My Baking Adventures

Remember when I made the Boston Cream Pie for Sabrina? Here is the dinner that preceded the cake.

This recipe comes from Rachael Ray – and it’s worth the 23 minutes you’ll spend making it. I realized I should have cut one piece open to show you the stuffing inside, but it’s that photography/kids are hungry/food’s hot/don’t make everyone wait thing. But really, this is fast, simple and has lots of great flavor. And what could be better than that?

Chicken Cutlets Brasciole - Rachael Ray

1/2 cup hot water
Handful golden raisins    (I left these out along with the pine nuts)
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 cup flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 slices white sandwich bread, torn
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
4 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breast
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup dry white wine
2 cups tomato sauce
2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, a few sprigs, leaves chopped
Directions
Pour very hot tap water into a small bowl. Add raisins and plump 5 minutes.
Lightly toast nuts in a small skillet over medium low heat.
Drain raisins and pat dry. Place raisins, nuts, parsley, lemon zest, garlic, torn bread and cheese into processor and pulse into a stuffing.
Butterfly the chicken open by cutting into and across the breast but not all the way through. Pound out the cutlets and season the chicken with salt and pepper. Fill the breasts with stuffing, roll and secure with toothpicks.
Heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the brasciole all over 7 to 8 minutes, remove and set aside. Deglaze pan with wine, scraping up the drippings. Stir in tomatoes and tarragon, add chicken back, cover and simmer 15 minutes. Slice and serve.

Oh Tyler, Tyler, Tyler, I had such high hopes for this weeks’ dinner ~

Since I couldn’t get my act together and make the gnocchi (just put a big “L” in the middle of my forehead), I made the “Ultimate Meatloaf” last night for dinner.

The recipe starts out a with homemade tomato relish that gets added to the meat for extra flavor.

The relish was very tasty – I would have eaten it on a sliced of toasted bread – like a bruschetta – and I may revisit that possibility very soon.

It sure looked great, and we couldn’t wait to dig in. But the meatloaf itself didn’t have much flavor at all – and both kids asked me not to make this again. It’s not that it was bad, it just wasn’t good.

So in order to redeem Tyler’s status in my house, I whipped up a batch of his Pistachio Biscotti, substituting mini chocolate chips for the pistachios, of course. These might just become my go-to recipe for biscotti – they were light, crunchy but not too crunchy, and didn’t spread out all over the baking sheet.

We really liked these – in fact, Alexander took the rest of them to his class aide this morning – her dog passed away this week and he wanted to make her feel better. I hope they helped.

Dad’s Meatloaf with Tomato Relish - Tyler Florence

Tomato Relish:
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and finely diced
2 tomatoes, halved, seeded, and finely diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 (12-ounce) bottle ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Meatloaf:
3 slices white bread, crusts removed, torn into chunks by hand
1/4 cup whole milk
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 pound ground pork
2 eggs
Leaves from 2 fresh thyme sprigs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4 bacon slices
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Coat a skillet with a 2-count of oil and place over medium heat. Saute the onion, garlic, and bay leaves for a few minutes to create a base flavor. Throw in the red peppers and cook them for a couple of minutes to soften. Now add the tomatoes; adding them at this point lets them hold their shape and prevents them from disintegrating. Stir in the parsley, ketchup, and Worcestershire; season with salt and pepper. Simmer the relish for 5 minutes to pull all the flavors together. Remove it from the heat; you should have about 4 cups of relish.
Place the torn white bread in a bowl and add the milk to just barely cover, swish the bread around in the milk and let it sit while you get the rest of the ingredients for the meat loaf together.
This is where you get your hands dirty! In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef and pork with 1 1/2 cups of the tomato relish, the eggs, and thyme; season with salt and pepper. Squeeze the excess milk from the bread and add the soaked bread to the meat mixture. To test, fry a small “hamburger” patty of the meatloaf until cooked; the patty should hold together but still have a soft consistency. Taste the patty for seasoning.
Lightly oil a cookie sheet. Transfer the meat mixture to the center of the cookie sheet and form into a log about 9 inches long and about 4 inches wide. Coat the top of the meatloaf with another 1/2 cup of the tomato relish. Lay the bacon across the top lengthwise.
Bake the meatloaf for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until the bacon is crisp and the meatloaf is firm. Rotate the meat loaf while it’s baking every now and then to insure that the bacon browns evenly. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and let it cool a bit before slicing. Serve with the remaining tomato relish on the side.

