BAKING THROUGH THE BLOGOSPHERE

Posted in Breads, Cake, Cookies by sallybr

Once again I share with you bakes that I’ve made over the past couple of months, following recipes from blogs I love…
(links to recipes below each individual picture)

TROPICAL SHORTBREAD COOKIES
from Pastries Like a Pro

(recipe available here)

These are shortbread type cookies with macadamia nuts and coconut, absolutely delicious! I made the chocolate glaze in two different ways, one simply dipping like Helen suggests, and the second way adding some texture. To do so, I laid a piece of textured paper on the chocolate while still wet as shown below. It is hard to get it smooth to the very edge of the chocolate, but I still liked the effect.

RAMASAN PIDESI
from Caroline’s Easy Baking Lessons

(recipe available here)

This is a great soft bread, ready in 2 hours! Uses instant yeast, and depending on the size of your pizza pan, you can have enough for 2 full round breads or go with a large round and the leftover used for a different shape of your liking. I opted for a 4-stranded braided loaf.

The crumb is spectacular, Phil now wants this bread on a regular basis… His favorite is the flat shape.

BOUCHONS AU CHOCOLAT
from Karen’s Kitchen Stories

(recipe available here)

These were made famous by Thomas Keller, and they use a specific mold to make the right shape, like a cork. I’ve had the mold for years, unfortunately it does not seem to be available any longer, but you can use a muffin tin. I used the exact recipe blogged by Karen, which is a variation from the original. Absolutely delicious, but you must adore a strong chocolate taste, this is not a sweet, kid-friendly concoction. It will be showing up again in our kitchen, for sure!

HOSTESS MINI-CAKES
(from Baker’s Anonymous)

(recipe available here)

Helen was a tent-baker with me during the Great American Baking Show and she is now a professional baker, with a super busy life! She keeps her blog with great recipes, and this one got the most enthusiastic reviews from our departmental colleagues. A must-make! It was a great opportunity to put to use my little cupcake corer thingie…

RED TART CHERRY PIE BARS
from Bakes by Brown Sugar

Another tent-baker friend, Cheryl, from a season before mine, these are absolutely spectacular! She uses canned tart cherries, which I had never even bought before, not knowing if they would be good. Well, they work wonders in this preparation, and you will not be disappointed at all. Easy, sharp, sweet and tart at the same time. Make them!

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES WITH PEANUT BRITTLE
(from David Leibovitz)

(recipe available here)

Have you ever made peanut brittle? If not, you absolutely need to correct this handicap. The only problem is stop sampling the brittle so you have enough for the cookies. You’ve been warned. The cookies are amazing, with the regular flavor of a chocolate chip, but the added intensity of the caramelized peanuts.

I hope this series got you inspired to bake some sweetness!

ONE YEAR AGO: Oriental Style Sesame Slaw

TWO YEARS AGO: Revelation Veggie-or-Not Egg-Roll Bowl

THREE YEARS AGO: Covid Update and Stayin’ Alive

FOUR YEARS AGO: A Brazilian Hummingbird

FIVE YEARS AGO: A Cookbook Review

SIX YEARS AGO: Air-Fried Carrots, Two Ways

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Sweet Potato Crust Quiche

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Chicken Thighs with Artichokes and Capers

NINE YEARS AGO: Pea Pancakes with Herbed Yogurt

TEN YEARS AGO: Mushroom Stroganoff

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Tomato Sourdough

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Gamberetti con rucola e pomodori

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Flirting with Orzo

8May2023

INCREDIBLY SIMPLE PROSCIUTTO-WRAPPED CHICKEN BREASTS

Posted in Air-Frying, Poultry by sallybr

The air-fryer does it, friends! If you don’t have one you can still adapt to a regular oven, but I tell you, the texture and how easy it all happens is hard to beat. Ever since we invested in a model with a bigger basket, I’ve been using it all the time.

PROSCIUTTO-WRAPPED CHICKEN BREASTS
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

3 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
juice of a lemon
salt and pepper to taste
slices of prosciutto
spray of olive oil

Squirt a very small amount of lemon juice over the chicken breasts, season lightly with salt and pepper, rubbing the mixture all over.

Lay 2 slices of prosciutto overlapping slightly over a board, place one chicken breast over it and wrap the prosciutto around. Carefully place the meat in the air-fryer basket, with the seam side down. Repeat with all other pieces. Spray them with a little olive oil and air-fry at 400F (or as high as your machine goes) for 15 to 20 minutes, flipping the meat midway through. You can check the temperature with a probe thermometer if you prefer a little more precision, going for 160F.

Allow it to sit at room temperature for a few minutes before slicing.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I made this twice already and will be repeating it soon, because we really liked it a lot. Prosciutto tends to be expensive, that is the only drawback and you do need two slices per breast. We enjoyed it with green beans with almonds and plain rice, it was a quick and very delicious dinner.

