Tuesdays With Dorie~ Devil's Food White Out Cake (w/ Cherries)

This was supposed to be dessert on Valentine's Day....but we BOTH got SICK! :( After spending a horrible New Year's Eve with the flu (again, both of us) we were really looking forward to a fun Valentine's Day. Well...then the bronchitis and sinus infection moved in and we spent the better part of last week battling off the germies! Fortunately, by Sunday, I was feeling back to myself again and had everything on hand to make this week's TUESDAYS WITH DORIE selection~ Devil's Food White Out Cake, the big, beautiful cake that is pictured on the books cover! A big thanks to Stephanie of CONFESSIONS OF A CITY EATER who chose this week's TWD recipe!



Head on over to Stephanie's blog to drool over her version of this amazing cake, and be sure to stop by the TWD BLOGROLL to see everyone's creations! I was really happy with the cake recipe,even though I spaced out on the directions...I got out 2 sticks of butter to bring to room temp and didn't CUT the one stick, and when they got room temp I threw both of em in!! AND I ended up using only 1/4 c boiling water instead of 1/2 and I used 9-inch pans. All went well there, lucky me! This was the first time I'd made frosting like this before and it came out fabulous- I have a sugar headache right now, but it was delicious!

Tuesdays With Dorie~ World Peace Cookies

This is a great recipe because, like so many in this Dorie Greenspan's; Baking from My Home to Yours, it is one that can be broken up in sections over days, even months if you go the freezer route! We try to DO as much as possible every weekend- really SQUEEZE every bit of fun, productivity, relaxing etc. as we can into those precious two days. Sometimes that curbs having 3-5 hours to bust out some fab baked goodness on a weekly basis. I highly recommend this as a SUPER simple cookie dough that is quick to throw together, and can be frozen for up to 2 months, so you can slice & bake anytime!! Love that. Seriously. Also an easy recipe to 1/2 for a smaller crowd, or bake half/freeze half (which is what I did).

This week's TUESDAYS WITH DORIE is the chocolatastic WORLD PEACE COOKIE, chosen by Jessica of COOKBOOK HABIT. Cruise on over to her blog to see these yummy peaceful cookies!!
THANKS JESSICA!!



We loved these cookies, they were awesome flavor and texture wise and would be fun to try some different add-ins with next time~
I will be out of town and miss next week so see ya for some SERIOUS cake the week after next!

Peace out~

Tuesdays with Dorie~ French Pear Tart

HAPPY NEW YEAR TWD!! I am so excited to be part of TWD as the group celebrates a whole year of baking fabulous recipes from the book "Baking; From My Home to Yours" by Dorie Greenspan.

I've been thrilled to be a part of this awesome group and could not think of a better way to kick off a new year - a second year of TWD - than with this delicious French Pear Tart. In addition to the excitement of the French Pear Tart itself, this weeks pick was one I've been looking forward to, because it was chosen by Dorie Greenspan!!
Visit Dorie's site to see the real deal, and the TUESDAYS WITH DORIE BLOGROLL to see everyone's tarts ;o)



I loved this recipe because it was perfect to pace out over a Sunday morning.
I made the crust first, then while it froze I made the Almond creme. (Thanks to Dorie suggesting in the recipe that the creme can be made ahead~)
Then the crust cooled and the creme fridged while we had lunch, after that, I poached pears and baked it up! My knife skills are a work in progress, but I think I did an ok job to be improved upon next time!

This tart is beautiful and INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS- Nate and I both love this tart and would make it again

If you don't already own Baking; From my Home to Yours...run on out and buy it, you will bake more in 2009 than ever before! WOOOHOO!!



Tune in next week for Savory Corn & Pepper Muffins~ I can't wait!

Tuesdays with Dorie~ Thanksgiving Twofer Pie

Nate was excited about this pie all week. Who wouldn't be? I mean it's such a great idea, and sounded so delicious!! Pecan AND pumpkin pie all in one crust is what this weeksTUESDAYS WITH DORIE is all about. The selection for the Thanksgiving Holiday edition of TWD was chosen by Vibi of LA CASSEROLE CARREE. Click over to h blog to see the full recipe~ and be sure to visit the TWD Blogroll for tons of stunning, creative, delicious versions on this pie!
I found that I agree with Dorie's hubby on this one and liked it much better the second day after it'd been in the fridge.



