Coconut Butter Thins
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from being in Tuesdays with Dorie, it’s that Dorie Greenspan knows cookies. Some of my favorite recipes of hers have been cookies and I’ve stated before that if she were to do an entire book on them I’d be thrilled. And fat.
I’ve never made a Dorie cookie I didn’t love and this week was no exception. Coconut Butter Thins have a butter based dough with macadamia nuts, coriander, coconut and lime zest. There’s a lot of texture packed inside one thin little cookie. And they’re sort of tropical like in flavor which is a nice change from say, peanut butter or chocolate chip that we all might automatically gravitate to on a more regular basis.
The final baked product came out thin, crispy, crumbly, almost like a shortbread. The interesting thing is I actually liked these better pre-bake though. Not that anything was wrong with them post-bake, I just happen to like raw cookie dough a lot and thought on these the flavors and textures came through better on the cold, unbaked dough.
I only baked for 15 minutes instead of 18. I had some spreading issues during baking and my fork marks totally disappeared. No worries, I just poked them again once they came out of the oven. I wish mine held their shape a little more, perhaps freezing the dough in addition to chilling (24 hours in my case) would also help. These did remind me of the issues I had with the Brown Sugar-Pecan Shortbreads.
Please Dorie, more cookies! And thanks to Jayne of The Barefoot Kitchen Witch for choosing Coconut Butter Thins for the March 31, 2009 edition of Tuesdays with Dorie. Next week, it’s Banana Cream Pie selected by Amy over at Sing For Your Supper. I’m happy. See you next Tuesday!
TWD…. running late!
Cookies are done. They just need to be photographed and written about.
Check back tonight!
Strawberry-Lemon Puddings
Sometimes you want dessert with barely putting forth any effort. At least I do. I work late a lot and don’t want to be messing around with something that takes a long time, but I also want more than just eating a few chocolate chips out of a bag to satisfy my sweet tooth. These Strawberry-Lemon Puddings use a few store bought ingredients that really save time. Within a half hour you can have a delicious dessert.
This is basically a traditional Strawberry Shortcake but with lemon thrown in the mix. Lemon curd whipped cream, strawberries in lemon syrup and buttery pound cake are layered together and topped with toasted pound cake crumbs. Mmmm.
The steps to this recipe are easy as it’s mostly assembling the components and not really much cooking or baking. All that you really need to do is heat up the strawberries on the stove top for five minutes and whip some cream into soft peaks. That’s nothin’.
This turned out as I expected. Deeeelicious. I’ve come to expect that from Tyler Florence recipes, even simple ones like this. The lemon curd whipped cream was to die for and, to my surprise, actually pretty rich. I think I put too much whipped cream in my layers, next time I would knock it back a bit.
Tyler Florence’s Strawberry-Lemon Puddings
From the book Dinner At My Place
Makes 4 Servings
Ingredients:
2 cups of strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 Meyer lemon, juice only (I used regular lemon juice)
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 cup powdered sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for the tops
1/2 cup lemon curd, store bought
1 pound cake, store bought
The recipe and directions can be found online at HSN’s website here.
Strawberry-Lemon Puddings are my tenth post for Tyler Florence Fridays, a group with the freedom to make any recipe of Tyler’s that they choose and then share their experiences every Friday.
Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts
Ina, I think I love you.
Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts were the second March recipe for the Barefoot Bloggers and were chosen by Anne of Anne Strawberry. Although these caught my eye before, I probably never would have got around to making them. And that would have been terrible because right now, these tarts are one of my favorite things. The boyfriend also gave his approval.
I’ve never really thought I cared for goat cheese but I’m really coming around to it now. It’s a main ingredient in both these tarts and another Ina recipe I absolutely love, Roasted Pepper and Goat Cheese Sandwiches, which you must try if you haven’t yet!!
What I did: I went a little smaller with my circle cuts, using a 4 inch springform pan as my cutter for the puff pastry. I think next time I would just make squares so I wouldn’t have any waste. I couldn’t bring myself to throw away perfectly good puff pastry so I put my scraps together and made a few extra ugly shaped ones that tasted just as good as the prettier ones. I baked the smaller sized tarts for about 17-18 minutes instead of 20-25.
