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Tag Archives: Dessert
The end of August found me in Seattle for IFBC. I was not going to go. To be honest, I had my fair share of food conferences last year and had decided to sit back in the shadows to enjoy them this year.
 
Upon returning from France, we had to high tail it to Seattle for business. I always love when I can combine a little business with foodie pleasure. During this trip I was able to squeeze in an over-due coffee with Jackie and Lenny and I both got a chance to have a wonderful evening out with Dana. Well, Jackie planted a small seed during coffee, about IFBC; but, I buried it deep. Then over cocktails, Dana decided to shower that buried seed with a little water. By the end of dinner, Dana, had showered that seed with sunshine – come back for IFBC, as well a girl’s weekend at her home with 5 amazing women (Dana, Joy, Cheryl, Tracy and Kristina). By the time I boarded the plane the next morning, that seed was blooming and it was not long before I was pinging Dana and accepting her generous offer.
I felt amazingly blessed that weekend. A much needed girl’s weekend, tossed together with great food, lip quenching cocktails and stimulating conversation with a brilliant group of women, who I now consider “friends”. We all came together, some of us knew each other from past events and others where new to each of us. Regardless, from the moment we meet up in baggage claim, I felt like I was with a long lost group of friends; conversations flowed freely, creativity was stoked and there was an amazing warmth around us the entire weekend. I thank each of them!
IFBC did not fail me either. I was pleasantly surprised by three particular speakers who, made me step back, think and then more forward. The first was James Oseland, the editor of Saveur. His speech oozed his love of food and travel, all wrapped up neatly together. My mind was provoked by every word. My fantasies were racing all around the world. He even made me want to keep blogging. I often consider giving it up but he re-lite the fire and made me want to pursue my passions even more. I could not get enough, I wanted more; I wanted to sit with him at a cafe, drink coffee and learn more!
The next speaker who brought me in was Penny de la Santos. Now, I know Penny (I say that loosely as I have only taken a photography workshop with her) from a time before and I respect her. When I talk about Penny, I always say the same thing, “I love her story and how she got where she was”. You see, I love it when people succeed doing what they are internally passionate about and that is Penny. She captures every moment and presents it in a way, that makes me feel it, taste it and completely experience it all visually. She is my “girl-crush”.
The third speaker who really drew me in was Shauna James Ahern. Shauna is the Gluten Free Girl. I knew of Shauna as our paths have crossed in the past but I did not really know her. As soon as Shauna started sharing her journey and her deep struggles with gluten at IFBC, I was intrigued. I hung on her every word, waiting for the next detail, wanting more. I felt her pain and I wanted to know more. Before, I even left Seattle, I ordered her book Gluten Free Girl. I highly recommend this book, even if you do not have a gluten issue. Shauna’s writing is witty, warm and very passionate. I related to so many of her stories, of growing up a child of the 70’s – I loved the TV dinners and remember them “fondly”. Not only does she share her journey but there are delicious gluten free recipes throughout.
We are lucky, we can eat anything; but, I still felt her pain. Having to rethink your way of shopping, cooking and eating. I could not imagine having to go through this radical of a change at this point in my life. As I read her book and shared my thoughts, with Lenny, we decided we wanted to do more. Why, because she had gone through this. As well, Lenny’s family is always complaining of stomach issues. We are always saying it is “your diet”, but it is a conversation that gets dusted under a rug. WE could hardly preach without having done it ourselves. After a few conversations, we decided we would challenge ourselves by eating gluten free for a month. We are very aware of where our food comes from and how it is made. But this challenge, will make us even more completely aware of what we were putting into our mouths, down to every last ingredient.
A couple weeks back, Shauna announced that she was looking for volunteers to bake gluten free. This was perfect timing for our own personal quest. I immediately sent an email, saying we were in and that we were challenging ourselves to a gluten free month. When I decided to accept this baking challenge, I had no idea of what I was doing. I was completely blind. Sure I had just finished Shauna’s book and was pretty confident that I could “cook” gluten free; but, baking, is another thing.
Last Thursday, I decided to challenge myself with two different gluten free recipes, an apple pie and pecan tart. The overachiever in me wanted to do it all. I had a hard time finding all of the ingredients I needed for the pie crust that Shauna shares on her site, so I decided I would “wing it” by using my favorite recipe. I picked up a gluten free AP flour, a brown rice flour, pecans, nuts, almond flour and tapico flour … all gluten free. I was eager and over confident.