The next time I make this yummy holiday pie, I think I'll use my own pumpkin pie recipe for the bottom. I thought I was going to love the rum in the mix, but thought it was a little overpowering and wanted it to be more traditional pumpkin-pie-y.

I'd had this recipe marked since the day I bought this book and had a great time making it.

Tuesdays With Dorie~Rugelach

Alllllrightythen. A day late, but OH SO YUMMY!! This is a new favorite recipe/cookie for me and you will see them again at the Holidays, no doubt! The dough can be made ahead and frozen, they were freaking beyond easy and they are DELICIOUS!! I can't wait to try different variations of this sensational cookie! I had never heard of or tried Rugelach before so CHEERS to yet another spectacular discovery via Tuesdays With Dorie.



Head over to Grace's Blog Piggy's Cooking Journal to see a stunning version of these yummy cookies and to get the recipe! Thanks to Grace for a fabulous pick!



Don't miss all the other RUGELACH, visit the TUESDAYS WITH DORIE today!

Tuesdays With Dorie~Lenox Almond Biscotti

WOOOOHOOOO! I super-giant-puffy-heart BISCOTTI!! This makes a fabulous baked gift item, and it is something that you can get creative with in a zillion ways!

We are heading off to Napa for a long weekend - YAY!! - so this is a VERY short post, my apologies! Please head on over to theTUESDAYS WITH DORIE page and scope out everyone's beautiful Biscotti!
BIG HUGE THANKS TO
Gretchen of CANELA AND COMINO for an excellent choice this week! Have a great week everyone!!

Tuesday's With Dorie~Caramel-Peanut Topped Brownie Cake

While I do not have the beset photos of this delicious cake that I actually made back in April, I will say the only reason I didn't make it AGAIN to re-shoot, was because it was so delicious and we didn't have anyone coming over this weekend to help eat it, I knew I'd eat the whole thing...it's that good.

I was excited to see that Tammy ofWEE TREATS BY TAMMY chose Caramel-Peanut Topped Brownie Cake for this weeks TUESDAYS WITH DORIE because I loved this recipe and had to make it this past spring, but was saving it to post when it was picked...

April and March are chock full of Birthdays in our lives! Mine is March 16, then my sister-in-law's is March 31st, then my mom's is April 2nd, and Nate's is April 10th!!
So this cake was made to celebrate all of our birthdays this year!



It starts out with a super rich chocolate brownie-like cake...



Then comes homemade caramel sauce!!




The first time I saw (a much better photo than mine) this cake was on Peabody's Blog when she made it and I had been dying to make it! It brings together so many of my favorite things!



Head on over to the TUESDAYS WITH DORIE site to learn more about Tammy and visit all the beautiful TWD Cakes!!

Tuesdays With Dorie ~ Dimply Plum Cake

The past two weeks have been chock full of chocolate cookies! Which has been fun and fabulous, but it was nice to switch it up and bake a delicious breakfasty cake for this week's TUESDAYS WITH DORIE. This week's TWD selection comes to us from Michelle of BAKE-EN.




I did omit the cardamom from this recipe because I did not have any and it was really expensive at my grocery store!
Also, I figured since I took so much liberty with last weeks Chunksters, I pretty much stuck to the recipe with this one. You can find this recipe on Michelle's beautiful blog~
I will say I baked this bad-boy ten minutes longer than the recommended 40 minutes and it was still a wee bit under done in the center, but Nate was demanding PLUM CAKE!! PLUM CAKE!!! So be it. It still tasted very good!




Be sure to visit all the TUESDAYS WITH DORIE blogs that made this cake, many got into theplaying around section in the margin and made some awesome fruit and herb combos!

