Spatulas, Corkscrews & Suitcases

GRILLED PIZZA & Chianti Classico

                                                                             
Pizza On The Grill by Elizabeth Karmel and Bob Blumer
This is one amazing book! So glossy and delicious! I LOVE this book, but then again, I love every cookbook I do a review on! Even though I'm not going to do a book review just yet, I did want to show you the pizza we've been experimenting with lately. I made this pizza a couple of times now and each time it comes out more delicious and totally addictive! (I'm not making their pizza right now. I'm kind of winging it, and with good results I might add!)

Pizza on the Grill is so easy it's almost effortless. I don't know why I didn't think of this before! It seemed like second nature to me, just another way of simplifying dinnertime. This may be the only way I ever make pizza again! In fact, there is no reason to ever heat up your kitchen again, unless of course it's the dead of winter and you want that extra coziness. It's also going to be the way I entertain friends from now on.  Be warned! If I invite you down to the boat, I'll probably be serving Pizza on the Grill for dinner!

Sauce and Dough and Veggies Oh My!
As most of you know, we live on our sailboat. We don't have a backyard with a deck and a grill like most of you do. It takes a little more planning on my part to make this thing happen. There are gas grills at the top of the dock, which means I have to have EVERYTHING ready before we head out. Other than the dough, the pizza has to be prepared at the grill, so I had to bring everything with me in little bowls, bags and containers. A knife, large fork, a pair of tongs, cutting board, spatula, spoons for the sauce and veggies, paper towel, wine, corkscrew and glasses. Oh, and the camera too! Dough, sauce, cheeses, toppings, salt, pesto, pepperoni, etc. All this had to be mobile. I'm  real good about organizing so we don't have to make a second trip back down to the boat. 

I didn't make my own dough. I cheated and bought an excellent dough from the gourmet market in town. One whole wheat and one white made 2 large pizzas. My Microplane grater made mounds and mounds of fluffy grated parmesan cheese! I also had a ball of fresh mozzarella to go with it. A jar of good sauce, sauteed onions, red pepper and mushrooms. Sliced green olives stuffed with feta cheese gave the pizza just the right amount of saltiness. A sprinkle of Mrs. Dash and salt and the most wonderful chopped fresh basil leaves were the finishing touches.
                                                                          

2005 Banfi Chianti Classico
The first night, I paired this pizza with a nice bottle of 2005 Banfi Chianti Classico red wine. Oh man, was that an excellent wine! Especially with pizza! (The second time around, we had a 2004 Mad Fish Shiraz. But that's another story!) It was a rich, ruby red wine made from Sangiovese grapes. We opened the bottle as soon as the first pizza hit the grill. Swirl the glass, sniff, stuck our noses right in and breathed in the aromas of cherries and plums. Then we took a sip and swished it around in our mouths, pulling in some air across our tongues. Swallow. Boy, did that go down good. Take in some more air. WOW! OK, now I want a full glass! The first pizza was done and we had our second glass with it. Something changed when we took our first bite of that awesome pizza. The wine was different, more balanced and it complemented the pizza. We've had Chianti Classico before with pasta, but never with pizza. Somehow, it never occurred to me to have wine with pizza. Most people think of pairing their pizza with beer, which is fine. And even though I like a dark hearty beer, the combination of wine and pizza was out of this world!
                                                                              

Pizzeria Marina!
Our dock mates had to pass right by our little outdoor Italian pizzeria as they wandered back to their boats. There were lots of oohs and ahhs, and what is that? You could smell those pizzas grilling all the way across the marina. I think we tempted more than a few people that night! Most of them had never heard of Pizza on the Grill before. We raised some eyebrows and I think we'll see more grills fired up as the summer wears on!

Cheers!
As we stood at the head of the dock, glass in one hand and pizza in the other, we watched the sun start to slip away. As it dipped ever so slowly, it reflected across the water and hit the masts of all the sailboats in the marina. It was a magical sight to behold!
                                           

The book Pizza On The Grill has 100 different recipes to choose from. After I read the general How-To's, I came up with my own version. (NOTE: This is not their recipe, nor their directions. Just my experience.)

