TWD: Mocha Chocolate Chip Cookies

Tuesdays with Dorie baking through Baking with Julia
by Dorie Greenspan
Contributing Baker: Rick Katz


 



Well, after the croissants anything is easier and quicker! Though not as quick as I had thought - these needed a chill time of several hours to overnight - so the directions read. Not sure if they really do. That's OK. Whip the dough up in the morning and have fresh baked cookies in the evening for dessert. I can work with that.

These cookies have a surprise ingredient added: Dried apricots! I did half the dough with dried cherries on the suggestion of Sandra of Have Apron.... Will Bake from the TWD P&Q link. Sorry Laura. Laura is my sister; she is not a big fan of fruit (or nuts) in salads or savory dishes - something I always seem to incorporate when she comes to dinner on Tuesday nights - our puzzle night. With desserts she is normally OK with it. Not sure if she'll like the idea of them in these cookies though. I won't tell her till after she tries them.

I portioned the dough onto the cookie sheets and placed them in the refrigerator overnight for I wanted to wait for better lighting for taking pictures. When Andy, my husband saw them in the fridge he asked, what are those? Cookies, I replied. Do we get to have them? Tomorrow. Oh.

I let him in on a secret; I still had extra dough in the bowls and could cook up a few for tonight. I did not bother with doubling up the cookie sheets to prevent burning the bottoms of the cookies (as instructed) and the dough was only in the fridge for a couple of hours. These cooked up beautifully. No pics of course. Andy thought he detected a slight burnt taste, I did not; he also stated he prefers regular chocolate chip cookies to these.

The following day I pulled the preportioned dough from the refrigerator and doubled the cookie sheets as instructed; they did not bake up as plump as the first ones I made the previous evening. I'm thinking the extra insulation of the doubled cookie sheets allowed them to spread more, and resulting in a thinner cookie. Still, they were very good.

As for my sister - I offered her the plate of cookies and she went for the chocolate cherry one. I asked if she would like one of the others and she said "no, they have fruit in them - I can see it."

However, my sister knows me all too well. She looked at the plain looking cookie she chose and said "these have fruit in them too, don't they?" All I could do was grin. Well, she liked them! Another "Hey Mikey!' moment. She took three of each kind home with her.

As with all baked goods, these taste best the day they are made. However, two days later I am still enjoying them.

Success meter (1-3): 3

These are my all-time favorite chocolate chips. Until now, I could not say how they fared in baked goods, for they never made it farther than from my hand to my mouth; even with the new batch I bought; hence the added bar of Ghirardelli.

 Delicious cookie dough speckled with espresso powder.

 I soaked the dried cherries in orange juice to plump them up a bit.

We all know chocolate and cherry go together like blogs and comments. However I was pleasantly pleased more with the chocolate and apricot. The apricot lends a tartness to offset the sweetness of all that chocolate - a whole pound of chocolate.

Our lovely host for this week is Peggy of Galettista; she has the recipe if you would like to make these yourself. To see more you can check out the results from all our fabulous bakers over on the TWD site - just look for the Mocha Chocolate Chip LYL link.

TWD: Croissants

Tuesdays with Dorie baking through Baking with Julia
by Dorie Greenspan
Contributing Baker: Esther McManus

 

Finally!! These puppies were due two weeks ago. My tardiness was not due to lack of desire; I have always wanted to make croissants. The procrastination was born from finding three days in a row to commit to make these. There are several rising periods and resting times to deal with here.

There is a PBS video of Esther and Julia making these same croissants. Watching the video was extremely helpful, especially since this book is not real clear in the instructional department and I just love Esther's way of explaining as she bakes along: "To help the mixer, because I can see the mixer is struggling." "The dough is not the boss, YOU are the boss." and "Do not be afraid of the dough - the dough should be afraid of you."  Even if you don't plan on making your own croissants, it's fun to watch the video - Esther is a kick in the pants.

OK, take a deep breath and let's get started!

Day one you mix the dough, let rest for half an hour at room temperature, then chill for at least eight hours or overnight. You also prepare the butter (mixed with two tablespoons flour) and chill it along with the dough (separately).

Day two you incorporate the butter block, yes I said block, it is one pound of butter mixed with a bit of flour and formed into a huge block. Chill again for one to two hours - unless you're feeling courageous (this being my second attempt, I chose to chill it for a bout an hour and a half) and can work quickly before the butter softens too much; then you can go ahead and make the first "turn" of the dough (rolling and folding), after which it gets chilled again for at least two hours. Then comes turn number two of three, a repeat of the first turn, and another chill for two hours. For the final turn of the dough, it too will get chilled for two hours, then the dough is ready to be used for shaping your croissants.

Day three you get to form the croissants (the fun part!). Once formed you give them an egg wash, and guess what?!!! They get to rise (proof) at room temperature for another three to four hours!!* After that, give them one more egg wash and finally into the oven.

*I formed my croissants in the evening of day two and wrapped them in plastic wrap for a slow rise in the refrigerator as mentioned in this post (one of the benefits of getting a late start - you get to read the other baker's posts for tips and issues) to be baked the following morning. However mine did not rise at all in the refrigerator and still needed a three-hour proofing period at room temperature.

