I'm over

baked

For more Singular Saturdays go visit Jenn in Holland.

Back to baking in my own...

kitchen

For more Singular Saturdays go visit Jenn in Holland.

A Tartish Tart

We visited our friends in their new home for a BBQ this weekend. They are big Red Sox fans and we are Yankees fans - so our get-togethers are always pretty lively.

The wife recently helped coordinate a wedding of another friend of mine - and as bribery (in addition to her fee) to take the gig I offered to throw in a tart.

It was all perfect - new grill, fresh tart - and to top it off, a Yankees-Red Sox game.

I think they had mixed feelings about the tart...

Finally home, I'm baking a ...

tart

For more Singular Saturdays go visit Jenn in Holland.

tart photos tomorrow!

Fruits of My Labor

Went to the farmers' market yesterday and got fresh strawberries.

And look what I made...

Happy Father's Day!

Schoolhouse Rock

This post brought to you by Soccer Mom in Denial - posting every Monday on a different musical memory.

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I was reading a Washington Post series on childhood obesity in America. The series is going on all week and is looking at a number of aspects that encourage obesity in children - cuts in federal funding for physical education, lack of grocery stores in poor neighborhoods, etc.

How children (and parents) learn about basic science, math, and civics concepts reminded me of Schoolhouse Rock. I don't know if it's on anymore but every family should have a copy of the entire series. Everything from planets to adverbs is covered (I know you're all singing "Lolly, lolly, lolly" right now)

Oftentimes in my job I find myself discussing a piece of legislation because it affects what we do. People are impressed with my thorough knowledge of the legislative process. They think I have inside information because of my husband. Really, I'm just singing the tune, "I'm just a bill sitting here on Capitol Hill". And don't I look smart!

Flowers

Lately, with spring upon us, I've been thinking a lot more about flowers. Here is one creation of my own - a pear Frangipane tart. Gorgeous and not as hard to make as you think. We're bringing it to a friend's house for lunch.



And here's another one - a creation of God's or Mother Nature's or a pretty talented horticulturalist's. Stunning.

La Vie en Rose

This post brought to you by Soccer Mom in Denial - posting every Monday on a different musical memory.

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Sunday was one of those days - when you feel fully transported to another place. I went to the farmers' market on a gray rainy day and picked up some fresh mache (salad) and tomatoes. I went home, put together a tomato tart and made homemade French onion soup (complete with toasted baguette slices topped with Gruyere!).

My husband picked up a bottle of Beaujolais Villages and we sat down to a lovely French lunch. With the pouring rain outside it reminded me of La Vie en Rose - the movie about Edith Piaf. Well, everything except the tragic part.

Growing up my dad would play Edith Piaf records endlessly. She had this strange, yet captivating voice. Made all the more interesting and heartfelt due to her excessive drinking and drug use. And difficult childhood.

Back to my transporting afternoon - a simple French meal, a lovely bottle of red wine, a wonderful husband. La Vie en Rose.

Quand il me prend dans ses bras
Il me parle tout bas,
Je vois la vie en rose.

Kudos to Me

Be warned, this post is about how great I am. I have proof. We had a party last weekend and I baked and fried myself silly. Just wanted to share two emails I received on Monday.

"you outdid yourself as usual. I ate at least 5 potatoes worth of latkes and as many donuts, which really turned out well. and a scone and and... MMMMmm. DOOH NUT. Still thinking about them."

"Thanks again for a great brunch and of course the best doughnuts ever! We both had a great time and can’t wait for the next time that we’ll get to have those little mouthfuls of deep-fried, jelly-filled goodness! (and to see you both of course)"

I couldn't be more pleased. Big grin.

and just to make this a Thankful Thursday - I'm thankful for my friends who are so appreciative of my efforts. And also thankful to them for the times they've had to eat some real duds.

After dozens of muffins, scones, quiches, latkes...

Fried

For more Singular Saturdays go visit Jenn in Holland.

Tante Ily's Hazelnut Cake

Today is my sister's birthday - I won't say her age but I will say she looks a lot younger than that number. Where she is right now is December 14th - if I wait to post this I'll miss the birthday, so bear with me on the advance posting.

In honor of my birthday this year she posted some photos she knew I would like. As my talents don't lie in photography, I won't be doing the same. However, I would like to share with her (and everyone else in the blogosphere) a cake recipe. This recipe (along with many others) was given to me by Tante Caroline as a wedding gift. The original recipe comes from Tante Ily (Caroline's aunt) - the best baker I have ever had the pleasure to know.