GRILLED PIZZA

• 1 ball of good pizza dough, white or wheat
• 1-2 Tbsp cornmeal
• 2 Tbsp Olive oil, virgin or flavored
• 1 cup pizza or spaghetti sauce, homemade or bottled
• Assorted toppings; pepperoni, sliced tomatoes, olives, roasted red peppers, marinated artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, sauteed onions, peppers, mushrooms, etc, etc, etc.
• 1 to 1 1/2 cup shredded or sliced cheese, mozzarella, parmesan, etc
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped or whole
• 1/2 tsp Mrs Dash, optional
• Sprinkle of salt, optional

                                                                       

                          The white dough BEFORE!

Directions:

• Slice and sautee any veggies you need before you start working with your dough.
• Preheat your gas grill on high for 10-15 minutes.
• After preheating, lower the temperature.
• Sprinkle a cutting board or counter with cornmeal or flour.
• Work the dough by stretching, rolling or pressing it without tearing, into the size needed to fit your grill, or whatever size you want.
• Using a pastry brush or your hands, spread olive oil over the dough. Flip over and brush the other side.
• Bring everything to the grill.
• Pour yourself a glass of Chianti.
• I like to put my dough on a big piece of foil. That way, it stays in one piece when you transfer it to the grill.
• With one quick motion, flip the dough upside down on the grill and peel off the foil.
• Close the lid and grill for approximately 3-4 minutes. Make sure it doesn't burn. You want those nice grill marks on the bottom!
• Transfer to cutting board, grilled side up and add sauce, toppings, cheese and sprinkle with seasonings.
• Turn one of the two grill burners off. Place pizza back on the grill, cover and grill for another 10 minutes or so, until the cheese is melted and bubbly and bottom is browned and cooked through. If the bottom starts to cook faster than you expected, turn the pizza around or move it to another spot.
• Remove to cutting board, slice and serve with a second glass of Chianti!
• Serves the two of us, but it should serve four!

                                                                        
                         The whole wheat dough AFTER! 

SWEETY PIES COOKBOOK ~ WE HAVE A WINNER!

                                  

Sweety Pies Cookbook
A few weeks ago I announced a Cookbook Give-Away for the gorgeous Sweety Pies cookbook by Patty Pinner. Thanks to all who entered! And a great BIG thanks to The Taunton Press, whose generosity in offering this book made it all possible! For all who didn't win, there's nothing stopping you from ordering this wonderful book from Taunton Press on your own. You owe it to yourself to make Sweety Pies part of your cookbook collection. Just do it! You won't be sorry! Read my review. Check out the Peanut Butter Cream Pie Recipe.

Mary Anderson
Congratulations to Mary Anderson of It's All About The Journey ~ Ramblings of a Stamper & Paper Crafter! Mary was number 29 picked by the Random Integer Generator at 11:15am my time ~ EST ~ on May 28th. Mary has a great craft blog. Obviously, by the name, you can tell she's into Stamping and Paper Crafts! She's also into baking as are most crafters! Funny how that is. Creative and crafty artists often have more than one outlet for their many ideas. We have to let all that energy loose on something! Might as well be baking and crafts! She's definitely making this world a more beautiful place to live! Go check out her blog and see for yourself. And while you're at it, give her a hearty congratulations too!
(Mary, I'll be sending you an email and awaiting your address so I can send out Sweety Pies ASAP!)

So many names, so little chocolate!
Because there were soooo many awesome names, I couldn't pick just one. I need more time to let the names roll off my tongue. But there are some that really caught my fancy. What is a "fancy" anyway? It's like making "do". What is that, and is there a recipe for it somewhere, because I've never come across it!

Here are the names, in no particular order:

• Desserted Island
• Red Hot Kitchen
• F-R-E-E Cookbook!
• Brownie Points
• Sugar Rush
• Boatin' & Bakin'
• Donna Does Dessert
• Last Baker Standing
• Donna's Next Top Chef
• Flour Power
• Baking For Bucks

 
Stay tuned for my next Cookbook Give-Away coming soon to a blog near you! (I guess I'll be changing that name, won't I?)

