ffwD: Tourteau De Chevre

HAPPY MILITARY SPOUSE APPRECIATION DAY!
My friend and sorority sister (Codename: GPL) is married to a Naval officer. I was a bridesmaid in their Disney wedding last year. Due to recent events, I can only imagine what it’s like for GPL and all the spouses faced with the uncertainty of military life. That being said, I want to honor GPL and dedicate today’s tourteau de chevre to her!The tourteau itself was easy to prepare. However, every time I make Dorie’s sweet tart dough, I always fall for the “roll out” procedure. I faithfully chill the dough for several hours and try in vain to roll it out. I have yet to succeed in obtaining one cohesive rolled out piece. I always end up piecing together the broken bits of dough and hand pressing them into the pan. Today was no exception. I think I’ll just save myself the trouble and do the hand pressing method from now on.Also, I used an 8-1/2 inch round springform pan and made the mistake of pressing the dough up to the top of pan. I didn’t realize that the batter probably wouldn’t rise that much. So for most of the baking time, I had about one inch of rather burnt dough running around the top of the pan. Oh, well. I just cut that part off after releasing the cake from the pan.Because of the goat cheese, I drizzled a bit of honey over each slice with some sliced almonds. I suppose some dried cranberries or figs would be nice as well for a different layer of sweetness and a pop of color. I really enjoyed this cake, especially the sweet tang of the goat cheese. However, I’m wondering how this would taste as a savory type appetizer. Maybe with some pesto on the side or fresh thyme, rosemary, or even chopped artichokes incorporated in the batter. Hmm. Seems I’ll be making this again because now I’m intrigued…To see how other bloggers fared with the Tourteau De Chevre, head over to French Fridays with Dorie. As usual, the recipe for this dish can be found in Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours.

Whee! It’s May!

Why the excitement? Because it’s my BIRTHDAY MONTH, that’s why! Gone are the days where my family and friends were collected in one general area and a proper party could be planned. With everyone spread out and conflicting schedules, one specific day for celebrating is too limiting.

Besides, so many other events happen during May that my birthday can become an afterthought, even for me! For instance, the beginning of the month has everyone surprised by how quickly April went by after all the Easter and Passover preparations that I can barely catch my breath before cruising all the Cinco de Mayo parties! (I LOVE margaritas!) Then you have Mother’s Day brunches and school graduations lumped together in the middle of the month. And, finally, the end of May is spent gearing up for grilling season and Memorial Day festivities. Add the fact that May weather gets warmer and coaxes everyone outside for last-minute cookouts and get togethers, my birthday is left desperately competing for attention!

So, instead of fruitlessly earmarking one day, I’m spreading the love and taking ALL THIRTY-ONE DAYS of May to celebrate my birthday! This just means doing a little something special for myself every day of the month, and the treat doesn’t have to involve spending money. For instance:

*May 1st–I went to The Body Shop and redeemed my free birthday gift for this Vitamin E face mist!I absolutely love this stuff because it is refreshing, cooling, and helps set my Chanel Double Perfection foundation properly.

*May 2nd–I made my own strawberry compote with almonds for dessert!I sliced a half pint of strawberries and cooked them in Grand Marnier, lemon juice, sugar, ground cardamom, and cinnamon. It smelled absolutely wonderful.I’ll keep you updated periodically during the month to let you know what treats I have in store. I highly recommend celebrating your next birthday for the entire month. And I invite you to offer suggestions for small “treats” as well. Because turning one year older shouldn’t be a downer. It should be celebrated! All month long!

Also, as a reminder, this Thursday, May 5th is the inaugural Ina’s Garden “cook along” recipe Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars! I hope you can bake these treats and link up your results on Thursday! The recipe is posted on my blog here and on Food Network’s site here.

Weekend Food & Awards x 3!

My friend and sorority sister (Codename: GPL) was one of the first people I told when I decided to start blogging. She’s read my blog since the beginning and often comments how the desserts I make will “travel well” to her in Florida! Subtle, right? The other day, I received a card from her and inside was a recipe she cut out from the Palm Beach Post for “Pear Flip-Flop” by none other than Dorie Greenspan! This dessert is super quick and easy to make. I think that any fruit will do if pears aren’t already in your kitchen. Oh, and the recipe calls for a 9-inch deep dish Pyrex pie pan, but I don’t have one of those. So, I just used my 8×8 pan. Here’s the result:

A whole pan of Pear Flip-Flop

A single slice

Pear Flip-Flop by Dorie Greenspan

4 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 c all-purpose flour
3/4 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
3/4 c milk
1 1/4 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c slice or diced pears
Powdered sugar, for dusting

1. Cut the butter into chunks and toss into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. (Pyrex or ceramic works well.) Place in a 350 degree oven for 5 to 8 minutes, or until butter is melted. Meanwhile, whisk together dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add milk and vanilla nd whisk until smooth.

