Fall into Reading Challenge

I've discovered the most useful blog, The Simple Woman's Daybook, which in turn has led me to numerous inciteful, thoughtful bloggers. I can't even begin to express my delight.

One of those blogs is Callapidder Days and I'm so excited about her reading challenge! I do love to read and it's always a surprising delight to stumble upon another fellow reader. I'm going to spend a little time thinking up a reading list and feeling grateful for having found such a grounding yet positive distraction to coincide with the approaching chaos of the holiday season. *hidden benefit ... access to other people's book lists!*  :)

Daring Baker's March Challenge

The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake.


After having to miss the last two months Baker's challenges due to illness, I was so excited to see another cake.  I truly love cake and while I'm not a big fan of meringue I have high hopes for this recipe.  I halved the recipe because my family just doesn't need two cakes.  I also left out the recommended nuts, but that's just because I don't like nuts cooked into food.  Purely selfish.  :)

It looks just lovely as it's rising.

Rolling this out was fairly easy and I was so grateful that the dough didn't stick.  It was a joy to roll out compared to Danish dough.  After I used a spoon to shake the cinnamon sugar over the meringue I realized that I should have sifted it for more smooth, even coverage.

I decided that I really didn't want to make something so similar in design to the stollen I made in December, so I elected to take a traditional jelly roll design.   One end oozed a bit of meringue but all in all the gamble paid off, and it has turned out quite lovely.

 While the cake baked the house was filled with the delicious smell of cinnamon and I found myself checked the timer repeatedly wishing that it would be finished baking so I could photograph and devour before the family got home.

 For anyone who'd like to give this a try, Yeasted Meringue Filled Coffee Cake is absolutely delicious.

Daring Cooks, March Challenge

Kathlyn of Bake Like a Ninja was our Daring Cooks’ March 2011 hostess. Kathlyn challenged us to make two classic Peruvian dishes: Ceviche de Pescado from “Peruvian Cooking – Basic Recipes” by Annik Franco Barreau. And Papas Rellenas adapted from a home recipe by Kathlyn’s Spanish teacher, Mayra.



I didn't try the Ceviche de Pescado because I'm allergic to so many kinds of fish, shellfish, cephalopods... etc that I have a well earned aversion to all 'fishy' foods.   I was grateful that only one of the two recipes was required.
Hmm, I must admit that Papas Rellenas was a nice challenge to return to after having to miss February due to a nasty combination of procrastination meets illness.  I've always wanted to try papas but never took the time.  Thanks to Lent, I'm not eating meat, but I really wanted to try the beef recipe.  The photos provided made it look so delicious.  So, I used Boca crumbles for a substitute, and it was delightful.

This post is close to the wire because I wanted to have the food for my husbands birthday dinner, which happens to be today, the 14th.  Of course, he's working late today so we're having a late night party for him.  All the same, the recipe is delicious and I enjoyed it so much that we will surely have it again.  My husband, who announced a sudden and previously unknown aversion to olives, did not, though for some reason he blamed the cumin.  I'd respect that if only he hadn't been ignorantly consuming cumin for years.  ;)

Daring Cooks January Challenge

Our January 2011 Challenge comes from Jenni of The Gingered Whisk and Lisa from Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. They have challenged the Daring Cooks to learn how to make a confit and use it within the traditional French dish of Cassoulet. They have chosen a traditional recipe from Anthony Bourdain and Michael Ruhlman.


Hmm, I made the Garlic Confit, and all looked well.  It wasn't until much, much later that I discovered that my current 'organic' olive oil is CRAP.   My confit didn't form any type of fat film in the fridge.  I've had quality olive oil that solidified when cold, and this little discovery made me a bit pouty.  After peeling all those cloves, I knew this garlic confit would have to do.

 On a much, much brighter note, my veggie sausage turned out delightful.  Not that I can take credit,  the recipe was a winner and can be found here,  Spicy Pinto Sausages.  I confess, I doubted.  I've never been a big fan of faux meat products from the grocers, but as with many things,  homemade versions are so extraordinarily superior that it's almost frightening.

The making of the cassoulet was surprisingly easy, and I think it came together well.

I tried to layer it a bit to give it more of an authentic feel.

 Overall, I was a bit disappointed.  Somewhere along the way the olive oil took over and that was really all I could taste.  There was a bite of garlic and the beans seemed to absorb a lot of flavor, but the sausages were terrible after mixing them for the boil.  They tasted only of olive oil.  I chalk that up to my lack of foresight.

Next time, should I ever try to tweak this dish, I will keep them separate until it's time to plate.  On a positive note, the bread crumbs were delicious!

