Black Bean Hummus…

I was hunting around the other day waiting to pick the girls up and I stumbled across a recipe for Black Bean Hummus.? Turns out a friend of mine

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Black Bean Hummus…

Royal Foodie Joust Winners: Orange, Black and Sugar

Jenn, The Leftover Queen, is busy taking care of Royal duties in San Francisco this weekend and has asked me to step up and help her out with the Royal Foodie Joust winner post.? As always I am so happy to help out a friend! I love the fall, it is one of? my favorite season. Unfortunately living here we really don’t have too much of a fall to speak of.? But I still love the fall ingredients and these ones were awesome.So when Kat, from A Good Appetite , winner of last month’s Joust, sent me her choice of ingredients for this month I was thrilled! Orange – Pumpkin (or anything other orange flesh squash, i.e. butternut, acorn, kabocha) Black – Stout, Porter or other dark colored Beer (if you don’t…

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Royal Foodie Joust Winners: Orange, Black and Sugar

Ciabatta for the BBA Group

This is the 7th bread from the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Group.? I have to confess, I skipped number 6.? I was just kind of sick of egg breads and it was Challah.? The family doesn’t seem to be fans either so I waited the week and dove into the ciabatta. 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. …

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Ciabatta for the BBA Group

Daring Bakers do Apple Strudel

Yum…Who doesn’t like apple strudel and this one was incredible! The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks . They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers. The pastry used to make this was incredible.? If I made this again the only thing I would change would be to make it a little but sweeter but otherwise this was a perfect dessert and right up there with my? favorite DB challenges!? Thanks so much Courtney and Linda! The only changes I made was that I did not do the raisins as I am the only one who likes them and the kids don’t like walnuts so I omitted them as well.? I did add about an ounce of Canadian whisky to the apples to give them a bit of warmth. Preparation time Total: 2 hours 15 minutes – 3 hours 30 minutes 15-20 min to make dough 30-90 min to let dough rest/to prepare the filling 20-30 min to roll out and stretch dough 10 min to fill and roll dough 30 min to bake 30 min to cool Apple strudel from “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers 2 tablespoons (30 ml) golden rum 3 tablespoons (45 ml) raisins 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (80 g) sugar 1/2 cup (1 stick / 115 g) unsalted butter, melted, divided 1 1/2 cups (350 ml) fresh bread crumbs strudel dough (recipe below) 1/2 cup (120 ml, about 60 g) coarsely chopped walnuts 2 pounds (900 g) tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into ¼ inch-thick slices (use apples that hold their shape during baking) 1. Mix the rum and raisins in a bowl. Mix the cinnamon and sugar in another bowl. 2. Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the breadcrumbs and cook whilst stirring until golden and toasted. This will take about 3 minutes. Let it cool completely. 3. Put the rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a large baking sheet with baking paper (parchment paper). Make the strudel dough as described below. Spread about 3 tablespoons of the remaining melted butter over the dough using your hands (a bristle brush could tear the dough, you could use a special feather pastry brush instead of your hands). Sprinkle the buttered dough with the bread crumbs. Spread the walnuts about 3 inches (8 cm) from the short edge of the dough in a 6-inch-(15cm)-wide strip. Mix the apples with the raisins (including the rum), and the cinnamon sugar. Spread the mixture over the walnuts. 4. Fold the short end of the dough onto the filling. Lift the tablecloth at the short end of the dough so that the strudel rolls onto itself. Transfer the strudel to the prepared baking sheet by lifting it. Curve it into a horseshoe to fit. Tuck the ends under the strudel. Brush the top with the remaining melted butter. 5. Bake the strudel for about 30 minutes or until it is deep golden brown. Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Use a serrated knife and serve either warm or at room …

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Daring Bakers do Apple Strudel

My first loaves with the BBA and my love of Anadama Bread!

About a week ago 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 10 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 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!!! Our first challenge was Anadama Bread. This is a delicious sandwich type loaf that is made with cornmeal and molasses. I did change a couple of things around with this recipe and it turned out absolutely perfect. The recipe calls for 6 Tablespoons of light molasses. All I had was regular and it is pretty strong so I used 4 Tablespoons of molasses and 2 Tablespoons of honey. I used the coarse cornmeal that the recipe called. The only other thing I changed was using only 1 1/2 teaspoons of yeast. I used Rapid Rise as that’s what I have and the recipe called for Instant Yeast. Still not sure about the difference but mine turned out prefect. Light and fluffy. We enjoyed this bread over the weekend as sandwiches with black forest ham and muenster cheese. The sweet in the bread complimented the sandwiches perfectly! Will I make this again? Most definitely!!! As Always… Happy Entertaining!!! Judy www.nofearentertaining.com

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My first loaves with the BBA and my love of Anadama Bread!

