Macarons (attempt)

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

These are not the coconut chewy macaroons most of you are thinking of. These are french macarons. A light cookie, essentially a meringue with almond flour added. And they are difficult. I did some research before the attempt and discovered that she chose the most difficult recipe. One site stated that it only has a 50% success rate.

Mine failed. So miserably I didn't even take a picture.

Life conspired to not allow another attempt this month. When I try this again, I'll use a recipe with a better success rate. For now I'm on the hunt for a local bakery that makes them. I'm hoping to taste one!

Savory Pumpkin Seeds

One of my favorite benefits of cleaning out pumpkin guts is the seeds. I love roasted pumpkin seeds. This year I went for a recipe similar to what mom made us as kids. They're almost worth cleaning out pumpkins more often.

Mia's Savory Pumpkin Seeds

2 cups pumpkin seeds
1 1/2 Tbs butter, melted
2 tsp Worchestershire sauce
1 1/4 tsp salt
Dash of garlic salt
Dash of onion powder

Preheat oven to 250. Mix it all together. Spread on ungreased jelly roll pan (cookie sheet with sides). Bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring every 15 min. Seeds are done when dry and starting to brown.

Puff Pastry (attempt) and Sparkling Apple Syrup

The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.

Puff pastry is much more difficult than I had hoped to start out with this group. But not impossible. The only attempt I could fit in this month was not a success, but I can list two big things that contributed to my flat, less than tasty puff pastry.

-Whole grain pastry flour is nothing like regular pastry flour. If unable to find cake flour again, I would use the 2tbs removed method to reduce the gluten in all-purpose.

-A warm kitchen means that the dough will need significantly more chilling time, much more often. Butter leaked between my layers too quickly.

That being said, I'm not sure I'll try it again. Even if it came out beautifully, the time it took wasn't worth it. I'll buy the frozen stuff next time.

Below are the pictures of how mine came out. Thin, chewy, and not at all tasty. (The filling is Sparkling Apple Syrup from Conversations with a Cupcake. It was delicious.)

Glazed Lemony Sugar Cookies

I really wish I had a picture because these were just pretty. We made them on valentines day in stylized heart shapes with the egg glaze dyed red. Gorgeous. And delicious!

Honestly, I was really impressed by these cookies. The sugar cookie dough was easy to work with, even as it warmed up. I typically have to re-chill some of the dough because my 4 year old works slowly and deliberately with cookie cutters. He took his time and the cutouts still held their shape well during transfer. (I used my offset icing spatula, which helps with some of the squishing and breaking during transfer. Works well, but I'm convinced there is a better way out there.)

I also really liked that they didn't puff too much and distort the cut shape. A serious plus.

The glaze makes this a great cookie for kids to help with. Make several colors and let them paint their own masterpieces.

And then there was the flavor. I'm actually not a huge sugar cookie fan. (No chocolate!!) They're boring. And typically too crispy. These were fantastic. Just a hint of lemon and the perfect chewiness. Enjoy!!

Glazed Lemony Sugar Cookies
From The Pioneer Woman

2/3 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
4 teaspoons milk
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Cream shortening, sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla thoroughly. Add in egg and beat until light and fluffy. Add in the milk and mix.
Sift dry ingredients together, then blend into cream mixture. Divide dough in half (thirds if you double the recipe), slightly flatten between two sheets of waxed paper, then refrigerate for one hour (or freeze for 20 minutes.)

Roll out dough (about 1/4 inch thick) on lightly floured surface and cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Transfer shapes to lightly greased cookie sheet and paint cookies with soft brushes with egg yolk glaze:

Egg Yolk Glaze (mix ingredients lightly with a fork)
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon water
2 to 3 drops food coloring

Bake at 375-degrees for approximately 6 minutes. Do not allow to become brown.

Remove cookies from oven, remove cookies to wire rack to cool.

Where did I go?

Wow, it's been a while. I apologize for not sharing. Things have been more than a little crazy over here. I haven't been posting for two reasons.

First, our food budget was tight so I'd fallen back to our old standbys. I always keep the ingredients for those on hand, so I didn't have to spend money to make them. Now that my food budget is back to normal, I'll be trying new things again. (No, he didn't get a job. It's just that food stamps for a family of four is a shockingly large amount of money each month.)

Second, the few things I have tried have only been meh. I'm not going to share something that's only mediocre. (Anyone have a good whole-wheat pizza dough recipe? The one I tried was much too thick.)