Tuesdays With Dorie ~ Chococlate Chunksters

OHHHHHH BOY! These cookies are FAN-FREAKIN-TASTIC!!! I am head over heels for CHUNKSTERS!! This weeks installment of TUESDAYS WITH DORIE is a superb cookie brought to all of us by CLAUDIA of FOOL FOR FOOD. I have not been a super frequent visitor of Claudia's AWESOME blog, but I will be from now on!! One of the reasons I have been SO freaking busy lately is that I am finally learning a language other than English (I know I am WAY behind most of you people, but hey, always better late than never!)In my business we work with MANY different folks that speak German as their first, second or third language. Not to mention my dear brother and his wife also speak German!! My sis-in-law is from Germany, and they've recently started a food blog of their own, check it out~ Confusion in the Kitchen



Ok, so for the actual Dorie Recipe, you'll have to buy the book or visit Claudia's blog~ Here is the cookie I made because there were two HELLNAW items in this for me ( I do not do raisins OR white Chocolate, ever, period.)

I used:

1/3 c flour
1/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder
HEAPING 1/4 tsp baking powder
6 oz semi sweet chocolate chopped
3 T butter cut into 3 pieces
1 tsp vanilla extract
6oz semi sweet chocolate chunks (store bought)
6oz Toffee bits
1 1/2 cups chopped roasted salted peanuts
1 cup moist dried tart cherries

Then I pretty much followed Dorie's instructions, EXCEPT I spaced out and was not paying attention and added the dry ingredients to the mixer BEFORE the melted chocolate mix, but no harm no foul there~

Nate and I decided this brownie-esque cookie is complex in flavor and bottom line; totally delightful. I took them to work and they were gone pretty quickly, I think I'll be working these into the Holiday Cookie Baking rotation, the cherries, toffee and loads of chocolate worked so well together!

Tuesdays with Dorie~ Chocolate Whopper Malted Drops

I'm going to post this one ON TIME, so as not to continue getting more and more behind! This weeks selection for TUESDAYS WITH DORIE comes from Rachel of Confessions of a Tangerine Tart. When I saw the title of the recipe she chose, my jaw dropped. This sounded INCREDIBLE!

I can safely say I've never made a cookie with Whoppers in it, or using Malted Milk powder...I don't think I perfected this recipe this time around, I need to make it another time or two to figure out a few things. My cookies came out a bit flatter than I had hoped, and am not sure why...The photo in Dorie's book is stunning and they are big, thick, fat cookies. So, I'll try these again soon after I visit all the other TWD'er's blogs and get an idea of what I may have done to have big flat pancakey whopper cookies. They were DELICIOUS flat Whopper cookies, so that was good news.



Head on over to Rachel's blog to get the recipe and check out the TWD Blogroll for more awesome Malted Drops! I'll be right back with belated TWD editions (Blueberry Sour Cream Ice Cream and Granola Grabbers! New computer in full effect!)...

Tuesdays With Dorie~ Black & White Banana Loaf

YAY! I'm back!! We took a little vacation up North to visit Nate's best friend Charlie and had an incredible weekend with him, his wife Molly (who makes the best Bloody Mary I've ever had in my LIFE) and our first experience at the Oregon Brewers Festival. (more to come on that...)

So, though be it late, this marks my return from vacation, and return to TUESDAYS WITH DORIE

This weeks TWD recipe was chosen by Ashlee of A YEAR IN THE KITCHEN visit her site for the recipe if you don't have the fabulous book Baking~From My Home to Yours...You can also go to the TUESDAYS WITH DORIE site to see EVERYONE'S creations~



I LOVE banana and LOVE chocolate, though I've never made a bread combining the two flavors. Because I didn't want to eat the whole loaf myself, I opted to bake some muffins which was fun and easier to share with Nate's office!!

Thank you Ashlee for an awesome pick of yet another delicious Dorie recipe that I will no doubt make again!!

Tuesdays With Dorie~ Double Crusted Bluberry (Bluecherry) Pie (s)..