Pistachio Biscotti - Tyler Florence

1 1/2 cups pistachios (I substituted mini chocolate chips)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Lay the pistachios on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Bake for 10 minutes or until the nuts are lightly toasted. Remove from the oven.
In an electric mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy. With the mixer running, gradually add the eggs, sugar, and vanilla; mix until creamed. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix the dough until smooth. Using a wooden spoon, mix in the pistachios until evenly distributed.
Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut in half. Roll each half into a log, each 12 inches long by 1-inch high. Place the logs on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 35 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly brown. Let the logs cool for 5 minutes and then place on a cutting board. Slice each log on a diagonal into 12 1-inch thick pieces. Put the cookies back on the cookie sheet and bake 5 minutes. Turn the cookies over and bake the other side for another 5 minutes. Store cookies in an airtight container.

I guess I shouldn’t have been so smug over the success of my Parmesan Pull Apart Rolls.

Because I decided it would be a great idea to tackle the Buttermilk Fantails just a few days later. The dough was simple enough to put together, but the forming part? Wellllllll……..that was a bit more difficult than I thought.

I think I cut them too small – they didn’t quite fill up the muffin pan.

They look like filing cabinets – probably a holdover from my previous life (yes, I actually had one b.c. – before children). Regardless of the final shape, they were delicious. And just as good the next day – when the flavor had set a bit. David said they tasted like crescent rolls, but much, much better.

Sabrina wanted me to show you what she did with her plate:

There was more to dinner than steak and rolls – Sabrina was just very pleased with her “masterpiece”.

If you want to see what the rolls should look like, check out Natashya‘s pictures, or visit gourmet.com – but between you and me, Natashya’s are better!

Buttermilk Fantails - Gourmet Magazine

1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, divided
2 teaspoons active dry yeast (from a 1/4-oz package)
1/4 cup warm water (105–115°F)
1 tablespoon mild honey or sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour plus more for kneading and dusting
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup well-shaken buttermilk

Equipment:  a muffin pan with 12 (1/3- to 1/2-cup) muffin cups

Butter muffin cups with 1 Tbsp melted butter.
Stir together yeast, warm water, and honey in a large bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, start over with new yeast.)
Mix flour, salt, buttermilk, and 6 Tbsp melted butter into yeast mixture with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until a soft dough forms. Turn out dough onto a well-floured surface and knead, dusting surface and your hands with just enough flour to keep dough from sticking, until dough is elastic and smooth, 6 to 8 minutes. Form dough into a ball.
Put dough in an oiled large bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Punch down dough (do not knead), then halve. Roll out half of dough on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a 12-inch square (about 1/8 inch thick; keep remaining half covered with plastic wrap). Brush dough with 1/2 Tbsp butter and cut into 6 equal strips. Stack strips, buttered sides up, and cut crosswise into 6 equal pieces. Turn each piece on a side and put into a muffin cup. Make more rolls with remaining dough in same manner. Separate outer layers of each roll to fan outward. Cover rolls with a kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled and dough fills cups, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle. Bake rolls until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Brush tops with remaining 2 Tbsp butter, then transfer rolls to a rack and cool at least 20 minutes.
Cooks’ note: Rolls are best the day they’re made but can be frozen (cool completely, then wrap well) 1 month. Thaw, then reheat on a baking sheet in a 350°F oven until warmed through, 5 to 10 minutes.

Last week, while looking for interesting side dishes on All Recipes, I came across this recipe for stuffed zucchini. It reminded me of a quiche without a crust – well, the crust being the zucchini, that is.

These were a terrific side dish with grilled chicken, but the leftovers made a perfect lunch for me the next day.

The original directions were a bit fussy, but I’ve included the link if you want to make them the way they were written. What follows is my modified version:

Ricotta Stuffed Zucchini - adapted from allrecipes.com

8 zucchini, halved lengthwise
2 tbs. butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 cups ricotta cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Olive oil, for drizzling
2 tbs. Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
Ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Trim ends of zucchini halves, and scoop out seeds and pulp, leaving about 1/2 inch pulp on skins.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Slowly cook and stir onion and garlic until onion is soft. Stir in spinach, and cook about 1 minute, until wilted.

Transfer spinach mixture to a medium bowl, and mix in ricotta cheese, eggs, Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt, basil, oregano and pepper. Stuff zucchini halves with even amounts of the mixture, and arrange in a large baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle with seasoned breadcrumbs.

Bake uncovered in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, until the stuffing is hot and bubbly.

Before I lose it from utter frustration with the computer, I’m going to take a break and share with you this delicious bread I made.

It’s from the February issue of Gourmet magazine ~ an egg-enriched brioche type dough mixed with parmesan cheese ~ really, what could be better? I am always a bit intimated with bread dough, but I really want to tame and corral the yeast gods, so I decided to give it a try.

And I was so surprised at how easy it was! I prepared the dough before I left to pick up the kids from school, then formed the rolls while they did their homework. I baked them while I made dinner, and ta-da! Fresh rolls – made by me!

The only problem? They’re all gone…….