Here's Mary's entry and her timestamp:

"Oy! I am so bad at naming things. Hmmm, let's see.
Donna's Just Desserts
Just Dessert's Blog Give-a-way
Blog dessert's (instead of Blog candy) :)
I know they are all awful but that is all I have. I hope someone comes up with something that you really like.
Mary
Posted by: Mary C. Anderson | May 21, 2008 at 07:33 PM"

Here's the magic number and timestamp:
Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:
29

Timestamp: 2008-05-28 15:15:22 UTC
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Congratulations again Mary!  

TEA PARTIES and April Cornell

                                                        
Tea Parties!
I'm so glad you could join me! We're having a tea party! My kids could tell you stories about tea parties. How Mom made them sit there and sip tea and eat the little dainties that I slaved over. I'd make the traditional cucumber sandwiches, mini quiche, baby cupcakes, filled mini cream puffs and eclairs and on and on it went. I didn't stop with our kids either. I had the ladies over for tea parties too. After my daughters got married, I made their husbands sit at the tea table with John and my two grown 6'2" sons as I pored tea! It was quite a sight seeing these great big guys with their big chunky fingers trying to daintily sip their tea for their Mom! I know the truth, they came for the food! But hey, I got my tea party and that's all that mattered!

When our daughter and son-in-law got ready to go to Ecuador on a missions trip, we sponsored a huge tea party for the town as a fundraiser for them! We sold tickets, made all the lovely pastries, had wonderful music with a harpist and singers and pulled out all my china. And I do mean ALL my china! We had volunteer servers pour tea in my dainty little teapots. Everyone had a blast and they raised plenty of money too! It was so good, that the Inn down the street hired me right there and then to do all their catering for the next 4 years. We would have stayed there forever, but we sailed away!
                                                                                 
                                                                          
Too Many Teapots!
In my former life as baker and caterer, before the days of living on a boat for 4 years, I had quite the collection! They multiplied and were everywhere! Before we moved on board the sailboat, I counted 122 cups and saucers and 55 teapots! (Yes, I did! And I sure hope John isn't reading this!) Even though I sold a lot of them, I couldn't bear the thought of parting with my favorites. April Cornell was one of my favorites and I still have plenty of tea sets left. I also have whimsical Mary Engelbreit sets, elegant Spode, Royal Albert and many more!

Reality has set in, and after 4 years of paying for storage, I realize this is ridiculous and I have to sell off my lovelies. Since I don't see us moving into a house any time soon and we can't have china on the boat, I am forced to make a decision. I shudder to think of them going the eBay way, so I figured I'd take a different approach and sell them here. I want them all to go to good homes, sort of like kittens or a beloved puppy!
I didn't want this to sound like a tacky sales pitch. But, I couldn't think of a better bunch of loyal readers to offer them to first!

Soooo, for the next few months, I'd like to display my desserts on these plates and set a price. I'll list the price and if someone wants it for that price, the set is yours! The price plus shipping can be put into my Paypal account and I'll ship it out with insurance within that week. I'll ship to anywhere in the USA only. How's that sound? Anybody game? Any comments?

Here's the first set: 1999 April Cornell Yellow with Dragonflies

• 1 Teapot
• 2 Cups/mugs
• 2 Plates
• 1 Covered sugar bowl
• 1 Creamer

              

• Excellent condition. No cracks, etc.
• I'm setting the price at $50.00 which is far less than I paid a la carte back in 1999.
• Shipping is $10.00 USA only, insurance included.
• This isn't a big flea market auction. Think of it as my virtual yard sale.
• So, what do you think? Could you help give a pretty tea set a good home?