December Daring Baker's Challenge

The 2010 December Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Penny of Sweet Sadie’s Baking. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make Stollen. She adapted a friend’s family recipe and combined it with information from friends, techniques from Peter Reinhart’s book.........and Martha Stewart’s demonstration.


Stollen.  What can I say about stollen?  Well, the first thing would be to make certain that you have a lot of bowls and pans and dishwashing liquid before you start.  Seriously!  This has to be one of the messiest, time consuming recipes that I have ever tried. Was it worth it?  You bet.

The smell of the dough was overwhelmingly fragrant.  The kitchen smelled heavenly for hours.

I let it sit in the refrigerator for two days and gathered up the courage to roll it out and shape it.  This part was exciting for me because I've never rolled anything into a rectangle before.  I had a lot of fun checking the size with my tape measure.

I had one problem that I couldn't overcome.  I have a very small oven and none of my pans were large enough to allow the wreath to rise to it's full shape.  One side ended up kinda flat where it pressed up against the pan.  I can't be upset about that though because it was beyond my control and it really didn't harm anything other than my excessive desire for perfection.

Out of the oven, it smelled wonderful.  After I had dusted the stollen with the powdered sugar both my husband and my daughter begged to eat it straight away.  They were denied.  This little beauty was meant for the holiday table.

As the smell suggested, the stollen was delicious.   A labor but worth the effort

Halloween Fun

This month I decided to try again with blogging some of my food.

I love Halloween and with having a five year old, it's a great time for fun recipes.

I decided to try my hand at owl cupcakes inspired by Owl Cupcakes which were initially taken from Hello, Cupcake!

My little guy isn't fond of chocolate cake so I went in search of a pre-portioned six vanilla cupcake batter. Six because it's Halloween and I really don't want a dozen or so left over cupcakes. What I found was Small Batch Cupcakes. I like the use of only egg whites and was intrigued that all the dry good would be mixed with butter first. Most recipes I've used go with the old standby of butter and sugar then the rest, so I thought this would be interesting to try.
My first surprise was that the batter was so fluffy that it filled each of the six cupcake liners. I was apprehensive that they would overflow in the oven but just closed my eyes, told myself it was the egg whites and trudged on. It was an experiment after all, may as well trust the recipe. *It did overhang the cups but after it cooled they came out without breaking and look rather like cute little mushrooms. If only I'd been planning mushroom cupcakes!

I used a basic chocolate buttercream for frosting.
The basis of the recipe is:
1/2cup powdered sugar
1/2cup cocoa
4Tbsp softened butter
1&1/2tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
After a good mixing, I alternate milk and powdered sugar until it get the consistency and sweetness that I need for the recipe.


They turned out well.

I also wanted to make this spider bread I found at BOTD: Sourdough Spider. Since I have had two horrible experiences starting my own sourdough culture, I used the basic bread recipe that was suggested.

 

The shape didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, but since this was my first attempt at shaping dough into a specific shape, I think I'll just be grateful that it can be recognized as a spider.  :)

Spinach and Tomato Frittata

Like pretty much everyone, I'm attempting to lose some weight. So, I've been cutting back on the excess carbs and fats that my taste buds love but my hips love to keep. With that decision, my normal breakfast options require a revamp. What better to try than an Egg Beater frittata? I'm not a big fan of the great faux egg, but I am becoming quite fond of their low cholesterol and calorie levels. For that reason, I'll try to eat them regularly while saving my delicious eggs an indulgent brunch.
That said I love frittatas. They're one of the easiest ways to use whatever you have on hand, and they can be made as big or as small as you need. They truly are a friendly food. If I'm to return to my once healthy eating habits, I will need some friends in the kitchen.
Here's to experiment a la Egg Beater number one, the Frittata.

Spinach and Tomato Frittata

1 tsp olive oil
¼ cup finely diced onion
¼ tsp garlic
1 slice Jones Dairy Farm ham, diced
½ cup of diced roma tomato
½ heaping cup of ribbon sliced baby spinach
¼ tsp each of thyme, oregano, and tarragon
Ground black pepper

Garnish two Tbsp of shredded Kraft Mexican Four Cheese

Serves 1
Nutritional info:
Calories 218, Fat 10.1 (5grams from the olive oil and 4grams from the cheese)

What was the outcome?

It was full of flavor and surprisingly rich with the added cheese. I couldn't taste the Egg Beater itself at all, and that was my initial goal. I will definitely use non-stick cooking spray next time. I had to cut the frittata into two pieces to get it out of the pan. Maybe just add a drop of olive oil for the flavor because it really did enhance the taste. Overall, I'm full but not overly so. I didn't even miss the toast.

Regrets?

Only that I was too lazy to go out on a chilly morning and get fresh oregano and thyme for the frittata. Note to self... get tarragon for the garden.