TWD and BB Combo!

My mother pleasantly reminded me the other day that "You haven't posted anything on your blog lately."  Thanks for calling me out for being the slacker that I am, Mom!  However, you are right.  (Just this time).

Things have been busy around here.  We're getting down to the nitty-gritty on "the shed" as Mr. B likes to call it.  He called it that in front of our architect the other day.  Luckily he's a cool guy.....he just said, "Have you even looked at any of the checks you've been writing for this "shed"?  So now he calls it the "big shed".

Anyhoo, we're almost finished.  We probably would be but the stone contractor can't keep up with the stone masons.  They're laying it faster than it can be trucked in.  These guys rock.  HAHA.  Get it?  Stone masons.  Ro.....never mind.  We should be done well before Memorial Day.  Partay!!!

So, while I haven't actually been posting anything on time, I have been completing the assignments!  And I have the crappy pictures to prove it.  See.....

Both of these pictures suck but the Thumbprints and the Swedish Visiting Cake were delicious.

Especially this cake.  This was actually the TWD from a couple of weeks ago that I didn't think we'd like so I didn't make it.  Big mistake.  This is so simple (one bowl and no heavy equipment) and r.e.a.l.l.y. GOOD.  Like slap-your-grandma good. Perfect for a little snack with your afternoon coffee or tea, or if your a wino like me, it goes great after dinner with a little glass of Sauterne or Vin Santo.  Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

The BB selection, Jam Thumprint Cookies, was also really tasty but that dough gave me fits.  I don't know what was up, but I had a hell of a time keeping it together.  It just wanted to fall apart.  Especially after I refrigerated it.  So, while the cookies tasted great, they were a little too frustrating for me.

For the cake recipe, check out Nancy's site, The Dog Eats the Crumbs.  For this week's TWD, Chockablock Cookies, visit Mary at Popsicles and Sandy Feet.

Here's the recipe for the BB cookies:

Jam Thumbprint Cookies

Recipe courtesy Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa Family Style

Ingredients


3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
7 ounces sweetened flaked coconut
Raspberry and/or apricot jam


Directions


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until they are just combined and then add the vanilla. Separately, sift together the flour and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the creamed butter and sugar. Mix until the dough starts to come together. Dump on a floured board and roll together into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. (If you have a scale they should each weigh 1 ounce.) Dip each ball into the egg wash and then roll it in coconut. Place the balls on an ungreased cookie sheet and press a light indentation into the top of each with your finger. Drop 1/4 teaspoon of jam into each indentation. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the coconut is a golden brown. Cool and serve.

TWD - Sweet Cream Biscuits (with some David Lebovitz Pineapple, Rhubarb, and Raspberry Cobbler)

I know some of my fellow TWD bakers have to have picked up David Lebovitz's new book, right?  Isn't is amazing?  Not one single recipe that I'm not dying to make.  And I've already knocked out a few.

I made this cobbler a few weeks ago when the 'rents were here and it went so fast I never got a picture, so I thought this week's TWD was a perfect opportunity to try it again before rhubarb disappeared for another year!

Just swap out Dorie's biscuits for David's and you've got a two-fer!

While David's biscuits were pretty yummy I have to say I liked Dorie's a little bit better!  They're certainly easier and they puffed up nice and tall.  I took this to an impromptu dinner party last night and it was a HUGE hit.  The actual prep time for this is minimal....cut up the rhubarb and pineapple, dump in a few other ingredients and pop it in the oven for 40 minutes.  Mix up these incredibly easy biscuits, cut them out and put on top of the partially baked fruit and throw it back in the oven for about 15 more minutes.  Easy.  Peasy.

I stole a tip from David's biscuits and brushed the biscuits with a mixture of egg yolk and cream before they went into the oven to give them a nice golden brown crust!

Thanks to Melissa for a great pick.  You can get the recipe for Dorie's biscuits at her site, Love at First Bite.