Actually, that's not entirely true. I have an egg-washed lemony sugar cookie recipe and a triple chocolate muffin recipe to post. Both were so good that I completely forgot about getting pictures.

Ah, pictures. I'll probably be posting without them for a while. The good camera is sans power cord and the bad camera has been hidden by the kids. So you won't be able to laugh at my horrible photography skills. At least for now.

Last Minute Chili

I don't have a picture because I really did make this at the last minute. My boys started crumbling an hour and a half before our regular dinner time. It was clear that they needed some food fast and then a very early bedtime. I walked into the pantry and started grabbing. We all loved how it came out!

Last Minute Chili

1-28 oz can diced tomatoes
1-15 oz can kidney beans
1-15 oz can corn
1 carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
Chili powder to taste
Cumin to taste

Dump everything in a pot and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until warm throughout. Serve with rolls or bread.

Pasta with Roasted Summer Vegetables

I borrowed this picture because I roasted my veggies a little too long. They weren't very pretty. But man they tasted good.

Pasta with Roasted Summer Vegetables
From Martha Stewart, Serves 4

• 4 yellow summer squash (about 2 pounds total), sliced 1 inch thick crosswise, halved if large
• 2 pints grape tomatoes (about 4 cups)
• 2 medium red onions, halved and sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 8 ounces short pasta, such as campanelle or fusilli
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
• 1 cup torn fresh basil leaves

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Divide squash, tomatoes, onions, and garlic between two large rimmed baking sheets. Drizzle with oil, and season with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Roast without tossing until tender and starting to brown, 30 to 40 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain, and return to pot.
3. Add vegetables, butter, Parmesan, and basil to pasta; season with salt and pepper, and toss gently to combine.

Pumpkin Cookies with Vanilla Glaze

If you've been around during the winter in last few years, you might know that these are my favorite winter cookies. Moist and chewy and oh so good.

(FYI: I used half whole wheat flour in this batch and you couldn't taste any difference. The pumpkin, spices, chocolate, and vanilla help hide it well. Yay!)

Pumpkin Cookies with Vanilla Glaze
From Nestle, makes 5 1/2 dozen

2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 can pumpkin
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups chocolate chips
Vanilla Glaze (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 375. Grease baking sheets.

Combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until creamy. Beat in pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until slightly brown on the bottom. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely before glazing.

Vanilla Glaze
Combine 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 to 1 1/2 tbsp milk, and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Slip wax paper beneath cooling racks and drizzle glaze over cookies.

Zucchini Farfalle

Yummmmm. This is on our list of favorites now. Thanks go to Jenny for pointing this one out! This seems light, but is very filling. And it makes a lot. So impress some guests or horde the leftovers for yourself. (This picture is missing the fresh herbs and parmesan cheese, so use your imaginations.)

Zucchini Farfalle
From: The Pioneer Woman

1 med. onion
4-5 small zucchini, quartered longways and chopped
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
3 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 cup white wine or chicken broth (I used wine)
1/2-3/4 cup heavy cream (I used 1/2 and wished I used 3/4)
1+ Tbs. Arrowroot/Cornstarch
1 lb. Farfalle, cooked
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
Fresh Basil, Thyme, chives- chopped
Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Heat a couple tablespoons of oil over med-high heat. When hot, throw in 1/2 of the zucchini and sprinkle some salt over top. I probably used 1/2 tsp. Stir the zucchini around until it is browned. Don't overcook it. You want it to be crisp tender. Remove from pan and repeat with other half of the zucchini. Add more oil and throw in the onions and garlic. Reduce heat to med/med-low. Throw the tomatoes on top. Toss. Add 1/3 cup white wine. Whist up browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Place 1/3 cup white wine in a small bowl and add in 1-1 1/2 Tbs. cornstarch or arrowroot. Stir to combine. Add to pan and gently stir. Immediately add cream. Now add in zucchini and gently stir to combine, turning off the heat. (Add water from your pasta is the sauce is too thick). Season with salt and pepper. Place pasta in a bowl and top with fresh herbs. Pour zucchini mixture over top. Toss. Top with Parmesan cheese.

Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies

I've been making things from scratch lately, but had this one cake mix lying around. Instead of cupcakes, I decided to use it unconventionally. And oh man. I'm going to watch for the next sale on cake mix so that I can stock up. And try it with coconut next time.

