Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day...Pitas

Just in case you have been living in a cave the past few months and haven't heard of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, well, here's your wake up call.

Buy the book.

I'm not sure what took me so long to finally make the purchase. To be honest, I am not much of a bread baker, although I love bread. Love it. It's just that we keep our house super cool, and yeasty things just don't work out so well. In the summer, I can bake it, but only if I carry the dough out to my car and let it rise. That gets old.


ABin5 solves that problem. Completely.

After my book arrived, I set about following the instructions to make the basic starter dough. All mixed in the KitchenAid in just a few minutes - no kneading. Then I stuck it in a couple of tubs with a cover and left the house. Yep - out the door. Went to an auction and bought stuff I really didn't need. Forgot about the dough. 5 hours later, I come home to 2 containers of risen and fallen dough, just as described in the book. That was last Thursday. The dough has been sitting in my fridge since then, just waiting for me to yank it out and use it.

I decided that yesterday would be the day. The "let's just see if this really works" day. So I opened one of the containers and tugged out about a pound and a half of dough. First thought? No way. No way is this going to work. It's too wet. It's awfully sticky. I can't make anything out of this mess.

But I waited. I followed the excellent instructions. I floured my hands, the counter, a baking stone. And I shaped that dough into 5 large pitas while a baking stone was in the oven preheating to 500 degress. One by one I put the pitas in the oven, and one by one they came out..perfectly. Puffed and hollow and ready to be filled. Truthfully, I was shocked. It really DID work. And it was easy.

Next up I am going to try making just a boule, to see how that works. Same dough - it's already in the fridge. Oooh - or pizza. Again, same dough. Once I have used up what's waiting, I intend to try my hand at one of the other dough recipes - probably the American White Bread. I like a soft crust, and this one sounds perfect. Although after looking through all of the fabulous pictures on the ABin5 website, I might change my mind to something else. Again.

What I love about the book is that it is so user friendly. Step by step instructions are given for each and every type of loaf or dough. And not only that, but there are great fillings and topping recipes scattered throughout the book to go with what you are making.

Now that I have ABin5, I know we'll be having fresh bread often. And pretzels. Oh, and sweet rolls. Cinnamon Buns, anyone?

If you are one of the underprivledge folks out there who do not own a copy of this book - you are in luck. Today's the day I get to give one away thanks to Zoë François, co-author of the book, (who, sadly, I had been chatting with on Twitter and didn't even realize she was the genius behind this bread making revolution). You can not only check her out at the Artisan Bread site, but at her amazing blog Zoe Bakes.

Want to win? Of course you do. If you won it already, comment here. Tell me your favorite recipe from the book and why. If you win, I have a feeling you know just who you would like to give a copy to. If you don't own the book yet, leave me a comment about how you think it will change the way you work in the kitchen. Something quick is fine. Just tell me something about yourself! I will be announcing the Randomly Chosen winner tomorrow via Twitter, so make sure you are following me. Good luck - and thanks Zoë for your help!

Sous Chef in the House

If you have a kid...stick around.

If your child is anything like my son Seven, the kid is always underfoot when you are in the kitchen. As in always. Dragging out pots, begging for a whisk, a spoon, the measuring cups. Wanting to pour the flour or drink the milk or open the oven door. Seven especially likes to stir ingredients and turn on the microwave. He's gotten really good at that.

Did you know there is a company out there that encourages this behavior? It's called The Playful Chef, and it is incredible. Seven has the set called "The Little Playful Chef Cooking Kit". Although it's target age group is 3 to 5 year olds, Seven loves it, and he is only 20 months. He whisks, he pours, he drags the measuring spoons over to the dogbowls and throws out their food. And the apron? Oh my is it ever cute!! I was surprised at how many things came in the kit - a full set of measuring spoons and cups, a metal bowl, a whisk, a spoon and spatula, scissors (which I put away, even though they are plastic), the apron, laminated recipes (which are great, think molten cakes!), even a little baking pan! Now that he has his own tools and I have mine, we get along great!

As I mentioned, the target age group is 3 to 5, but I can see my nephews really enjoying this set as well. They are 5 and 6, almost 6 and 7. So you could get a lot of use out of a kit like this!