                                                                                

QUINTUPLE CHOCOLATE BROWNIES ~ Tuesdays With Dorie

                                                 
                                                 
Tuesdays With Dorie
This week's baking project was picked by Madam Chow’s Kitchen. However, there was no way I was going to attempt Pecan Honey Sticky Buns without a big honkin' KitchenAid stand mixer. I borrowed one the last time I made the Brioche Raisin Snails and the mixer tried to walk across the counter! I wasn't going to put my brandy new and shiny Cuisinart hand-held mixer through all that punishment. Neither did I want to put my arms through all pain of  standing there HOLDING the hand mixer while the bowl danced across the counter. I loved the Brioche dough, but not that much! Quite honestly, it was too much trouble. Check out the Tuesdays With Dorie blogroll for more Pecan Honey Sticky Buns and the recipe. I'm sure they were great!
                                                                                 

Quintuple Chocolate Brownies
So, the all wise and knowing TWD organizers, saw that not all of us are lucky enough to have these monster mixers in our kitchens...or galley's...and gave us a choice to make either the Pecan Honey Sticky Buns or a previously chosen goody. Because I came a little late in the game by a few weeks, there were some desserts I hadn't tried yet. The Quintuple Chocolate Brownies caught my attention as does everything chocolate! After all, it is one of the four basic food groups, right? By the way, this recipe is from Dorie Greenspan's book, Baking: From My Home To Yours

If you're looking for something sinfully rich and chocolatey, these babies are for you! I doubled the recipe and used a 9 x 13 inch pan because we had a few parties to go to this weekend. The small batch would have been enough! The brownies were SO rich and chocolatey, I had to cut them in very small portions. And even at that size, they were still too big!
                                                                          
One pot pretty much did it all!

The Quintuple Chocolate Brownies are named quintuple because, you guessed it, there are 5 kinds of chocolate in them! I'll bet you didn't know there were that many chocolates? They were easy brownies to put together too. NO MIXER this time! I dirtied one bowl, a saucepan and a baking pan. Actually, I didn't need to dirty the pan, because Dorie has us lining the baking pan with buttered aluminum foil.

Issues
I had one issue with this recipe. As with almost all Dorie's recipes that I've tried thus far, there is never enough frosting, never enough caramel, never enough glaze. I learned a while back to always double the topping! Don't get me wrong. I love Dorie's book and her amazing recipes. I just think the recipe we use and the photo in the book are two different recipes. I could be wrong, maybe it's me. But when I see a glossy photo in a cookbook, I expect it to have enough topping to do what the photo shows. Photo shoots aside, if you do make these awesome brownies - and you should - double the while chocolate glaze! And cut down on the cream in the glaze or it will be just that - glaze. You won't get that nice thick layer of white chocolate on the top like the glossy picture in Dorie's book. You'll have a runny mess of sticky glaze dripping down the sides of your brownies! And I know you won't be happy with that!
                                                                       
                                                 
Cups and Saucers and Teapots Oh My!
I'm sure by now, you've noticed that I've displayed my luscious brownies on some gorgeous plates. I made them all pretty looking and tempting and paired them with matching cups, teapot, sugar and creamer. I don't want to take up too much TWD space, but I have a great idea and hope you'll follow me by clicking here so I can explain what I'm trying to do with this April Cornell Tea set!
                                                                                
Quintuple Chocolate Brownies Recipe

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, (8 Tablespoons) 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 extract
• 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 (My Notes: I used 1/4 cup of cream)
                                                                                  

Directions:

• 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.
• 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 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. Scrap 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-the foil becomes the drip catcher for the glaze. Invert the brownies onto the rack and let cool completely.
• (My Notes: Why would you need a drip catcher if the white chocolate was supposed to be this nice thick layer on top like the photo shows?)

                                                       
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 longer metal icing spatula in one hand and the bowl of glaze in the other. Pour the glaze onto the center of the brownies and using 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.
• (My Notes: These are WAY too big! Half the size is just fine.)

                                                                                   

Serving
Serve straight up-whipped cream or ice cream is unnecessary with these. Well, a little ice cream is nice-why not?
(My Notes: You'll need at least one glass of milk per brownie!)

Storing
The brownies can be put back into their baking pan, wrapping (without touching the glaze) and kept at room temperature for about 3 days or frozen-glaze and all-for up to 2 months. (My Notes: DON'T refrigerate them after the initial glaze-drying step. These have so much chocolate in them, that they will be hard as boulders if you refrigerate them!)

There you go! Another new recipe for your collection! Try this one at least once, just so you'll know pure chocoholic addition first hand!
                                                                                

INTRODUCING...STARTCOOKING.com!

