Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart-Take 2

I am a little more rested now, so hopefully what I am going to say will make sense. Crusts are worrisome to me. I have never felt that I can make a great crust, be it pie, tart, graham cracker, etc. I was grateful that I didn't have to roll out this one, though. It turned out ok but I think that I could have gotten it a little more even in spots.

The caramel was next, and I think I had the heat too high for my sugar. It all turned solid at first and I thought that, for sure, I had ruined it. Well, I waited a little bit longer and it did melt, so I continued. By the time I was done with my ganache, the caramel had become very stiff so I followed the directions and warmed it a little in the microwave. I just knew that I had ruined that part with all of the heat.

The ganache was the easiest part for me. I have gotten pretty good at making it, I think.

I put it all together, let it chill and then ate a piece. It was good! Very, very rich, but good! I think maybe a little less chocolate and a little more caramel with the honey roasted peanuts would have been terrific. I used an eight inch pan, so I think my layers were a little thicker (well, maybe just my ganache layer, the caramel layer seemed like it showed in the picture in the book).

Overall, this was fun! All of the melting and bubbling of making the caramel was a hoot! I will probably do it again when my husband gets home, and maybe when a lot of company comes over so that we don't have to eat the whole thing. Time to go share with the neighbors! Thank you, Carla of Chocolate Moosey, for picking this this week!

TWD- Chocolate Crunchy Caramel Tart

Sorry y'all. I am too tired to post about the recipe tonight. I will do it first thing tomorrow.

TWD-Flaky Apple Turnovers

I swore that this week, I was going to do these early. No such luck. Time just gets away from me, then all off a sudden it is Tuesday (usually at around 8 pm) and I have yet to bake that week's treat. Here I am again, it is 11 pm and I just finished the apple turnovers.

I had problems problems problems with these! I just realized that my pastry cutter was lost in the move, went out to buy another and none of the three stores I checked had any! I finally just decided to do the pastry by fingers, which seemed to turn out ok. Next, the rolling of the pastry dough was tough! It took me forever. When I finally rolled it out to get ready to cut the circles, I felt a popping pain in my abdomen every time I went to roll. Ugh. It really hurts! Anyway, then I realized that I didn't have anything big enough to cut the right sized circles, and I hadn't rolled the dough quite to 1/8 inch. Oh well. I just cut smaller circles, then topped on with the other. Granted, I couldn't make as many, but this would just have to do.

They came out of the oven and I had to try one while the insides were still molten hot. They were flaky, but the dough never really puffed up. They were still good, but I think with my thick and double dough, the dough to filling ratio was a little off.

I am happy to report that when my husband gets back in about a month, I will try these again, as he will be very pleased to eat my failures or successes. Thank you, Julie of Someone’s in the Kitchen, for broadening my horizons once again. I will post pictures soon. Also, if you would like the recipe, please visit Julie's blog.

TWD-Chocolate Souffle

Wow! I was really intimidated this week when Susan, of She’s Becoming DoughMessTic, selected Chocolate Souffle. I have never eaten a souffle before, let alone actually made one. I always thought that they were too difficult to even attempt. I read through the recipe about 15 times before I actually began. I didn't own any ramekins, so I went out and bought some so that I could make individual portions. The actual process of making this was not too difficult. A little melting, a little whisking, and some beating and folding, and then in the oven. About 25 minutes later, I took these amazing little chocolate air mattresses out of the oven. They had risen very nicely and I was very impressed with myself. I read the comments about the souffles and knew to have everything ready to take my pictures as soon as they came out of the oven, but in all reality, they did not deflate too much. As far as the taste was concerned, my husband said that he would love to have more of this. I thought they were good, but could've used some sort of sauce or ice cream. I was expecting them to be more chocoliscious. The chocolate was more subtle for mine. I wonder if this was the case for anyone else.... Anyway, the overall verdict is that I will be making these again, with some tweaks. Thank you so much Susan! BTW, I like your blog name! I think it is very cute and clever! Oh, and to anyone who would like the recipe, please visit Susan's blog.

TWD Espresso Cheesecake Brownies

Oh my goodness! Melissa of Life in a Peanut Shell chose Espresso Cheesecake Brownies, pages 104 and 105 this week. I have to say, Melissa is my TWD savior!

When I was looking through the September recipes, I was thinking of all the different variations that are possible with this recipe. Even yesterday, I was still unsure of what I was going to do. Today, it was very clear: make the recipe like it is written. I know, this sounds like an easy enough conclusion to come to, but with all of the talented bakers in this group, I would like to do something a little different. By reading some of the notes on this recipe, I saw that many of them didn't do the topping but I figured that Dorie knows her stuff, so I included it in mine.