Seven also has the Playful Farmer's Market Set. I love the idea of this one! Last year we took Seven a few times to the local Farmer's Market. He enjoyed the hustle and the crowds, plus eating the fresh cherries and peaches in his stroller! This year, I think he will enjoy it even more now that he can communicate and make his opinion known! I will be sure to take the new Farmers Market set because it includes his own re-useable Veggie Bag. When we get home with our purchases, the kit includes a little scrubber, so I know he will have a good time washing all of the goodies! For older kids, there is a map showing where different fruits and vegetables are grown, as well as info on the different plants, so it would be a great way to get your kids involved in the shopping. Who wouldn't rather have their kids pick an unusual fruit, like a papaya or kiwi over a box of cookies? Giving them a choice and the knowledge to make good, healthy decisions will encourage a healthier lifestyle that will stick with them throughout their lives.

You should really check out the Playful Chef website. They have so many cute, educational products. It is a great way to bond with your kids or grandkids - and who doesn't want that?

Once you have visited their site, come back here and tell me which of these three items you would most like to have:

• Playful Chef French Cooking Set - Learn about French culture, food regions, and geography through 5 fabulous French recipes. Includes Chef's hat, rolling pin, and enamel pan.


• Farmer's Market Set Featuring a reusable cotton shopping bag, this set makes learning about fresh fruits & veggies fun, whether you're at the grocery store or your local farmer's market.


• The Playful Chef Cookbook 33 educational and healthy recipes.

Now tell me why you would choose that item. How are you going to use it? With whom?

One winner will be chosen at Random and announced via Twitter on Friday, May 1st. So FOLLOW me, so that you know you have won. Good luck, and stop back by tomorrow for another Blogiversary Giveaway...I guarantee it is something you will REALLY want!

Tuesdays With Dorie...Chocolate Cream Tart

Kim of Scrumptious Photography chose Dorie's Chocolate Cream Tart for us to make this week. Great choice, but I almost didn't make it. I didn't have time, really, what with just having done Cookie Carnival and the Daring Baker's Challenge. I needed a break. But I hate missing Tuesdays With Dorie. It's the one thing I know that ties me to all of the other great bakers out there on a weekly basis. And, truth be told...even the recipes from Baking:From My Home to Yours that I am not entirely crazy about are still really damn good.

But a Chocolate Cream Tart? Dorie herself compares it to a piece of chocolate pie you would find at a roadside diner. Let me interject here and state the obvious to anyone who made this tart: Are you wondering where on Earth this Roadside Diner is? I mean, for crying out loud - this tart is nothing like a typical diner pie. It is unbelieveable. Truly unbelieveable. I have never had a chocolate pie like this. Ever.

I had a bit of a difficult time with the chocolate tart crust. It was my first time making it, and without a food processor (I know, Susan, pony up and just buy one already) it was a little troublesome for me. It felt too dry and crumbly, so I of course read FAIL. I was wrong. It turned out uber tasty. I pressed it into 4 tartelette pans and baked them off for about 15 minutes, then filled them with the chilled filling. I took a chance and made the filling using half dark chocolate and half Chocolate Orange from Lindt. Oh my, that was a good idea. Just a subtle hint of orange hiding in the silky pudding....yum.

Now, I did not make the whipped topping. I have always loved meringue on top of a pie, and becuase the recipe called for 5 egg yolks, I had 5 eggs whites I needed to do something with. Hence, a big fluffy meringue is perched atop my tarts. I flavored the meringue with a little bit of vanilla as well as a splash of orange extract, which totally changed up the taste of it. So good. I wish all of you could have a bite!

Instead, I am offering you a chance to make it yourself...just comment here and let me know your absolute favorite chocolate to use for baking, and then the chocolate you actually use because your favorite is too expensive. I'll choose a winner (not by random - my favorite answer!) and announce it via Twitter on Friday, May 1st...which means - Follow Me, people. You'll win an assortment of chocolate bars from Lindt, Ghiradelli, Frey and World Market (and who knows what else?) So Comment!

Good Luck!

Check back tomorrow for another Giveaway - my Blogiversary is Friday and I'll be giving away a prize a day until then!

Daring Bakers Challenge...Cheesecake

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge. However, she left us so much room to play around with flavors that I doubt you will find two cheesecakes alike today in our posts! (And let me tell you, there are over a thousand of us Daring Bakers, so that's a lot of cheesecake - not to mention, I imagine there is now a small shortage of cream cheese in your grocery. Can't you just see the panic on the faces of Dairy Farmer's worldwide? Out there sweet talking ol' Bessie, encouraging her to produce more milk, offering her the grass on the other side of the fence if only she'll cooperate?) Poor Farmer...worry not. We'll be moving on to a whole new challenge again next month. Leave little Bessie alone. Just sit back and enjoy the cheesecake.