                                          
StartCooking.com and Me
Did you miss me? I've been working on a new project lately that has consumed my time - in a good way! I was looking through my Suite101 stats a while ago, and came across a number of hits from StartCooking.com. I was curious - OK, nosy - and clicked to see who was checking me out. I was checking out, them checking me out! How silly, or was it? All right, I've talked in riddles long enough. I may as well tell you that I took another writing gig! Yes, I did!
                                                                              
Remember the Honey Raisin & Nut Granola recipe I posted a while back with Erika from Stampin' Mama? Well, they liked it too and linked to my Suite101 article. I emailed back and left a polite thank you and howdy doo, and after a number of emails back and forth, a new relationship was formed between StartCooking and Me!

My first article - 10 Meal Salads - went live on Thursday and even though I've seen my name in print before, this is even sweeter. I really don't know why, it just is.

StartCooking.com with Kathy Maister
StartCooking.com was launched in 2006 by Kathy Maister, a former Home Ec teacher from Boston. She built this site for busy people that never got around to learn how to cook. She has mastered the art of teaching basic skills through step-by-step tutorials and cooking videos. There's a section just for recipes, one for videos and a blog that is updated regularly. That's the section I'll be writing for! When I checked them out, I was so impressed with all the How-To's of things some of us take for granted, but other cooks never knew. Like how to make an omelet, how to prepare garlic and how to make a good hamburger.

The neat thing about StartCooking.com is the delivery system. I was able to download all sorts of short cooking videos right into my iTunes! That's right! Go to iTunes and you'll find Kathy's podcasts! You can even download them into your iPod or mobile phone so you'll have the recipe with you when you get to the supermarket!
                                                                             

Poke around the site, see what it's all about. Check out my new article, 10 Meal Salads. Obviously, it has 10 different salad ideas, including my Red Bliss Potato Salad in the article with links to exciting blogs, recipes and Kathy's videos. And, there's more to come as I just submitted the second one yesterday and that article will be posted sometime next week.

Ever the Home Ec teacher, About startcooking.com say's "Today she’s (Kathy) busy writing the startcooking.com Blog, making the startcooking.com Video Casts, and otherwise living happily ever after teaching cooking basics to her heart’s content."

The left hand sidebar of my blog will have a new category. It's been there for a while, but with just the StartCooking name. Now, it will have my articles listed below as they become available! Cool, huh?
                                                                                 
You'll love it and your friends will love it! Give them this link and send them over too! And ask for me, I'll be the one with flour(s) in my hair!

WOW! ANOTHER COOKBOOK GIVE-AWAY? WHAT A GREAT IDEA!

ANOTHER COOKBOOK GIVE-AWAY?
I have a great idea! Why don't I give another awesome cookbook away? This time the wonderful people at The Taunton Press have given me a second copy of "Sweety Pies" to give to one of my faithful groupies. Unlike the last time, I have only ONE book to give away.
                                                                           
"Sweety Pies" by Patty Pinner is such a great cookbook that I just couldn't give away my own copy. I'd rather give one away out of my own collection than give this one up! Not to be redundant, click here to see what I had to say about the book, and here for the Flaky Pie Crust Recipe and here for Peanut Butter Cream Pie Recipe. Maybe that will get you all fired up for it too. You just have-to-have it!

I need a name for this Cookbook Give-Away, because frankly, I'm getting tired of typing the same old words - "Cookbook Give-Away!" If you say it fast and enough times, it's just a jumble of words which no longer have any meaning, at least to me that is.

So, here's the gimmick. I need a Reality Show name. It has to have something to do with Baking and/or Cooking, preferably Desserts, because that's who I am and that's what I do! That's it! That's all I'm asking this time. Give me some real good ones. Keep it clean. No cursing, no vulgarity and please, no dirty talk. If you can't think of a show, tell me what kind of pie you like!

Tell your friends and tell them to tell their mothers, aunts, girls and guyfriends. Tell your kids teachers, coaches and the babysitter! Post it on your own blog if you have one. You get the picture.

