Empress of All I Survey (and More)

Bakewell Tart -- Not Birdie Tested, so not Birdie Approved

2009-06-27T13:16:00.000-07:00

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.Being on time is a good thing. Here's the Bakewell Tart that was the latest Daring Baker's challenge, it was an easy , but fun project. Thanks to the Daring Cooks site that so graciously host these events!

First I made the tart dough, then unlike the directions, I blind baked it for 20 minutes, then let it cool. I really don't like the doughy texture of the crust that comes from a wet filled tart, I prefer a wee bit of crunch.

Whole Foods was a real life saver because they carry the almond flour necessary for making the frangipane element. I made macarons recently and only had whole almonds that I had to peel on hand. That was not fun!

Here's a picture of the frangipani, it sure didn't look curdled to me. Actually it reminded me of making macarons.

Here's a picture of the assembled tart with the frangipani on top. The bottom was coated with about 1/4 cup of rasberry jam.

This is a picture of the baked tart, the top is such a wonderful golden colour

Lastly, the picture of the tart, most of it is missing now. No birds were allowed to eat it due to the almond extract that was used. It could possibly be poisonous to birds, one bird, Chewie, tried the crust and he ate it so fast, I couldn't take the picture, LOL!

Thanks to one and all for letting me share.

Daring Bakers Strudel

2009-06-26T18:27:00.000-07:00

While it looks as though I've fallen behind in my Daring Baker's challenge, I haven't. My computer did me the courtesy of blowing up. I was really lucky to get a custom-built computer that has Windoze XP on it. Fortunately my hard drive didn't blow, so I popped it into an external hard drive case with a USB port, and walla, all my data back. So now I can post, arncha lucky!

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.

I used the strudel recipe exactly as it was written, and boy did it blow my mind! Like many, I always avoided it because I thought it was terribly difficult and only the most skilled pastry artist could accomplish it. All I can say is easy, easy easy!

Above is a picture of the finished dough.

Below is a picture of the stretched out dough.

One important thing I discovered (for me at least) was that I could not both stretch the dough with my hands, then continue rolling it out. I got pleats in the dough which I then stretched out by hand again.

I made a cherry filling with jarred, slightly sweetened sour cherries from Poland, thickened with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, brought to a boil, then cooled.

Here's a picture of the strudel rolled, and no, that's not cherry filling all over the table. It's a piece of hand painted/dyed broadcloth I made in an experiment years ago, it seemed the perfect weight to use as the floured cloth for rolling out.

Here's a picture of the finished product. BTW, an iPhone, while having a nice camera is not ideal for taking food shots. I did this because I couldn't find the program to reinstall my Canon camera drivers. Memo to self: Always keep important disks in one place.

Birdie Tested, Birdie Approved Redux!

2009-06-26T18:01:00.000-07:00

I truly enjoy David Lebovitz's blog. He recently published a recipe by Flo Baker (Sweet Minatures) for Pain d'amande. IMNSHO they are great.

And as usual, these were birdie tested and birdie approved. The bird is a rescue bird, a yellow naped Amazon named Tiger Joe. Isn't he just the cutest?He's a real cuddle bug. I'm a huge fan of his because he's a fan of my cooking, LOL!

Daring Bakers CheeseCake

2009-04-27T19:22:00.000-07:00

Wowskies! Finally I can post!

I am so thrilled to have been accepted by the Daring Bakers and I fully participated in this month's challenge of cheesecake. I used the recipe and only made two changes.

One, instead of using graham crackers, I used Carr's Whole Wheat Crackers because they have a very graham-y taste, at least to me. I find that American graham crackers don't taste much like the real kind any more.

The other was to add Dulce de Leche to my recipe. I swirled it in and tried for a marbling effect. I used Cajeta, because, after all, if David Lebovitz says it's the best, its gotta be!

Lastly, it was Macaw Tested and Macaw Approved! Can you tell he's thinking Holy Cow Mom! This is Grrrrrrreaattttttttt!

For the fans of Harley, no this is not Quentin Harley, my Harlequin Macaw, this is ZuZu, a wonderful rescue macaw, a hybrid Catalina macaw. You can see there is a big colour difference in the breast, lores, cheeks and around his eyes. Can you tell that he is also very much a "food adventurer?"

Horrifically Caloric

2008-12-02T08:48:00.000-08:00

Oh my ... the joys of puff pastry!

First it was Napoleons, they were great.

Then it was Apple Dumplings. I thought after the Sticky Bun episode I should do less calorie dense treats. Somehow things didn't work out that way.

And of course, it being apple season, we had to have these dumplings. The pictures aren't great, but they were awfully good .... Thank goodness I only made three!

I still don't know what the perfect apple would be, but I can tell you, Macouns and McIntoshes are not the best. They taste great, but don't hold up well to a long baking time.

All you have to do is core an apple, stuff it with a mixture of butter and brown sugar (I used 3 tablespoons of butter, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon), wrap it in puff pastry, stick a pastry leaf on top, brush it with an egg wash and bake. Voila ... apple dumplings ....

Stuck On My Buns

2008-09-28T14:59:00.000-07:00

You know how we all need to do something even while football is on.

I kept myself amused by making Joanne Cheng's Sticky Buns with Goo. I toasted the pecans and put them on the top rather than bake them inside the rolls. I feel they get soggy and gummy rather than warm and crisp.