Because we were provided a recipe that bases itself on the simple ingredients - cream cheese, sugar, eggs, whipping cream - and then told to "get creative" - well, I did just that.



A few days ago Kroger had their Pepperidge Farm Goldfish on sale for a dollar - yep, a dollar - I bought up plenty of them. Not just the typical cheese cracker goldfish, the Graham Cracker goldfish, too. They had them in honey baked, cinnamon, and also in chocolate, so I opted to use the chocolate cookies for my cheesecake crust. I ground a little over a cup and a quarter of them, and added in another half cup of pulverized almonds to finish out my base.



I then proceeded to make my batter, following the given recipe, though I did add an extra half brick of cream cheese as well as use half sour cream and half heavy cream. I chose to add almond extract, vanilla extract and even coconut extract to the filling...and let me tell you, it smelled wonderful even before baking.



Then I dumped all of the filling out of the mixer bowl.



Not onto the floor or anything - whew - but into a separate bowl. I left about a third of it in the mixer bowl, and added 3 ounces of melted Green & Black's Bittersweet Chocolate. Once well mixed I poured the chocolate batter into the crust and began working on my middle layer. For this section, I added about 2/3 cup of sweetened coconut and 2 tablespoons of Nutella and let the KitchenAid mix it thouroughly - then poured it on top of the chocolate layer. Finally, I poured the remaining cheesecake batter over the other layers and allowed the whole cake to bake at 325 for 90 minutes, followed by another hour in a waterbath.

I hate waiting. It's terrible. Sitting there, all alone in my fridge is this perfect looking cheesecake, no cracks, no blemishes - utter perfection. And I am not allowed to touch it. I had to take a nap just to forget about it. But once it was cool and I could unleash it from the springform - oh my, yes. Gorgeous crust. Evenly baked. Tall and creamy and the layers actually looked like layers.
Oh, and the taste? Some kind of yum. I almost named this cheesecake an Almond Joy Cheesecake, but there are already recipes out there for an Almond Joy Cheesecake...and this isn't like them.

So if you are still here, leave me a comment. What should I have named this cheesecake? Yes, there is a prize involved....a cool one at that! How many times have you wished you had a square cheesecake pan? One that allows you to make evenly cut square pieces and not the aggravating wedges involved with round pans? Well, here's your chance to win one! I am supplying one randomly chosen winner with a Square Cheesecake Pan from Fat Daddio's. The size you will recieve is 12 by 12 by 3, so quite a big size!

Just leave your cheesecake name suggestion here for a chance to win...and good luck! Winner will be announced on May 1st via TWITTER - so you may just want to follow me. If the winner doesn't get back to me by the 3rd - I'll choose another winner!

Stop back by tomorrow - May 1st is my Blogiversary and I will be giving away a prize every day this week with all winners announced on Friday....so good luck and keep on coming by!

Toasted Almond Lemon Bars for Cookie Carnival

How many times have you seen the entries for Cookie Carnival? Me? I have seen them too many times to count, and yet I never joined in on the action. I can't say why, exactly, I just didn't. But this round, I jumped in when I saw that my friend Holly the PheMomenon was guest hosting the event. Holly is really amazing, so I just had to join to show my support!

Holly chose a recipe from the Sweet Melissa's Baking Book...Toasted Almond Lemon Bars. I have made regular Lemon Bars several times, and they are always good...but these are in a league all their own. This recipe adds ground almonds to the crust, and a bit of almond extract to the filling, which resulted in out of this world Lemon Bars. Typically, I am not a crust lover. Pie Crusts, Cheesecake Crust, edges in general - you can keep 'em...just give me the filling. But this crust? Well, I could eat it by itself. So, so tasty. The filling is just the right mix of tanginess and sweet, but has that undercurrent of the almond extract which really kicks it up a notch.

I guess what I am trying to say is that I totally enjoyed my first Cookie Carnival experience, and I look forward to playing along again in the future! Thanks Holly for your fantastic pick, and a big thanks to Kate for setting up such a fun event!

Toasted Almond Lemon Bars
From The Sweet Melissa Baking Book by Melissa Murphy
Makes 1 dozen bars

"Everyone loves lemon bars. I make mine extra special by adding toasted almonds to the shortbread crust."

