Blanc Manger

I seem to be incapable of two things - well far more than two but for now we'll discuss the two that are relevant to this recipe.

(1)My absolute inability to completely incorporate two disparate elements - in this case, the gelatin and the whipped cream mixture.

(2)My utter failure at leveling anything - as a child I demonstrated this by cutting my own hair. I cleverly hid the shorn locks in my toy chest. Sure that no one would notice the few missing golden tresses. Unfortunately, when you cut off all the hair on your head except for the piece in the middle (in the barrette) your mother does notice. And, when she is a red-headed Irish woman, she might not have the temperament for this upset. As time moves on and your wispy scalp begins to regain some fuzz, the virago might settle down, but alas, every time you pull out a toy, out comes another lock of hair which sets off another bout of anger from the red-head. Not the most scathingly brilliant scheme of my childhood schemes - but one that makes me grateful for my position as last child - of course you know that means there are no photos of me! Especially none as a baldino. But, I digress . . . how does that keep happening to me?

I made the Blanc Manger a few weeks ago when my sister came to visit. We agreed that it was far sweeter in taste than we expected it to be. It also went down into our tummies far easier than we expected! So I quickly trucked the remainder into work so that my fellow employees could wolf it down for me. Otherwise we would have eaten the whole thing and trust me - my natural beauty would have had a hard time compensating for my natural fatness!

I swan, this incorporation business is really starting to frustrate me. A few weeks ago we made that cake that required us to gently fold the flour into the stiffly beaten egg whites. And what did I find when I went to transfer the batter into the cake pan prior to baking? Lump upon lump of unincorporated flour - then what happened? Total baking failure that is what.

Thankfully this lack of incorporation was on a much smaller scale and the results were far less of a calamity. When I unmolded the manger I saw some rather strange grayish streaks running across the top of it. I immediately realized that I had failed to incorporate all of the gelatin. After delivering several sharp remarks to the manger which it took quite bravely, I remedied the situation by thickly applying my coulis.

Oh, my God! My coulis - was so fantastic - you are all so jealous of me - my berries were like berries on flavor steroids (but they aren't they are just the best tasting berries on the planet!) - because I get my berries from Agriberry Farms in Studley, Virginia. They are so darn good. I used a blend of red and black raspberries. I used to dislike raspberries but now I am a total convert. I still hate the darn seeds, but that Agriberry sure knows how to grow a raspberry. The flavor of my coulis was so intense I felt a shock down to my toes when I tasted it. Fantastic - and you could neither see nor feel the grayish streaks any longer. Of course, since I can strain something I also had zero seeds - Perfection - okay - not perfection - but darn good.

Agriberry.com - a CSA that still has openings for this year if you are lucky enough to live in the central Virginia area. I am so glad I joined. Every week I get six units of berries or other fruits - the fruit is so fresh it hurts my eyes.

Last week I got two units of blackberries, that were almost as big as two of my thumbs stuck together - (my hands are quite small) - as big as a large man's thumb; two units of blueberries and mixed stone fruits - nectarines and peaches. I think that was last week's selection. There was probably a red raspberry in that mix also because that list seems a package short.

Earlier in the summer we had purple raspberries - if you have never had these and you see them at a market BUY THEM. They are a cross between the red and the black raspberry and they are wonderful. Not exactly sweet and not quite tart, they are almost seedless and they are so smooth and delicate. Larger than either of their parental units, they are the most delightful shade of dark mauve. Sadly their season is now over.

Back to my manger, apparently if I am to ever have any hope of leveling a dessert of this sort, I shall have to mold it in a clear pan. I thought the manger was level until I flipped it from the mold. Then of course it looked like I created it on a slope. Aargh! I screamed (mentally) because I did not want my sister to take me to the mental hospital (no Not again). But, now I have decided that this shall not happen to me again. I can avoid this by careful planning and constant measuring. In the future, nothing gets the final nod of approval until I have measured it six ways to Sunday. I am sick of these desserts claiming they are ready to go only to show up uneven when they are unveiled. I will measure the pans top to bottom and side to side. I will have obedience from my food groups. Oh, my gosh, I feel so much better now that I have a plan. My evil food has been thwarted again! Take that you uneven dishes!

This week's recipe was selected by Susan. She has posted the recipe and far better photos at Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewey go there and check them out if you don't believe me.

What are you nuts?

These were not the brownies I am used to eating. I am far more accustomed to a thicker cakier brownier. I often eat brownies while they are still quite warm fresh from the oven.

If you like to eat brownies in that condition these are not the brownies for you. But, if you wait until these are completely cooled they are quite tasty. Ultra thin, very rich and dense but good.

