Tuesdays with Dorie ~ on Thursday

Yeesh, where has this week gone to?

O.M.G. ~ this is DIVINE!  Creme brulee is my very favorite dessert and this is so easy to make.  It tastes like a fine restaurant dessert.

I used the broiler to caramelize the brown sugar because I could just picture myself burning my house down using the butane ~ somedays I shouldn’t even be allowed to use a knife, LOL!  I think it got a little too done in a couple of spots but we scarfed it down anyway.

I have a creme brulee set that I had never used so I used it ~ the ramekins and the pan ~ but followed the directions in Dorie’s book.  Perfect!

This week’s treat was chosen by Mari of  Mevrouw Cupcake

You can find the recipe on Mari’s site and you can check out what all the other bloggers are saying by visiting Tuesdays with Dorie

Happy Cooking!

Tuesdays with Dorie

This week’s pick was made by Michelle of Bake-En and she chose the Dimply Plum Cake.  You can visit her site for the recipe.  Also, please visit Tuesdays With Dorie to see what all the other bloggers thought!

Well, I’d be lying if I said this was my favorite cake.  It wasn’t bad ~ just not my cup of tea.  DH thought it was good and ate a couple of pieces.  I did try it today and it is MUCH better warm from the oven on the day it is made.  The texture today is VERY dry.

It was easy to make ~ even halving and pitting the plums was easy.  Mine took the whole 40 minutes to bake even in my convection oven.

I did like that it was different from the usual cakes and I think it would be a good choice for a brunch where it could be served warm.

Happy Cooking!

Tuesdays with Dorie and Sugared Pecans

Well, I decided that since there wasn’t anyone here to share these cookies with that I would skip TWD this week.  They look delicious and I KNOW I would eat them all myself, LOL!  Everything will be back to normal next week.

So, in lieu of a link to a TWD recipe, I will post a link to the Sugared Pecans I DID make yesterday.  I’ve seen this recipe in different places and decided to make them as a try out for Christmas and hostess gifts.  They are delicious and would fit the bill for any food gift giving.   The recipe is on Recipezaar and they are super easy to make.  I did make them a little different than the directions stated and you can read how I did it in my review on the recipe (screen name Lvs2Cook).

Tuesdays with Dorie

Rachel of Confessions of a Tangerine Tart chose today’s pick. You can find the recipe on her blog. If you want to see what all the TWDers are saying, check out Tuesdays with Dorie . Thank you, Rachel!

On to the cookies. I had such high hopes for these cookies because I LOVE malts and I LOVE whoppers and I LOVE chocolate. I was so excited to try one. I am disappointed because I don’t taste the malt flavoring at all. Don’t get me wrong, they are excellent chocolate cookies ~ just not malty enough for me.

As for the recipe itself, I didn’t see the oven temp anywhere in the recipe. I baked mine at 350º in my convection oven and they were perfect at 11 minutes.

I also liked that this recipe didn’t make a ton of cookies ~ since we all know that me + chocolate cookies = Nancy eats them all. I used my tablespoon scooper to make pretty evenly sized cookies. Oh and I used chocolate chips.

Happy Cooking!

Tuesdays with Dorie

This week’s recipe was picked by Stefany of Proceed with Caution . I LOVE these cookies. Dorie is right ~ it is a combo of oatmeal cookies, chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter cookies!

I didn’t chill my dough and really had no problem with it:

Ready to go in the oven

I just used my tablespoon scoop so that all the cookies would be an even size. The dough was great to work with. Oh ~ I used chocolate chips instead of chopped bittersweet chocolate.

Just out of the oven

I did let them cool on the sheets for a few minutes before putting them on the rack. I did this because we like out cookies underdone slightly so to keep the cookies from crumbling (*groan*), I left them on the sheet.

I think these cookies are awesome and will become a regular in my cookies jar. To see the recipe, check out Stefany’s site linked above. To see all the other blogs and what all the other bloggers think of it, check out Tuesdays with Dorie .

Happy Cooking!

Tuesdays with Dorie

My favorite day of the week!

First off, I am NOT a fan of bananas…or banana bread. It’s totally a texture thing. However, I really enjoyed the flavor of this bread ~ maybe it’s the rum, LOL! I also had fun making this one ~ I love swirling the two batters together and trying to figure out when enough swirling is enough.

This recipe was easy to make and mine was perfectly baked at 1 hour 20 minutes. I used Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum instead of the dark rum but that was the only difference.