For the Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup sliced blanched almonds, lightly toasted

1/2 teaspoon salt

20 Tablespoons (2 1/2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

For the Lemon Filling:

4 large eggs

1 3/4 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 7 lemons)

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar for sprinkling

To Toast the Almonds:Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the almonds in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly golden and you can smell them. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Before You Start:Position a rack in the center of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13 - inch pan with nonstick vegetable cooking spray. Make a parchment "sling" by cutting two pieces of parchment paper, measuring 16 1/2 inches long by 12 inches wide (you can also use aluminum foil). Place one piece across the length, and the other across the width of the pan, with the excess hanging over the edges. You will use this sling later to lift the finished bar from the pan. Spray the sling with the cooking spray.

To Make the Crust:

1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse the flour, sugar, almonds, and salt to combine. Add the cold butter in pieces and pulse until the dough comes together in a ball.
2. Turn the dough out into the prepared pan and press evenly into the bottom and 1 1/4 inches up the sides. (This crust, once it is baked, needs to act as a liner in which to pour the liquidy lemon filling. So be sure to do a good job of pressing the dough up the sides - no cracks!). Cover the dough with a piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil, and fill with pie weights ( you can use dried beans or uncooked rice as pie weights as well). Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until lightly golden. Carefully remove the pie weights and the liner and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, or until the whole crust is golden. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

To Make the Filling:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until smooth. Add the almond extract and flour, and whisk until smooth. Add the lemon juice, and whisk to combine.

To Complete the Bars:

1. Pour the lemon filling into the prepared crust. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the filling is firm and lightly golden. Remove to a wire rack to cool.
2. When cool use the parchment sling to lift the entire bar from the pan and onto a cutting board. Slice into twelve 3 x 3 1/2 - inch bars. Remove from the pan and, using a small sifter, dust with the confectioners' sugar.

The bars keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. For longer storage, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 5 days, or freeze well wrapped in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil for up to 3 weeks. Do not unwrap before defrosting. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

When Dreamsicles Grow Up...

...they become Dreamsicle Macarons.

Yep, you heard me right - Macarons.

Because I had a bunch of left over eggwhites from last week's TWD bread pudding, I figured I'd give the ol' French Macaron another go. Last year, I tried making them for the first time, and after a few batches, I finally figured out the best technique for making them in MY house. It took a bit of trial and error, but now it seems I've got the process down pat. Maybe you have yet to give macarons a try....and just maybe these tips will help you out and give you the confidence to make them yourself. I hope so. Because they are so good.

In the past, I have always made them using chocolate in both the cookie and the filling. But I decided to branch out this time and try something new. Thanks to Twitterer Caitlin, the Engineer Baker, I was pushed into trying a fruity flavor. It just so happened that I had an orange, and orange extract...so orange it was. And thanks to the tweeting of Two Peas & Their Pod and some back up encouragement from Good Life Eats - a creamy vanilla filling emerged, and voila - the Dreamsicle Macaron was born!

What we have here is a shell of Orange and Almond, filled with a dollop of White Chocolate, Cream Cheese, and Orange and Vanilla Extracts. It's so simple and yet, so...perfect?

These macarons are unbelievable, folks. The orange is just the right amount of citrus, and the cream cheese and white chocolate meld together in perfect harmony to round out the filling. I hope you'll give them a go and then let me know what you think!

Dreamsicle Macarons

2 ounces almonds

1 cup Confectioners Sugar

1 Tbsp. Freshly Grated Orange Zest

2 Egg Whites, Room Temperature

5 Tbsp. Superfine Sugar

1/2 tsp. Orange Extract

1 Tbsp. Meringue Powder

Orange Food Coloring Gel

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat and have a pastry bag with a plain tip (about 1/4 to 1/2-inch) ready. Grind together the powdered sugar, Orange zest, and almonds in a food processor until finely chopped. In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until they begin to rise and hold their shape. While whipping, add in the granulated sugar a little at a time, until very stiff and firm, about 2 minutes. If you can turn the bowl upside down and the meringue stays put, you've got it. Carefully fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula. Before dumping in the second half of the dry ingredients, add your food coloring, meringue powder and extract. Stir quickly and gently, then add remaining dry ingredients. When the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag (standing the bag in a tall glass helps if you're alone). Pipe the batter on the prepared baking sheets in 1-inch circles (about 1 tablespoon each of batter), evenly spaced one-inch or more (3 cm) apart. Rap the baking sheet a few times on the counter to flatten the macarons. Place an empty baking sheet on the lower oven rack, then place the macarons in the upper third of the oven. Bake them for 14-16 minutes. Let cool completely then remove from baking sheet. Macarons that are not being baked (waiting their turn on the counter) are fine, and can be left out unbaked for a half hour or more.