A tip: Use your stand-mixer unless you have a powerful hand-mixer. My hand-mixer is old and had some trouble with this dough. And it's much too stiff to do by hand. Believe me, I tried.

Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies
From Everyday Food Storage

1 pkg Devils Food Cake Mix
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup chopped nuts (or other add-in)
1 cup chocolate chips (or other add-in)

Pre-heat oven to 350. Beat half of the dry mix, the butter, vanilla and eggs on medium speed until smooth. Stir in remaining cake mix, the nuts and chocolate chips (or other add-ins.) Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes.

Other suggestions for add-ins are chocolate chunks, peanut butter chips, mint chips, crushed peppermint candies, white chocolate chips, toffee bits, coconut, chopped maraschino cherries, etc. The possibilities are endless!

Cauliflower Soup

John is a HUGE soup fan. I love cauliflower. I knew we would both love this one. The boys were the surprise. They gobbled this up. And the whole house smelled delicious.

I made minor changes to the recipe. I doubled the carrots and celery, because yummmm. I swapped heavy cream for the half-and-half. Mostly because that's what I had, but I think it made it creamier. And I let people add the sour cream themselves because I didn't want it. It didn't need it, but the others like it.

Cauliflower Soup
From The Pioneer Woman

1 stick butter
1/2 onion, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
1 celery stalk, finely diced
1 to 2 heads cauliflower, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh or dried parsley
2 quarts low-sodium chicken broth or stock
2 cups whole milk
6 tablespoons flour
1 cup half & half
2 to 4 teaspoons salt, to taste
1 generous cup sour cream, at room temperature

In a large soup pot or dutch oven, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes, or until it starts to turn brown. Add the carrots and celery and cook an addition couple of minutes. Add cauliflower and parsley and stir to combine. Cover and cook over very low heat for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, pour in chicken stock or broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer.

In a medium saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Mix the flour with the milk and whisk to combine. Add flour-milk mixture slowly to the butter, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup half & half.

Add mixture to the simmering soup. Allow to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Check seasoning and add more salt or pepper if necessary.

Just before serving, place the sour cream in a serving bowl or soup tureen. Add two to three ladles of hot soup into the tureen and stir to combine with the sour cream. Pour in remaining soup and stir.

Serve immediately.

Caramel Oatmeal Chewies

This really bad picture is of the last two bars. I had to force myself to resist for a minute so that I would be able to show them to you. (They're gone now.) These are addicting. Beware!

My big tip: Don't touch them until they're completely cool! And if you can manage, not until the next day. The firmer they are, the chewier they get. (You can speed this up by sticking them in the fridge once they've cooled.)

Caramel Oatmeal Chewies
From Nestle

1 3/4 cups oats (quick or old-fashioned)
1 3/4 cups flour, divided
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt (I left this out)
3/4 cup butter, melted
2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup caramel ice cream topping (I really like the Smuckers Special Recipe Butterscotch Caramel)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease bottom of 13x9 pan or pyrex.

Combine oats, 1 1/2 cups flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in butter and mix well. Reserve 1 cup of the oat mixture for the topping. Press the remaining oat mixture into the bottom of the pan.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and nuts. Mix the caramel topping with 1/4 cup flour in a small bowl. (This is easier if you warn up the caramel.) Drizzle over morsels to withing 1/4 inch of the pan edge. (If you get too close, the caramel sticks to the pan and has to be chipped off.) Sprinkle with the reserved oat mixture.

Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack.

Baked Ziti

This has become a staple at our house. We just noticed today that we always have ziti leftovers when Grandpa comes down from Dallas. So we have it at least once a month. This is a great one to throw together any time during the day, and then stick it in the oven just before dinner time.

Baked Ziti
From Martha Stewart

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 8 ounces ziti rigate (ridged) or other short pasta
• 1 cup part-skim ricotta
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
• 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella
• 1 jar (24 to 26 ounces) best-quality tomato sauce (about 3 1/2 cups)

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente, according to package instructions; drain and reserve.
2. In a small bowl, combine ricotta, egg, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and half the mozzarella; season with salt and pepper.
3. In the bottom of a shallow 2-quart casserole dish, spread half the tomato sauce. Top with ziti, then ricotta mixture and remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan and remaining mozzarella. Place casserole on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until top is browned and sauce is bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes.

