Butter Break-ups - French Friday's with Dorie

Well this is what happens when you rush and don't use the right equiptment to boot.

As you may be able to see, there are a couple of holes where the clumps of butter that didn't get incorporated were. I made the dough in 15 minutes before the school bus came and it shows. I also made it with mostly all whole wheat flour and used 8 tbsp. butter. The food processor I have was too small and what a mess!

That being said, the taste was still great. This was a cross between a sweet pie crust and shortbread. Hopefully I won't be the only one eating it because I could probably go through the whole thing rather easily.

Beggar’s Linguine - French Friday's with Dorie

The assignment this week was an easy and delicious pasta recipe. We all loved it and had seconds. I wish I could share the smell of the figs, raisins, pistachios and almonds simmering in butter - wow, amazing.

I did make one major change to the recipe. I couldn't put in all the butter. In fact, I only put in 2 out of the 12 tablespoons and augmented the rest with chicken broth. One thing I had trouble with was tossing in the Parmesan cheese. I wanted the pasta to be hot, but then the cheese got a little clumpy. Didn't matter though. It was great and I do think the leftovers will be good. I'll certainly make this again.

Savory Cheese & Chive Bread - French Fridays with Dorie

Late again for this installment of the French Fridays with Dorie entry. Last weeks dish was a quick bread that allowed for some changes while working within the basic recipe. It's really quick, unless you need to stop at the market for the cheese, as I did. But that lead me to include fresh pears, rather than the dried ones as suggested, because I couldn't find dried pears at the market. It also lead to Shara having an egg & bacon sandwich for dinner and Alan making the bacon & sandwich while I worked on the rest of the ingredients. So it was a group effort, the best kind.

Since we also went to Chinatown yesterday and I happened to get flowering chive, which was perfect for this bread. The other additions were the cheese, I found a nice cheddar/bleu cheese that I thought would work well with the bacon and fresh pear.

It looked like a lot of mix-ins and not much batter, but it worked out fine in the end.

As with most breads I bake, I find I need to go longer than the recommended cook time in the recipe. This took about 10 minutes extra. The finished product was great. I had to give some of it away because Shara wasn't a fan, except for the bacon, and Alan thought the pear tasted odd. Maybe I should have used the dried pear instead?

Danish, take 2

This time I tried the danish using the traditional method of layering the butter. What I couldn't do was use 2 sticks of butter and made these with 1 stick, the same amount as last time. I don't think we need the two. Here's one of the uglier ones. I'm saving the prettier pastry for my daughter and nieces.

Yes, this is yummy and flaky. Can't wait to share these and make more!

2/27/11 Menus

Sunday
Lentils, spinach, broccoli, bazlama *

Monday

short ribs in red wine and port *
mashed white potatoes
mashed sweet potatoes with chopped clementines
carrots





Tuesday
Garlic Chicken - Submerge chicken in a strong garlic-olive oil infusion, then coat with Parmesan and bread crumbs for a quick and sublime baked chicken.
Pancetta Green Beans
bread *

Wednesday

Ma Po Tofu
white rice *







Thursday
leftovers *

Friday
leftovers *

Short Ribs in Red Wine and Port - French Fridays with Dorie

I almost didn't make this dish because time was running short and I didn't have a chance to go to the market and, and, and... Well, I had the family with me and we were having a fruit emergency so I ran into the market for apples & a mango while everyone waited in the car. I was so close to what I needed, yet I didn't have my list, so, running around the market like a crazy woman, I grabbed the apples, mango, then a few bananas. I ran over to the meat section to see if they had short ribs. They didn't, but they did have beef spare ribs and I couldn't resist. I got enough for 1/2 a recipe - there are only 2.5 of us, so the full recipe would have been much too much. I got some ginger, tomato paste, and looked at the fresh herb selection and decided to use dried. What I forgot was the gremolata, and the onions, and the celery!

The reheating - still lots of fat

Ok, excuses all aside, I decided to go ahead with what I had and get it to be hot on the table for dinner tonight. I browned the ribs in the pot instead of broiling and used the drippings to saute the vegetables I had - no celery, but found cippolini onions and quartered them. From there I basically stuck to the recipe - wine, port, herbs, star anise, etc. I braised the ribs in the oven for about 2 hours, then cooled the ribs on the stove for a bit before putting them in the fridge.

Gremolata components

My plan was to slow cook them until they were tender because I had to work and wouldn't be home to supervise. What I didn't want to do was dry it out. So, when the Academy Awards ended, I remembered the ribs and scrambled to get them in the slow cooker. This worked out perfectly because I was able to take off all the solidified fat, which was my original goal. I put the ribs on warm and they cooked until I got up at 5:30 am. The house smelled wonderful! I turned off the cooker, let them cool, moved them back to the original pot, and put it back in the fridge. When I got home after work, I added some baby carrots and heated it up on the stove while making the mashed white & sweet potatoes, and gremolata (with cilantro purchased today).

the evening's waitress

the finished product

So this is a recipe I'll certainly make again. Next time I'd like to get grass-fed short ribs and make this for company, maybe with risotto and roasted vegetables on the side.

