This week’s TWD recipe was chosen by Karina of The Floured Apron. I had never made scones before so was excited to try something new again. The dough came together very easily and just as Dorie said it would. I used extra-sharp cheddar which added a great bite to the scones. The dried apple added just the right amount of sweetness and chewiness.

I ate the scones at room temperature as Dorie suggested. They were nice and light with a nice texture. These would be great with apple butter or jam.

My apologies for my tardiness on posting this. I actually baked this during the correct week and then my husband’s grandmother passed away keeping us a little more preoccupied then usual.

This recipe was chosen by Beth of Our Sweet Life. My favorite desserts have fruit in them and I especially love anything with berries. While reading the comments of the other Tuesday with Dorie bakers about the crust being very bland I thought of different variations to make it more interesting but ultimately decided to stick to the recipe as is and then change anything after making it a second time. I was pleasantly surprised with the crust and thought it did a great job of soaking up all the berry juice while staying moist on the bottom and crisp on the top.

My husband and I both enjoyed the Mixed Berry filling as well. I chose a frozen mix of Raspberries, Blackberries and Blueberries. It was a wonderful combination of tart and sweet. The fruit held up well and created a lovely sauce that was a perfect consistency. Not too thick and not too thin. A little lemon zest brought all the flavors together beautifully.

I’ll definitely make this cobbler again with different fruits and flavors added into the crust.

One of the reasons I was so excited to join Barefoot Bloggers was to try out new dishes that I wouldn’t have tried otherwise. Our fist dish was chosen by Elizabeth of Ugg Smell Food and it was definitely not something I would have picked myself. Neither my husband or I are huge fans of Pesto but with the addition of the Spinach and the Peas it sounded great and I was happy to try out a new recipe.

I cut the recipe in 1/2 since the original made a ton and we still had a lot left over. I had leftover grilled chicken from our dinner last night so I cut that up and added it to my husbands to give him the extra protein.

Pasta, Pesto, and Peas
(Source: Ina Garten “Barefoot Contessa Parties!” p.98 and the show Barefoot Contessa)

Yield: 12 servings

3/4 pound fusilli pasta
3/4 pound bow tie pasta
1/4 cup good olive oil
1 1/2 cups pesto, packaged or see recipe below
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/4 cups good mayonnaise (I used low-fat)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 1/2 cups frozen peas, defrosted
1/3 cup pignolis (pine nuts)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cook the fusilli and bow ties separately in a large pot of boiling salted water for 10 to 12 minutes until each pasta is al dente. Drain and toss into a bowl with the olive oil. Cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, puree the pesto, spinach, and lemon juice. Add the mayonnaise and puree. Add the pesto mixture to the cooled pasta and then add the Parmesan, peas, pignolis, salt, and pepper. Mix well, season to taste, and serve at room temperature.

Pesto:
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup pignolis (pine nuts)
3 tablespoons chopped garlic (9 cloves)
5 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups good olive oil
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Place the walnuts, pignolis, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process for 15 seconds. Add the basil leaves, salt, and pepper. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until the pesto is thoroughly pureed. Add the Parmesan and puree for a minute. Use right away or store the pesto in the refrigerator or freezer with a thin film of olive oil on top.

Notes: Air is the enemy of pesto. For freezing, pack it in containers with a film of oil or plastic wrap directly on top with the air pressed out.

To clean basil, remove the leaves, swirl them in a bowl of water, and then spin them very dry in a salad spinner. Store them in a closed plastic bag with a slightly damp paper towel. As long as the leaves are dry they will stay green for several days.

Yield: 4 cups

This week’s recipe was chosen by Marie at A Year in Oak Cottage. I was thrilled this was a Strawberry recipe as my husband and I had plans to go Strawberry picking. I couldn’t wait to turn our amazingly sweet and juicy strawberries into this rustic tart.

Fruit tarts are among my favorite desserts and this one was perfect with it’s cookie-like crust. The dough is a sweet tart dough with a great crumbly texture. The recipe calls for you to fill the tart with Strawberry jam and then pile in as many berries as will fit. I used Strawberry-Rhubarb Preserves that I got at the farm stand where we did our picking. The Rhubarb added a wonderful tart dimension to compliment the super sweet freshly picking strawberries.

I cut the tart first and then layered on the preserves and topped with as many strawberries as I could fit! The traditional La Palette tart is served with Crème fraîche and topped with cracked black pepper.

I’ll definitely be keeping this sweet tart dough handy so that I can make these wonderful tarts with a variety of fruits and flavors throughout the summer.