Here's the recipe for the cobbler:

Pineapple, Rhubarb, and Raspberry Cobbler

Ready for Dessert, My Best Recipe's

David Lebovitz

Filling:

7 cups diced rhubarb (2 lbs/1 Kg stalks)
2 cups (300 g) cubed pineapple (from 1/2 pineapple, peeled, eyes removed, and cored)
2 1/2 cups (12 ounces/340 g)  raspberries
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
2 tablespoons (15 g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon kirsch (optional)

Biscuits

3 cups (420 g) all purpose flour
2 tablespoons (30 g) sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
10 tablespoons (5 ounces/135 g) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) pieces and chilled
3/4 cup heavy cream or buttermilk, plus more as needed
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon heavy cream or whole milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 C)

To make the filling, in a large bowl, mix together the rhubarb, pineapple, raspberries, the sugar, flour, vanilla and kirsch, if using, until well combined.  Transfer the mixture to a shallow 2-quart (2 liter) baking dish and bake until the fruit is heated through, about 40 minutes, stirring several times during baking.

While the filling bakes, make the biscuits.  Into the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl if making by hand), sift together the 3 cups flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, baking powder and salt.  Add the butter pieces to the flour mixture.  Mix briefly in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or by hand with a pastry blender) until the butter is mostly incorporated, but small chunks are still visible.  Stir in 3/4 cup cream or buttermilk and mix until the dough begins to come together.  Gather the dough into a ball with your hands, if the dough is too dry to hold together, gradually mix in additional cream or buttermilk until it does.

Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the dough until is 3/4 inch thick.  Using a 3 inch round biscuit cutter dipped in flour, cut out 8 biscuits.  (You may need to gather the dough scraps and roll them out again in order to make 8 biscuits.)  Set the biscuits aside until needed.  In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and cream or milk to make an egg wash.

When the filling is ready, remove the baking dish from the oven and arrange the biscuits on top of the filling.  Brush the tops of the biscuits with the egg wash.  Return the baking dish to the oven and continue baking until the biscuits are golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Barefoot Bloggers - Cappuccino Oatmeal and Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies

Wow.  It was a whirlwind weekend here.  The 'rents blew in from Florida for mama 'rent's 70th birthday celebration and boy did we celebrate....parties at the house, out to dinner, the inaugural firing of the pizza oven.....so much shizzle to share.  Later.

But first, another late BB post.  I only have to post twice a month and I still can't get it done on time.  WTF?

Everyone in this family turns up their noses at the mere mention of a raisin so I knew I was going to have to change these up.  Since I'd just received a large package from King Arthur not to long ago that had some delunkshus cappuccino and cinnamon chips, I decided to go that route!  Great choice, if I do say so myself.

I doubled the recipe and added cappuccino chips to half and cinnamon chips to the other half.  These were a both a huge hit, but I personally liked the cappuccino ones the best.  I've also made these with butterscotch chips in the past and love those too, so these are a really versatile little cookie!  Oatmeal goes with everything, I guess!!

So try these out and put your own spin on them.  

Here's the recipe:

Raisin Pecan Oatmeal Cookies

Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

Ingredients


1 1/2 cups pecans  (I eliminated these)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1 cup granulated sugar
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 1/2 cups raisins (I substituted)


Directions


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the pecans on a sheet pan and bake for 5 minutes, until crisp. Set aside to cool. Chop very coarsely.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla.

Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together into a medium bowl. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Add the oats, raisins, and pecans and mix just until combined.

Using a small ice-cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop 2-inch mounds of dough onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper. Flatten slightly with a damp hand. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer the cookies to a baking rack and cool completely.

TWD - Mocha Walnut Marbled Bundt

What I learned this week......

.....I'll never make it as a professional bundt cake marbler.  I ran the damn knife through the batter, but all I ended up with was a big chocolate glob in the middle of the cake.  Hence the chocolate sauce to hide my shortcomings.

But actually it worked out fine, because it made it easier to just eat the chocolate portion!  Don't get me wrong, the other part was great too, but given the choice, I preferred the chocolate.

Thanks to Erin of When in Doubt.... for this week's choice.  It was a hit around here, especially served with a scoop of coffee ice cream! YUM!

You know the drill.  Head over to Erin's site for the recipe

Creamy Asparagus Soup

Birmingham is a BIG tennis community.  For a city our size, we get to see some major tennis talent play right in our own back yard.  While we don't yet host a major men's or women's tour event in the span of the past 13 months, Birmingham was the site for a Davis Cup match vs. Switzerland and in just a few short weeks a Fed Cup match against Russia will be held downtown.  So, I think it's just a matter of time before we build a facility that would draw a tour event here.