Pastry Time

Shaping and filling the danish. I made 2 rounds of the danish. The first I worked the dough a little before rolling it. The second time I put more flour on the counter and didn't work any further into the dough, trying to keep the butter pieces bigger. I don't think there was that much of a difference. Next time I'm going to try laminating - layering the butter and then folding the dough over, rolling it out, and refrigerating between folding/rolling sessions. It seems as though that's the only way to really get the flakiness. Or maybe I'll just use bigger pieces of butter and see if that works. The recipe I used, I like, because it doesn't use so much butter, but then not enough butter and it's not flaky. I suppose if it was butterier, I may be satisfied with eating much less. These tasted so good though, I could hardly stop and have to give them away to get them out of the house!

Making the almond filling:
My sister's homemade almond paste and confectioner's sugar









Now it's time to add the egg, vanilla and (I'd recommend) almond extract.

The final filling













Rolled out dough, after doing a few kneads.

For the first round, I made a few different types;
* frozen raspberries (picked last summer) and bittersweet chocolate
* raspberries, chocolate & almond filling
* almond filling & raspberries
* almond filling








Filled & waiting to rise. Using the raspberries from the freezer slowed down the rise. Took me a while to realize why it was taking so long! I wasn't sure if I would ever make these again, so I wanted to try out several different shapes.
shapes: envelopes and spandauer (I think)

More shapes - triangle twists

The finished pastry - texture may not have been crispy/flaky, but they tasted incredible.

This is the second batch. For these I made:
* bearclaws/cockscombs with almond filling
* cheese danish filled with honey sweetened cream cheese and dried bing cherries (reconstituted)

I believe either the filling should have been just the almond paste? or at least I should have used less. Some did squish out, but the filling tasted great.

After filling, you put egg wash on the exposed dough and fold the dough over the filling. I gently pushed down on all sides to seal.

The next step is to fold the other side over, toward the filling side. At least this is how I think this is supposed to be done. The instructions I found were not completely clear, but I wanted to actually make these and not spend any more time researching!

After flipping so the seam is on the bottom, you cut the "toes". I liked more cuts, so mine turned into the cockscomb shape instead.

Finished and awaiting the rise.

Ta da!

Recent Meals

Shrimp, broccoli rabbe & pea shoots w/ garlic




snap peas, garlic, baby artichokes & meyer lemons, await being roasted



Valentine's Dinner - homemade fettuccini w/ light alfredo, roast vegetables, and shrimp scampi

Cappuccino Cheesecake

Last holiday season our church had a group effort to make and sell cheesecakes. This one was mine. It didn't get sold, but was finally eaten, and apparently enjoyed, during a Valentine's dance at the church. It was a great recipe and so easy. Topped with a bit of ganache & chocolate covered espresso beans.

Danish Pastry

Found a simple recipe on AllRecipes.com today for Marzipan Christmas Kringle. I made the dough today. Didn't have heavy cream, so used half and half and skim milk for the "milk". We'll see how it turns out. It's really a corner-cutting recipe because the butter is added to the dough and not folded into it, as traditional dough recipes call for. Had to find something worthy of my sister's homemade almond paste she gave me the other day. I have tons of it and can't wait to see how this turns out. I'm going to make the almond filling from Beatrice Ojakangas' site. And as I'm reading Beatrice's danish page, I see the exact recipe I found from allrecipes! So, tomorrow morning I'll make the filling & pastries.

Panetta Green Beans - French Fridays with Dorie

Just started participating in "French Fridays with Dorie" and this week the assignment was to make her panetta green beans. Last week I had bought a bag of frozen haricot vert at Trader Joes, so this first recipe was a quick, simple way to ease into the schedule. One problem was that I couldn't find very good quality panetta at my local market so I had to settle for a thinly sliced version containing nitrates, which i'd rather do without. However, the finished product was excellent. Everyone loved it, including my vegetable-challenged daughter. Taking Dorie's suggestion, I drizzled with a little walnut oil. I can't wait to see how this tastes when I can get better panetta.