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Filling

3/4 cup White Chocolate Chips

2 ounces softened cream cheese

1/4 tsp. Orange Extract

1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Heat White Chocolate Chips in microwave for 30 second intervals until smooth. Stir and add in softened cream cheese. Stir until smooth, then add in extracts. If the mixture seizes, replace it in the microwave for 15 seconds and stir again. Spread or pipe onto cooled macarons. (If filling is too loose, place in refrigerator for a few minutes until it is a spreadbale consistancy.)

Store filled macarons in refrigerator in an airtight container.

Hope you like them!!

Friday Finds...Sarah's Key

The other day, Seven & I were browsing the books in Target when I stumbled across Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay. I choose books first by the cover. I know you aren't suppose to do that, but seriously - for me, I have to be intrigued by the looks of it. Then comes the blurb. If I can't get through the synopsis that's supposed to get me to buy the book...forget it. Both the cover and the blurb reeled me in on this one. I knew I had a Barnes & Noble Gift Certificate, though, so I bought it online and it arrived a couple of days ago.

First off - Gorgeous writing. But the kicker is that this book opened my eyes to a time period that is filled with the most horrific acts one human can do to another human. I read Shindler's List when it came out...but I was a different person then. I wasn't a mother. Reading about the Holocaust now is a completely different experience.

This book chronicles the life of a young Jewish girl living in Paris in 1942, and begins on the day the French police come to arrest her family in the middle of the night. Under the impression that the Nazis only wanted men and that they would only be gone for a few hours, Sarah allows her 4 year old brother to lock himself in their secret hiding place, vowing that she will take the key and come back to get him the next day. He was left with his teddy bear, water, and a flashlight.

Sarah and her parents did not return.

Sixty years later, Julia, a writer in Paris is assigned to research that particular night in July of 1942, a night known in history as the Vel' de Hiv'. It is through her investigations that she finds a connection with Sarah, and stops at nothing to find out what happened to this little girl and her family. Chapter by excrutiating chapter, we are shown the tragedy as it unfolds, both from Sarah's experience as well as Julia's. There are scenes in this book that I will never forget. The utter disloyalty of mankind seems unimaginable, especially in a society that was so recent. Sixty years ago, my grandparents were young adults - I wonder how much of this they were made aware of? It's so hard to believe that I know people who were alive during this. How did the world deal with it? Was it front page news everyday? I should have paid better attention in World History, I guess. Or maybe it is a time in history our educators would just as soon forget.

It certainly makes me want to talk to my Grandfather about it. He was 13. He joined the Army a short 4 years later, even though he was too young to do so. I wonder - were Americans aware of the horrors taking place in Europe? Yes, I know they knew of Hitler, but what of the children? The families being murdered because of their religon or skin color or last name?

For anyone who would like a history lesson that is told in a fictional way so as to make the characters touchable, this is a great book. I honestly could not put it down. Grab a tissue or two, though. You'll need it.




As always, I am still on the lookout for more great reads in my quest to read 52 Books in 52 Weeks. To those of you who have left recommendations via the Comments or Tweeted me, thank you! I hope to get to most of them - so long as my library has them!

The Change That Adds Up...Week 8

Who doesn't like pizza? I mean, what's not to like? Bread, tomotoes, cheese. Anything that starts with those three things can only get better.

So last week I sent out a tweet. Who has an easy, failproof pizza crust recipe? I got a couple of great responses. One from Two Peas & Their Pod, and one from Pinkstripes. Ultimately though, I went with Pinkstripes suggestion of Mark Bittman's Basic Pizza Dough from his book How to Cook Everything. You can find the recipe for it here.

I made it with no problem whatsoever. It rose well, it rolled out perfectly, and baked to a nice crispy and yet soft crust. I was super pleased.