My favorite pie crust recipe is a Dorie Greenspan recipe. I used equal portions of GF AP flour and the brown rice flour and attempted the recipe. It came together nicely, great texture; but, the taste reminded me of “sugared favas”. I was not happy. So I headed back to the market and picked up another brand of gluten free AP flour. This time the dough came together much better and the taste was really nice. When it came time to rolling it out, it completely fell apart. TRASH! At this point I was happy with just making a pecan tart.
Again, I pulled out a Dorie recipe for a sweet tart dough. I used almond flour, brown rice flour and ground up pecans as my base. It was perfect. It blind-baked perfectly. It smelled amazing. I was so happy. Then I decided I did not want corn syrup in my pecan pie and I substituted it with pomegranate molasses. Huge mistake. Overly sweet. I could not stomach how sweet it was. TRASH!
Sunday, I went into desperate mode. I had to come up with a baked gluten free something. I was in no position to retry my hand at the pie crust as well I was not in the mood for pecan pie. What I did have was a beautiful bowl of honey crisp apples, some left over pecans, almond flour as well as the gluten free AP flour – apple crisp. I tossed the apples with lemon zest, lemon juice, tapioca flour, brown sugar and fresh ground nutmeg. The crisp was made of a blend of pecans, almond flour, gluten free AP flour, sugar and butter. The crisp came out perfect – the apples were still a bit crispy, a little sweet and the buttery and crunchy topping went perfectly. I served it with some left over vanilla bean ice cream we made a couple weeks ago – it was delicious together.
A couple tips before I tell you about some fun things that are all gluten free. If you decide to try your hand at gluten free baking: 1) plan ahead, some of the ingredients may be hard to find. Dig through Shauna’s site, she was a wealth of information to guide you. 2) don’t give up, if your first attempt does not work, keep trying; it eventually will. 3) find a gluten free recipe and use it; try it out a few times before attempting to make it your own. 4) have fun; gluten free is delicious. 5) be sure to follow us on our own personal gluten free journey, it started with this apple crisp.
Keep reading, our delicious apple crisp recipe is at the bottom of this long post …..
As well you MUST head over to Shauna’s site Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef, not only for their gluten free tips and recipes; but, there is a wonderful list of food bloggers who have taken part in this challenge; everything is beautiful. As well they have a huge give away happening and are giving away the following items:
3 copies of our cookbook.
a collection of gluten-free flours, including all the flours needed to bake from our cookbook
a care package of spices and ingredients you might need to make some of the recipes in our cookbook.
a collection of useful baking tools, such as a Silpat, jelly roll pans, a peltex spatula, and a tart pan to make the tarts from our cookbook.
and… wait for it:
a Kitchen Aid stand mixer.
If you cannot wait to win one of the GF books, click on the photo to purchase a copy. Have not read the second one; but, I am positive it is as good as the first one!
Recipe: Gluten Free Apple Crisp
8 apples, peeled and cut into thick pieces
½ cup sugar
¼ cup tapioca flour, sifted
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 teaspoon nutmeg
¼ cup gluten free AP flour – we liked the kings arthur brand
½ cup pecans, chopped
¾ cup almond flour
¼ cup brown sugar
5 tabelspoons butter
Heat oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl, mix the apples with sugar, tapioca flour, lemon zest and juice and nutmeg. Lightly toss just to mix all of the ingredients. Put into a baking dish. In the same mixing bowl combine the ap flour, pecans, almond flour and sugar; break in the butter using your hands, until the butter is pea sized. Pat the mixture onto the apples. Bake for 40 minutes, until the topping is golden and the apples are soft but still a little crisp.
Back in April, Ella, asked me a question, that I never thought I would have to explain. She asked me, point blank, “what does it mean when you have your heart broken?” The first thought that came to mind, was probably, the same thing you are thinking, love. That first sweet tender love, when he never called or he “broke-up” with you on the playground, sort of love. I did not want to get into that topic, I wanted to keep it real. I told her, that someday, she would experience heart break; which is like getting your feelings hurt, it will hurt a little and she may cry a lot. That we all experience and that it may happen many times, but each time that it does she learn a new lesson, that will make her stronger. She was curious, so we kept talking about it. She wanted to know who would break her heart. I continued by saying, that it could a friend, or a love (like Lenny is to me) or maybe someone in her family. That it will just happen someday and she will know it. She smiled and I thought our conversation was over. Then she continued to tell me how she has had her heart broken and that I broke it. I was completely taken back. What did I do? What did I say? I asked her. She told me that two years ago when I cut my hair really short, that broke her heart. I smiled and thought she was lucky to only had that incident break her heart. To her it was a big deal and I apologized by saying that sometimes we do things we don’t know will hurt someone and that I was sorry. We were better!