       

In the meantime, we get to see the future stars of the tour play in satellite events.  Like these three.....that's TJ, Shannon and Jennifer.  TJ and Shannon are here from Australia and Jennifer is from New York.  They're really fun girls and boy can they smack the shit out of a tennis ball.  A friend of mine agreed to house them for the week and they all came up here for dinner last night.  So much fun!

I'd love to be able to tell you I fed them this asparagus soup, but those girls burn more calories in a day than I do in a week and, well, asparagus soup wasn't what they were looking for last night!

But if you're looking for something delicious to make with all of that beautiful Spring asparagus that's flooding the markets right now, this is a great choice.  I first saw this recipe in the new edition of Cook's Country magazine and was intrigued, but then another blogger mentioned the same soup and I was sold.  It uses frozen peas to boost the green color and also add a touch of sweetness.  It's fresh and creamy and would be a great addition to your Easter menu!  Give it a try.

Here's the recipe:

Creamy Asparagus Soup

Cook's Country

Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 lbs asparagus, stem ends trimmed (this equaled two bunches for me)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 small leeks, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise and sliced thin
salt and pepper
3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Cut tips off asparagus spears and chop stalks into 1/2-inch pieces.  Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons butter in Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add asparagus tips and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender, about 2 minutes.  Set aside.

Add remaining butter and asparagus, leeks, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper to empty pot and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes.

Add broth to pot and bring to boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.  Stir in peas and parmesan.  Puree soup in blender (I used food processor) in 2 batches and return to pot.  Stir in cream, lemon juice and asparagus tips and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Soup can be refrigerated in airtight container for 2 days.


And if you happen to be in the Jackson, Mississippi area next week, head out to see TJ, Shannon and Jennifer play.   It's some great tennis!

Barefoot Bloggers - Caesar Club Sandwich

Since I was behind on the first BB recipe this month, it only figures that I'd be behind on this one too, right??  I had it in my head that this was to be posted on the last Thursday of the month, which I thought was today, but ummm.....well that was last year.

Whatev.  On to the sandwich.  It was simply amazing.  I mean how could it not be.....roast chicken, bacon, sun-dried tomatoes, bacon, a creamy caesar dressing, bacon....did I mention bacon?

All of the ingredients really come together in this to form the perfect sandwich.  Hubs doesn't like sun-dried tomatoes, so I left them off his side, and I feel like he was deprived of a critical part.  Sucks for him.

Thanks to Karen of Shortbread for hosting and my apologies for not paying closer attention to the calendar!

Here's the recipe:

Caesar Club Sandwich

2006, Barefoot Contessa at Home

Ingredients:


2 split (1 whole) chicken breasts, bone in, skin on
Good olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces thinly sliced pancetta
1 large garlic clove, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons anchovy paste
1 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup good mayonnaise
1 large ciabatta bread
2 ounces baby arugula, washed and spun dry
12 sun-dried tomatoes, in oil
2 to 3 ounces Parmesan, shaved


Directions:


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan skin side up. Rub the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until cooked through. Cool slightly, discard the skin and bones, and slice the meat thickly. Set aside.

Meanwhile, place the pancetta on another sheet pan in a single layer. Roast for 10 to 15 minutes, until crisp. Set aside to drain on paper towels.

Place the garlic and parsley in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and process until minced. Add the anchovy paste, mustard, lemon juice, and mayonnaise and process again to make a smooth dressing. (Refrigerate the Caesar dressing if not using it immediately.)

Slice the ciabatta in half horizontally and separate the top from the bottom. Toast the bread in the oven, cut side up, for 5 to 7 minutes; cool slightly. Spread the cut sides of each piece with the Caesar dressing. Place half the arugula on the bottom piece of bread and then layer in order: the sun-dried tomatoes, shaved Parmesan, crispy pancetta, and sliced chicken. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and finish with another layer of arugula. Place the top slice of ciabatta on top and cut in thirds crosswise. Serve at room temperature.