Almond Cream Pie circa 1959 Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book

This was my mother's signature dessert

for the bridge ladies.

She played in two groups;

one with four players and the other with eight.

My brother and I rejoiced when she

made it for the four ladies, as it meant we also

got a slice.

Not so with the eight player group unless

one or two or more were on diets.

We always crossed our fingers someone

would be on a diet.

It's very easy to make, really, it just took me

fifteen years to get it right.

Stirring the custard is a calming activity for me

now after all the batches of lemon curd.

Pie crust is no longer my arch nemesis,

thanks to Rose's cream cheese pie crust.

This is a straight butter crust that I had

to make for a baking assignment.

It's a bit more fiddly but it turned out flaky.

All that remains is to divvy it up

between my family.

There are no bridge ladies insight.

Chocolat Chaud

Bad lighting~ imagine super dark chocolate

I'll Have What Phil's Having

Have you seen this show yet?

I am totally obsessed!

Probably even more obsessed than

I am with  

The Great British Bake Off.

Probably not a surprise to 

anyone that I am a 

cooking and baking show fanatic.

But this one!

This one just nails it for me.

I can't wait for Mondays,

of all days

for a new episode to air.

This past Monday Phil was in Paris 

and the first place Phil

wanted to go was to Angelina's

on the Rue de Rivoli 

for French hot chocolate.

 You can watch the episode 

on the PBS link.

So of course, me being me,

I went on a blood hound search to

find out what was so special 

about French hot chocolate.

I found out

it's nothing like American

powdered hot chocolate mixes,

not that I'm opposed to said hot chocolate

on a cold rainy night.

But this French concoction is in

an entirely different category.

I dug around in the cupboard, found some

70% Green & Blacks dark chocolate,

pulled out the Guittard cocoa powder

and threw in the last of my

milk chocolate with caramel stash, 

instead of sugar.

There's oodles of recipes online, 

including Angelina's, Laduree,

Lebovitz, Dorie Greenspan,

the list goes on.

I have one of these sets packed away

It's hot chocolate alright,

but with a completely sophisticated element.

Now I understand the exquisite French 

enameled and glazed chocolate pots

that look like fine china coffee pots.

If you want a truly decadent and rich

cup of cocoa, 

have what Phil's having.

Mushroom Tart

Lesson Eight Mushroom Tart

This is the first savory tart I have ever made.

The lesson focused on

another use of butter with pate sablee

which means sweetened pastry dough.

I chose the savory option using the

all butter dough.

I'm so used to Rose's cream cheese pie dough

that it was a little odd working with an entirely

different texture

but got it in the tart pan without mishap.

And out of the oven the same.

It was difficult to tell when it was done.

Quiche is fully baked at 160 F which sounded close

enough, even though this had only one egg in the ricotta mixture.

The flavor is amazing, 

both the crust and mushroom filling.

The last really good slice of 

quiche I had was $10 per slice

which would be $80 for the entire thing.

I doubt the ingredients in this cost ten dollars total.

It never ceases to astonish me

when something I've wanted to make

for years but felt too intimidated

not only isn't difficult when instructions

are easy to follow

but tastes as good as a favorite restaurant's.

You have to know that I was only allowed to 

bring store bought rolls to 

Thanksgiving dinners

while the family matriarchs

were alive and well at the helm.

They wouldn't believe this!

Souffle

Everything went well with the souffle

assignment except for the first three minutes

of broiling; it started to burn at two minutes.

I quickly put a cookie sheet on the top rack

as suggested to deflect heat if it browned too quickly.

I think one minute of broiling in my oven

would suffice.

It then baked at 400 degrees for twenty

minutes.

Now that I understand the process,

I will experiment with other recipes.

This was a savory souffle with

gruyere cheese.

I learned something today,

I am more comfortable with measurements

given in grams.

It also finally dawned on me that

the first run through for a new

process doesn't have to be perfect.

Once the process is learned

that's when enjoyment

sets in.

I have no idea why that took

me so long to figure out.

Pavlova

Today's baking lesson was baked French meringue.

Reading over the information

was very familiar to me.

The different meringues

in Heavenly Cakes and 

The Baking Bible

have given me a solid background.

I did learn new information

and tips.

Mainly don't stop beating the 

egg whites until they have little

points like this for the stiff stage.