What I thought: Really, really wonderful. I would make these again without a doubt. My only tiny little complaint seems to be related to puff pastry which I don’t think I love by itself. I remember I complained about it previously on Ina’s Easy Cheese Danishes as well. If something is covering the puff pastry, I’m happy. But naked puff pastry… not so much. I don’t seem to care for the flakiness or the taste. So that being said, I took all of the leftover ingredients and turned this recipe into a sandwich using sourdough bread to model after that Roasted Pepper Sandwich I mentioned earlier. Yum!!!!
Ina Garten’s Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts
2008, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics
Show: Barefoot Contessa Episode: Say Cheese
Ingredients
1 package (17.3 ounces/2 sheets) puff pastry, defrosted
Good olive oil
4 cups thinly sliced yellow onions (2 large onions)
3 large garlic cloves, cut into thin slivers
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons dry white wine
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan, plus 2 ounces shaved with a vegetable peeler
4 ounces garlic-and-herb goat cheese (recommended: Montrachet)
1 large tomato, cut into 4 (1/4-inch-thick) slices
3 tablespoons julienned basil leaves
Blueberry Crumb Cake
Blueberry Crumb Cake was chosen by Sihan of Befuddlement for the week of March 24th, 2009 for Tuesdays with Dorie. Spring is officially here according to the calendar and the weather is finally starting to catch up (flip flops here I come!). So even though fresh blueberries aren’t exactly in season yet, I was excited to make this cake now to remind me of all the good things to come in the next few months.
At my work we kind of use food as a crutch to help keep our spirits up. There’s always a lot of potlucks and snack days scheduled where everyone brings something in to share with the big group. It’s a nice little break from the norm, that’s for sure. While I love the ideas of these types of things, inevitably I always get myself into a mild panic about what I’m going to BRING Ahhhhhh!!!!
Without a doubt, this Blueberry Crumb Cake will be the next thing I bring in. It’s like one huge blueberry muffin with streusel on top which is in the top two of my favorite kind of muffin list (Cranberry Orange is the other one). These reminded me of the mix my Mom used every single weekend when I was growing up (I believe it was Betty Crocker but I don’t know if they make it anymore). It’s moist, crumbly, full of blueberries and the topping just takes it over the edge.
What I did: Since I don’t go crazy over nuts I left them out of the streusel. It didn’t suffer one bit. I cut the recipe in half and baked in a circular glass Pyrex dish (1.65 L) for 40 minutes. Then the boyfriend and I ate the whole thing over two days.
Thanks, Sihan for a wonderful choice. I loved it! Stop by here for the recipe or check out the Blueberry Crumb Cake recipe on pages 192-193 of Dorie Greenspan’s book Baking: From my home to yours. Next week it’s Coconut Butter Thins as selected by Jayne of The Barefoot Kitchen Witch. See you next Tuesday!
French Yogurt Cake with Orange Marmalade Glaze
Time alone is a luxury. I’m usually resigned to Saturday mornings from about 6 to 10 am which I spend in my living room drinking coffee and clearing out the TiVo, reading books or whatever I want. I’ve found I need this time just to reset myself after a long week of nothing but obligations and routines. It’s rare for me to actually get a night to myself alone in the house. Last night it happened for what seemed like the first time in ages since the boyfriend was called out to work after hours. I came home to silence (minus a few whining cats) and a night of possibilities laid out before me. I immediately got to wasting to my night away instead.
I parked the tv channel on TLC and watched hours of programming like What Not To Wear, Little People Big World and Jon & Kate Plus 8. I ate Peanut Butter Cap’n Crunch for dinner then followed it up with potato chips for dessert. I practiced Pretty Good Year by Tori Amos on the piano and the rest of the time had my iPod Touch glued to my hand playing games and surfing the internet.
I’m telling you, it was great.
I wouldn’t want to do it every night but once in a while… ahhh, pure bliss. 
French Yogurt Marmalade Cake was selected by Liliana of My Cookbook Addiction for this week’s Tuesday with Dorie selection. I was so happy with this choice, it was simple, easy and not chocolate loaded (which I gladly am taking a break from for right now).
I made this cake twice. First on Saturday and I overbaked it quite a bit. It was still good but I wanted to give it another go anyway. I cut the recipe in half and baked in a small loaf pan for about 25 minutes. I then added an aluminum foil tent and baked five minutes longer so the top didn’t get too brown. I also added some milk to the batter, the cake baked up really nice and moist that way. Dorie’s recipe calls for lemon marmalade and I looked EVERYWHERE for lemon marmalade and couldn’t find it. Even the fancy stores down where I worked that seem to carry everything didn’t have it and I was really surprised by this. I found Key Lime marmalade which I’m sure would have been awesome but I decided to just go with Orange due to it being much cheaper. I also used orange zest in the batter instead of lemon.