I had over 130 entries last time. I'm getting really excited and optimistic and say we're gonna go for the pot of gold! Hey, if the Pioneer Woman can do it, why can't I get 500? The more popular this Give-Away becomes, the more books I give away. The more books I give away, the more you love me! WHAT, WHAT, WHAT? Seriously, You're not obligated to love me until I start giving away mixers and food processors and immersion blenders! Then, and only then will I hold you to that!
                                                                            
Get ready because the competition is gonna be insane, cut-throat and fierce. Kind of like the Reality Show with me as the star...I mean host! And if you find yourself getting impatient, you should order your own copy from The Taunton Press. I'm sure they'd be thrilled if you dropped my name too. That's Donna Diegel. Tell 'em I sent you!

Oh, a few other rules... Because of an unpleasant situation last time, I will ship to US and Canada only please and thank you.

I'll use the Random Number Generator to pick the winner next Tuesday, May 27th at midnight EST., and announce the winner here sometime on Wednesday 5/28.

If you don't have a reality show name, tell  me what your favorite pie is...any kind of pie. Pumpkin, banana cream, apple...whatever pie you like to eat or make will do.

So, my "Sweety Pies", go and spread the love far and wide and bring me some good names or good pies! Let the show begin!

Sweety Pies cover and Peanut Butter Cream Pie photos by Alexandra Grablewski and used with permission in writing from the publisher, The Taunton Press.

COCONUT & LIME MADELEINES - CHOCOLATE MADELEINES - Tuesdays with Dorie

                                                    
Tuesdays With Dorie
Thanks to Tara of Smells Like Home for choosing this weeks recipe from Baking: From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan. She chose Traditional Madeleines on pages 166-168. Tuesdays With Dorie has grown to 189 members now! They're closing in fast on The Daring Bakers 900+ members!
                                                                   

Coconut & Lime Madeleines
I wasn't sure if I was going to do this weeks challenge as I didn't have the right Madeleine pans. I gave them away like I gave away far too many things in our haste to run away! I find I'm missing these cute little pans, tools and gadgets now. But...maybe if I post another "This is what I want, what I really, really want" post for my birthday, I may get more than just my handy dandy mixer! I have my eye on a mini food processor and I know I can find a place for it on the boat. Something else will just have to go, like John's shoes or his CD's.
                                                                        

The last time we were in Vermont visiting the kids, I was poking through some of our stuff and came across my brand new heart shaped nonstick pans. I think they're from Wilton, but I couldn't find a name on them. I had three, but brought two back with me and boy, am I glad I did now! I wasn't sure they'd even fit in my Easy Bake Oven, but it slid in with only an inch to spare. So, I figured, I'm back in business!
                                                                           

Limes or Lemons? Limes or Lemons?
I briefly glanced at the recipe, but not really. It looked like all I needed was some eggs this time. WOW! A recipe from Dorie that wasn't gonna break the bank! But, here we go with the butter again! I swear, I don't know how that woman stays so thin, or is it all done with smoke and mirrors? Anyway...I got home and procrastinaed again like usual and when I went to make them, I found out I didn't have a lemon! I did however,  have a lime. Can I use that? Heck yeah! So I proceeded to zest the cute little lime with my super duper Microplane zester. If you don't already own one of these miracles of the baking world, you really must spend the money and get one! I think they're about $10.00 from any kitchen store like Bed Bath & Beyond. I've had mine for years and wouldn't part with it for anything!
                                                                        

"Put the lime in the coconut, drink them both up, Put the lime in the coconut, and call me in the moooooorning."*
The scent was intoxicating as I put the lime zest into the batter and mixed it in. I thought, What goes with lime? I don't want to use vanilla like it says in the recipe, that would be rather boring. OOh, OOh, OOh! I have coconut extract! (Who would have pure coconut extract hanging around in a boat?) That would be perfect together like the song says, "Put the lime in the coconut, drink them both up!" I had that silly song in my head the rest of the day! The batter was sooo delicious, I wanted to eat it right out of the bowl! (When John wasn't looking, I did sneak some!)  What a great blend! Like a sophisticated wine-pairing, only not!

Using this recipe and these pans, it made 4 large hearts. I also made the chocolate Madeleines as well, which gave me a grand total of 8 wonderful, slightly crusty on the outside and moist on the inside, Madeleines. That recipe was straight from the book, although I did decorate them with Chocolate Ganache.