Ok, back up a few steps. First off, I can't ever find bittersweet chocolate. Semi-sweet? Yes. Unsweetened? Sure. Never bittersweet. I ended up doing a combination of semi-sweet and German chocolate for the brownie part. Other than that, the recipe went off without a hitch, although I only have 8x8 pans and not 9x9, so I just baked it for a little longer.

I cut it after the kids went to sleep so my husband and I could enjoy it together rather than rushing off to get the kids' teeth brushed and them to bed. These are amazing! I am a huge fan of tiramisu, and so the combination of espresso, chocolate and a nice light icing sounded wonderful. I think I am in heaven with these! I would love to be a good person at this point and take some to my son's teachers at the German kindergarten tomorrow, but really, there is no sharing these. My husband is even lucky to have gotten some. There is just enough texture difference between the brownie and the lighter cheesecake, and with the slight tang of the sour cream in the frosting, they were better than I could've dreamed. Thank you so much, Melissa! I love you!

Oh, and one last thing. It has become perfectly clear to me that I have no idea how to take a good picture of food. Hey, I'm in this thing for the baking, not the photography, right?

TWD-Creamiest Lime Cream Meringue Pie

Linda of Tender Crumb decided on Creamiest Lime Cream Meringue Pie on pages 337-339. I am not a big fan of lime, but love the scent. I always do the recipe anyway because I want to learn to like new things and sometimes I know that my tastes have changed a bit from the last time I tried certain things.

First of all, and I know better than to do this, I just didn't read the recipe all the way through before getting started. I thought I could make this whole pie after the kids went to bed one night before my husband had to leave the next day. Boy, was I wrong! I got as far as the refrigerating the crust before I had to call it a night. Woops!

So, the next morning, I tried again. My crust went terribly wrong somewhere. I think I didn't work quickly enough in rolling it out, then didn't refrigerate it again before putting it in the pie plate and baking it. I checked on it in the oven, and the sides had slumped down like a kid in high school who didn't do their homework and didn't want to get noticed. I was going to make another one so that it could be perfect, but then decided to just share my failure with the world.

Then I got to work on the filling. I had six limes, but they didn't produce enough juice so I just added more zest to make up for it. I didn't have any trouble getting it to 180 degrees, so I was safe there.

I made the meringue with no trouble at all, finished it off, then couldn't wait for it to really set before trying it. It was still not quite set, but still pretty good. Unfortunately, I was the only one in the house willing to eat such a treat, so I still have a lot of the pie left. My husband comes home tomorrow, though, and even though it won't be as good as the first day, he will still enjoy it.

I did leave out about half of the butter in the filling. Oh my, this pie had SO MUCH butter in it! I may make this again if our friends come up here, but otherwise probably not. I wonder how everyone else did!

Spinach and Strawberry Salad

2 bunches of spinach, torn into bite-sized pieces
4 cups strawberries, sliced
1/2 c vegetable oil
1/2 c raspberry balsamic or red wine vinegar
1/3 c sugar
1/4 tsp paprika
2 Tbsp sesame seeds
1 can mandarin oranges, no sugar added
some toasted almonds for sprinkling

In a large bowl, toss together spinach, strawberries and oranges.

In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the rest of the ingredients (except almonds). Pour over the top of the salad, then toss to coat.

Sprinkle the top with the almonds.


*I got this recipe from allrecipes.com, and it was submitted by JerJer. I made a few changes to this recipe, which was what I posted.*

I LOVE this salad! I never thought that strawberries and spinach would go together, but I was so wrong. My kids loved it, along with everyone else I have served this to. My kids say that this tastes like summer. I will (again) add pictures once I make this again.

Smores Cheesecake

Crust:
2 1/4 c graham cracker crumbs
1/3 c sugar
1/2 c butter

Melt butter and stir in graham cracker crumbs and sugar until moistened. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a spring form pan.

Filling:
2 packages (8 oz.) cream cheese
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1 c mini marshmallows
1 c mini chocolate chips

Mix cream cheese and milk until well blended. Add vanilla and eggs until combined. Fold in marshmallows and choc. chips. Bake at 325 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until the center is almost set.

Topping:
1 c mini marshmallows
1/3 c mini chocolate chips

Sprinkle the top with marshmallows and choc. chips and bake for another 4-6 minutes or until the marshmallows double in size.


*Thanks to Malisa for sending me this recipe!*

This recipe is soooo rich and yummy! You definitely need a glass of milk with this. I will post pictures when I make it again.