ONE YEAR AGO: Cauliflower with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Olives

TWO YEARS AGO: Curry Sourdough with Sesame Seeds

THREE YEARS AGO: Chocolate-Crusted Passion Fruit Tart

FOUR YEARS AGO: Lemony Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Almonds

FIVE YEAR AGO: Savory Oatmeal with Bacon and Cheddar

SIX YEARS AGO: Air-Fried Carrots, Two Ways (most popular post on my blog!)

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Five Minutes in L.I.T (a tour of our laboratory!)

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Chicken Thighs with Artichokes and Capers

NINE YEARS AGO: Pea Pancakes with Herbed Yogurt

TEN YEARS AGO: Mushroom Stroganoff

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Tomato Sourdough

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Gamberetti con rucola e pomodori

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Flirting with Orzo

4May2023

FIESTA BAKES FOR CINCO DE MAYO

Posted in Cake, Cookies, Desserts, macarons by sallybr

A small collection of goodies, all inspired by a Mexican fiesta… Cupcakes, Chocolate-Chipotle Cookies, Macarons (filled with Mexican chocolate ganache), and Chocolate-covered Oreos.

FIESTA CUPCAKES

Any vanilla cupcake recipe (or chocolate) will work. Refer to this post for the buttercream, which was divided in two unequal portions: a larger portion dyed pink, and a smaller portion dyed orange. Then, a petal tip like 102 was used to add the icing in layers, as shown below. Any combination of colors will work, this one seemed appropriate for the Cinco de Mayo theme.

CHOCOLATE-CHIPOTLE COOKIES

I am so smitten by these! Not at all complicated to put together, start with your favorite chocolate cookie recipe (mine is definitely this one), paint with Americolor white before baking to get the crackled effect. Then use Royal icing dyed with flesh tone or ivory to pipe a round for the face. Use any colors you want to make the wavy decorations. Once that sets, you can paint the face and hair, add the arms, and you are done. You can see the steps below.

They make for a real fun set, and will please those who prefer a modest amount of icing on their cookies.

Many colors will work, and I also made a batch with sugar cookies instead of chocolate, with a pink and orange skirt.

MEXICAN CHOCOLATE MACARONS

For these macs, I used my default French meringue method (recipe here), divided the batter into three portions, a large pink, a medium size yellow, and a smaller orange. Piped a circle of pink, went with yellow in the center, then orange to form three concentric circles. Baked the shells and decorated with Royal icing. The ganache was made with

4 oz semisweet chocolate
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp cinnamon
a pinch of cayenne pepper

Once the ganache cooled, I whipped it with a handheld mixer for a minute or so. You cannot go too long or the whole thing will turn grainy. You just want to incorporate some air into the ganache.

FIESTA CHOCOLATE COVERED OREOS

These are so much fun to make! I used chocolate transfer sheets cut to fit the inside of the mold, as described in this post. I love this colorful pattern, that would look good also on a white chocolate background.

HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO!

ONE YEAR AGO: Thai-Meatballs Over Wilted Bok-Choy

TWO YEARS AGO: Asparagus with Gunpowder Masala

THREE YEARS AGO: The Home Bakers Collective, April Project

FOUR YEARS AGO: Asian-Style Eggplant Meatballs

FIVE YEAR AGO: Uzbek Flatbread

SIX YEARS AGO: First Monday Favorite – Black Sesame FOUR

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Chocolate Orange Mini-Cakes

EIGHT YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, May 2015

NINE YEARS AGO: P90X3, a Review of Tony Horton’s Latest Fitness Program

TEN YEARS AGO: Pasta and Mussels in Saffron Broth

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Triple Chocolate Brownies

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Shanghai Soup Dumplings

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Bite-sized Chocolate Pleasure

1May2023

ZUCCHINI CARPACCIO

Posted in Vegetarian-friendly, Veggies by sallybr

I adore zucchini and in this preparation it really shines! I strongly advise you to cut it with a mandolin, because paper thin is a must. You won’t have the same beautiful effect of that noodle appearance unless you really slice it super thin. Come to think of it, a veggie peeler might work also!

ZUCCHINI CARPACCIO
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

2 medium zucchini, cut very thin lengthwise
juice of ½ lemon
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
roasted peanuts
Herbes de Provence
drizzle of agave nectar

Sprinkle the ribbons of zucchini with salt, place in a colander for 20 to 30 minutes, then drain and dry on paper towels. Add to a large serving bowl and squeeze lemon juice all over the slices. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes, this will soften the veggie a bit. When it is time to serve, drizzle olive oil, season with Herbes de Provence, and spread peanuts on top. Finally, a drizzle of agave nectar for a little contrast of flavor.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: It is not very hard for me to praise my favorite squash, but I believe most people will appreciate the texture and freshness of this preparation. Other nuts can work too, the most important step is allowing the lemon juice to do its job. Use a nice olive oil with enough flavor and you are all set!