This weeks Tuesday’s with Dorie recipe is French Chocolate Brownies chosen by Di of Di’s Kitchen Notebook. My first thought was, “a French Brownie?” What exactly makes a brownie French and what nationality are all the other brownies?? All joking aside I was excited to try out a new Brownie Recipe and this one was quite different from any other I’ve tried before. They were intensely rich and fudgy.

French Chocolate Brownies
(Source: Dorie Greenspan “Baking: From My Home to Yours pages 92-93)

-Makes 16 brownies-

Ingredients
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1/3 cup raisins, dark or golden
1 1/2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons; 6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into 12 pieces
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sugar

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 300°F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, butter the foil, place the pan on a baking sheet, and set aside.

Whisk together the flour, salt and cinnamon, if you’re using it.

Put the raisins in a small saucepan with the water, bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the water almost evaporates. Add the rum, let it warm for about 30 seconds, turn off the heat, stand back and ignite the rum. Allow the flames to die down, and set the raisins aside until needed.

Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Slowly and gently melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and add the butter, stirring so that it melts. It’s important that the chocolate and butter not get very hot. However, if the butter is not melting, you can put the bowl back over the still-hot water for a minute. If you’ve got a couple of little bits of unmelted butter, leave them—it’s better to have a few bits than to overheat the whole. Set the chocolate aside for the moment.

Working with a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until they are thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Lower the mixer speed and pour in the chocolate-butter, mixing only until it is incorporated—you’ll have a thick, creamy batter. Add the dry ingredients and mix at low speed for about 30 seconds—the dry ingredients won’t be completely incorporated and that’s fine. Finish folding in the dry ingredients by hand with a rubber spatula, then fold in the raisins along with any liquid remaining in the pan.

Scrape the batter into the pan and bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top is dry and crackled and a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and allow the brownies to cool to warm or room temperature.

Carefully lift the brownies out of the pan, using the foil edges as handles, and transfer to a cutting board. With a long-bladed knife, cut the brownies into 16 squares, each roughly 2 inches on a side, taking care not to cut through the foil.

Serving: The brownies are good just warm or at room temperature; they’re even fine cold. I like these with a little something on top or alongside—good go-alongs are whipped crème fraiche or whipped cream, ice cream or chocolate sauce or even all three!

Storing: Wrapped well, these can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months.

The French Verdict: Very little flour and a delightful crackling crust on the top!

I’m fortunate to have joined another online cooking group. This one, Barefoot Bloggers, was started by Tara of Smells Like Home, and is devoted to cooking/baking Ina Garten recipes twice a month.

I’ve been a fan of Ina’s for a while now and have been saving more and more of her recipes to try. When I saw this group I knew it would be perfect to put all those stored recipes to use and make a few things I might not have done otherwise.

Our first recipe was Herb Baked Eggs. Eggs, easy right? Not for me!! I’ll be the first person to admit that I stink at making eggs. Give me some complicated 257 step recipe and I’ll have no problem. Ask me to make you scrambled eggs and you’re in trouble. I have repeatedly over the years attempted to be a good wife and make breakfast for my husband. It’s a good thing he likes ketchup so that he can cover up the awfulness that are my eggs.

Herbed-Baked Eggs
(Source: Ina Garten “Barefood in Paris” and the show Barefoot Contessa)

1/4 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
1/4 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan
6 extra-large eggs
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Toasted French bread or brioche, for serving

Preheat the broiler for 5 minutes and place the oven rack 6 inches below the heat.

Combine the garlic, thyme, rosemary, parsley, and Parmesan and set aside. Carefully crack 3 eggs into each of 2 small bowls or teacups (you won’t be baking them in these) without breaking the yolks. (It’s very important to have all the eggs ready to go before you start cooking.)

Place 2 individual gratin dishes on a baking sheet. Place 1 tablespoon of cream and 1/2 tablespoon of butter in each dish and place under the broiler for about 3 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Quickly, but carefully, pour 3 eggs into each gratin dish and sprinkle evenly with the herb mixture, then sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Place back under the broiler for 5 to 6 minutes, until the whites of the eggs are almost cooked. (Rotate the baking sheet once if they aren’t cooking evenly.) The eggs will continue to cook after you take them out of the oven. Allow to set for 60 seconds and serve hot with toasted bread.

I had high hopes for the Herb-Baked Eggs as they are cooked in the oven and not on the stove but I somehow managed to mess these up too. I don’t know if it’s because I have a convection oven and had to choose a temperature to set my broiler or if I’m just really, really bad at making anything egg realted? The yolks cooked through and the whites were still raw in the middle.

Sigh, I will one day make an edible egg.

Our next Barefoot Blogger recipe will be Pasta, Pesto, and Peas.