TWD Applesauce Spice Bars

A big thank you to Karen of Something Sweet by Karen who picked Applesauce Spice Bars on pages 117 and118. I never would have tried these had I not been forced to! Anyone who knows me knows that I am a chocoholic at heart, so I wasn't really looking forward to this week. I am not quite reformed by this recipe but am definitely on my way!

I had great success with these bars. I left out the pecans, but only because I simply forgot them at the store. I used the golden raisins instead of the dark ones. The bar itself turned out moist and delicious, but wouldn't have made it into my mouth had it not been for the caramel glaze. Mmmm-mmm! These were yummy!

Here is the link to the website: http://tuesdayswithdorie.wordpress.com and from there you can find the recipe by going to Karen's blog. I am sorry, but the rules say that I cannot post the recipe myself.

TWD-Brownie Buttons

I was so excited to try the Brownie Buttons this week! Jayma of Two Scientists Experimenting in the Kitchen selected them. I love brownies and I love using my mini muffin pan.

Unfortunately, things didn't turn out as well as I had hoped. I doubled the recipe (because I have family visiting) and halfway through, found out that I didn't have enough brown sugar. I live very far away from a store that would have some, so I just put in what I had of the brown, then added the rest white sugar. First mistake. Big one! I decided to put the orange zest in because others had said they couldn't even taste it. Second big mistake! Ok, to be fair, they probably meant a normal sized orange instead of the huge oranges that I happened to have. Holy cow! The orange flavor completely took away any chocolate flavor. It was so gross. I just can't stand them. My children agree with me, while my mom and her friend think they are good.

Oh well! I am not the type to give up on something easily, so I will be making these again tomorrow night, WITHOUT the orange zest. I will post an update then. I certainly hope that others had more success with this than I did!

TWD Classic Banana Bundt Cake

Wow, for my first time baking with the TWD group, this week was a great week to start! Mary of The Food Librarian chose Classic Banana Bundt Cake on page 190, and I am so glad she did. I have never actually made a bundt cake before, so I had to go out and buy the pan first. I was worried when the top of the cake browned quickly, but covered it with foil as suggested and everything turned out perfect.

I did only a slight variation with this: I made a chocolate ganache for the icing. I couldn't wait for the ganache to thicken, so I drizzled it on top while it was still pretty thin. That worked out well, though, because just enough stayed on the cake to get the taste of chocolate, but not overwhelm the banana.

The cake was FANTASTIC! It was so moist! At first, I thought it was too heavy feeling and that it was going to be too dense, but I was sooo wrong. Without even getting through with their first piece, my company had already requested seconds. We ate it while it was still warm with a nice cold glass of milk. Heaven!

If you want the recipe to this one, you'll have to go to The Food Librarian blog and check it out. Part of the rules are to not post the recipe on your site. Sorry friends, but this cake is worth the extra effort!

S'mores Brownies (from the Food Network Website)

Ok, tonight I made these brownies from the Food Network website, and they are fantastic! They were difficult to cut, but the brownie and crust were moist and it tasted very similar to actual smores. Next time, I may spray my knife with Pam or rub it with some butter to see if the marshmallows will not stick so much.

Ingredients

Crust:

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• Pinch fine salt

Brownie:

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 4 large cold eggs
• 1 cup all-purpose flour

Topping:

• 4 cups large marshmallows

Directions

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat oven to 325 degrees F. Line an 8 by-8-inch square baking pan with foil so it hangs over the edges by about 1 inch.

For the crust: Lightly butter the foil with some of the melted butter. Stir the rest of the butter together with the crumbs, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Press the crumb mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the brownie. Put the butter and chocolate in a medium microwave safe bowl. Melt in the microwave on 75 percent power for 2 minutes. Stir, and microwave again until completely melted, about 2 minutes more. Alternatively, put the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with 1 inch or so of water to a very slow simmer; set the bowl on the pan without touching the water. Stir occasionally until melted. Stir the light brown and white sugars, vanilla and salt into the melted chocolate. Add the eggs and beat vigorously to make a thick and glossy batter. Add the flour and stir until just incorporated.

Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the top is crispy and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out mostly clean, with a few crumbs, about 40 to 45 minutes.

Remove from the oven and carefully position a rack about 6 inches from the broiler and preheat on low. Layer marshmallows across the top and toast under the broiler until golden, (keep an eye on it, it can go quick), about 2 minutes. Cool on a rack, gently removing the brownies from the pan using the aluminum flaps. Carefully separate any marshmallow from the foil and fold away. Cut into 12 (2-inch) squares.

Copyright 2007 Television Food Network, G.P. All rights reserved

Fresh Start

I decided to try this Tuesdays with Dorrie club. I am hoping that they let me in! Trying new recipes is always exciting to me, and I hope to find some great ones and share them!