French Fridays with Dorie: Beef Cheek Daube with Carrots and Elbow Macaroni

THIS BEEF DAUBE IS DELISH!

I've been away for about 6 months and am so happy to be back...trying to adjust back to my previous schedule which included cooking with friends and blogging.  Missed you all and all your great ideas and suggestions!

I admit that when I read about cooking beef cheeks for dinner I was ready to skip another recipe.  I probably could have found them...the Mexican store meat department sells everything...nothing wasted.  But, I struggle to walk through their meat cases where they often have cow or pig's whole heads and other scary items...gives me nightmares.  But as my adopted Russian daughter once told me, Americans are the only ones in the world who don't use EVERYTHING...so I guess Beef cheeks are just ordinary fare for some...and might even be tasty, but........

So I purchased a small chuck roast, as suggested by Dorie, and I must say today's challenge recipe makes a delicious roast.  I cut the roast into  pieces about 2" X 3" which I figured would fit well onto my plated dish.  And the other change I made was to use up some potatoes.

Hubby thought he was helping when at Thanksgiving he brought home several bags of cheap potatoes...after I had done all the shopping and had our potatoes.  They were only 79 cents for a 20 pound bag so he thought I'd need a few.  And they are rather gross potatoes.  Not uniform in size and a little gnarly looking.  So I use them at every opportunity in some kind of disguise.  For today I cooked and seasoned and mashed up a bunch for the bottom of our bowls.  Then I topped the potatoes with the braised roast chunks and then added the carrot-pasta mixture.  It is delicious and hearty, and a nice change from all the turkey leftover cooking.

I've had Mexican  dishes where chocolate is used as a seasoning and I love these foods, however, I've never added chocolate to my "daubes."  This chocolate addition is a great idea.  We love it!  It adds a rich and sweet flavor to this dish.

I'm excited to see what you all have done.  Happy Holidays to everyone.  I can't believe that December begins tomorrow.

Baked Sunday Mornings: Pumpkin Almond Cake with Almond Butter Frosting

A PERFECT BALANCE OF PUMPKIN, ALMONDS, SPICES

Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends!  Such a cherished time of year to focus on family and friends.  Great foods, such as today’s cake, make our holidays even more special as we celebrate this season.

I’ve disappeared for about 6 months; have not even opened my blog where I record what I  bake and cook with friends, and I’ve missed out on enjoying all  your tips and creativity as well as your friendships....and I'm sure, lots of wonderful food.  So many things have happened over the past few months, some hard and some wonderful; all very time consuming.  Out of necessity, I've had to put aside some of my hobbies even though these kinds of hobbies benefit those I care about.

I’ll write more about my adventures over the past 6 months later, but I’m happy to be back and am excited to see what you all are doing.

I purchased the new Baked Elements cookbook a couple of months ago and actually tagged  the Pumpkin Almond Cake as the book's recipe to bake first.  Due to ongoing events, I’d not been able to get to this recipe.  Even though it fits into fall baking perfectly, I had no time to try a new recipe, even though this one is quite routine.  I actually opened our Baked Sunday Morning site in error while working on another project, but was delighted to find this recipe for today’s assignment.   Even though I’ve been in the kitchen for days preparing and cleaning up our Thanksgiving feast, I couldn’t resist this recipe that had earlier caught my eye.  I have family and extras coming for Sunday dinner and am ready for a new dessert.

This Pumpkin Almond Cake with Almond Butter Frosting is truly a great cake.  I doubled the recipe to feed my expected crowd, turned it into a huge layer cake, and it is delicious and beautiful and a little different from our usual fare.  My frosting is not as smooth as in the given photo because I used Trader Joe’s Chunky Almond Butter...I would do this again.  We loved the crunch along with the moist, dense pumpkin-almond cake.  Even though the toasted almonds garnishing the top give some good texture, we liked the little chunks best.  Hubby commented on all the layers of flavors in this recipe; he loves them.

MY DELICIOUS SLICE--THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE "BAKED" RECIPES SO FAR!!!