Parmesan Pull Aparts - epicurious .com

2 teaspoons active dry yeast (from a 1/4-ounce package)
1 teaspoon mild honey or sugar
2/3 cup warm milk (105–115°F), divided
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus 2 tablespoon for sprinkling
1 1/4 cups grated (with a rasp) Parmigiano-Reggiano (1 1/3 ounces)
1 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces and softened
1 tablespoon water

Equipment: a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment

Stir together yeast, honey, and 1/3 cup warm milk in mixer bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, start over with new yeast.) Whisk together flour (2 1/2 cups), cheese, and salt, then mix into yeast mixture along with remaining 1/3 cup warm milk at low speed. Increase speed to medium and beat in 2 eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then
beat, scraping down side of bowl occasionally, until a very soft dough forms, about 3 minutes. Beat in butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough is elastic, about 2 minutes. (Dough will be very sticky.)
Scrape dough into center of bowl and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoon flour. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Punch down dough (do not knead) and turn out onto a floured surface. Cut dough into 12 equal pieces and roll each into a ball by cupping your hand and pushing dough against work surface as
you roll in a circular motion. Arrange rolls 1 inch apart in a buttered 9- by 2-inch round cake pan and cover with a kitchen towel (not terry cloth). Let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled and dough fills pan, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle.

Whisk together remaining egg with water and brush on tops of rolls. (You will have leftover egg wash.) Bake until golden brown, 20 to
25 minutes. Loosen edges of rolls from pan with a sharp knife and invert rolls onto a rack, then reinvert and cool at least 20 minutes.

Cooks’ note:
Rolls are best the day they’re made but can be frozen (cool completely, then wrap well) 1 month. Thaw, then reheat on a baking sheet in a 350°F oven until warmed through, 5 to 10 minutes.

Here’s a cake I made yesterday for a friend of mine – her daughter just turned 7 and was having a Bolt themed party.

The picture in front of the cake is the photo she gave me to work from – she added the figurines when I brought the cake to her house this morning.

What impressed me the most about this cake was the lettering – I’m not known for my ability to write in a straight line, so the fact that the writing was symmetrical was big for me. Really big. Did I mention big?

Let’s put it this way – even Alexander remarked on how nice my lettering looked.

Sabrina took a photo of the finished product, but I have to figure out how to get the picture from my phone onto the computer.

Yeah, I’m a little tech-challenged. But I can make nice cakes!

After a very difficult week in school, Sabrina asked me to make her two things: Chicken Brasciole, and Boston Cream Pie.

First up, the pie – oh, how I love the pie. Technically, it’s a cake, I know, I didn’t make up the name, I’m just following the rules here.

Light sponge cake, custard and of course, chocolate. Umm, umm, good.

This recipe, from Gale Gand, is practically foolproof. I halved the recipe, and baked the cake in a 6″ cake pan. I’d like to try the cake on its own, with a different frosting – because you know how some cakes get all dry and yucky after spending two days in the fridge? Not this one. It was still moist and fluffy.

Off on a tangent here – does anyone remember Gale’s show on the Food Network – Sweet Dreams? I loved that show and watched it every day! I really wish they would bring her back – she was (and still is) great.

Anyways, if you need a dessert to soothe the soul of an 11 year old, this is it:

Boston Cream Pie - Gale Gand

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sifted cake flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Pastry cream, recipe follows
Ganache, recipe follows

Pastry Cream Filling:
2 cups whole, 2 percent fat, or 1 percent fat milk
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped out
6 egg yolks
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Ganache:
8 ounces semisweet chocolate
1 cup heavy cream, boiling

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add milk, oil, egg yolks, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed until combined. Beat an additional 3 minutes on high speed and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar on medium to high speed until soft peaks form. Pour the egg yolk mixture over the egg white mixture and fold in. Gently pour the batter into a 9-inch greased pie pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly touched. Invert the pan onto a wire rack. Cool completely.
Pastry Cream Filling: In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and vanilla bean to a boil over medium heat. Immediately turn off the heat and set aside to infuse for 10 to 15 minutes. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add the cornstarch and whisk vigorously until no lumps remain. Whisk in 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture until incorporated. Whisk in the remaining hot milk mixture, reserving the empty saucepan.
Pour the mixture through a strainer back into the saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and slowly boiling. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Let cool slightly. Cover with plastic wrap, lightly pressing the plastic against the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Chill at least 2 hours or until ready to serve. (The custard can be made up to 24 hours in advance. Refrigerate until 1 hour before using.)
Ganache: In a medium bowl, pour the boiling cream over the chopped chocolate and stir until melted.
To assemble pie, remove the cake from the pan. Cut the cake in half horizontally. Place bottom layer on a serving plate or board, and spread with the pastry cream. Top with second cake layer. Pour chocolate ganache over and down the sides of the cake. Store in refrigerator.

You asked for it, and here it is -

The dessert I made for David for Valentine’s Day:

Doesn’t look like much, does it? But don’t let its appearance deceive you.