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2/19/11 Menus

Sunday

Fresh Semolina and Egg Pasta
Hot Italian Sausage Sauce
Green beans and pancetta (Dorie Greenspan)

Monday
Apricot-Glazed Pork Chops
Stir-Fried Kale and Broccoli Florets
Jasmine rice

Tuesday
Kabocha Squash stuffed with rice, pancetta, cheese (Dorie Greenspan)
Vegetarian Moroccan Stew
Couscous

Friday
Spinach Simmered in Yogurt - Delish.com
Bazlama - Turkish Flat Bread

2/12/11 Menus

Saturday
Lunch - tomato soup * Main Dish
Lunch - Gorgonzola crackers * Side Dish

Maria's Broccoli Rabe
Side Dish
Prep 20 min | Cook 20 min | Ready in 40 Minutes

Pan-fry slices of Meyer lemon with baby artichokes * Appetizers

Sunday
Fresh Semolina and Egg Pasta
Quick and Easy Alfredo Sauce * Main Dish
shrimp scampi * Main Dish
steamed sugar snap peas * Appetizers

Monday
Moroccan Chicken with Green Olives and Lemon Recipe at Epicurious.com *
couscous * Side Dish

Tuesday
Hot dogs in crescent rolls * Appetizers
baked beans * Appetizers
broccoli * Appetizers

Wednesday
Pea Shoots and Chicken in Garlic Sauce
Thursday
Apricot-Glazed Pork Chops
Baked Sweet Potatoes * Appetizers
Couscous * Appetizers

Friday
Brussels Sprouts in Mustard Sauce
Harvest Burgers * Appetizers

Ideas for Shara Food

broccoli pizza - soft dough, cut in little squares
grilled cheese sandwich - cut in little squares
roast carrot pieces
broccoli & chicken & rice casserole
yogurt cheese
mashed potatoes
chicken enchiladas w/green salsa & creamy cheese sauce
roasted asparagus
green bean casserole
baked beans

04/17/2005

Sunday - baked ziti w/spinach & mushrooms, salad, bread
Monday - Salmon, sweet potatoes, salad
Tuesday - pepper & onion w/ sausages, broccoli, salad, bread
Wednesday - leftovers, salad
Thursday - tostadas, salad
Friday - leftovers

FL - packing list (6 days)

Carrying:
Shara in Bjorn up to plane
Pocketbook
Small carry-on suitcase
Large suitcase
Anything else?

Diaper Bag:
cloth diaper
puffs
bibster
water
tylenol
benadryl
zip-lock bag
Tissues
tether
bars - 2
toodles, caterpiller
phone, Visor?
wallet

Small Carry-on Suitcase
camera, videocamera, cabana, mesh beach bag?
wipes - 1 pack
jar babyfood
spoon
disposable changing pad
diapers - 3
receiving blanket - for laying under the changing pad
1 romper
Where's my mother & goodnight moon books

Big Suitcase:
toiletries
power adapters - cameras, phones
pocketbook
Shara -
sunglasses
hats - 2
water shoes
socks - 6 pair (why not just 3 pairs of socks just as all the other cloths?)
undershirts - 3
bathing suits
terry robe
3 sleepers
3 nice outfits (white & blue butterfly, cherry, fruit romper & socks)
1 romper
pants - pink, pink pattern
blanket, 2 cloth diapers, comb, moisturizer, nail clippers, bibsters - 15
pooh, 2 blocks, 3 balls, safe shopper,
spoons, sippy cups (2), bowls (3 take-alongs),

Laurie -
wearing - tan loafers, tan outfit, nursing bra,
black sandles, sneakers
socks - 3 pair
underwear - 6
bathing suits - 2
tee shirts - 2
pj bottoms - 2
bras - 1 strapless, 1 nursing
bottoms - black crop, black skirt, brown shorts
tops - sleeveless sweater, purple flower tee, venice tee shirt, pink tee shirt, sleeveless button-down white shirt, bk/wt sweater

Alan -
wearing - jeans, some shirt, underwear, brown belt, watch, phone, white socks and sneakers
brown shoes, sandles?
underwear - 6
socks - 3 pair white (the short ones?), 1 pair green
tee shirts - 3 (1 for sleeping, 2 for out)
bras - none
bathing suits - 2
pj bottoms - 1
bottoms - green dockers, green shorts
tops - maroon tee, white polo shirt, a couple of short sleeve shirts that match jeans and green dockers

Based on your quantities I'm assuming we are planning on doing laundry mid trip? Is that a valid assumption?

04/03/2004

Sunday - tacos or tostadas, salad
Monday - Salmon loaf, sweet potatoes, salad
Tuesday - chicken, pepper, mushroom "mac & cheese", salad
Wednesday - leftovers, salad

03/27/05

Sunday - Yabroudy's - Easter
Monday - chick patty sandwiches, mashed potatos, beans
Tuesday - leftovers
Wednesday - salmon patties, salad, sweet potato fries, broccoli
Thursday - leftovers
Friday - chicken sausage, pasta & sauce, salad

bananas
broccoli
sweet potatoes
chicken sausage
applesauce
papaya
yogurt - for laurie & shara
milk
baby food
baby cereal
diapers
wipes
salmon
frozen carrots
wraps or bread for sandwiches