Happy Birthday Jenn - hope to share this cake with you in person soon!
(keep in mind that Caroline speaks in colorful terms - not very precise but pretty!)

Hazelnut Cake with Chocolate or Mocha Cream Frosting
(The Mocha cream frosting is the preferred, but I have not a foolproof recipe for you - I, too experiment each time. So, use the chocolate; it is the same as for Sacher. Or be courageous and try Julia Child's reicpe.....)

(for two large cake tins, buttered and floured)

1lb. Hazelnuts (almonds are good too), some oven roasted*, ground
1T. finely roasted coffee
2 1/2 c. veryfine sugar ("verifine" = is between granular and powdered)
12 eggs (separated)
apricot or red currant jelly, sugar, schnapps

Oven set at 350 degrees F

Beat 1/2 the sugar into yolks till bubbly (use some vanilla sugar if possible***)

Beat whites with 1/4 cream of tartar (to stabilize the whites) - or use pinch of salt. Add in the rest of sugar and beat till smooth and glossy.

Probably using a large salad bowl, combine gently folding the yolk mixture with the whites and the ground nuts

Spread into cake tins and bake for 25-30 min.? May need a bit much longer? Test again with wooden cake tester till comes out moist, not wet. (just did this one recently and as this is an increased recipe, the timing is no longer valid)

Dump onto rack, slice with floss, glaze (as in Sacher recipe) topsides. Assemble. Allow to cool well and frost.

The chocolate = as in Sacher recipe. Or, look into Julia Child for the Mocha. This, too, keeps long in the icebox, without mouse intervention.

*To roast hazelnuts: place on oven cookie sheet in a hot oven and allow to bake till the skins start to split. Keep roasting till nut meats gain a nice "suntan". Remove from oven and put out to cool (winter window is best as the skins virtually pop off). Then roll them around between your hands to help some more of the skins off. Outdoors, then blow away the loose skins., the nut meats remain. Not all skins are gone but a lot. Do this with a generous handful of the total and you will achieve a wonderful aroma. Then grind all nuts, preferably in old hand mill, you know the type you clamp-screw to the table. These are the finest (your nuts are acting in place of flour) results - the bought ground nuts are rougher and haven't got the roasted quality. As we are dealing with a true T. Ily recipe....you might have fun training your store-bought-cake friends (do young slim career people still eat cake?) to experience what really good ingredients can amount up to (No baking powder! No flavor enhancers! No emulsifiers, no coloring, no preservatives - hey, what have we got here?)

**Vanilla sugar can be purchased, is, however, usually not quite the real thing - and WE don't accept "Vanillin" (Dr. horrible Oetker's substitute for real Bourbon Vanilla), do we! So, buy yourself a couple of vanilla beans - expensive, but cheap in the long run. Slit them open lengthwise. Scratch the black soft center out and use it for a nice vanilla pudding or vanilla sauce for over fruit, etc. Then take a tin or jar with lid and fill with the "verifine" sugar and the scratched-out bean hulls. After just a week, but for months to come, the entire sugar will serve as vanilla sugar - but the real thing.
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[I made this cake using the mocha frosting from Julia Child - yummy! The Sacher recipe for the glaze is just spreading the jelly on the cake while it is hot so it's absorbed by the cake. And I think that's 1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar for the egg whites. You also might want to line the tins with parchment paper. Good luck!]

Holiday Donuts

Did you know that one of the traditional foods of Hanukkah is donuts? Yep, who'd have guessed?! Turns out that it's all about the oil.

I am trying to perfect my donut technique - got a thermometer last year in order to properly measure the oil temperature (375 degrees). Have a pastry tube in order to fill the donuts with raspberry jam. And now I've even got fancy bags in order to make lovely gifts. Almost looks too lovely to eat! Almost...

Product I Could Never Endorse

Duncan Hines Oven-Ready Homestyle Brownies - No prep and no clean up! In my home we do the dishes, so what makes this "homestyle"? This product has sunk to a new low. You don't even need to provide the pan. Seriously folks, pull out the mix if you have to, add the oil and eggs, and stir. The exercise will do you good and you might enjoy the process of baking. If you want the smell of brownies in the oven then put some vanilla over a heat source. Same effect, fewer chemicals.

Madeleines

Warm memories on a Wordless Wednesday