Ashlee of A Year in the Kitchen chose this week’s recipe and you can see the recipe on her blog. Check out Tuesdays with Dorie to check out how all the other bloggers did this week.

Happy Cooking!

Tuesdays with Dorie

Michelle from Michelle in Colorado Springs chose this week’s selection ~ you can also find the recipe there. If you want to see what all the fun is about check out Tuesdays with Dorie .

I chose to use peaches and blueberries for my galette since they scream summer and they were both on sale this week, LOL! I have made a few galettes before but I had trouble with the crust on this one ~ I have no idea why. I was able to do a patch job here and there and it came out OK but NOT picture perfect. I know there will better looking ones from all my fellow bakers out there.

Before adding custard

I used apricot jam on the bottom of the crust but I didn’t taste it at all in the finished product. The peaches I used were huge so I sliced them up instead of halving them. I ended up with some fruit leftover. I didn’t use too much of the custard part, either. Just about 2 or 3 tablespoons.

The verdict? 2 thumbs up for deliciousness ~ we loved the flavor and the peaches and blueberries were a good choice. Making this seemed inordinately hard for me ~ especially since I have made them before BUT I will try this again using different seasonal fruit. All in all, another good choice!

Ready to eat!

Happy Cooking!

Tuesdays with Dorie

Amanda from Like Sprinkles on a Cupcake made the pick for this week. Check out Tuesdays with Dorie to see what all the bakers have done this week or to join in the fun!

Obviously, from the picture, I used a different sized pan for mine. I couldn’t fit all the filling in my 8 inch pan and the cherries were expensive so I was bound and determined to use all the filling. So I made an executive decision and used my 9×13 pan. The cobbler topping doesn’t look as nice but it tastes divine.

I am a rhubarb lover ~ my Nana had a huge rhubarb patch when I was growing up and she made the best rhubarb pies. Even my DH who is NOT a rhubarb lover, liked this dessert. Usually rhubarb is paired with strawberries so I was glad to see the cherries instead.

My dough:

Rolled up dough:

The filling all mixed up:

Ready to go in the oven:

All baked and ready to eat:

What I didn’t like about this recipe ~ I HATE PITTING CHERRIES! My fingers are still purple and I can’t get it off, LOL! I would cheerfully pay someone to pit the cherries next time.

Except for the cherry pitting, we enjoyed this recipe.

Happy Cooking!

Tuesdays with Dorie

This week’s pick was by Melissa of It’s Melissa’s Kitchen and she picked a winner! You can see all info on Tuesdays with Dorie and join in the FUN!

This chocolate pudding is definitely NOT your ordinary chocolate pudding. It is quite a process as you can see here:

I don’t have a set of ramekins anymore because we have broken them, so I put the pudding in a bowl to scoop out after chilling. I did put the plastic wrap on the top to keep the skin from forming and it worked really well.

This was probably the BEST chocolate pudding we have ever had. It’s not something I would make on the spur of the moment, but I can see myself making this as a special treat.

Here’s what the dogs thought of the whole process:

They may have thought it was boring but we certainly didn’t. Thank you to Melissa for picking a winner!

Now for the bad part ~ SOMEONE (who shall remain nameless) left the half full bowl of pudding on the cupboard ALL NIGHT so I had to toss it this morning.  I could just scream ~ I was so looking forward to some of that pudding for breakfast.  Darn it!

Happy Cooking!

Tuesdays with Dorie

This week’s pick came from Amy at South in Your Mouth and don’t forget to check out Tuesdays with Dorie.

I really liked doing this week’s challenge. Years ago when my kids were little, I used to make my pie crusts but between moving, etc., etc., I started buying the already made ones and using those. I don’t know why I ever quit making my own. The difference between homemade and store-bought is night and day.

I didn’t have any problems making this pie crust ~ I think I could have added a tbsp. more water to it but that will come with more practice. I did have to patch the crust in a couple places but once it was baked nobody could tell where I had done it.

Here are some photos of my process:

I bought my blueberries from the farm stand (they were NC blueberries) and they were so nice and sweet I had a hard time not popping them into my mouth as I went along.

I know that it is frowned upon to keep pies in the fridge but it is so humid here that if I didn’t, it would be mold within a day or two (even with the a/c on) ~ and I LIKE cold pie.

We give this recipe a BIG thumbs up ~ it’ll make a regular appearance during blueberry season.

Happy Cooking!