It’s Lemon Cream Pie, also known as Lemon Sour Cream Pie, Copycat Marie Callendar’s Pie, Paula Deen’s Lemon Birdie Pie – I suppose it depends on who you ask and what day of the week it is.

David loves everything and anything lemon, so naturally this was the perfect V-Day dessert for him. Not only is it super easy to make, it has just the right amount of tartness to it, and doesn’t need meringue or whipped cream on top. Unless that’s your thing, and who am I to judge?

Besides, David recently informed me that meringue topping is a waste of space, it doesn’t serve any real purpose – and you wonder why I skipped the Floating Islands for TWD?

Lemon Cream Pie - from recipelink.com

1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup milk
3 egg yolks, beaten
4 tbs. butter
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup sour cream

1 9” graham cracker crust (or 1 fully baked, cooled pastry crust)

Combine sugar, cornstarch, milk and beaten egg yolks in heavy saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture thickens and boils. Stirring constantly, boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and lemon juice. Cool to room temperature. Fold in sour cream. Pour filling into baked pie shell. Cover and refrigerate until firm. Serves 8.

Now that I have your attention, listen up.

I made this dessert for Valentine’s Day.

For myself.

Oh, I made something else for David – but you’ll get to see that later. Right here, right now, this is all about the chocolate.

And boy, was it good.

The recipe comes via Serious Eats,  from The Essence of Chocolate by John Scharffenberger.

Sabrina and I licked the ramekins clean. Ok, not really, but this was seriously good. Like a hybrid between cake, pudding, and mousse.

Try it – you’ll like it.

Baked Hot Chocolate - The Essence of Chocolate by John Scharffenberger

- serves 4 -

Ingredients
9 ounces 62% semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
4 large eggs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
Whipped cream

1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Arrange ovenproof coffee cups or mugs or 8-ounce ramekins in a baking or roasting pan.
2. Place the chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler set over gently simmering water, and whisk occasionally until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and set aside.
3. Stir the eggs and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer then set over the simmering water and stir until warm to the touch. Place the bowl on the stand mixer and, using the whisk attachment, beat for 3 to 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Remove from the mixer, and fold the eggs into the chocolate mixture until it is light and smooth.
4. Spoon the batter into the cups. Add enough very hot water to the baking pan to come halfway up the sides of the cups. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. The baked hot chocolates will be done when the tops lose their glossy finish. A wooden skewer inserted in the top will emerge clean, but batter toward the bottom of the cup will still be very moist.
5. Carefully remove the cups from the pan. The cakes can be served warm, at room temperature, or covered and refrigerated for up to 1 day. To reheat, bring to room temperature and place in a preheated 350-degree F oven for 5 minutes, or until warm.
6. Serve topped with a dollop of whipped cream.

Crespelle, also known as crepes, are one of my favorite things to eat. They aren’t hard to make, just a bit time consuming, and once I learned the how-to’s, I realized that preparing a double batch was the way to go. The cooked crepes freeze perfectly, as long as you remember to store them between sheets of wax paper – otherwise you will end up with a giant sticky mess that eventually gets tossed into the trash because you can’t separate them.

This version, with a simple ricotta cheese filling, comes from Food and Wine magazine. They were everything I’d hoped they would be – light, delicate, and really, really good.

I’m so glad I made extras, since I now have another casserole in the freezer ready to go.

I took this picture so you’d be able to see what they look like before they get their final covering of sauce. It’s close to impossible to get a good shot of them after they are finished, because then they look like a giant amoeba swimming in a red sea.

Crespelle with Ricotta and Marinara - Food and Wine

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon melted unsalted butter
Olive oil

1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
and freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 cups marinara sauce

Make the crespelle: In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the salt. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs with the milk. Whisk the egg mixture into the flour mixture until smooth. Whisk in the melted butter until just blended. Cover the batter and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Heat a 10-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat. With a paper towel, rub the skillet with olive oil. Pour in 1/4 cup of the crespelle batter and tilt the skillet to distribute the batter. Cook the crespella until golden brown on the bottom, 2 minutes. Flip and cook until browned in spots, 1 minute longer. Invert the crespella onto a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining batter, rubbing the pan with oil as needed. You should have 8 crespelle.
Make the filling: Preheat the oven to 375°. In a medium bowl, blend the ricotta with the chopped parsley and 1/3 cup of the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Season the filling with salt and pepper.
Lay the 8 crespelle on a work surface. Spread 2 rounded tablespoons of the ricotta filling over half of each crespella. Fold the crespelle over the filling, then fold them in half again to form quarters.
Spread half of the marinara sauce in the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Arrange the filled crespelle in the dish in a single layer, overlapping them slightly. Top with the remaining marinara sauce and sprinkle with the remaining 1/3 cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Bake for about 25 minutes, until golden brown and bubbling; serve.