2. Pour batter over the hot butter; top with pears. Bake 45 minutes, or until top is browned and a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean. As they bake, the pears will sink to the bottom and for their own layer.

3. Cool 30 minutes, dust with powdered sugar. Serve slightly warm, straight from the dish.

You may have guessed from the title that I’ve received some awards in the past week! Laws of the Kitchen awarded me my THIRD “Stylish Blogger Award”, while A Plate Full of Happiness gave me a FOURTH! A big thanks to both of you for giving me this award! I must say that I’m truly flattered. Laws of the Kitchen was one of the first blogs I started following, and I even made my very first “blog recipe” (a white chocolate torte) from that blog! I discovered A Plate Full of Happiness more recently. I really enjoy reading her blog because her writing has a positive and upbeat tone. Plus, her photos are just awesome. If you don’t have both these blogs in your Google Reader, add them now!

Now, as much as I love receiving this award, I feel that another installment of “7 Things About Me” would just bore everyone to tears, so I’ll forgo that list and create a food-inspired one (just for this time!) Since I’ve started blogging, I’ve made recipes that I never would’ve tried before. As such, my daring has widened and now I want to try more! I’ve seen other bloggers do similar lists, and I think it would be appropriate here. As such, here is my “to do” list of things I want to make:

1. Macaroons: I’m tired of paying Macy’s Department Store $5 for 3 of these little bites!

2. Souffles: I have the ramekins, now I just need to find the patience!

3. Beef Wellington: Beef wrapped in puff pastry? Yes, please!

4. Vegetable curry with Naan: I absolutely love Indian food, but I haven’t had much of it since college. There are several really good Indian restaurants in Chicago, but many of them are buffet-style and that would get me in trouble! Therefore, I want to learn how to make a couple of staple dishes, like the vegetable curry, so that I can feed my need for Indian food. I’ll probably look to Dishes From My Kitchen for some recipes!

5. Whole Baked Camembert: A couple of years ago, Bravo aired one season of a show called “Chef Academy” with classes taught by Chef Jean Christophe Novelli. They made their own bread then made whole baked Camembert. The idea was to get creative with what else to put inside the bread dough with the cheese. The winner placed roasted red peppers or sun dried tomatoes inside. It looked REALLY good.

6. Seafood Paella: This dish looks so delicious, especially with seafood! However, my only real reservation for not making this sooner is lack of a large enough pan!

7. Martha Stewart’s Tiramisu Ice Cream Cake: This recipe isn’t hard by any means, but it just seems more time-consuming and involved than I think an ice cream cake should be. However, it is one of the first recipes I ever saw Martha Stewart make on her show years ago, and it’s been in the recesses of my mind ever since.

Anyway, I’m truly thankful that this corner of the blogosphere has accepted me so warmly. I owe a lot of that to the participants of French Fridays with Dorie, so instead of passing on the award to 15 individual bloggers, I choose to pass it on to all my fellow “Doristas”! A big thanks to Trevor at sis.boom.[blog!] for coining that term!

Kathy at Bakeaway With Me gave me a different award that I haven’t seen before! It’s the “Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award!” I want to thank her so much for all her encouragement and thoughtful comments to my blog. She’s a great blogger, baker and cook, and her blog is a must read! Thanks again, Kathy!

This award has fewer rules when it comes to passing it on. From what I understand, I can pay it forward to as few or as many SISTER bloggers who deserve it. I was thinking about the past couple of weeks, and one blogger in particular stopped blogging for a bit because of the strife and dangerous political climate that was occurring in her homeland of Egypt. Understandably, blogging was the furthest thing from her mind with her home country in a state of unrest, including the entire country’s internet service providers being shut down. It made me appreciate the freedoms I have that many do not.

As such, I’m happy to know that several of the wonderful blogs I’ve come to read and enjoy are ones from different countries, with different ideologies and different cultures. Therefore, I’m happy to pass on the “Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award” to all the bloggers who are overseas (or feel connected to a “home” country other than the US), including the following:

Miss Anthropist’s Kitchen
Laws of the Kitchen
Bright Morning Star
Brownieville Girl
The Good Life
Quay Po Cooks

Thank you again to Laws of the Kitchen, A Plate Full of Happiness, and Bakeaway With Me for giving me these awards! Now, everyone stay safe and get baking!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I recently added foodgawker to my Google Reader, and that site is to be approached with caution! Don’t get me wrong. Those dishes and photos are pretty amazing, but for me, it gives me baking ADD: “I want to make that!” “OMG! I have to try that!” “I definitely think I can do that!” Yeah, this is the over-excitedness that gets me in trouble!