My large slice is cut only1/3 across this large 10" cake (meaning someone cutting from the opposite side could end up with a slice almost 7" deep...this is a really big cake!).  The recipe calls for a 9" cake pan, however, my 10" pans were filled just past the top when baked.  I would have had extra batter if 9" pans were used.

This recipe has a perfect combination of spices, pumpkin, and almonds, creating a pleasing dessert that is almost healthy.  There are no overpowering flavors, just an enjoyable blend of many flavors that are especially craved at this time of year.

For sure, this Pumpkin Almond Cake with Almond Butter Frosting will become an Autumn staple in our house.  I’m excited to see what you all are doing and to have the chance to say “Hi,” and also to wish you all a wonderful Holiday Season!

Tuesdays with Julia and Dorie: Naan Bread

NAAN WITH HONEY-PEANUT BUTTER

NAAN TOPPED WITH CHEESE

Four days each week the kiddies come for a swim lesson; they are all now officially fish.  While the kiddies swam, I finished the Naan after watching a couple of u-tube episodes of Naan being made both in India and in the Middle East.

This is a very simple flat bread.  The one made in India used baking powder instead of yeast, both added oil, and the Middle East added egg.  This is to be a quickly baked soft, flat bread using a very hot oven.  It is pricked so that it will keep flat, not puffing up like pita bread.

Traditionally this is topped with herbs, garlic, spices, butter or oil.  Ours was totally kid friendly with a Mexican cheese blend, or with whipped honey-peanut butter.   The videos I watched used fresh cilantro, which they called coriander, or minced garlic; both with butter spread on the bread first.  Also breads were baked plain, with no toppings and some of these were spread with butter after baking to keep them very soft.  They were then placed in a keeping box, which looked like my cast iron Dutch ovens.

I baked my breads in two batches (and have enough dough in the fridge for another).  The first batch was left in to cook longer and I liked it better.  It was more chewey (due to a high gluten bread flour), and the second which cooked just till the cheese melted, was very soft.

The dough is made like any other bread dough and rises quickly here in AZ...ready for use in only 30 minutes.  My pricking tool is from Home Depot paint department...a cheap scraper of some kind.

MY TOOLS

ROLL OUT

PRICK

FROM KITCHEN TO GRILL ON PADDLE

COOK ON A HOT GRILL

 The bread was consumed quickly, all the kiddies enjoy this type of bread, and they are ready to turn the rest into little pizzas.  Maybe tonight.

EATERS

AND SWIMMERS

WE ENJOYED A HOT SUMMER DAY LUNCH WITH NAAN

 Hope you are all  have a wonderful week!  Lunches like today are what makes life lots of fun and we look forward to more projects like this.

Baked Sunday Mornings: Strawberry Jello Salad with Pretzel Crust

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO TURKEY

Strawberry jello salad, or any jello, does not fare well in our AZ summer heat, unless one enjoys drinking their salad.  I'm a day late with this post...forgot I planned ahead on this one which was actually made a few months ago, during cooler weather.

This post takes me back to Turkey's birthday.

Young children's birthdays are very special days filled with wonderful excitement and anticipation.  Turkey is my special baking buddy who loved being kidnapped for several hours of cupcake and cookie baking, giving his mom time to wrap a few gifts and to make an A+ Chocolate-Cake-Chocolate-Cheesecake Layered With Ganache And Frosted wIth  her A+ Favorite Bittersweet Chocolotte, Sour Cream Frosting...Decadent!

Turkey also helped "decorate" this Jell-o salad...I think he did a great job!
 

STRAWBERRY JELLO SALAD WITH PRETZEL CRUST AND CREAMY FILLING AND /TOPPING

Of all my grandchildren, Turkey is my most enthusiastic baker.  He was by my side for hours with full attention.  He would not go with Papaw (Hubby) to Sonic to pick up the Wacky Kids Pack he ordered...he was not distracted by anything.  Even late into the night  he was quite busy baking.  He is creative, knows how to be a good helper, and is a great clean-up guy.  He mixes, decorates, sweeps, mops, vacuums, washes dishes, puts soap in the dishwasher, and is happy the entire time.  And he talks to me non-stop...good company.