I only have one caveat - what's with all the nuts? One cup of nuts? I could, of course, have cut back on this quantity, but I almost never edit a recipe the first time I make it. This extreme quantity of nuts made me question if this recipe was actually a tribute to Kate Hepburn or a subtle manner of Dorie saying she thought Kate was just a tad nuts. I leave the distinction to your palette.

I found the nuts far less intrusive after the brownies cooled, but nonetheless next time I bake these, I will definitely cut back on the quantity I include. Otherwise, this is one quick and easy recipe.

My thanks to Lisa who has posted the recipe at her blog: Surviving Oz. Lisa is the winner of the contest to design a new logo for the Tuesdays with Dorie webpage - visit to see what a lovely design it is.

Parisian Apple Tartletts

Oh, how I jealous I am of Jessica. I wish I had memories of eating something like this in Paris. I wish I had memories of eating anything in Paris, but alas, I have not visited the City of Lights so far. It's something to dream about.

Go to My Baking Heart, her blog, to see the full recipe for this incredibly easy, delicious and satisfying dessert.

I used Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry; I wanted to try the all-butter version, but I did not see it at the Fresh Market or Kroeger. I will try to stop by Trader Joe's tomorrow when I pick up my fruit and see if they have any. I can't justify the expense of Dufour and if Trader Joe's doesn't have their less expensive version, I'll probably do as many others did and make my own. Because, I am definitely making this again. It is like a sophisticated apple turnover - or should I say an open-faced apple turnover?

Next time I will probably add a little bit of spice to the brown sugar - maybe give the apples a light dusting of cinnamon sugar before I put them in the oven.

I used McIntosh apples. I generally eat Granny Smith apples, but I went with Dorie's suggestion of a sweeter apple. I can't even stand the thought of touching a Golden Delicious apple - I've never had one that wasn't mealy - so the Mac was as sweet as I could go. But, my gosh, what is with the apple growers? I don't want a ten-pound apple for a snack! I cut my apple into sixteen pieces and made four tartletts because a half an apple was just huge.

I had a good bit of pastry left over so I made myself a Nut Duo Tartlett with Nutella. I covered the dough with chopped walnuts and slivered almonds. Then I sprinkled on some brown sugar, cinnamon, and dabbed the top with a little butter. I baked it for about 20 minutes and after it came out of the oven I dabbed on about 2 tablespoons of Nutella. It smells divine and a couple of the nuts fell off so I munched on them. Delightful - gotta love a toasted nut.

Cinnamon Squares

This was a really simple recipe to put together. I laid out most of the ingredients before I went to work this morning. Then when I came home this evening I added the liquid ingredients and put the cake in the oven. Mine baked in just about five extra minutes.

Time out for an advertisement. I purchased a new 8-inch square pan the other day. It is a brand called Magic Line . It has a cute little magic lamp - like a Genie's lamp on it. I love this pan. I used it tonight for the first time. Perfectly square sides and the pan has little lips that allow you to grab it when you want to take it out of the oven. Very handy. Available at Sur La Table and Amazon to name two. I got mine at Sur La Table.

I quite enjoy the taste of this cake, though I was a tad disappointed in my inability to make a delightful layer of chocolate, espresso and cinnamon sugar like Dorrie showed us. These slices are just acting. The ones in the next row over barely seemed to have a layer of the mixture at all, though all of the edges did bear the marks of the chocolate and espresso. I dusted the chocolate I used with flour before adding my chips to the batter, hoping it would keep them from sinking, but it was not entirely successful.

I would make this again in a heartbeat - for everyone but Debbie, who doesn't like cinnamon!

Visit Tracey at her blog to view the recipe (Tracey's Culinary Adventures) or you could just go way out on a limb and purchase Baking: From My Home to Yours and drown yourself in deliciousness!

Chipster-Topped Brownies

How I manage to loose the charger or the transfer cord for my camera as frequently as I do is a mystery to me - but manage to loose them I do. Hopefully I will find that dratted charger soon - all I need is a flash of brilliance to remember where (or perhaps when) in God's name I last had it and I know I will remember where I stashed it!

Meanwhile, back at the farm, my camera is deader than a doornail! I shall cut my brownies shortly and save one in the freezer hoping to be able to capture it for posterity's sake before my chocolate cravings require me to consume it!

In a rare fit of organization I actually laid out all of the ingredients I needed for this recipe before I started - a total mise en place. I have no idea what came over me. It was quite exciting.

Once that was done this was an extremely easy recipe to follow and put together. My cookie layer appeared to be quite high when I first removed the brownies from the oven, but it has settled to some degree as the brownies have cooled. I think it is still fairly significant. Assuming the chips haven't burrowed down into the brownies (and appearances don't indicate this behaviour) I think I will be quite pleased with how the recipe turned out. I don't know how either layer tastes baked, but the batter for both (or either) was doggone tasty in the raw!