That being said, I really wanted to make the cutest Valentine’s Day cupcakes I saw on the site: ones with a pink heart baked in the middle! I followed the original recipe for the batter from bake it in a cake! My zealous nature got the better of me because I lacked the most crucial component to making these cupcakes: a small heart-shaped cookie cutter. I thought that finding one the day before Valentine’s Day wouldn’t be too difficult. My friend (Codename: Candelabra) thought the same. We were so wrong! I went to several stores looking in the baking and crafts sections for this darn cookie cutter, but no luck. So, I attempted to make a cut-out heart template, which was accurately sized, but individually cutting the cake around this piece of cardstock really didn’t work too well. As such, my pretty hearts turned out like this (get ready!):

BEFORE

AFTER

See? This is why the tops of the cupcakes are in the opening photo! I made the frosting using a recipe I saw on Cocina Diary. It was a different way of making frosting than I’m used to, but it turned out extremely delicious! Anyway, here’s hoping everyone allows themselves a little indulgence today, whether it be chocolate, cake, or chocolate cake!

One last note, one of my friends (Codename: DoT Gamer) is celebrating his birthday on Valentine’s Day! So, I hope you have a happy, happy birthday! Here’s a special treat for you!

Happy Birthday, DoT Gamer! You can share the other cupcake with you-know-who!

Another Stylish Blogger Award!

Allison at French Whisk gave me my second Stylish Blogger Award! She’s so thoughtful! Her blog is really interesting because she’s in Vancouver, Canada and is able to give a different point of view on dishes/ingredients compared to a lot of State-side bloggers I read. If you haven’t checked her out or added her to your blog roll, do it now!

So, as per the instructions, I have four (4) things I must do now that I’ve been bestowed this award. First, thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award. Thank you so much, Allison! You’re awesome!

Second, share seven (7) things about yourself. I know you’re just itching to learn another seven things about me, so here goes!

1. My sister (Codename: Psychology Gamer) owns a male cat named Jack. He likes to purr, crawl, and be underfoot when I’m busy in the kitchen. He also likes to sniff food that’s within his reach. My sister and I say that this is Jack’s way of helping in the kitchen, or “Jack helping”, meaning “not helping at all.”

"Jack helping"

2. I’ve wanted to visit Tuscany ever since I read Frances Mayes’ villa restoration memoir in “Under the Tuscan Sun”. And, no, the film version did NOT do the book justice.

3. I only like watching the movie Julie & Julia for the Julia Child parts. I skip over the scenes with that other person.

4. I greatly prefer colder weather as opposed to hot or scorching weather. You can always put on more clothes to get warm, but you can be naked and still be hot and uncomfortable. Plus, bundling up is so cute!

"Chunklet"

Chunklet's sister

5. If I could own a dog, it would be an English bull dog rescue.

6. Television shows that I normally do not watch on a weekly basis will suddenly capture my attention if a marathon is playing, including Spartacus: Blood and Sand, Survivorman, and Top Shot.

7. Speaking of television, when I’m getting ready in the morning, I like to have Frasier on in the background. It was one of the few sitcoms that was intelligent and funny.

Third, award 15 recently discovered great bloggers. Since I last received a “Stylish Blogger Award”, I’ve discovered a whole new crop of foodie blogs! As such, I’d like to give a “Stylish Blogger Award” to the following:

A Busy Nest
Bright Morning Star
claire cooks
Dishesfrommykitchen
Karen and Nigella
Kudos Kitchen
Miss Anthropist’s Kitchen
My Sweet and Savory
One Perfect Bite
Pham Fatale
Quay Po Cooks
Sunshine & Smile
Taste of Pearl City
The Scene from Me
Through an INDIE LENS

Fourth, contact these bloggers and tell them about the award! Done and done!

OMG! A Stylish Blogger Award!

Yup, you read that correctly! Elaine from California Living was so thoughtful and gave me a “Stylish Blogger Award” after receiving one herself! Trust me, if you haven’t discovered California Living, head over there now! It’s one blog you’ll definitely want in your Google Reader or RSS Feed. I want to send a huge thanks to Elaine for giving this to me, as it’s my first award ever as a blogger! Who knew that anyone out there in the blogosphere would ever read my posts, much less find me deserving of an award? This definitely made my day!