Before The Bake

After The Bake

They are creamy in color due to  

the vanilla extract.

They didn't brown in the least

which I've learned

is the goal with baked meringue.

I have wondered for a long time

how Pavlova could possibly be 

something people love,

namely Nigella Lawson.

On top of the "Pav", 

as she likes to call them,

is a layer of whipped cream,

lemon curd 

and then sliced strawberries.

After the first taste 

it is totally understandable;

this strange combination is divine.

I was going to turn the individual

meringues into 

Floating Islands

on the suggestion of Monica

because of an episode on 

The Great British Bake Off.

There are different ways of making it.

I chose Julia Child's recipe, however, 

a bit of unexpected company

in the form of my granddaughters.

Needless to say, they loved

these marshmallow cookies

and took the rest home for dessert!

Gluten free and dairy free,

they can be topped with so many 

different things,

sorbet being one.

Honestly,

this is the quickest dessert 

and guests would think

it had taken hours to make.

Sorry I waited so long.

Should have listened 

to Nigella.

Pate a choux

Pate a choux

or as I know it,

cream puffs.

This is the first assignment in the free

baking school I signed up for.

It lasts twenty days.

I figure I can make it through 

twenty days.

Maybe.

At least I made it through days one and two.

Yesterday was learning all about eggs

and how to crack them with one hand.

I had no idea I was doing it wrong!

Today was putting those egg cracking skills

to work baking pate a choux.

I've never had luck making this dough.

I failed miserably with gougeres.

And then again with souffle

which requires pate a choux

for the base.

This recipe was a two part process.

The first on the stove with a wooden spoon,

mixing and cooking the flour, water and butter.

The second part used the mixer

to incorporate eggs into this doughy ball

which magically turns into silky batter.

It is then baked with three

different temperatures.

And poked with a toothpick to release the 

steam.

I was excited to open the oven

and find real cream puff shells.

Off to buy a vanilla bean and whole milk

for pastry cream. Luckily chocolate ganache sauce

is leftover from the Turtle Mud Pie

in the freezer.

Finally, cream puffs.

Delivered to my brother as

we both have the fondest memory

of our mother making cream puffs

but only twice, no matter

how much we pleaded.

"Too much trouble."

They probably were doing 

all the mixing by hand.

This mixer method is so simple.

Vanilla Macarons

Here they are!

My first attempt at macarons.

A few had the all important "feet"

and then sank while cooling.

I think the first tray wasn't baked long enough.

The second batch maybe too long 

because they cracked.

Boy, these guys are finicky.

I used Thomas Keller's recipe in

Bouchon Bakery.

It was hard for me to understand

the level of stiffness for the final

folding of the mixture.

I know now it was definitely too stiff.

Keller said better too stiff than too soft.

Whatever their feet shortcomings and

cracked tops, they are delicious.

I just used Trader Joe's almond flour and 

pulverized it in the mini food processor as Keller instructed.

Here it is added with the powdered sugar to sieve out the almond skin bits.

These are the bits left behind.

I can see how it would ruin the smooth texture.

That's all the pictures I have because honestly,

I had to keep my wits about me.

The recipe wasn't difficult, just so different

than what I'm used to, more generalized.

The sugar and water is boiled on the stove 

then poured straight into the soft peak egg whites while

the mixer is whirling.  It wasn't difficult and the meringue

whipped up beautifully. 

I filled them with leftover chocolate ganache

from Woody's Brownies.

My hat is off to Kim, Faithy, Patricia and Milagritos 

for being able to make these very fragile cookies.

I have enough almond flour to have another

go at it.

It was getting the courage to actually try it.

Thanks Baking Bucket Buddies!  

Oh, and the name Almond Cream Pie

is named for our family's favorite pie

that my mom used to make.

It was her signature dessert

and at the very top of my bucket list.

Gutsy Cooks Minestrone

It's been bitterly cold recently.  Making a pot of minestrone soup could not have been more timely.  Not only was it easy to put together, but really an enjoyable venture.  I love a good minestrone soup and now I know how simple it is.  I did add garlic powder and next time will throw in a few fresh cloves.