The proofing period would not have been a problem since I was planning on taking these out to the boys for their morning break at around ten O'clock anyway. However I awoke with a migraine and did not even get up till ten. It was well after two before I was ready to share these delights ~ so the lucky recipients were two of my neighbors, my sister, our daughter and her co-worker, whom she affectionately calls Boss Lady (she is her boss..).

I don't feel bad that the boys did not get to indulge in these; they received the Mocha Chocolate Chip cookies (next post) two days earlier. 

Consensus so far:

Laura: TO DIE FOR
Ashley: My mom rocks
Boss Lady: AWESOME
Liz: WONDERFUL - even better than the ones in France :) 

Would I make these again? Yes. Probability of making these again ~ slim.

Success meter (1-3): 3

I chilled my counter by leaving pans filled with ice for about fifteen minutes.

Hard to find "fresh" yeast. To my surprise and after calling around to specialty stores I happened upon this at our local Nob Hill/Raley's market (at a ridiculous price). Several of the bakers from our group were able to get a whole pound from there local Bakery/Deli for the price I paid for one ounce!

If I were making a pie crust my dough would be any shape other than round!

The fillings: Chocolate, almond, and for the plain, a piece of scrap dough to give the croissant its belly.

Can you say flag overkill? I can't believe I did not take any pictures without them!

If you are feeling adventurous and have three days to spare, and are thinking you would like to give making these a try, you will find the recipe and detailed photos of this crazy long process over on Amanda's beautiful blog, Girl+Food=Love; and for more beautiful photos, tip and tricks, check out the results of the many talented bakers in the group. Just look for the LYL: Croissants link on the Tuesdays with Dorie website.

Butternut Squash Lasagne with Goat Cheese, Sage, and Breadcrumbs

Recipe from Fine Cooking Magazine

I love any food that has to do with butternut squash - and sage. They go together like peanut butter and jelly, ice cream and apple pie, chips and salsa, Bonnie and Clyde, you get the point. It's a marriage made in heaven.

I have been having so much fun making and enjoying homemade pasta. It is made of just a few ingredients - three to be exact (for this recipe anyway) and really is very easy to make if you have a pasta machine. I use the pasta attachment for the KitchenAid Mixer; something I purchased probably ten or more years ago for using with modeling chocolate - though never used - until recently.

Not only does fresh pasta cook up quicker than dried, but it has such a soft texture and practically melts in your mouth. Like homemade bread, everyone should try it at least once, even if you don't have a pasta machine - it can be made by hand. A bit more labor intensive - rolling the dough out & cutting your specific shape with a knife - it's worth it.

This was good, and as my husband said, even better the next day; though the recipe I have for squash enchiladas is my favorite by far and probably a bit healthier. You can try both recipes and decide for yourself.

Success meter (1-3): 3

Brilliant idea to use a tablecloth! Thanks Fine Cooking. I normally would have all my kitchen towels spread out all over the counter.

You cook the sage with the butter till fragrant. The recipe says to toss the sage after cooking. Are they crazy?!! Have you ever eaten a fried sage leaf? So good. I crumbled the leaves and added them to the filling. If I were making raviolis I would place whole fried leaves on top for garnish just before serving.

I made my own breadcrumbs with whole wheat bread and baked them a bit too long (forgot about them!) They were a lot darker than the picture in the magazine, but I actually like the look it gives to the lasagne.

Funny all the cheese did not melt. It did the next day when the leftovers were warmed in the microwave.

You can find the recipe for the lasagne here.

WW: Stir-Fried Chili Scallops with Baby Bok Choy

Wok Wednesdays wokking through Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge
by Grace Young 






I am not a huge fan of scallops but will make them on occasion. Andy (the hubs) really likes them; so I was excited for him for this week's recipe.

My baby bok choy was more pre-teen than baby. I ended up using only five of the eight that I purchased and it turned out to be plenty. I also used chili garlic sauce in place of the chili bean sauce called for in the recipe, for I did not get the chance to get over to the Asian market, and none was to be had at my local grocery.

I'm curious to know, do Chinese households use dinner knifes? I have always wondered (and still do) why Chinese restaurants don't have knives on the table.  Unless the bok choy is diced into bite-size pieces, I have a helluva time eating it (imagine a raptor ripping apart its prey). Sorry for that visual..

A knife would be nice.

We have yet another successful recipe - on a roll - still. :)

Now go out and get yourself this book and wok your way to fresh, healthy and delicious meals that you can make at home in the same amount, if not less time, that it takes to eat out; and have a knife available if the need arises.

Success meter (1-3): 3

Don't you just love nature's beauty?

The two of us had no problems finishing this off.

You will not find the recipe here on my blog or within the Wok Wednesdays community. We encourage our readers to purchase this book at their local independent bookstore or on-line to support the publishing industry and to help keep books alive!

Make sure to visit my co-wokkers to see their results on this stir-fry.

Look for the LYL link on the Wok Wednesdays page.

You can visit Wok Wednesdays on Facebook as well.

TWD: Croissants

We've only just begun - the ingredients have been purchased. :)

Check back soon! 

 In the meantime feast your eyes on nature's beauty.

Here are a couple of flowers from our last hike.

Spring has sprung!

 wildwomenwalking.blogspot.com