It will still be Tuesday for about an hour here in LA, so I made it! YAY!!
I couldn't resist this weeks TUESDAYS WITH DORIE pick, brought to all of us by Amy of SOUTH IN YOUR MOUTH! Amy chose Dorie's Double-Crusted Blueberry Pie, from "Baking; From My Home to Yours" By: Dorie Greenspan, a fabulous baking group that is baking and eating our way through this SENSATIONAL book. My copy is now pretty evenly coated in a very thin layer of sugar, flour and a few vanilla extract stains here and there. Hop on over to Amy's blog if you are still waiting for your book to be delivered or if you're at work and need the ingredients for your grocery list before heading home. She has the whole breakdown, a beautiful pie and a great story!



Back to the pie....or in this case pieS. I decided to make mini-pies instead of one whole pie. This makes it a little easier for Nate and I to stay on our health kick and share the pie love with our co-workers. While we were grocery shopping this past weekend I came across disposable "pot-pie" pie tins and figured that would be perfecto!

I picked up a whole mess of fresh, giant blueberries, and got to pie makin'!
First I made the double crust (a double batch of Dorie's go-to pie crust that is the BIZOMB.) The only change I made is using the plastic "dough" blade on the food processor....



While the dough was chillin I cleaned up my flour mess and gathered up the filling ingredients. I could find one of the containers of blueberries, but where the heck was the second container?? I tore the fridge apart, checked my grocery receipt (rang up for TWO containers of blueberries) and had no luck turning them up. I was not giving up on the pie making (and was not going back to the store) so took some filling liberty on this recipe.
I used 1 pt of fresh, delicious blueberries and about 1 to 1 1/2 cups fresh cherries, pitted (we drove to Tahoe last weekend and scooped the cherries up on our long Sunday drive home through the farm lands of Cali).
I kept everything else about Dorie's filling recipe the same (and crossed my fingers!)



I rolled out the first disc of dough and it made enough crusts to fill 5 of the lil pot-pie tins (which I buttered BIG TIME!).
Then I tried to be as even as possible with the filling.
I rolled out the second disc, used one of the un-used pot-pie tins as a stencil and cut out my top layer of crust, sealing each little pie up~




I baked the 5 pies 25 minutes before lowering the oven temp a bit, but then for about 35 minutes- so in the end the same cooking time.



These were a HUGE hit!! The flavor combination was absolutely beautiful, and the pies were adorable! Nate and I cut one in half and shared it (perfect amount of decadence)then he had a little more...




These were fun to just dig into with a fork like we did at work today! I loved it as Blucherry Pie, but think it would be brilliant with just the blueberries~

This recipe was DELICIOUS and a most definite keeper!

PS the other container of Blueberries was in my freakin trunk! (I'll check there SOONER next time!)...

Tuesdays with Dorie~Peppermint Cream Puff Ring...

Ok, so I did not make a "ring"...I had to take a few liberties with this recipe, but in the end I was still a happy camper, as I always am when I make something from Baking; From My Home to Yours by: Dorie Greenspan.

This week's selection for the beautiful baking group TUESDAYS WITH DORIE comes to us from the lovely Caroline of A CONSUMING PASSION, you absolutely must cruise on over to her blog and check out what the REAL THING looks like!! (Mine are sorta-puffs).
Thanks for a fabulous pick Caroline, I have never made puff pastry before and was thrilled at how easy and fun this was!!!



As you know from last weeks TWD post- our little family has grown by one weenie, and I can't tell you exactly what it was I ate that tried to kill me this past weekend, but HOOO-BOY, it was no bueno. SO, due to these fun life obstacles, I needed to bust this one out quick-style on a Monday evening.

I don't own pastry bags and since I wouldn't be piping a whole ring, I decided to cut the puff pastry recipe in half and spoon the mixture into a well-buttered muffin tin (it made six big puffs).



Then I made the yummy mint-cream filling, which needed to chill out for 3 hours- but since it was 8pm and I'm not so much of a night owl, I will be completing this yummy pep-o-puff this evening while we watch the Lakers defy the odds and beat the Celtics IN Boston!! GO LAKE-SHOW!

So...Stay tuned for my finished puffers, AND don't miss next weeks edition of Tuesdays with Dorie, when the pick will come from yours truly, ME!