It would be wrong of me to let on like the whole pizza making process went without incident. it didn't. Because of all the food blog reading I have been doing, I learned that to achieve the perfect pizza crust, in essence, making it a pizza similar to one fired in a pizza oven, you must have your oven as hot as it will get. In my house, that's 550. That's haaawwwt.
And when I stuck my two baking stones in the oven and allowed them to heat up, well, one of them had some kind of funk on it that smoked and puffed sending billows of hot ashy smelliness all through my kitchen and into my smoke detector...every single time I opened the door. That resulted in me jumping up and down a with a dish towel, fanning the detector, all to the delight of my young sous chef who wanted to jump and wave a towel around too. And here I thought the alarm would scare him. Crazy child.

The hot stones worked like a charm, though. 4 minutes on the bottom rack, followed by 3 to 4 minutes on the highest rack resulted in a nice, thin and bubbly crust, and nicely browned cheese on top. It was excellent! We topped the three pizzas (the recipe, as written , made 2 medium pizzas and one large) with grated mozzarella, tomatoes, potatoes and ground beef. We love potatoes on pizza, and if you haven't had it, you need to give it a try.

So, let's do a cost analysis:

1 Large Pizza - $16.00

2 Medium Pizzas - $19.00 (assuming you get some kind of meal deal)

Tax & Tip - $15.00

Total - $50.00

Yes, I know that's a high total, but that's the amount of pizza we made, and were able to eat it for dinner, the next day for lunch, and again for another dinner. So we stretched it out. This amount of pizza would easily feed 6. Easily. Our cost?

Dough for Crusts - $1.50

Tomatoes - $1.20

Cheese - $2.50

1 pound Beef - $1.80

Seasonings - $.50

Potatoes - $.50

Total - $8.00

Total savings - $42.00. Plus, not only does it save money, the results are amazingly better, and it's more fun to be able to make your own and add the toppings everyone likes.

I hope everyone is gearing up for a great weekend, it looks like there is some great weather heading our way! Have fun and maybe give this pizza a go...you won't regret it!

Wordless Wednesday...Silpat

I have been forthcoming about my love for my Silpat - but apparantly the apple didn't fall too far from the tree. of course, I don't love it quite like Seven does.

(He'll drag it out and do this - lay his head on it - so often that I have had to hide it now. It's crazy, I tell you!)

Tuesdays With Dorie...4 Star Chocolate Bread Pudding

This week Lauren of Upper East Side Chronicle chose Dorie's Four Star Chocolate Bread Pudding for us to make. Up until I made this, I had never eaten chocolate bread pudding. In fact, I had only ever eaten regular old bread pudding once - and only once.

Bread. Pudding.
Pudding. Bread.
Each good on their own, but together?

It's like Ranch Dressing and Ice cream. Both fanstastic, but not something you want to combine. Or at least that's my theory.

Not that this wasn't a great dessert...in fact, we ate every bit over 3 days...but I can't say I looove it. Something about the consistancy. I tried eating it hot. And room temp. And even cold, straight out of the fridge. But invariably, after only one bite, each time I would stick it in the microwave, pour chocolate syrup over it and then pile some Snickers icecream on top for good measure. The nuts in the icecream gave me something to chew on, and that perked it up for me alot.

If you're a regular reader around here, I bet you already guessed that I didn't put raisins in mine. As if.
I did add some black raspberries though, and they were a nice touch. If there is ever a next time, I will also add chocolate chips and maybe some walnuts to it - just to give it a little bite. Oh! I almost forgot...I used doughnuts for the bread. It took 7. I took that as a good sign.

I hope you will go check out everyone else's creations...we gather here. We are all bake-o-matic geniuses. I know you wish you could join us, but we are an elite group of superiorness, and the waitlist is 42 miles long. Plus, we will need to have your resume and a recent W2 and background check. And even then, you will still have to wait until our fearless leaders re-open the enlistment for a few minutes. Better go ahead and add us to your blogroll now, just so you don't miss your opportunity! And be prepared - you'll need our owner's manual! Get it here...



Until next time, have a great week!

Heart Warming Peanut Butter Cookies

I think I have mentioned before that I am not a huge fan of peanut butter - not since I was pregnant, anyway. I will still eat it, it's just not something I really crave. But my Dad loves it, and while we were in Amish Country we used their fun little Peanut Butter Making Contraption (PBMC) to make our own peanut butter out of nothing by smooshed up nuts. We got some regular, and some that had honey added. Dad thought the PBMC was about as cool as it gets, and he loved the Honey Peanut Butter, so I bough some of it, too, just to make him some peanut butter cookies out of it.

I don't really have a Go To recipe, but I found one in my Better Homes & Gardens New Baking Book that looked simple and tasty. I just messed around with it until it was what I wanted...which ended up a far cry from the recipe in the book.