We sat down "To Tea" that night and had a lovely little snack. John loved them as much as I did. Of course, he has to have a big glass of cold milk on the side, because it is cake after all!

I would definitely make them again, but just the Coconut Lime Madeleines. That's how much I loved them! I'm staring at the last one right now and wonder if I can justify eating it in the name of a Writer's Perk? I'll say it again...Heck Yeah!
                                                                           

Coconut & Lime Madeleines adapted from the recipe "Traditional Madeleines" by Dorie Greenspan
2/3 cup all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup sugar
Grated zest of 1 lime
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon coconut extract
3/4 stick, (6 Tablespoons) unsalted, melted and cooled
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions:
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Working in a mixer bowl, or in a large bowl, rub the sugar and lime zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the eggs to the bowl. Working with the whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat the eggs and sugar together on medium-high speed until pale, thick and light, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the coconut extract. With a rubber spatula, very gently fold in the dry ingredients, followed by the melted butter. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the batter and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours, or for up to 2 days. This long chill period will help the batter form the hump that is characteristic of madeleines. (For convenience, you can spoon the batter into the madeleine molds, cover and refrigerate, then bake the cookies directly from the fridge; see below for instructions on prepping the pans.)

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter 12 full-size madeleine molds, or up to 36 mini madeleine molds, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Or, if you have a nonstick pan (or pans), give it a light coating of vegetable cooking spray. If you have a silicone pan, no prep is needed. Place the pans on a baking sheet.
Spoon the batter into the molds, filling each one almost to the top. Don't worry about spreading the batter evenly, the oven's heat will take care of that. Bake large madeleines for 11-13 minutes, adn minis for 8-10 minutes, or until they are golden and the tops spring back when touched. Remove the pan(s) from the oven and release the madeleins from the molds by rapping the edge of the pan against the counter. Gently pry any stubborn madeleines from the pan using your fingers or a butter knife. Transfer the cookies to a rack to coolto just warm or to room temperature.
If you are making minis and have more batter, bake the next batch(es), making certain that you cool, then properly prepare the pan(s) before baking.
Just before serving, dust the madeleines with confectioners' sugar.
                                                                      

Chocolate Madeleines
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 large eggs at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 stick (6 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Directions:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt together.
Follow directions above for the Traditional Madeleines, except...
Place the pans in the oven and immediately lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake as directed above.

Dorie says you can fill the Chocolate Madeleines with Marshmallow Fluff and then dip them in chocolate sauce. I decorated them chocolate ganache which you can find here.

* Lyrics by Harry Nilsson
                                                                                 

ECLAIRS, CREAM PUFFS and PATE A CHOUX RECIPE

                                                                                  

Pâte à Choux
Pâte à Choux, a.k.a Eclair and Cream Puff dough. It sounds like something you would buy from a Payless Shoe Store! But this simple and humble dough can threaten to intimidate the novice baker. There's really no need to be fearful if you follow a few simple tips and tricks. Once mastered, you'll be turning out tons of these naughty little babies! 

My Little Cream Puff!

When I tell you we probably made 10,000 eclairs and cream puff over the course of our baking and catering career, I'm being very modest! I kinda wish we kept a running total of all the things we did, but then I'd be sad, because I really do miss it at times. Then again, hobbies turn into jobs and then it's a job, and that's why they call it a JOB!

                                                                            

Hello, my name is Donna and I had a Love-Hate Relationship with my Stove!
Still, I do miss the big bakery toys and get my fix when we go visit our kids. I'm sooo glad my son decided to keep the bakery up and running. He kept all the equipment except for my beloved 10 burner range with two ovens. The same stove John threatened to bury me in when I died! He wasn't being cruel - well, maybe a little sarcastic - it's just that he threw his back out more than once moving that huge monster from place to place. I didn't cry when we sold it a few years ago, but it did bring a tear to me eye! I'd had that sucker for almost 20 years and I had a love-hate relationship with it at times. I did tell you in an earlier post that I needed therapy!
                                                                                 