Because I was given a Stylish Blogger Award, I get to do four fun things. First, thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award. Again, a huge thanks to Elaine at California Living and congratulations on receiving one as well!

Second, share seven (7) things about yourself. Ooh, let’s see.

1. I named my first vehicle “Jackson” after Jackson Montgomery from “All My Children”. It was a Mercury Mountaineer SUV.

2. My favorite color is purple, medium to deep preferably.

3. I’m superstitious when it comes to the Duke men’s basketball team. I feel like if I watch the game too long or straight through without taking a break, they’ll lose. True story: the last time I watched a Duke men’s basketball game all the way through was the championship game against Connecticut in 1999. Duke lost.

4. I refuse to create a Facebook page. And, no, I don’t think “The Social Network” should win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Or any Oscar for that matter.

5. I love the show “The Critic”. It was a shame that it was canceled because it was ahead of its time in razor-sharp comedy writing.

6. I can’t get enough of Diet Coke. I will veto a restaurant if I can’t get refills on Diet Coke.

7. I feel the only way to adapt a novel to television is to make it into a miniseries. And, that the only adaptation to do this properly was the BBC’s version of “Pride and Prejudice” with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle.

Third, award 15 recently discovered great bloggers. This is probably the best part about getting the award; sharing it with others! Also, since I’m still fairly new at blogging, most blogs (to me) are recently discovered! It’s my pleasure to give a “Stylish Blogger Award” to the following amazing blogs (in alphabetical order):

a whisk and a spoon
Bibberche
Bite by Bite
Black Book Kitchen Diaries
Dessert By Candy
Frankly Entertaining
Frolicking Night Owl
Joelen’s Culinary Adventures
Jumping off the Cliff
Life is Full
Lilacs In May
Mary Mary Culinary
paperyandcakery
scrambled hen fruit
That skinny chick can bake!!!

Fourth, contact these bloggers and tell them about the award! I’m so happy about this award and congratulations to the fifteen bloggers who received one from me!

Thanksgiving Rewind

A full plate...before the demolishing

I’m still feeling the effects from Thursday’s turkey haze. We’ll have leftovers for a good bit of time! This year’s cooking taught me a couple of things:

Always buy more butter. When I went grocery shopping last weekend, I bought two boxes of butter to freeze. (I knew I would need them for future ffwD recipes!) Foolishly, I thought that the one unused box plus two sticks I already had in the refrigerator would be enough for my Thanksgiving dishes.  Nope!  I ended up also needing the two boxes from the freezer.

Always remember what’s going on in your kitchen. Because I had to use frozen butter, the task of getting it to room temperature became an on-going task, stick by stick. This posed a problem with the parades, tv show marathons, Kung Fu Panda marathon and endless phone calls serving as distractions. I was so distracted that I forgot one stick was “thawing” on the stove. By the time I checked it, the butter had melted to liquid consistency and gotten EVERYWHERE.

Doubling the nutmeg can sometimes mask a lack of cinnamon. Somehow, I miscalculated the amount of cinnamon I had in my cupboards. I thought I had half a container. I actually had NONE. Oh, well, I just doubled or substituted in nutmeg where necessary. Yes, I know they’re very different flavors, but one holiday spice is better than none!

Extra pumpkin pie filling makes a great “custard” snack while cooking. I always seem to make more filling or batter than I have room in my pan. Today’s pumpkin pie was no different. However, the recipe I used was so yummy, there was no way I was going to throw out extras. So, I popped the extra filling into two ramekins and baked them along with the pie. My sister and I had a nice snack while making other dishes!

Pancetta AND ham in one dish? Amazing. You can never go wrong with a savory dish when pancetta and ham are used. This made my very first experience with Brussels sprouts VERY pleasant! Per my friend’s request (Codename: GPL), I leave you with some fun photos of our Thanksgiving meal. I hope  your holiday was as delicious as mine!

Brussels sprouts with pancetta and ham

Mashed potatoes with skins

Slow-cooker applesauce

Rice

Green bean casserole

Roasted turkey breasts

Gino's Good Time Cookies

Pumpkin Nutella cake

Pumpkin & sweet potato pie

Bear Claw Bundt Cake!

HAPPY NATIONAL BUNDT DAY!

Mary from The Food Librarian has embarked on a delicious journey where she made a bundt cake every day for 30 days leading up to National Bundt Day! This is the second year she’s completed this, and this year she invited the blogosphere to bake a bundt as well. Needless to say, after seeing 30 days of bundts, I’ve caught bundt cake fever, not unlike Bieber-fever!