Ham and Broccoli Quiche

Excuse the poor photo. It's a combination of my horrendous photography skills and a very old camera. Mostly me, though. The best part of the picture is my pie plate. You know you're jealous of how cool it is.

I had so much extra ham from Christmas dinner that we're still finding ways to use it up. This was easier than I expected and is one of my favorite egg dishes. It's so good in fact, that we had to stop ourselves before we polished off the whole thing in one sitting. We being the family, not just me.

Ham and Broccoli Quiche

4 eggs
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1/2 c. light cream
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 c. diced cooked ham
1/2 c. cooked broccoli
1 9" unbaked piecrust

In a medium bowl, beat eggs until fluffy. Add soup and cream; mix well. Sprinkle cheese, meat, and broccoli over unbaked piecrust. Follow with soup mixture.

Bake for 50 minutes at 350°F.

Beef Enchiladas

I've been borrowing pictures from the sites where I found the recipes because my camera battery is dead and the charger has disappeared into the black hole that is our house. This time, the author of the recipe has her pictures in a private flickr folder. Meaning I can't share. They look like enchiladas. I promise.

These enchiladas are so good and meaty. I doubled the recipe and had enough to fill SIX 9x9 pans with six enchiladas each. About 2 hours work for 6 dinners.

Thanks to Alissa for putting this recipe on her site for me to find. Just like her, I steamed my tortillas in the microwave instead of frying. Because I'm lazy. And I had little kids pulling on my legs and climbing on stools to stick their fingers in things. I'm pretty laid back about my kids, but I try not to burn them if I can help it.

Beef Enchiladas
From The Pioneer Woman

THE SAUCE
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 large (28-ounce) can enchilada or red sauce
2 cups chicken broth
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped Cilantro
In a large saucepan over medium heat, add oil and flour and whisk together to make a past, cooking for 1 minute. Pour in other red sauce, chicken broth, salt, and pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30 to 45 minutes.

THE MEAT
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 4-ounce cans diced green chilies
1/2 teaspoon salt

Brown meat with onions in a skillet. Drain off fat. Stir in 2 cans diced green chilies and seasoned salt. Set aside.

TORTILLAS
10 to 14 corn tortillas
½ cup canola oil

Heat canola oil in a small skillet over medium heat. One by one, using tongs, fry tortillas oil until soft, not crisp—about 30 seconds per side. Remove to a paper-towel lined plate. Repeat until all tortillas have been fried.

ASSEMBLY
Sauce (above)
Meat (above)
Tortillas (above)
3 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
½ cup chopped black olives
1 cup chopped green onions
½ cup chopped cilantro

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pour ½ cup red sauce in bottom of baking pan. Spread to even out. Dip each tortilla into red sauce, then remove to work surface. Spoon meat, a little grated cheese, a little black olives, and green onions in the center of tortilla. Roll up and place, seam down, in baking pan. Repeat until pan is filled. Pour extra red sauce over enchiladas. Top with remaining cheddar cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes or until bubble. Sprinkle chopped cilantro over enchiladas before serving.

Dutch Apple Pie (using Dehydrated Apples)

This was hands-down the best apple pie I've ever had. It's all about the crumbly topping. When you reheat a slice the next day, the topping melts a little and is AMAZING with ice cream. Love things that are just as good or better the next day. Plus, I didn't have to cut or peel any apples. Yay for less work! Extra bonus, every single ingredient is in my food storage. It's so good to know I could make tasty food, even if I hadn't been to the grocery store in months.

Dutch Apple Pie
From Everyday Food Storage

One pre-made pie crust (I used a roll out one b/c I haven't tackled pie crust yet)

Preheat oven to 350.

Filling:
2 cups dried apples, firmly packed
2 cups boiling water
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp flour
1/2 tbs cinnamon
1 tbsp butter

Add apples to boiling water let set for at least 5 minutes, with the heat still on. Mix together sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Add to apples and continue cooking until thick. STIR CONSTANTLY to prevent scorching. Pour mixture into pie shell and dot with butter.

Topping:
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (I used white, but I'm going to try whole wheat next time)
1/4 cup butter

Cut ingredients together until crumbly. (I always find this is easier with your hands than with two knives.) Sprinkle over the apple mixture and bake at 350 for 55 minutes. (Don't forget to cover your crust edges with tin foil once they start to brown. Or cut the edges off before baking like lazy me.)