I continued to think about that conversation many times after it happened, that sunny day in April, sitting on the back porch. I thought about all the broken hearts I have had over the years. And I pondered on how many did I break. There is no way around it heart break hurts; as I type these words it leaves a pit in my stomach.
Years have passed, hearts have been broken; but was it really heart break or just heart ache? May 2, 2010, I will remember for the rest of my being. This is the day I experienced heart break for the first time. No, it was not Lenny who broke my heart, nor was it a good friend. I wasn’t going to write about it, then I changed my mind, sitting here sipping tea, after all we learn from it, right? I had just told Ella this. Maybe it would make me feel better writing about it, no matter how vague. My family is going through heart break right now, all of us. This is true heart break. The kind that steals your soul. Leaves you breathless and wondering what could be next. Not a punch in the gut, leaving you standing on the play ground; the most swallow feeling. I had dinner, with my friend, Debbie, a couple weeks ago and the only way I could explain it was, that I imagine this is how death feels when someone really close leaves.
Everything is just floating these days, I can almost see it, above me like a billowy cloud. If I just could reach up high enough, on my tippy toes, I could grab it, put a band-aid on it and fix it. Some days I don’t think about how it is falling apart, those are great days. Then there are the days the heart break settles in, like the fog over the city and those are the days I need to escape; cuddle with Lenny (*wink* *big smile*), talk to a friend on the phone, see the big smiles on MEM’s faces, take a walk, go to Paris (smiles) or bake something sweet. After all, doesn’t chocolate always make the heart break a little easier.
How do you make your “heart-break” or “heart-ache” feel better?
Recipe: Salted Caramel Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
1 cup pecans, chopped
1/4 cup salted caramel
Heat oven to 375. Use an ungreased cookie sheet, or one lined with silpats or parchment paper. I prefer the silpats or parchment paper. Beat the butter and sugars together until creamy; add the vanilla. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until mixed. Gradually add the flour, baking soda and salt. Stir in the chips and pecans. Gently fold in the caramel. Using two tablespoons, drop spoonfuls onto the cookie sheets. Bake for 8 – 11 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven. Let cool for a couple minutes and then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely. Serve. Eat.
If you enjoyed this dish, you may enjoy these others as well:
Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies
I have not participated in a Sugar High Friday event in a very long time ….. embarrassing long! I was poking around a couple weeks ago and noticed that Elissa of 17 and Baking is challenging the group to come up with creative ways to use Brown Butter. Well, I love butter and I really love brown butter. I thought of all sorts of ways to incorporate golden nutty brown butter into a dessert; such as sugar cookies, pound cakes, even an attempt at adding to macarons. Then it hit me – gelato!
You may remember a Cinnamon Gelato I made a few months ago with my dear friend, Nanette. I decided to take the base of this recipe and mix it up a bit. It was easy! It came out … Creamy. Nutty. Luxurious. Floral. and Sweet.
Recipe: Brown Butter and Wildflower Honey Gelato
300ml full fat organic milk
300ml organic heavy cream
4 organic egg yolks
½ cup organic wildflower honey
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into slices
Brown your butter. Heat a deep saucepan over medium heat. Add the butter, whisky continually. Continue to cook the butter. Once the butter is melted it will start to foam a bit. Watch it. Small specks will start to brown in the bottom of your pan and begin to smell slightly nutty. When golden remove from the heat and set on a cool surface to stop the cooking. You do not want to burn the butter. This is an easy process, just be sure to watch what you are doing. Don’t be twittering at the same time. *smile* Let cool.
Bring milk, cream, and honey slowly to the small boil in a saucepan. Remove from heat and temper your egg yolks into a small amount of the hot mixture. Once tempered slowly add to the milk mixture and whisk to incorporate. Return to a very low heat and slightly simmer, while stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes. It is very important to continue to stir and to do it over low heat or you will scramble your mixture. Remove from the heat and transfer the mixture to a bowl. When it’s cool, stir in the browned butter and place the bowl in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (I left it over night). Put the mixture into your ice cream machine and process according to the instructions included. Serve. Eat.