Cream Puffs, Eclairs and Profiteroles OH MY!
Anyway....You can use Pâte à Choux dough for all sorts of cute little pastries like mini eclairs and cream puffs, cream puffs filled with chocolate mousse or crab mousse or for a savory brunch item. They can be cut open and filled with custard and fresh fruit like strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. Ice cream profiteroles are to die for especially with hot fudge sauce or chocolate ganache! Very large holiday creations like croquembouches are really impressive and take a measure of patience even I don't possess, which also means I have never attempted it either...or should I say, yet?
                                                                        

Choux Pastry Filling Recipes
I'll give you the basic Pâte à Choux recipe and show you step-by-step how to make eclairs and cream puffs. When you get ready to fill them, shoot on over to my Suite101 article "Choux Pastry Filling Recipes: Sweet and Savory Fillings for Cream Puffs, Eclairs and Appetizers" This article will give you recipes for custard filling, salmon and crab mousse, cocoa and regular sweetened whipped cream, chocolate ganache and more tips and ideas than you have time-in-a-day for!
                                                                            

Don't freak out! This looks like a long drawn-out recipe, but it really isn't. I just want to make sure you're happy with your cream puff experience!

Eclair, Cream Puff & Pâte à Choux Recipe

• 1/2 pound (1 cup = 2 sticks) butter
• 2 cups water
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 cups all purpose white flour
• 7 large eggs, room temperature, VERY, VERY important!

Directions:

• Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. When making choux pastry, always preheat your oven. Spend the money and purchase a small oven thermometer. They're probably less than $7.00 but will save you lots of headaches in the future.
• Parchment paper is another one of those bakery secrets. We used to purchase a box of 1000 full size sheets at a time! Supermarkets and kitchen stores like Bed Bath & Beyond sell parchment paper, but I think it comes in a roll like aluminum foil. I just stock up on the stuff when I go visit my son's bakery! Spray it lightly with vegetable spray and set aside.
• In a large saucepan, bring butter, water and salt to a boil. Turn heat to medium.
• Add all the flour at once.
• On low-medium heat, beat continuously with a spatula or wooden spoon until the mixture forms a ball and leaves sides of pan. This takes about 3-4 minutes. Your arms may get tired, but this needs to be done. Don't let it burn.
• Transfer mixture to a high-speed mixer.
• Using the paddle attachment, beat for 2-3 minutes on low speed. The mixture needs to cool down a little before adding the eggs.
• Add eggs one at a time and beat on low-medium speed after each egg. Scrape often.
• Be patient, it could take up to a total of 10 minutes until the dough is ready to pipe. You can tell when it forms together and comes away from the bowl.
• Use a variety of cookie scoops depending on the size you wish. Or, you can spoon the choux pastry into a large pastry bag fitted with a round or star tip, or as my photo shows, we just use the bag without a tip. It does need a large hole though.
• Be careful as the dough is still very warm and you can feel this through the bag.
• Pipe or scoop into whatever shape you need and leave a few inches between them because they will rise, puff up and spread. Sounds like me when I was on Prednisone!
• Bake at 400 degrees for 25-35 minutes or until the outside is golden brown, crisp and dry and they sound hollow.
• Let cool before filling. Large cream puffs and eclairs will take longer to bake, so adjust your time accordingly. If your oven has hot-spots, rotate the pans half-way through baking. Resist the temptation to open and close the oven.
• Store unfilled puffs in an air-tight container.
• Unfilled shells freeze great, so make extra and thaw them out when you need them!

Ready, Get Set, Let's Bake! Here we go with a picture story of eclairs and cream puffs! Sorry, that does sound dorky doesn't it?
                                                                      
This is the Vanilla Custard Recipe, or better known as Pastry Cream that you'll find here on Suite101. I whipped it up in the mixer, then transfered it to a pan.

                                                                        

Whisk and whisk and whisk! Do NOT stop whisking until your custard looks like this. Let it cool a little, then place some plastic wrap over the top and chill. This can be done the day before.
                                                                      
These are the main ingredients for the Pâte à Choux minus the water and salt because you already know what those look like! Follow the directions above and boil the butter, water and salt together.
 
This is what the choux paste will look like after you add the flour all at once and cook it on low-medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Watch it. Don't let it burn!