Man were they ever tasty! Soft and chewy, full of peanutty goodness. I can't say I have ever had a better peanut butter cookie. It almost turned me back into a peanut butter lover!

DoughMessTic Peanut Butter Cookies

makes 36

5 Tbsp Butter, room temperature

1/2 cup Honey Nut Peanut Butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar (I used vanilla sugar)

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp baking powder

Dash of Ginger

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/3 cup AP Flour

Granulated Sugar for dipping

Beat Butter and Peanut Butter until combined. Add sugars, ginger, baking powder and baking soda and beat until combined, scraping sides as needed. Add vanilla, egg and yolk and beat until well combined. Mix in flour. If needed, chill dough, otherwise proceed to next step.

Roll dough into 1 inch balls and coat with granulated sugar. Using a fork, press balls onto ungreased baking sheet, making a criss-cross pattern. Space dough around 2 inches apart. Bake at 350 for 7 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. (**I used a Silpat and had no sticking whatsoever...nor did I have any uneven baking. Get a Silpat. Get one now. You need one. Trust me.)

Have a favorite peanut butter cookie recipe you'd like to share? Has anyone ever subbed in Nutella for PB in a cookie recipe? What were the results?

Oh - just in case you are here for the winners of the Romano's Macaroni Grill Kit Giveaway - here you go! Winners, please email me your name and address ASAP so that I can pass it along and get you your prizes!

mgdsue, cassi & meghan - get me your coordinates! Congratulations!!

Homemade Pasta...Making a Day of It

I would venture to guess that most of us tend to use dried boxed pasta versus making fresh noodles anytime we have a hankering for spaghetti. That's not to say that we don't ever make our own fresh pasta, but it really is a fairly time consuming process. Fresh pasta just seems to taste better though...maybe because you know how much time and effort you put into it, or maybe because you know exactly what ingredients you put into it, or maybe it just really is better. You know that's it.

My favorite homemade pasta to make is ravioli, and with my Marcato Atlas Pasta Roller, it's a breeze. Jon and I made a huge batch of mozzarella stuffed ravioli and froze it into several "meal sized" bags - which translates into us being able to pull a bag out of the deep freezer and be eating homemade ravioli on a moments notice. I even find that it is less expensive to make our own ravioli than it is to buy it - which is unusual when it comes to homemade pasta. I would be hard pressed to make the amount of spaghetti noodles I just bought and come out ahead. (I love a sale. I just found Ronzoni noodles on sale for a dollar a box, and had coupons for another 50 cents off each box. I scored. Food Lion didn't even see me coming.)

But ravioli - well, it's a little more expensive at the store, so making your own not only costs a little less, but it tastes a heck of a lot better. Plus, you can stuff it full of whatever you like - a big bonus in my book as I don't really like cheap ricotta cheese. try fresh mozzarella, beef, ricotta & spinach, grilled chicken - the possibilities are endless.

So, we had a big pasta day here at Casa Whetzel. Ravioli, linguine, spaghetti, lasagna - we made a ton. All using the same basic pasta recipe.

I hope seeing the fruits of our labor (around 2 hours, I would guess, start to finish, including weighing out the pasta and adding it to freezer bags or other containers.) will encouurage you to give making your own pasta a try. It will certainly help if you have a stand mixer with a dough hook (I use a Professional Series Kitchen Aid that I love) and also a Pasta Machine (again, I have the Marcato Atlas, and now that I own it I will never part with it) but you can easily make it without them. Just be prepared to knead, knead, knead and roll, roll, roll. Pasta is a workout!

Basic Pasta Dough

4 cups All Purpose or Semolina Flour

2 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

6 large eggs

2/3 tsp Salt

Add flour and salt to mixer, whisk quickly to combine. Add eggs and oil to center of flour and mix with dough hook until well combined. You may need to add a little water or flour to get a nice workable consistancy, so have some readily available as you work.

(As a sidenote - we add dried oregano, basil, and garlic to our dough - feel free to add anything you like!)

I hope you pasta lovers will share your favorite from scratch recipes with me here - I am always eager to hear great takes on simple recipes - especially for things as scrumptious as pasta!

Above are a few of the things I used to make our pasta day a success - you should check them out! All of the above are now a part of Amazon's 4-for-3 Promotion, meaning you buy 4 but only pay for 3. So, great sale! Take a gander and see what they have that you can't live without!