I actually made two bundt cakes in honor of today. A couple of days ago I posted a pear walnut bundt cake. However, today’s celebration bundt is a rendition on an almond bundt cake. Chunklet’s mother is a huge fan of bear claws, so she suggested I incorporate some of those elements into an almond bundt. Hence, the bear claw bundt cake! A huge thanks goes out to my sister for her help and suggestions!

Thank you, Chunklet's mom!

This slice is for you!

This is a simple cake batter to make, but since I have no food processor, I had to get crafty in order to grind the almonds. I just used my espresso bean grinder! If you have to do the same, just make sure to grind the almonds with a bit of sugar to avoid sticking and clumping. I also incorporated a whole box of almond paste, just for that added bear claw taste. I shredded half the tube with a cheese grater then broke up the other half into larger bits with my hands. This cake was fluffier than most of the cakes I’ve made. I’ll definitely be making this again, perhaps when Chunklet visits Chicago for Christmas! I hope you like my take on this favorite pastry! HAPPY NATIONAL BUNDT DAY!

BEAR CLAW BUNDT CAKE
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. ground almonds

1 c. butter, softened
1 & 1/2 c. sugar
1 7-oz. tube almond paste
4 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. milk

3 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 tbsp. powdered sugar
3 tbsp. milk
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
Sliced almonds for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and ground almonds. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and shredded/broken bits of almond paste until light and fluffy. Don’t worry if the almond paste does not break down completely. It will melt as the cake bakes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the almond and vanilla extracts. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with 1 cup milk, mixing just until incorporated. The batter should be a light, pillowy consistency. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes and invert on a wire rack. Cool 10 minutes longer. Place rack on waxed paper. Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk, vanilla extract and almond extract till liquid enough to coat but not too runny. Drizzle glaze on the cake and garnish with sliced almonds before the glaze sets.

Blog for a Cause: Breast Cancer Awareness

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is here! That means cooler weather, a crispness in the air, cozy sweaters, and most importantly (for my blog anyway) baking! October also brings a wave of pink in its midst: pink ribbons, pink labels, pink wrappers, everything pink because October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

I’m fortunate to have a dear friend who is a surgical oncologist. I’ve mentioned her before (Codename: Candelabra). Candelabra is currently interviewing across the nation for breast fellowships at different cancer treatment centers. She recently had to make the decision on whether to apply for surgical fellowships that involve cancer research throughout the entire body or focusing on surgical fellowships specifically for breast cancer. She has chosen the latter, and I thought that my post today would give some insight from her medical professional perspective.

Q: What makes treating breast cancer different than other types of cancer in the body?
A: In my opinion, the collaborative nature of the treatment team really stands apart with breast cancer teams. The surgical oncologist, who is involved from the very beginning, will meet with the other members of the team, such as the radiologist and pathologist, as much as she would meet with the patient herself. The lines of communication are not only open between doctor and patient, but constantly flowing amongst the treatment team itself.

Q: I understand you have a background in public health. How does having an M.P.H. affect your treatment approach?
A. Having that background directly correlates to the preventative approach I try and teach my patients when I am called in to do a consult. While many of my patients are coming to me because of something they found in their breast on their own or through an abnormal mammogram, early screening and detection is the key to fighting and ultimately eliminating the cancer. This is easily done through self-breast exams and regular mammograms once women reach the age of forty (40) or earlier if the woman has a history of breast cancer in her family.

Q: You mentioned communication between the surgical oncologist and the patient earlier. What have you encountered during your practice that would help doctors better communicate with breast cancer patients?
A: During my residency, I was on a research team that designed a “virtual patient” program that would help clinicians better elicit answers from patients who might not be able to clearly express symptoms of breast cancer. This training tool incorporated a physical representation of a patient (similar to a mannequin) programmed with specific symptoms and common answers to questions, which were recorded with actual human voices. With this tool, doctors could physically interact with a “patient” while performing an exam, asking questions and actually receiving answers. This not only gets the clinician comfortable with asking the questions, but also allows them to work on their patient communication skills. This is very important when it comes to breast cancer because most women are scared, nervous or unsure of themselves during the early stages of detection.

Q: Thank for your time and answers, Candelabra! And, good luck on your interviews!
A: Thank you!

For more information on breast cancer and prevention, please visit the American Cancer Society website and speak to your doctor about any questions or concerns.

For more blogs discussing breast cancer awareness, please visit Blog for a Cause.