I really love cakes like this. The taste is light, not too overpowering or sickeningly sweet. The flavors could be played around with easily so you’re really only limited to what kind of marmalade/preserves you decide to use. MMMMM, thanks Liliana for a great choice. Stop by My Cookbook Addiction here for the recipe or see pages 224-225 in Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From my home to yours.
Next week Sihan of Befuddlement has selected Blueberry Crumb Cake!
TFF: Mozzarella Grilled Sandwich
For 69 cents at your grocery store you can get more parsley than I think any person could actually use in regular home cooking. If you opened my fridge right now you’d find this big green thing almost as big as one of the little bushes in my front yard. Every time I buy parsley I always pick it up and think “What the heck am I going to do with all this?”.
I had a lot of leftover basil from last week’s TFF as well as parsley from Barefoot Bloggers. I was determined to make a dent in both supplies by using them in other recipes instead of eventually throwing it all out. I did a search on foodnetwork.com for “Tyler and Pesto” and it came up with these Mozzarella Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. I recognized these from one of his books as well as from a few TFF members that recently made them. It was a go.
The sandwiches have a layer of pesto, tomatoes and fresh mozzarella cheese between slices of sourdough bread. I used fresh bocconcini mozzarella packed in water which saved me about five dollars. I don’t have a cast iron skillet or panini press so I just broke out the trusty George Foreman that I’ve had FOREVER instead. It worked great, you can always count on the Foreman to get things done.
We really enjoyed these. We each ate two and I wanted to eat about ten more. I thought about them later that night, when I woke up in the middle of the night, when I got up in the morning and when I was eating something else for lunch later that day. I really hate when that happens, but these had some sort of hold over me. They reminded me of something you could get at Panera but for a fraction of the cost. At times though I thought maybe some bites lacked a little bit of a “punch” but I couldn’t pinpoint what I thought should be added flavor wise. The boyfriend said red onion. Maybe, but pesto AND red onion?? Colgate and Scope would have their work cut out for them! I would make these again though without a doubt. Thanks to Tyler for another great recipe to add to my list of regulars, and thanks to my Foreman grill for “knocking out the fat” with me since 1995.
The recipe online differs slightly from the book. I used the online version.
Tyler Florence’s Mozzarella Grilled Cheese
Show: Tyler’s Ultimate Episode: Ultimate Rainy Day
Yield: 2 sandwiches
Ingredients
4 slices thick-cut sourdough bread
1 ball (1 pound) fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 plum tomatoes, cut into thick slices
1 cup fresh basil pesto, recipe follows
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
Basil pesto:
1/2 cup pine nuts
2 cups fresh basil leaves
1 cup fresh Italian parsley leaves
1/2 cup Parmesan or Romano
2 garlic cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Mozzarella Grilled Cheese is my ninth post for Tyler Florence Fridays, a group with the freedom to make any recipe of Tyler’s that they choose and then share their experiences every Friday.
Chicken Piccata
We’ve done a total overhaul of our eating habits over the last month, something that desperately needed to be done. We were spending an obscene amount of money between the two of us on Starbucks (every day… eeek!), lunches and dinners out constantly. The plan was to find the store that consistently has the best sales week to week, which turned out to be the oldest store in our town that always has an empty parking lot while shoppers buzz in and out of a new fancy mega-store right across the street. We watch the circulars and plan our meals around what’s on sale and walk through the aisles in peace with no one getting in our way. We don’t even have to wait in line when we’re ready to pay. Things are on a system now and under control AND extra money is padding our accounts…sweet!
Due to this change though, I was a bad Barefoot Blogger last month. I missed both recipes, something I’ve never done. My apologies to Tara and both Rebecca and BMK who picked great recipes that I just couldn’t get completed.
I’m back this month though and ready to go.
Lindsey of Noodle Nights and Muffin Mornings has selected Chicken Piccata for the first March recipe. We’ve made this dish at my house before and it went over well, so I was happy to make it again.