This is overdue. Summer is half over and I am just getting this to you. I had all intentions of sharing this while we were traveling but then I kept it a secret. How could I do that during peak strawberry season??!!
I made this a couple days before we left for France after I stumbled upon a few baskets of our favorite Blue Moon Organic strawberries at the market. Normally we just eat the berries alone as they speak for themselves. This time I decided change things by making an all time favorite summer dessert – the shortcake. Since the berries really are wonderful and don’t need any sweetness, I kept it simple. I used my everyday biscuit recipe but tweaked it with a little sugar, vanilla bean paste and buttermilk. The sweet flaky biscuits went so well with the juicy strawberries and a little fresh cream slightly sweetened with brown sugar.
So what are you waiting for? Hurry up, you still have time to enjoy those summer strawberries!!
What is your favorite way to use a big bowl of summer strawberries?
Recipe: Strawberry Shortcake with Buttermilk Vanilla Bean Biscuits (*I will go back to printable recipes after I figure out a bug w/my google docs)
2 cups ap flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
Preheat oven to 450. Sift together dry ingredients into a large bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter or your fingers until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Combine egg and buttermilk with a whisk, then add all at once to flour mixture. Stir with a fork until dough comes together.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board. Knead gently about 5 times. Pat or roll to 3/4″ thickness. Cut into circles using a 2″ biscuit butter. Dipping the cutter into flour keeps it from sticking. Place on an ungreased baking sheet about 1/2″ apart.
Make an egg wash out of one egg and a couple tablespoons of water. Brush over the tops of the biscuits and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake for 10 – 12 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool. Cut in half and spoon strawberries over the top and finish with a dollop of cream.
Strawberries
Fresh strawberries, washed and hulled, cut in half
sprinkling of sugar, to taste
Toss strawberries with sugar in a large bowl and let sit about an hour before serving. This will let the natural juices come out.
Brown Sugar Whipped Cream
1 pint whipping cream
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Whip cream until soft peaks form. Gently sprinkle in the sugar as you are whipping the cream. Do not over beat or you will have sweet butter.
There is something magical about Camont. I had a feeling when I first met Kate over dinner with Pim. Pim had a sparkle in her eyes when she talked about Kate’s little haven in Gascony.
We had no idea what to expect as we boarded the train to Agen. The ride was picturesque , rolling green hills, dotted with vineyards and castles tucked away. Like a fairy tale actually. Once we arrive into Agen, we grabbed a cab, which we found out later …. no one does when they come to Camont. The drive was short but our anticipation was heightened as we turned the corner, saw the rustic sign Camont and recognized the farmhouse from Kate’s site.
The welcome was warm, like family we have not seen in a long time. Bacon, Kate’s fearless companion gave us a sniff and a bark. Kate’s sister, Stephanie was visiting and greeted us with open arms. As well there was Betsy who is an old friend of Kate’s from Boulder and Erika and Chris, who are there in Camont until November. The only person missing was Kate. And our friend, Dominique. This is when we found out, no one ever takes a cab to Camont.
We spent a glorious week bonding with Kate, Erika and Chris. As well as many other’s who were in and out for the week (more to come on that). One of the many things we loved about Camont was the laughter that was enjoyed everyday. Everyone really came together as one and enjoyed each other’s company. It was nice. It was comforting. Most of all, it was loving.
(Want to learn to take a delicious photos like this tart? Details can be found here on how where to take a workshop w/Tim Clinch & Kate Hill)
One rainy day, Kate came home with a crate of fresh apricots. The first summer apricots. I have fond memories of apricots being eaten, ripe, warmed by the sun and just plucked from my grandmother’s tree. This was the next best thing … perfectly picked and ready to be devoured.
That same rainy afternoon, as the clouds were slightly parting and the sun was just peeking through, Ericka and I decided to bake apricot tarts to photograph (more on that later) as well as for that nights dessert. Erika worked her magic on the pastry crust, which was outstanding and I took over the apricots. I wanted to keep the tart simple by using what we had right there. I seasoned the apricots with a little sugar, fresh lemon juice and thyme from the herb garden outside the kitchen door. We had enough dough to make one large tart and two small ones. The larger one had a slight layer of frangipani under the apricots. The second one had a layer of fresh creamy goat cheese under the apricots with a generous drizzle of honey over the top and the third had a layer of creamy goodness made out of a deep dark brown sugar that was mixed with the left over goat cheese and frangipani, covered with apricots and more honey. Each was baked until golden brown and then finished with a sprinkling of fresh thyme. Easy. Delicious. Very Gascony!