For his birthday we all got together for an extended family and friends cookout.  The Baked boys Strawberry Jello Salad fit in perfectly.

I am not a fan of Jello which is odd since I grew up in Utah, the Jello capitol of the world...everybody loves Jello in Utah. Every event in Utah includes Jello.  My mom used to make it in some form every week and so did everyone else's mom.  And with such bright colors and such sweet slimy consistency it is kid friendly favorite.

On one occasion I remember making Jello with fruits all by myself at the age of 5.  I also remember spilling the entire bowl of sticky, colored, slimy gelatin filled with Mandarin oranges and fruit cocktail  as I carried it by myself to the fridge.  OOPS!  I hate to think about how sticky the kitchen floor must have been.

While my mother napped  I often did the cooking (Mother thought I was also napping) and then I remember getting the dish rag and cleaning up my mess:  floors, counters, dishes, me, all with the same dish rag  (Gross!)...looking back I probably made a bigger mess.  Well, Jello was the beginning of my cooking days, and Mother was encouraging even though she was always surprised by my creations which magically appeared after her nap.  I don't remember making many messes, but I'll bet I did.  And she never told me not to use the sharp knives or the stove.  She must have figured I'd learn by trial and error, and I did make my share of errors.

DO YOU SEE THE LAYERS?

At the age of 5 I could boil water which was needed to dissolve the Jello (no microwaves back then) and I could get it all put together and ready for dinner by myself.  I was also good at the type of cheesecake that I made in a pie pan with a graham cracker crust and a filling made with cream cheese with sweetened condensed milk, a little lemon juice and vanilla and with no baking, it just set up in the fridge...well it usually set up.  I had to use my mom's Sunbeam mixer for this job...something I'd never let a 5 year old do.  

Back in the 50's and 60's the in thing was all the new box mixes and time saver pre-made baking products...like Bisquick and cake mixes which I always considered to be gross ingredients for food.  Does anyone remember all the Bisquick pizza crust.  Horrible.  All the mothers made it especially when we invited our friends for dinner.  Such an embarrassment.    Well, Jello is in the same category.  To me, almost a non-food.  I don't remember ever making it for my own children.  I do remember making 4th of July jigglers for my grandkids but considered it to be in the real junk food.

So, for this challenge, I set out to make as good a strawberry jello as possible.  Next time I'll use a size smaller pan which will thicken the layers making them more visible and a little prettier.

I added double the sliced strawberries and that mentally justified this food as OK for dinner.  I also doubled the filling so that I could pipe half as a creamy topping.  I do like this topping as the cream remains whipped and keeps its shape but does not taste     strongly of the cream cheese...more like sweetened whipped cream that has been stabilized.

AND ALL THE YUMMY STRAWBERRIES

                                                                              TURKEY TURNS 4

I admit we all liked this Strawberry, pretzel crust, Jell-o salad and it fit into  Turkey's birthday celebration quite well....Jell-o continues to be good kid food.  Turkey and I had such a good time baking and making that I'll have to invent the next reason to bake with him soon.

I look forward to seeing all your Strawberry Jello Salads with the Pretzel Crust...and by the way, this crust is delish!   I might be a Jello convert with this recipe.

French Fridays with Dorie: Lentil, Lemon, and Tuna Salad

LOVELY LENTIL, LEMON, AND TUNA SALAD  LETTUCE WRAPS

 This week's salad has strong overtones of a recent Dorie cooking project also with lentils and fish: salmon.

This salad meal was healthy, but not exciting.   My grandkiddies came to swim and enjoyed a cookout which included a side of today's salad.  The opportunity was taken to introduce them, once again, to lentils with the bribe of chocolate truffle cookies if they ate their portions.

For patio dining, I turned this lentil-tuna salad into lettuce wraps which could be eaten by hand.  First we  portioned out pretty rounded amounts of lentils and then of tuna salad and added chopped veges.  Next, we tried layering these foods and found the easier method to look just as lovely.