Shopping list for Dad - FL

Applesauce - unsweetened
Bananas - fresh
sweet potatoes - fresh or baby food jar (see below)
plain yogurt - something natural, like Dannon Plain Whole Milk
frozen Green Beans
frozen butternut squash or baby food jar (see below)
frozen nutragrain waffles
Cheerios
Gerber Cereal w/Fruit - box or Beechnut Cereal w/Fruit - box

Babyfood - fruit - about 5 jars stage 2 (peaches, pears, apricot, papaya - just not any citrus; orange, grapefruit, etc.)
Babyfood - vegetables - about 5 jars stage 2 (peas, butternut squash, sweet potato, carrots,)
Diapers - size 3
Wipes - fragrance-free

Swimmies - Shara's about 19 lbs.
Sunscreen - spf 45+, paba-free (you probably already have it)
All free & Clear laundry detergent

03/20/05

Sunday - leftovers, salad, fried cabbage
Monday - hummus, zhata, salad w/feta
Tuesday - chick patty sandwiches, fries, beans
Wednesday - meatloaf, mashed potatoes, broccoli
Thursday - veggie omelets, bagels
Friday - baked ziti

strawberries
bananas
lettuce - fresh express
carrots
tomatoes
peppers
broccoli
mushrooms
Alexia potatoes
Kashi product - 2
Annie's Homegrown - 2
boneless chicken breast
coffee
Del Monte Canned Fruit
Green giant canned vegetable - corn - 3
Nature Valley Granola Bars
friendly's ice cream
Pilsbury Dinner Rolls - frozen
eggs
cheddar cheese
ricotta cheese
Dannon Light ’n Fit Yogurt
creamer

Menu - 03/13/05

Sunday - salad, leftovers
Monday - mexican chicken salad - avocado, corn, bean
Tuesday - salad, pizza (artichoke heart, olive spread, salami)
Wednesday - hamburgers, pirogies, veggies
Thursday - takeout
Friday - leftovers

salad stuff
fruit
popcorn

Menu - 03/05/05

Saturday - going out / take out
Sunday - salad, chicken stew
Monday - macaroni & cheese, salad, bread
Tuesday - leftovers
Wednesday - salad, pizza (artichoke heart, olive spread, salami)
Thursday - baked salmon, sweet potatoes, veggies
Friday - tapas platter

hummus
bananas
celery
lettuce
cucumber
mushrooms
sweet potato
turkey
olives
feta cheese
salmon
bread

Menu - 2/27/05

Sunday - going to Yabroudy's
Monday - chicken patty sandwiches, lettuce, tomato, sweet potato fries, broccoli
Tuesday - salad, pasta w/chicken & broccoli
Wednesday - chicken salad w/nuts & berries, couscous salad
Thursday - leftovers
Friday -

Shopping List
salad stuff
bananas
tomatoes
broccoli
frozen artichoke hearts
frozen mushroom blend
frozen green beans
frozen very cherry blend
frozen grilled chicken strips
kashi golean crunchy bars - chocolate caramel
organic applesauce
plain yogurt
sour cream
tissues

Babies 'r us
diaper genie refills
sippy cups

Menu - 2/20/05

Sunday - Eggplant Curry, Chicken Tandoori, couscous salad w/chickpeas & craisins
Monday - going out
Tuesday - chili, chips & salsa, guacamole
Wednesday - fried cabbage & onions, chicken salad
Thursday - salad, beef stroganoff, noodles, green beans
Friday - leftovers

Shopping List
nectarines
bananas
avocados - 2
salad stuff
ginger
limes - 3
cabbage - small
eggplant
sliced mushrooms - 2 packs
jalapeno
peppers
cereal
slivered almonds or pecans
beef for stroganoff
grilled chicken for salad
crushed tomatoes - 1 can
black beans
canned pears
canned pineapple
canned chicken
mayo
noodles
coffee
plain yogurt
reg. yogurt
Gerber 2nd foods - 10/4$
diapers

Foods Shara's Eaten

Applesauce - loves!
Avocado
Bananas - fresh & jarred
Bartlett Pears - baby food & canned in juice
Butternut Squash - fresh & jarred
Carrots
Fruit puffs - banana
Green Beans - fresh & jarred
nectarine
Oatmeal
oatmeal w/ cinnamon (little of mine)
Rice & Rice Cereal
Sweet Potatoes - fresh & jarred
Peaches
Peas
Mixed Grain Cereal - Rice, Oat & Barley

Menu - 2/6/05

Sun - wings, stuffed bread, salad, carrots & celery w/ bleu cheese
Mon - chicken caesar salad
Tues - sausage & peppers, oven fried potatoes, salad
Wed - spicy noodles w/ginger & vegetables
Thurs - fish, spicy noodles
Fri - leftovers

pizza dough
lettuce
carrots
celery
ginger
peppers - green & red
zucchini
sweet potato
vitamins