Tuesdays Wtih Dorie~ La Palette's Strawberry Tart

This should be called BEST, EASIEST TART EVER!!! What a perfect recipe to kick of summer with some fresh strawberries and a sweet crumbly crust!!
This weeks selection for TUESDAYS WITH DORIE comes to us from Marie of A YEAR FROM OAK COTTAGE, thanks for a fabulous selection Marie!!

If you have not visited Marie's blog, click the link above and go check it out! Visit often, you'll get totally addicted!! :)

I've been "away" for a bit, so before I get knee deep in tartiness, let me give a little blurb of catch up!
While I do have a slightly "consuming" job, that as I have mentioned, has nothing to do with baking, frying, glazing or whipping anything, I only have to travel for said job twice a year. Both of those trips, however, are a whole week long, and take almost two weeks of long hours and big tasks to prepare for. The good news is I have returned from the second of these two annual trips, just in time for summer, and ready to get back in the kitchen!!
On top of that fun time consumption, we are proud to announce the newest member of our family! This past Saturday we adopted AURTHUR an 18-20 month old red/tan weenie pup!! WELCOME TO OUR SWEET LIFE AURTHUR!! (I will do a separate, non-food-related, weenie post soon!)



AND, last but certainly not least, this post marks the first photos taken with my NEW CAMERA!! WOO HOO!!! Not that there was anything wrong with my old one, it was just time for a little upgrade and a few more mega pixels! Click HERE. to see the camera if you are interested...

WHEW- Now, onto the TART!



As I mentioned many words ago, this was super simple and VERY delicious!
For the recipe, you can visit Marie's blog or, as I always say, GO GET THIS BOOK.
CLICK HERE for a link to purchase Baking; From My Home to Yours by; Dorie Greenspan.

I actually recommended this book to several people I met on my business trip, because I have found it so much fun to bake from and know it will be a true "keeper" in our family for many years to come. AND the recipes are written out in a way that I've been able to follow them pretty well, which means so would most people :)

This tart consists of just a few very simple components;
1. A sweet tart crust (easy-peasy)
2. The best strawberry jam you can find (although I used preserves)
3. Fresh delicious strawberries

The rest is up to you! My husband said that he wanted to try it with pudding, so we made some mini-tarts. Also, I do not own an actual tart pan- so I used my 4 porcelain creme brulee dishes and made 4 little tarts! We did two as per the recipe (except for the preserves substitution) and the other two had a layer of banana pudding between the jamminess and the strawberries.



This is a "endless possibilities" recipe, no doubt!...Here's and update, this is a pick of Nate's tart with the pudding~

Tuesdays With Dorie- Peanut Butter Torte

Well this could not be more UP MY ALLEY! Of course it took me ALL friggin day to post this delicious concoction, but I did well time-wise in making it and did not stay up all night last night crushing peanuts!! After a pretty rough weekend, that I will absolutely not get into, I took a LONG nap after the Laker game on Sunday and then whipped this up, easy peasy!!




This recipe involved Peanut Butter, Cream Cheese, and Oreo Cookies. That's all I needed to know. There was also a yummy frosting included in the original recipe, but Nate wasn't into that AND I was lazy so I thought what better to top this with then a bunch of chopped up mini-Reeses peanut butter cups and chopped peanuts! This worked out famously and I have no regrets.



Thank goodness for Tuesdays With Dorie because the book we've been baking out of; Baking: From My Home To Yours, by Dorie Greenspan is an absolute MUST OWN GUIDE to BAKING GLORIOUS DESERTS!! I am so happy to be a part of this sensational group, and this weeks selection was picked by Elizabeth (what a fabulous name) of Ugg Smell Food.



She chose the Peanut Butter Torte, that is not only SUPER DELICIOUS, but also SUPER easy to throw together!! This is a desert I will no doubt be making MANY, MANY, MANY more times...I stuck straight to the recipe this go-round, but can't wait to make it again so I can play around with some of the flavors.

You can either visit Elizabeth's blog to see the recipe or as I said before and will say again BUY THIS COOKBOOK!! (it's worth it!!)




Also- go scope out the Tuesdays With Dorie Blog for every body's take on this yummy torte. The group has grown BIG TIME and it is filled with some pretty exceptionally talented and creative peeps~