Cranberry-Walnut Celebration Bread

So I am running a little bit behind on the BBA challenge but I still feel pretty good with my progress.? This week I made the Cranberry-Walnut Celebration Bread.? Funny thing is I almost skipped this one.? But the girls went back to school this week and I found myself with a couple of free minutes and an empty house.? When I saw that it wasn’t a 2 bread I jumped right in.? I am so glad I did… About the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Group : Nicole of Pinch my Salt sent out a twitter message saying “I need a challenge. Am thinking of baking my way through every single recipe in The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. Anyone want to join me?” Well I jumped right in . Both feet, no thought at all. I think I was one of the first 5 that joined…did I even have the book? Nope but I ordered it that night!!! The Bread Baker’s Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread We are now over 200 strong with members everywhere on the globe. It’s an incredibly enthusiastic group that wants to share like no group I have ever belonged to before. Awesome! Our goal is to bake our way through Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread. An? intimidating book at anytime but to think that you are going to be baking one of these recipes a week is slightly overwhelming to say the least. But I love a challenge and feel a real need to get out of my comfort zone. Oh yah, I bake all of our bread but I never seem to have the time or the desire to try something new and different. This will change all that!!! I really, like this bread.? I followed the recipe to a tee.? Right down to the huge amount of cranberries and walnuts that went into it. It did take a while to get them all incorporated but with some patient kneading they all fit in. Someone on twitter (so sorry that I forget who!!!) suggested that these would be an…

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Cranberry-Walnut Celebration Bread

Corn Bread for the Bread Baker’s Apprentice

This week (and I am pretty sure I am behind?) I made Corn Bread.? Was I eager to make this…no way.? I even put it off over and over again.? Once I finally got all of the ingredients together I could never remember to do the overnight cornmeal soak.? Then, get this, when I did remember I didn’t have time the next day to make it.? I placed the soaking cornmeal/buttermilk mixture in the fridge and kept hoping for a better day!? About the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Group : Nicole of Pinch my Salt sent out a twitter message saying “I need a challenge. Am thinking of baking my way through every single recipe in The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. Anyone want to join me?” Well I jumped right in . Both feet, no thought at all. I think I was one of the first 5 that joined…did I even have the book? Nope but I ordered it that night!!! The Bread Baker’s Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread We are now over 200 strong with members everywhere on the globe. It’s an incredibly enthusiastic group that wants to share like no group I have ever belonged to before. Awesome! Our goal is to bake our way through Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread. An? intimidating book at anytime but to think that you are going to be baking one of these recipes a week is slightly overwhelming to say the least. But I love a challenge and feel a real need to get out of my comfort zone. Oh yah, I bake all of our bread but I never seem to have the time or the desire to try something new and different. This will change all that!!! Finally? the eve of the day that I would be able to bake this bread came.? I wanted to be fully prepared so I even cooked up the bacon ahead of time and crumbled it and placed it in the fridge.? The next day I pulled out the cornmeal soak and let it come to room temperature and then prepared the batter.? I decided to cook this in my 10 cast iron skillet.? I like the flavor and the ease that it lends to corn bread.? The only …

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Corn Bread for the Bread Baker’s Apprentice

Artos: Greek Celebration Breads

Nicole of Pinch my Salt sent out a twitter message saying “I need a challenge. Am thinking of baking my way through every single recipe in The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. Anyone want to join me?” Well I jumped right in . Both feet, no thought at all. I think I was one of the first 5 that joined…did I even have the book? Nope but I ordered it that night!!! The Bread Baker’s Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread We are now almost 200 strong with members everywhere on the globe. It’s an incredibly enthusiastic group that wants to share like no group I have ever belonged to before. Awesome! Our goal is to bake our way through Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread. An intimidating book at anytime …

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Artos: Greek Celebration Breads

Chocolate Valentino Cake with Strawberry Banana Ice Cream

As the morning unfolds on this the day of the February Daring Baker’s reveal, I’m proud to say I finished my challenge a few weeks ago, which could imply that this post was written and ready to auto publish at midnight.  But no.  I guess that with respect to me, it is possible to be too organized.  Best laid plans, right? So here I am on my oldest son’s thirtieth birthday (shhhhh…..) writing about chocolate cake and strawberry banana ice cream, which, now that I think of it is incredibly appropriate since the chocolate cake I’m thinking of is flourless and my son’s food allergies and celiac’s issues make it a perfect birthday cake.  Unfortunately, he’s not supposed to eat dairy products, either, so the ice cream is a rude accompaniment, packed full of heavy cream and milk. But he doesn’t care at this point, and a mother can’t exactly tell her thirty-year-old how to live his life. Actually, she can, but I wouldn’t be that mother, choosing instead to enjoy my son’s company whenever I can and hoping that some day, he’ll take his health issues seriously. This February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE’s blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef who have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge. Clearly I chose to have some fun with my ice cream.  I couldn’t resist the idea of coming up with flavors that remind me of a banana split. A chocolate valentino cake is completely flourless and with very few ingredients:  semi-sweet chocolate, butter and eggs.  Period. To make it, the procedure is fairly routine:  melt the chocolate with the butter and cool….

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Chocolate Valentino Cake with Strawberry Banana Ice Cream

Mama Mia! Greek Night In

There’s a Greek bistro not too far from where I live called Apollonia .  It rates as one of the casual places I’ve enjoyed locally whose food has had me thinking about it long after I’ve eaten there.  Maybe it’s because I don’t eat Greek food very often, and so my weary taste buds long for something unique.  Or, it could be that the food is just plain delicious. Valentine’s week (and I have to call it that since my husband treated me to days of lovely surprises) one of my gifts was dinner at Apollonia.  Ohhh, the hummos and the dolmathakia.  The spanakopita and tyropita.  The souvlaki. Sheer heaven. Clearly, there was a Greek dinner in the works for us at home after this, and I decided that since the Academy Awards was rapidly approaching, I’d spend the day in the kitchen cooking and watching what my husband calls my “pre-game show” of all things Oscars:  gowns and botox lips, padded rumps and tatooed eyeliner.  You’ve got to love Hollywood at least once a year. No sooner had I begun the prepping than my oldest son called to ask what we were doing. “Watching the Oscars and eating Greek food.  Why?”  I asked. “Because I’m coming over,” he told me and with a quick “See Yah,” he hung up leaving me with my list of what to chop when and Mama Mia running through my mind.  Not the movie — the song.  Well, actually, both. The connection?  My son is a huge ABBA fan and my husband and I are pretty sappy over the movie, too.  I know.  You can think what you will, but since I was actually around when ABBA’s songs routinely blasted from my car radio, I can be sappy about …

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Mama Mia! Greek Night In

Happy Birthday Biscuits!

Don’t you just give a little sigh of relief right about now? The “HOLIDAYS” are over (almost…I mean, …

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Happy Birthday Biscuits!