This is a quick and easy dinner that’s delicious. Boneless chicken breasts are pounded thin and dredged through a flour mixture, an egg mixture and finally seasoned bread crumbs. The chicken is browned in olive oil on the stovetop and then baked in the oven for a few minutes. Everything is covered with a lemon, wine and butter sauce and then topped with fresh parsley and lemon slices. Sounds good, huh? It is.
This would be the perfect dinner to whip up at a moments notice or after a long day at work. It really takes no time at all and there aren’t a lot of ingredients or steps to stress over. The lemon flavor is pretty strong in this recipe, which I love, but just be aware.
Thanks to Lindsey for a wonderful choice.
Ina Garten’s Chicken Piccata
Show: Barefoot Contessa Episode: It’s Friday Night Again
Ingredients
2 split (1 whole) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 extra-large egg
1/2 tablespoon water
3/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
Good olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons), lemon halves reserved
1/2 cup dry white wine
Sliced lemon, for serving
Chopped fresh parsley leaves, for serving
Click here for directions!
And since it’s been lemon my last couple of posts I thought it was the perfect time to give a big Thank You to Michelle of Big Black Dog who gave me this Lemonade Award on one of her recent posts (Chocolate Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Bubble Frosting… mmmm).
Thanks Michelle, it really made my day when you let me know.
Lemon Cup Custard
This week for Tuesdays with Dorie, Bridget of The Way the Cookie Crumbles selected Lemon Cup Custard for everyone to test out.
I want to say I really liked this one, but I didn’t. It wasn’t awful or anything, but there was an initial strong egg smell and taste on each spoonful that I had a hard time getting past. It finished with a nice lemon aftertaste so it wasn’t eggy all the way through which did save it a little. All in all though, it was not for me and I tried it twice at different times just to make sure. The boyfriend really liked this one so he was on the total opposite end of the spectrum. Like usual!
I made the standard lemon version and added the optional lemon extract (which I doubled). There are other flavor combinations that are suggested for this custard and maybe those would work out a little better. All this being said I’m glad I tried it anyway. This was my first recipe out of over 50 of Dorie’s that didn’t thrill me so no big deal, right?
Thanks to Bridget of The Way the Cookie Crumbles for the choice this week! Head on over to Bridget’s blog here to view the recipe and to see what she thought. Next week, Liliana of My Cookbook Addiction has selected French Yogurt Cake with Marmalade Glaze. See you next Tuesday!
TFF: Rigatoni with Spicy Italian Sausage, Cream, Tomatoes and… Peas? Yep.
If you want my attention when it comes to dinner use the words “pasta, tomatoes, sausage and cream” in the same sentence. For years, one of my most made dinner recipes has been this Pasta with Sausage, Tomatoes, and Cream from Recipezaar. Now that Tyler Florence Fridays is in my blogging picture I have recently bought all of Tyler’s books except for one. Looking through Dinner At My Place, I stumbled on this recipe that was very similar to my old Recipezaar standby. There are only a few slight differences, the major one the addition of blanched peas which I wasn’t too sure about. I had to try it.
I used small rigatoni instead of penne just because I prefer the shape of rigatoni more. I found that the sausage links took a lot longer than 12 to 15 minutes at 350 to be done to the point where I wasn’t worried. Maybe closer to 25-30 minutes. I went back and forth about whether I should add the peas or not but decided to go ahead and use them. Even though I got a late start since I got home from work late, it was a relaxed cooking experience. The recipe directions have a good flow for weeknight cooking which Tyler does bring up in his book in the section this dish is featured in. Both the boyfriend and I really liked this one, peas and everything. It was every bit as good as our usual recipe, but then again you can’t really go wrong with these ingredients. Another great one from Tyler.
You can find the recipe online here. There is also a video if you’d like to watch the segment Tyler did with MSNBC on making affordable dinners at home (it didn’t work for me but I use Mac and sometimes I have problems with videos). I think this recipe is a good choice for that segment, the full recipe serves 4-6 and my total bill was less than $13. I still have leftover sausage, heavy cream, basil, onion and garlic for another use.
I mentioned I recently bought all of Tyler’s books… this made someone else in my house very happy for another reason. It gave one of my cats a new Amazon box to sleep in.
He has four different boxes he’s moved to strategic locations around the house but this one is his new favorite. I’m looking at him sleeping it in right now in the middle of the kitchen floor. Awww.