Spanish Vegetable Scramble

This was good.  This was very good.  The Gutsy Cooks Club made Spanish Vegetable Tortilla.
I made it into a scramble due to the absence of the requisite non-stick pan.  Peas, broccol, potatoes and onions gently cooked with eggs.  I added a light grating of cheddar cheese.  We thoroughly enjoyed this.

Gutsy Cooks is pulling me kicking and screaming into the land of dough.  And hollandaise.  It is so much fun!

I'm starting to like this pie dough/tart dough stuff.  On the menu this week were mushroom tarts and vanilla custards.  Both turned out to be delicious!  Next time, and there will be a next time, I plan to skip the hollandaise and top with grated cheese.

The custards were perfect and couldn't have been simpler to whip up.  I thickened a can of sour cherries with sugar and cinnamon.  Big hit!  Highly recommend both recipes.

Empanadas and White Bean Soup

This week's Gutsy Cooks made empanadas and white bean soup.  Both were a first for me.  

The soup came together easily, especially since I took a shortcut with canned cannelloni beans, only because I forgot to soak them overnight.  I'll make it again with dried beans and maybe not puree it so much with an immersion blender.  The texture was ultra silky.  Being a vegetarian, I left out the pancetta.  It had a nice mild flavor.

I've always wanted to give empanadas a try.  The dough didn't look promising at all after I pummeled it but surprisingly rolled out quite easily.  I opted for spiced potatoes.  I'll try this recipe again using a recipe for samosa filling, which is a favorite thing to order at Indian restaurants.  I think it will work well with this dough.

So this was a fun challenge for me working with dough!

Ricotta and Basil Roulade and Quindim

My first meal with the Gutsy Cooks gang!  This was so much fun to make. I was surprised how utterly easy the recipes were to put together.  The dessert takes literally minutes.  The roulade a bit longer, but still quite easy.  Except for spilling the chopped spinach and sun dried tomatoes all over the floor.  Plan B.  Go pick the last of the basil in the garden. It was fantastic. This is definitely a do again recipe.

I opted for toasting regular, not fresh, coconut.  It was fine. We all loved these. I'm making another batch
with only the cream of coconut for my coconut phobic husband. He likes the flavor but not the texture of coconut.

Already Gutsy Cooks has gotten me outside my macaroni and cheese comfort zone.

Gerard's Mustard Tart

 The Queen of Hearts,
    She made some tarts,
All on a summer's day;
    The Knave of Hearts,
    He stole the tarts,
And took them clean away.

    The King of Hearts
    Called for the tarts,
And beat the Knave full sore;
    The Knave of Hearts
    Brought back the tarts,
And vowed he'd steal no more.


I have wanted to learn to make tarts forever.  French Fridays with Dorie this week made Gerard's Mustard Tart, so there it was.  Time for me to pull up my boot straps and make tart dough.  It could not have been simpler.  I opted for mini tart shells because A) I've lost my large one B)Couldn't be bothered to go buy another because C) Three granddaughters under the age of ten and two puppies under the age of six months were cavorting underfoot.  D) No tomato. It was a tad bit CHAOTIC.


After making the shells last night, I was too exhausted to mix up the filling and fell into a comatose state by seven o'clock.  French Friday is now moved to French Saturday.  This morning, after sending my husband off to the store for a tomato, I am happy to report that these tarts came out of the oven in one piece, not burned and smelling delicious.  Plus they were just plain cute in all their miniature glory.
And I even remembered to leave the mustard out of said husband who has a life threatening mustard allergy.  I was even so clever as to remember which of his specifically didn't contain the mustard.  I wasn't so clever when I mixed them up on the cooling rack.  

This tart was incredible!  I can't describe the excitement I feel at being able to now make a tart.  Let's pack them in a wicker hamper and head over to Napa for general frolicking through the wine country.  Or up to the mountains for apple picking and fresh air.  The possibilities are endless. They're also great after raking leaves, which is how we enjoyed them.

French Fridays with Dorie Goureges

French Fridays with Dorie started off with lovely Goureges.  I had such high hopes for them even though my track record with choux pastry leaves a lot to be desired.  It seemed to mix up easily and did all the right pulling away from the pan.  Each egg addition incorporated easily.  I used all cheddar cheese.  The dough looked wonderful.  Coming out of the oven they smelled wonderful but cut open, revealed dense, not airy texture like the picture.  I don't know what I'm doing wrong with choux pastry mixing.