ALL INGREDIENTS LAYERED ON MAKES A HEALTHY SIDE

To make the lentils a little more flavorful I added chopped onion and carrots.  The tuna was made into a tuna salad with mayo, sweet pickles, onion, lemon, and seasonings.  I'm sure the whole idea conforms to the given recipe well enough.

The chocolate truffle cookies were exciting, however, and did the trick.  Everyone cleaned their lentils and earned their cookies.

 

DEEP DARK CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE COOKIES

KRIS'  CHEWY CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE COOKIES:

Yield: 40 using my smallest ice cream type scoop...about 1 Tablespoon of dough

First, line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.

Beat together until thick ribbon stage:

2 large eggs

2 1/3 cups sugar

1 Tablespoon honey

Melt together in microwave and stir until smooth:

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate

3 Tablespoons butter

Combine:

2.75 oz almond flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon cocoa

Add the dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture and combine.

Stir 1/3 of the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture to lighten it.  Then gently fold the rest of the egg mixture into the chocolate until well combined, making sure to keep the mixture aerated.

Chill until firm, about 1 hour....REALLY FIRM!

Scoop out the dough and roll each dough ball in sugar, place on baking sheet and place in freezer.  When dough balls are frozen solid, bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Keep these cookies in the fridge especially in AZ...they love to be eaten cold.

If any cookies are left over...very doubtful...they keep well in an air tight container in the fridge for 2 weeks.   Nice to have on hand for rewards including for myself.

ENJOY!

LYONNAISE GARLIC AND HERB CHEESE USED AS A VEGE DIP

Hubby makes a great vege dip that he shares with his friends every holiday season.  It began as an alternative to all the sweet treats going around the neighborhood, and it is an item that he can make really well without my input.  He uses a base of cream cheese and sour cream and adds minced onion, peppers, garlic, carrots, scallions, and other flavorful vegetables.  To that mixture he adds fresh herbs and seasonings.  This concoction ripens in the fridge for a day allowing all the flavors to come together.  Each year, several neighborhood young men who seem to know when Hubby is putting together his dip,  knock on our door requesting  their own LARGE container of this dip...not to be shared with their families.  I incorporated a couple of hubby’s seasoning ideas to make today’s cheese dip even more flavorful.

The Lyonaise Garlic  and Herb Cheese recipe that I used as a vege dip similar to Hubby’s was perfect for a hot summer day.   My neighbor, Bob, surprised me this morning with an armful of produce from his garden.  Sadly, it is his last picking of the season as the hot Summer temperatures have fried his plants.  He will grow his garden again beginning in the Fall...we are a little backwards from the rest of this country...most of you have a freeze, we have the roasting heat.

Early this morning I set out 2 cups of ricotta cheese in a mesh basket to drain.  Before dipping it out I poured off the liquid that had collected at the top of the container.  At that point, the cheese looked quite dry so I was surprised by all the liquid that had dripped out by the time I was ready to use it.    This neutral flavored ricotta cheese, suggested by Dorie as an alternative to her usual French cheese,  was the foundation for my dip. 

Instead of a shallot, I minced ½ a red onion, which I thought would impart a pretty color as well as savor.  Then I minced a clove of garlic,  splashed in the EVO, and added salt and pepper to taste.

From my garden I added chives, lemon tarragon, and the end of my parsley...it’s now too hot for all but the most heat-hardy items.

Then I tasted the dip.  It was blah...nothing special, even with all the flavorful herbs and minced vegetables.  After resting for an hour, the herbs, garlic, and onion did not impart much exciting flavor.

THIS HERBED CHEESE EASILY COMES TOGETHER

That’s when I used Hubby’s additions of a Tablespoon or two of soy sauce, a dash of Worcestershire sauce, and a healthy pinch of cayenne pepper.  These additions did enhance the flavor without detracting from what I think this herb cheese is meant to be.  I later wished I had taken Hubby’s advice and also added minced red pepper which brings a sweetness and more flavor to this type of dish.  (Some of these additions added  more salt.  I might have easily added more “salt to taste” but I had previously added a good portion of salt and wanted something more.)