This week’s TWD recipe is Pecan Honey Sticky Buns, chosen by Madam Chow at Madam Chow’s Kitchen. These Sticky Buns are made with a Brioche base making them even more luxurious! The dough gave my KitchenAid Mixer quite the workout. I was a little nervous making the dough as I’ve not had a lot of experience working with yeast doughs but I was pleasantly surprised at how well the dough came together. I could not wait to bake these, I love cinnamon buns in all their sticky goodness!

Just out of the oven and still happily bubbling away.

My husband loves blueberry muffins and I knew that these would become a fast favorite. I had just bought some delicious blueberry’s that I knew were going to work perfect. The combination of the orange and blueberry flavors and the moisture from the buttermilk made them the perfect morning breakfast.

I used an ice cream scoop and had the perfect amount of batter for a perfect sized muffin.

Orange Berry Muffins

(Source: Dorie Greenspan “Baking: From My Home to Yours” p. 3)

Ingredients:
Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
About 3/4 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
3 Tablespoons honey
1 stick (8 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup blueberries - fresh, preferably, or frozen (not thawed)

Decorating sugar, for topping (optional)

Getting Ready:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups. Alternatively, use a silicone muffin pan, which needs neither greasing nor paper cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

Pour the orange juice into a large glass measuring cup or a bowl and pour in enough buttermilk to make 1 cup. Whisk in the eggs, honey and melted butter.

In a large bowl, rub the sugar and orange zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of orange strong. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don’t worry about being thorough - the batter will be lumpy and bubbly, and that’s just the way it should be. Stir in the blueberries. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for 22 to 25 minutes. If you want to top the muffins with decorating sugar, sprinkle on the sugar after the muffins have baked for 10 minutes. When fully baked, the tops of the muffins will be golden and springy to the touch and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins will come out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.

When I think of Brownies I think of my grandmother. She loved to make Betty Crocker Brownies from a mix and to this day they are still among my favorite brownies. I’m not a huge fan of really fudgy brownies with fudge on top but when I saw the recipes for the Quintuple Chocolate Brownies I knew they would be a hit. We were heading over to a friends house for a 30th birthday/housewarming party and I knew these would be the perfect thing to bring. My husband of course loved them and was upset I didn’t bring any home!

I was quite happy to receive many compliments on how good they were and the special touch that the white chocolate glaze added.

Quintuple Chocolate Brownies

(Source: Dorie Greenspan “Baking: From My Home to Yours” pp. 99-100)

For the Brownies:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 Tablespoons strong coffee
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
6 ounces premium-quality milk chocolate, chopped into chips, or 1 cup store-bought milk chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts

For the Glaze:
6 ounces premium-quality white chocolate, finely chopped, or 1 cup store-bought white chocolate chips
1/3 cup heavy cream

Getting Ready:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with foil, butter the foil and place the pan on a baking sheet.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, and salt.

To Make the Brownies:
Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and add, in the following order, the butter, the two chocolates and the coffee. Keeping the pan over low heat, warm just until the butter and chocolates are melted - you don’t want the ingredients to get so hot they separate, so keep an eye on the bowl. Stir gently, and when the mixture is smooth, set it aside for 5 minutes.

Using a whisk or a rubber spatula, beat the sugar into the chocolate mixture. Don’t beat too vigorously - you don’t want to add air to the batter - and don’t be concerned about any graininess. Next, stir in the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla. You should have a smooth, glossy batter. If you’re not already using a rubber spatula, switch to one now and gently stir in the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated. Finally, stir in the milk chocolate chips and the nuts. Scrape the batter into the pan.

Bake for about 35 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out streaked but not thickly coated. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let the brownies rest undisturbed for at least 30 minutes. (You can wait longer, if you’d like.)

Turn the brownies out onto a rack, peel away the foil and place it under another rack - it will be the drip catcher for the glaze. Invert the brownies onto the rack and let cool completely.

To Make the Glaze:
Put the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring the heavy cream to a boil and pour it over the chocolate. Wait 30 seconds, then, using a rubber spatula, gently stir until the chocolate is melted and the glaze is smooth.

Hold a long metal icing spatula in one hand and the bowl of glaze in the other. Pour the glaze onto the center of the brownies and use the spatula to nudge it evenly over the surface. Don’t worry if it dribbles over the edges, you can trim the sides later (or not). Refrigerate the brownies for about 20 minutes to dry the glaze.

Cut into 16 squares, each roughly 2-1/4 inches on a side.

