Monthly Archives: June 2008
  Those creative bakers over at Tuesdays with Dorie are at it again and our lovely host this week was Marie at A Year From Oak Cottage and she picked La Palette’s Strawberry Tart. I was excited that this was the choice as I needed a summertime dessert for our Pulled Pork Party.
 If you are familiar with Donna Hay, you know exactly what I am talking about when I mention her cookbooks and magazines. Not only is the food styling and photography stunning; but, the recipes are brilliant! I am always looking for good, quick meals that we can whip up in less than an hour during our busy work week. Time and time again, I turn to Donna! Not only are her recipes easy but each one uses the freshest seasonal food available. As well, they are usually meant for 4 servings which makes it easy to half for two. Every time we try a new recipe, we are equally as happy as the time before. This was NO exception ……..
 am in love with the Donna Hay cookbooks and most recently the magazine. We cook a lot of her dishes (one for dinner tonight) very often as they are simple and very flavorful. I had yet to try one of her sweet recipes. Then I ran across this event, HHDD, which is being hosted by Home Gourmets and Bron Marshall and I knew I had to jump on it. This particular event was all about Choux. I love making Choux, there are so many ways to go with it, from sweet to savory and it is so easy!
 It is the perfect Sunday afternoon snack with a glass of sparkly wine. Recipe Passionfruit Cream Profiteroles 1 cup (8 fl oz) water (240 ml) 1/3 cup (2 2/3 fl oz) lemon juice (80 ml) passionfruit cream Preheat the oven to 180ºC (360ºF). Place the water and butter in a saucepan over high heat and bring to the boil. Add the flour and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Cook, stirring over low heat until the mixture leaves the side of the pan. Remove from the heat. Place in an electric mixer and beat on high, gradually adding the eggs until well combined. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag with 12mm (½ in) plain nozzle and pipe 2 cm (¾ in) rounds onto baking trays lined with non-stick baking paper. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until puffed and golden. Cool on wired racks. To make the passionfruit cream, place the cream, passionfruit and sugar in a bowl and stir to combine. Set aside. Combine the lemon juice and extra sugar until smooth. Fill the profiteroles with passionfruit cream and spoon over the lemon icing. Makes 45.
 When I read on Bri’s food blog, Figs with Bri, a couple months ago, that her cancer came back, I really felt for her and her family. I have never had cancer so I can not say how I would feel if it was me; but, I have had people close to me , friends of friends and friend’s parents all affected by cancer and I have experienced the sorrow and frustration, only as an outsider. Then I read Bri’s story. I felt terribly for her and her family; I could not imagine going through this. As well, I read on her site how she was going the alternative route with treatment and we all know how insurance does not like to cover this, let alone barely covering the other expenses. Now, I understood this as I had a scare a couple years ago, and after numerous tests and 6 months worth of bills and fighting with insurance, only to not have them pay for hardly anything; I completed related to this frustration and wanted to help somehow.
 Here is the rest of the story on Bri, with instructions at the end on how to donate to this cause and how to request a ticket for the raffle. Unfortunately, we can not ship the Masa international, so all of our international readers will not be included. You can still donate for a good cause and to help Bri.
 and you all know what that means, Dorie Time! Due to busy schedules at work and taking a mini-vacation, I have not had a chance to par-take in the weekly baking club – my waist line is definitely Thanking Me! I was bummed to miss the last two weeks as we were making Madelines and Pecan Sticky Buns, two of our faves around the house. Thank you to Di of Di’s Kitchen Notebook for choosing an Outrageous recipe. Our challenge this week was French Chocolate Brownies – now one can not go wrong with Brownies! The recipe had a twist thrown in, raisins! Since I was giving this away to a non-raisin lover, I did leave them out and I added some bittersweet chocolate chips. Otherwise, I followed the recipe to a T and it is very straightforward and easy. The verdict …. Lenny said they are “crazy moist” and I have to agree, the moistest brownie I have ever had, at the same time the top is lightly crunchy and flaky. Pour yourself a big cold glass of milk, grab a book or turn on a movie and sit back and eat yourself into a chocolate bliss, this is definitely ….Sinful! |
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