I was good at least, I only had one! However, later tonite .....

For a different but equally great taste, try a teaspoon of five spice powder instead of the cinnamon.

I think I'll go back to making Cherry Babka, that has a few less calories!

Third Thursday

2008-09-27T14:38:00.000-07:00

On the Third Thursday Streetfest in Willimantic, CT on August 29, my husband literally let his hair down.

Betsy Gonzalez, a photographer for the Reminder Press in town caught this shot.

The women screamed, the fans swooned, it was quite the moment.

What I think is really makes this picture is his jacket. Sarah Winter, of Sarah Winter Clothworks, Willimantic, CT designed and sewed his lapel-less jacket. Now is that wicked cool or what! Her partner, Mark Svetz did the custom dyeing. What could be better?? Do be sure to visit their site, I found it very interesting.

The Sun Pours Down Like Honey

2008-09-18T10:05:00.000-07:00

On my birdie in the arbor ...

Apologies to L. Cohen

Some People Never Learn

2008-08-04T19:25:00.000-07:00

Gentle Readers,

Recently I wrote about my husband Bill trying the Black Pearl pepper ... Sunday he decided he would try the 1988 AAS winner, Super Chili, which weighs in at only 40,000 - 50,000 Scoville units. First he tried a tiny bite of the red pepper ... not too bad ... then he tried the green. Oy Vey! He went past cerise, almost straight to burgundy. I honestly thought I was going to have to call 911 as he almost stopped breathing!

Needless to say someone else enjoyed it greatly! Quentin Harley didn't much care whether it was green or red.

Macaws and conures really love hot, hot peppers!

Black Pearl

2008-07-20T14:09:00.000-07:00

See the picture to the left? This is a Black Pearl pepper, considered by many too hot to eat. Notice in the center of the picture there is what appears to be a white dot, there is a missing pepper with two small peppers to the right. My crazy husband decided to try one ... now that was a laughing too hard, gut busting, gasping for breath moment as he turned cerise and tears fell from his eyes. Thanks to Frank Busse (drummer for Patty Tuite and the Boilermakers) for the idea to get this type of pepper.

But the almost funnier part is that it was not at all too hot for my Severe macaw, Cocoa Puff. She thought it was great!

Stay tooned for further adventures!

FINALLY!!!!!!

2008-06-22T20:41:00.000-07:00

Finally, my much beloved son graduated high school yesterday. We are so lucky. The ceremony was wonderful and he looked great. And he actewlly has a diploma! I'm still pinching myself, I can't believe it.

Here are a few pictures I was able to take.

Patty Tuite and the Boilermakers

2008-06-19T20:42:00.000-07:00

The video above is Patty Tuite and the Boilermakers. My husband Bill is the lead guitarist for the group. They'll be appearing at Fred's Brickhouse Cafe in Willimantic, CT, on July 11, 2008 and Sneakers Sports Bar and Cafe in Ashford, CT on July 25, 2008.

Wish You Were Here Redux

2008-06-17T12:15:00.000-07:00

Bill, my husband of lo these many years, is quite the rosarian, Some pictures of his endeavors seems fitting.

The white rose is Sombreuil,
the fuschia is Hansa, and
the orange is Playboy.

Yesterday I made Southern Pecan Praline Brownies (which are really Blondies) for a favorite group of women, Connecticut Common Threads. And a big thank you to Linda S. for being such a great hostess. I had fun!

The recipe below was adapted from the back of the 2 lb. bag of Domino's Light Brown Sugar. If you type Pecan Blondies into their search engine you'll get a completely different recipe. It's wicked cool that all you need for mixing is a saucepan and spoon.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Using a two quart saucepan melt two sticks of butter (I use one stick unsalted and one stick salted) with 2 cups packed light brown sugar over a low heat. When the sugar is dissolved, stir in two lightly beaten eggs along with one and one quarter cup all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder and 2 cups of coarsely chopped pecans (which I pre-toasted). Pour into greased 13 x 9 pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the edges of the blondie start to pull away from the pan. This supposedly makes 36. I just couldn't cut them that tiny.

Ruminations on Bittman/Lahey 5 Minute Artisinal Bread

2008-06-15T10:10:00.000-07:00

I've been spending way too much time reading food/cooking blogs and cookbooks. However, some great ideas came out of all this on how to use the leftover bread and bread dough, of which there can be a lot.

My latest inspiration was a column in Mr. Bittman's blog (Bitten) written by Ed Schneider "garbage plates" (what to do leftovers).

Too many eggs in the fridge led to yesterday's treat with leftover bread, Pain Perdue (Bake Until Bubbly by Clifford A. Wright). It was a very unusual recipe because it was almost like making flan, with sugar on the bottom, the bread next, then the egg/cinnamon/nutmeg mixture poured over the top, then baked until bubbly.

For leftover dough, eggs, cheese and linquica I used Jamie Oliver's Breakfast Pizza recipe on the Food Network.

For additional information on this technique go to this site for Rose Levy Beranbaum's terrific explanations.

However, because I do a wee bit of shaping or kneading before baking, I am adding the additional flour (bench flour on the board). This way I can make a boule, use my baguette pan or make pizza.