To say that I love marshmallows is an understatement. I always have a bag in my pantry and love to eat them for a snack - especially when they are stale! My husband and I spend all summer in our backyard in front of our chiminea and of course no fire is complete w/o roasted marshmallows. I was so excited that my first Tuesday’s with Dorie recipe was marshmallows. I had all the ingredients on hand already and they were so easy to make. I think they came out great and can’t wait to make them again trying out the different variations.

I used a 9×13″ pan so they came out a little bit flatter then Dories but still every bit as delicious!

Marshmallows
(Source: Dorie Greenspan “Baking: From My Home to Yours” pages 404-405)

Makes about 1 pound marshmallows

About 1 cup potato starch or cornstarch
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 1/4-ounce packets unflavored gelatin
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
3/4 cup cold water
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar

GETTING READY: Line a rimmed baking sheet — choose one with a rim that is 1 inch high — with parchment paper and dust the paper generously with potato starch or cornstarch. Have a candy thermometer at hand.

Put 1/3 cup of the water, 1 1/4 cups of the sugar and the corn syrup in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Once the sugar is dissolved, continue to cook the syrup — without stirring — until it reaches 265 degrees F on the candy thermometer, about 10 minutes.

While the syrup is cooking, work on the gelatin and egg whites. In a microwave-safe bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the remaining cold water (a scant 7 tablespoons) and let it sit for about 5 minutes, until it is spongy, then heat the gelatin in a microwave oven for 20 to 30 seconds to liquefy it. (Alternatively, you can dissolve the gelatin in a saucepan over low heat.)

Working in the clean, dry bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or in another large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until firm but still glossy — don’t overbeat them and have them go dull.

As soon as the syrup reaches 265 degrees F, remove the pan from the heat and, with the mixer on medium speed, add the syrup, pouring it between the spinning beater(s) and the sides of the bowl. Add the gelatin and continue to beat for another 3 minutes, so that the syrup and the gelatin are fully incorporated. Beat in the vanilla.

Using a large rubber spatula, scrape the meringue mixture onto the baking sheet, laying it down close to a short end of the sheet. Then spread it into the corners and continue to spread it out, taking care to keep the height of the batter at 1 inch; you won’t fill the pan. Lift the excess parchment paper up to meet the edge of the batter, then rest something against the paper so that it stays in place (I use custard cups).

Dust the top of the marshmallows with potato starch or cornstarch and let the marshmallows set in a cool, dry place. They’ll need about 3 hours, but they can rest for 12 hours or more.

Once they are cool and set, cut the marshmallows with a pair of scissors or a long thin knife. Whatever you use, you’ll have to rinse and dry it frequently. Have a big bowl with the remaining potato starch or cornstarch at hand and cut the marshmallows as you’d like — into squares, rectangles or even strips (as they’re cut in France). As each piece is cut, drop it into the bowl. When you’ve got 4 or 5 marshmallows in the bowl, reach in with your fingers and turn the marshmallows to coat them with starch, then, one by one, toss the marshmallows from one hand to the other to shake off the excess starch; transfer them to a serving bowl. Cut and coat the rest of the batch.

SERVING: Put the marshmallows out and let everyone nibble as they wish. Sometimes I fill a tall glass vase with the marshmallows and put it in the center of the table — it never fails to make friends smile. You can also top hot chocolate or cold sundaes with the marshmallows.

STORING: Keep the marshmallows in a cool, dry place; don’t cover them closely. Stored in this way, they will keep for about 1 week — they might develop a little crust on the outside or they might get a little firmer on the inside, but they’ll still be very good.

Playing Around

RASPBERRY MARSHMALLOWS: Fruit purees are excellent for flavoring these candies.

For raspberry marshmallows, you’ll need a generous 1/3 cup of puree; reduce the vanilla extract to 1/4 teaspoon. After the batter is mixed, gently fold in the puree with a rubber spatula. You can use the same measurements and technique for other purees, such as strawberry, mango and passion fruit.

CAPPUCCINO MARSHMALLOWS: Sift 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon together into a small bowl. Stir in 1/3 cup boiling water and mix until smooth. Reduce the vanilla extract to 1/2 teaspoon, and add it to the espresso mix. After you add the sugar syrup and gelatin to the meringue, beat in the espresso mixture and continue.

LIGHT CHOCOLATE MARSHMALLOWS: Melt 3 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate and stir in 2 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder. Reduce the vanilla extract to 1/4 teaspoon, and after the marshmallow batter is mixed, fold in the chocolate mixture with a large rubber spatula.

PUMPKIN SPICE MARSHMALLOWS: Whisk together 1/2 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin puree, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg and a pinch of ground allspice. After the marshmallow batter is mixed, fold in the spiced pumpkin with a large rubber spatula.