This herbed cheese can be thinned and used as a salad dressing, or it also goes well with breads or crackers.  I liked the idea of stuffing small tomatoes with this cheese and adding a drizzle of pesto sauce.  This idea sounds interesting to me and I plan to try it next time.  (I have 1/2 a container of Ricotta remaining to be used.)

DELICIOUS WITH FRESH VEGETABLES

This cheese is easy to put together and I can think of several uses, but it needs to be put with foods that are flavorful on their own and just need a condiment added.  For example: I think this cheese would be good spread onto large tortillas instead of commonly used cream cheese spread to begin a wrap.  With added thin sliced meats, cheeses, tomatoes, etc., this would come together in a good combination.  It would also be delicious used as an alternative to humus. Or instead of mayo on a BLT.  Or maybe with a stronger grated cheese added to the mix.  Or bacon.....

I look forward to seeing how you all used this cheese and to see if you made any good flavor additions.

Hope you all have a lovely Memorial weekend that includes good food and family along with honoring those who we appreciate and who we do not forget.

Baked Sunday Mornings: Peanut Butter and Banana Cream Pie

DECADENT PEANUT BUTTER AND BANANA CREAM PIE FOR MY "OWL'S' CHOCOLATE PARTY

Today’s Peanut Butter and Banana Cream Pie is actually part II if my “chocolate” tart/pie baking adventure for my Frolicking Night Owl daughter’s chocolate party.  Part I was the FFwD Double Chocolate and Banana Tart posted 2 days ago.  With minor adjustments, both are fabulous “keeper” recipes.

To comply with being a part of a chocolate party, this pie was given a chocolate crust and melted bittersweet chocolate was swirled around the top.  Viola...this is now a Chocolate Peanut Butter and Banana Cream Pie.

BANANA'S IN ANTIOXIDANT ORANGE JUICE--TASTES BETTER TO ME  WITH THE PIE FLAVORS THAN DORIE'S TART THAT USES LEMON JUICE ON THE BANANA SLICES

I MADE THIS PIE IN TART STYLE--WORKED WELL

The only other change was the chocolate covered peanuts that I could not add to the top...they melted before I got them home...it was 106^.  Then I decided on chopped peanut butter cups as I had a fresh bag begging to be used and I thought they would complement this pie...but unfortunately they too were melted...totally.  So, in honor of the AZ heat, my garnish then became toffee covered peanuts, which do not melt. 

I was surprised that this custardy, peanut buttery, banana pie held up at an outdoor party...I was expecting it to droop and melt just like those peanut butter cups...but, surprise, it held up even in our heat.  Wonderful!

Comparing the two pies, this was my personal favorite.  I’m a sucker for good custard and when in company with all these great flavors and ingredients, this pie is a real winner.  Dorie’s ganache and banana tart, which also has many layers, is elegant and decadent, but there are no surprises.  It tastes just as I expected it should.  But this pie with the many layers and flavors was exceptional and surprising.

And the most important reason for me persoanlly to love this pie, is that even though I am not super excited by chocolate and peanut butter together...I must have eaten too many peanut butter cups as a kid...I did love the chocolate and peanut butter paired in this pie.  This will be a good pie to make in the future for my chocolate-peanut butter lovers, and I'm excited that I can love it too.  (I know, this pie does not really have chocolate as written in the recipe, but as of this week, it does for me.)

OUTSIDE IN THE DARK--BUT YOU CAN STILL SEE THE WONDERFUL INTERIOR OF THIS PIE

I KNOW, THIS IS A TERRIBLE PHOTO, HOWEVER THIS IS MY SLICE AT THE DARK OUTDOOR PARTY AND IT IS FABULOUS!

This Baked pie brought several great flavor layers together and it truly surprised me with all the wonderful  layers that worked so well together.  It was worth all the steps and all the dirty dishes.  I will do it all again soon and this time I will anticipate eating more of this pie myself...no sharing with a chocolate party!

I'm excited to see all your pies.  I'm in the mood to bake this one again tomorrow!