Recipe: Apricot and Thyme Tart
Gascony Photos
We were talking over coffee this morning about how we eat so much better when we are in Paris. And, this is funny because we eat pretty well back home, but here, we tend to eat small little meals.
For instance our day usually starts with ultra creamy (we are talking CUSTARD) yogurt, fresh baked pastries and fresh fruit just picked up from the market and coffee, lots of coffee and we linger in the apartment, listening to music, taking every Parisian breathe in and just enjoying each other. It is really bliss.
We eventually head out and the first stop is the Tabac for a couple espressos, at which time, we figure out our day. Keep in mind we have been here often, so we usually hit somewhere we have not been or we just wander the streets, taking it all in, with stops for more espressos or maybe a vin rouge. Our big meal out is usually lunch, which means a quiant little French Bistro and lots of delicious food. More wandering and then we head “home”.
I take great joy in going back out after putting my feet up for a bit, to pick up pastries, a bottle of wine and a bag full of cheese, baguettes, endives, radishes, jambon and more wine. The pastries are our afternoon snack. By the time we take the last sweet bite into our mouths, we are on California time and we catch up on emails, phone calls and work.
After a few hours, it is time for dinner which usually is more creamy French cheese, baguettes, fresh produce, jambon and lots of wine. We then explore a new neighborhood or take an old one in, even further. We enjoy some music, a walk and a little vin rouge. That is our perfect Paris.
Want to see more of Paris on a daily basis? Then come with us!
I am a huge peanut butter fan. I mean … HUGE. Nothing like two pieces of bread, slathered with a lot of peanut butter and a touch of jam; preferably strawberry or grape. Heck, let’s be honest here, nothing like a big soup spoon full of peanut butter and inserted into MOUTH. I am not choosy either, creamy or chunky, bring it ON.
I have not eaten a peanut butter cookie in years, except maybe an occasional girl scout one, if someone has them laying around their house (I don’t buy them for obvious reasons). Nor have I made peanut butter cookies, mainly because all of the recipes require you to chill the dough. You see, I like making cookies, I am just not into the chilling for at least 3 hours before baking. I want instant gratification.
I decided to make my nephews a big box of cookies for their birthdays and wanted to mix it up with the token chocolate chip so I have been working on a peanut butter recipe that did not require the “3-hour chillin”. The first couple times I made this recipe I used creamy peanut butter which worked out really nicely but I wanted texture. The next couple times I used an organic chunky peanut butter from Wholefoods. I not only loved the flavor of this peanut butter but I loved the slightly chewy and slightly chunky texture of the finished cookie. It was perfect. And the great thing …. neither way required any chilling time. Simply make the dough, roll into balls, flatten and bake.
Recipe: Peanut Butter Cookies
I am sure you have heard the rumor by now that Mardi of Eat. Live. Travel. Write is hosting this round of Hay Hay it’s Donna Day. I was really excited that she said she had the time as I had to beg her to get her entry in last month – sorry about that “gentle” nudge!
Mardi decided to sweeten up HHDD this month with Blackberry Cheesecake Pots. I made this recipe last Saturday – it did not last long enough to photograph it. So, I made it again on Sunday, snap some pictures and we shoveled it into our big mouths! Easy. Delicious. Basically cheesecake filling in a cup. This is one of those fall-on recipes to have when you need a quick dessert for guests. It has cream cheese, sugar, a little cream and fruit. Simple, right! I did add a little more cream cheese then the recipe called for as well I cut the sugar down a bit and added vanilla bean paste. Really lovely! Thank you Mardi for hosting this month’s HHDD and for picking a winning recipe!
What are you waiting for? Time to get cooking …
Recipe: Blackberry Cheesecake Pots
- 250g cream cheese
- ¼ cup (55g) caster (superfine) sugar
- ¼ cup (60ml) pouring (single) cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 120g fresh blackberries
Process the cream cheese, sugar, cream and vanilla in a food processor until smooth. Add half the blackberries and process until just crushed. Spoon into 4 x ½ cup-capacity (125ml) dishes and refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Serve with the biscotti and the remaining blackberries. Serves 4.
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