I took the advice of some of our other members and did bake the brownie layer for the few minutes it took me to put together the chocolate chip layer. I then baked the whole layer for 50 minutes more. I also tented the pan for the last 15 minutes or so. in aluminum foil. The cookie layer is a luscious shade of brown. Maybe one day you'll get to see that for yourself.

This recipe was selected by Beth who posted the recipe at her blog, Supplicious. Oddly enough, the recipe is also available in THE BOOK, I highly recommend you buy it.

Update! The lost sheep has returned. Turns out, my suspicions have once again been confirmed. I am a lousy housekeeper. The charger cord was in my computer room the whole time - buried under mounds of paper. If I ever disappear - just keep moving the piles of clothes or paper - I'm probably in there somewhere!

I enjoyed the taste of these brownies, but I did not find the layers to be individually distinctive. I don't know if it was because they were a couple of days old before I tried one or if it was because my chipster layer wasn't as thick as I originally thought it was or not. It was a very good brownie, but the chipster layer just seemed to be a crunchy sweet top that I was breaking through on my way to the brownie. I would/will make them again - but they did not make me swoon.

Fresh Mango Bread (5/19/09)

Like most of the "quick" breads in the book, this came together rapidly and easily. It was only quick in the preparatory sense however as it took well over an hour to bake.

It smelled fantastic as it was baking.

I don't care for mangoes personally so I just could not get into the idea of trying it. I took it to work and it was gone in a snap. My friend Kathy also tried a slice and she quite enjoyed it.

One of the ladies at work felt it had a ginger bread taste to it, but Kathy did not feel that was so. She really liked the pieces of fruit inside, though.

My lack of expertise with mangoes was obvious in my fruit selection. I chose two mangoes to ensure I would have enough diced mango to make two cups. The first mango I chopped was juicy and a deep orange color. It was so attractive I was slightly tempted to try the cake. However, my second choice was of second quality - at best. It was far from ripe, barely yellow and had no juice whatsoever. Having already cut into its flesh and having no other mangoes nearby I decided to go with it. My theory was that this mango would soften during the cooking process, though it might not add any juice or flavor to the bread/cake; it would also not detract from the flavor. That seemed to be proven by the response to the cake.

I won't be making this again unless I happen upon a stash of mangoes or get a specific request for it. It was easy enough and well liked enough - it just doesn't suit my palette.

Kelly chose this recipe and it can be found on her website, Baking with the Boys. Or you could buy the book - Baking from my home to yours.

Pucker Up - Lemon Tart!!

I don't really know how much pucker this tart is going to produce, I haven't tried the finished product yet. It is still cooling down. I made it with Meyer lemons and I tried to remove as much pith as I could from the peel. I am hoping that I managed to capture the tartness of the lemon while avoiding the nasty bitter flavor of the pith. I do love lemon flavoring.

I was very excited when I made the crust for this tart because it actually came together for me and I did not end up putting piles of sand into the tart pan! Turns out that in the past I have not processed the dough long enough. I just could not believe I had to process the butter, flour and egg so long to get it to come together. I will probably switch to making the dough by hand. It doesn't seem right to process it for so long in the food processor. If I were doing it by hand I would not handle it for as long a period of time as I whirled it this evening. I just hope it tastes as good as it usually does. I used almonds in the base.

This is a fantastically easy recipe to make - as long as you follow Dorrie's suggestion to put a pan under the tart pan while it is baking. If I had not, I would have had one ungodly mess in my oven, because I definitely overflowed my tart pan.

I have my fingers crossed that this tastes tongue tingling tart because tomorrow I am going to pick up strawberries from my CSA and I think they will taste just fabulously with this tart. You'll read all about it here.

To see many other versions of this tart go to Tuesdays with Dorrie . Many thanks to Babette of Babette Feasts for choosing this week's recipe. She has posted the recipe on her blog, but you can own it by simply buying the book, Baking From My Home to Yours.

Post Eating Report: Well, first things first - did I mention this did "boil" up over the sides of the tart pan? Well, it did - and let me tell you -if in a pinch you need some really strong adhesive - try using baked on lemon tart filling. My GOD! I absolutely could not get the tart out of the pan.

I ended up slicing the pieces and serving them without the edge crust. They were a tad difficult to remove, until I cleared some space, and they looked so lonesome without the attractive fluted edge of crust . . . but they were very well received.

For me, they were way too mild in the lemon taste. I think this is the payoff from using Meyer lemons. I definitely like the recipe and I will try it again - with regular - really sassy lemons - and I will be sure to be wary of overfilling the crust. For me, it was just a nice tart with a hint of lemon, but most of the fellows who were trying it thought it had just enough lemon - what do they know?