Homemade Bread Roundup

Time does fly! It seem like it was just yesterday when I announced the second installment of my food event Homemade and now it is time to post the roundup. I am very happy because this month we had 15 entries! 15 delicious breads were shared by our particpants. We have yeasted bread, flat bread, pizza, tortillas, and an array of flavors that will stimulate your senses. I am also glad to know that a couple of our participants got inspired by this event to start baking their own bread. That’s what this event is all about, get people excited about homemade food. And without anymore ado here are this monht’s entries: Happy Cook of My Kitchen Treasures made Cinnamon Raisin Bread Soli Deo Gloria of Heart and Hearth made Whole-Wheat Loaf Soma of eCurry made Rosemary Pepper Peasant Bread Joy of Gourmeted made Whole-wheat Bread (this is Joy’s very first food event, ever! I am honored ) Mrs. Ergül made Garlic Toast Soma of eCurry made Pizza Margherita (she made the crust herself ) My lovely friend Deeba of Passionate About Baking made Pitanini (very clever and creative!) Jescel of Spice of Life made Sweet Challah Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen made Cumin Flavored Whole Wheat and Barley Flour Rolls Divya Vikram of Dil Se made Oatmeal Wheat Bread Curry Leaf of Experiment, Emotions, Experiences with Food made Spiced Pumpkin Chocolate Bread Yasmeen of Health Nut made Cimmanon-Cocoa Quick Bread Simone of Junglefrog Cooking made Hungarian Farmers Bread (This is Simone’s very first homemade bread. I am glad to see this event has inspired some of my friends) Soma of eCurry made Vegan Banana Orange Nut Loaf And your host (that’d be me) made Whole-wheat tortillas Thank you …

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Homemade Bread Roundup

Pastry Ring with Dark Chocolate and Cardamom

One of the techniques I’ve shied away from has been making puff pastry.  Although I can be fairly tenacious, when I feel like I’ve worked diligently on something and it doesn’t turn out, I’m not willing to jump back to the task to get it right.  Let me adjust that — when it comes to something that isn’t important in the grander scheme of things, that is.  Making puff pastry would fit into that category.  If you’re a pro at making puff pastry, then you’re most likely thinking, “What a quitter.  It’s not that challenging…” and I would agree temporarily, but being the contrary person I am by nature, I’d come back with, “Yes, but when’s the last time you tore down a fence in your pajamas on the spur of a Monday morning moment while enjoying your first cup of coffee? “  And then I’d go inside and start a not quite puff pastry dough, but yeasted laminated dough all the same. I think what annoys me most about my failings as a cook…

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Pastry Ring with Dark Chocolate and Cardamom

The Daring Bakers: Lasagna and Ravioli

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande . They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia- Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge. I have to admit, I wasn’t so thrilled when I saw this months challenge. But after thinking about it for awhile, I realized I could also make ravioli with half the recipe. I’m having a 7 course dinner party next month, and this would make a perfect course. A little attitude adjustment, and I was pretty excited to give this long, and I do mean long , recipe a try. The recipe consisted of three elements. A Ragu sauce, Spinach Pasta, White sauce. Lets start with the ragu ! I thought it was delicious!!! The recipe actually called for beef, pork, and veal. I opted to just go for the beef. I bought some skirt steak and ground it in the food processor. So much better then hamburger!!! It’s got onions, celery, carrots in there with tomatoes, wine, and seasonings. Simmered for hours, it wasn’t hard to make, …

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The Daring Bakers: Lasagna and Ravioli

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

Orange Pumpkin Cloverleafs

Once again I was lucky enough to be included in a baking event based around the recipes in Gourmet Magazine (remember the 12 days of Cookies?). Unfortunately with my crazy schedule and all of the things I have committed myself to life got in the way and these were suppose to be made and posted last week!!! Thank goodness my baking buddies are a pretty forgiving bunch… This is all part of our Gourmet bread challenge and BYOB (Bake Your Own Bread) hosted by Sandy of At the Baker’s Bench. The plan was that out of the month of February we were to choose 4 recipes for rolls from 6 recipes that Gourmet Magazine and post one a week. I failed the first week but I will not them down again!!! When you are done here please be sure to head over to my baking buddies sites… Andrea of Andrea’s Recipes ; Claire of The Barefoot Kitchen (who also designed our cool badge!); Kelly of Sass & Veracity ; Courtney of Coco Cooks ; an d Sandy of At the Baker’s Bench ~ I’m sure they’ll have something wonderful going on in their ovens too. For my first roll recipe I chose to make the Orange Pumpkin Cloverleafs. They turned out to be a real simple roll but I don’t find much flavor in them. Could just be me though…I did have to use Clementine’s instead of oranges and homemade roasted and pureed pumpkin instead of canned pumpkin. That may have made a difference! Orange Pumpkin Cloverleafs ( Gourmet Magazine ) Makes 1 dozen rolls Active time: 40 mins Start to Finish: 4-3/4 Hr (includes rising) 3/4 stick unsalted butter, melted, divided 2 tsp active dry yeast (from a 1/4 -oz package) 1/4 cup warm milk (105-115 degrees) 1 Tbsp mild honey or sugar 2-3/4 cups all purpose flour plus more for kneading and dusting 1 -1/2 tsp salt 1/3 cup canned pure pumpkin (I used roasted and pureed pumpkin I had frozen) 2 large eggs, divided, plus one yolk (never figured out what to do with it all so only used 2 eggs) 1/2 tsp grated orange zest (I used Clementine’s ) 2 Tbs fresh orange juice (I used Clementine’s-seeing a trend here?) 1 Tbsp water Equipment: 12 holed muffin tin Butter muffin cups with 1 Tbsp melted butter. Stir together yeast, warm milk…

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Orange Pumpkin Cloverleafs

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