TWD: Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart

It's Tuesday, and that means it's time for Tuesdays with Dorie. This week Carla of Chocolate Moosey chose Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart, which is available on her blog or in Dorie Greenspan's fabulous book, Baking: From My Home to Yours on pages 355-357.

Have I ever said how much I love Dorie's Sweet Tart Dough? It's not sweet tart in the sense that it's sweet and tart, it's a tart dough that's sweet. :) It's so easy to work with and I don't get the pie dough phobia that I get every time I try to make and roll out a pie dough. No this dough is delicious, has just the right amount of sweetness, and it's tender without falling apart.

Now, make some homemade dark caramel and chop some nuts, spread them in that fabulous tart dough, top with rich bittersweet chocolate ganache, and you have this week's tempting treat.

Some of the TWD bakers said that they had to much ganache. I actually put as much as I could into the tart dough, chilled it for 20 minutes, then added the rest and spread it around the top. I chilled for the remaining 10 minutes and it worked perfectly, no left over ganache.

My pictures are crap this week. Hopefully I can snap a few more in the daylight, but wanted to make sure I got this post up. UPDATE: Added new photos, but still aren't the greatest. :-p

Be sure to check out how the other TWD bakers faired!

Greek Marinated Pork, Tomato Fritters, Greek Salad and Greek Loaf

This was an all day affair. Similar to when I put together a dinner from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. This time I used a marinade I found at Kalyn's Kitchen , the Tomato Fritters are from About.com, the salad from the book The Diabetic Chef : More Than 80 Simple but Spectacular Recipes from One of New York City's TopChefs, and lastly, the Greek Loaf I found in an old Taste of Home magazine. Would I do it again? Probably not all at once, but I loved each individual item, so I will make them all again.

I used pork steaks, which I marinated all day and then removed from the refrigerator a couple of hours before grilling. I also wiped off the marinade and dried the meat with paper towels, something I learned from Julia that allows the meat to brown beautifully.

I was the only one who liked the tomato fritters. I thought they were very good. Hubby said they had no taste (though I am seriously beginning to think his taste buds are just dead), and the kids wouldn't even try them.

The salad was good, but too much dressing. Everything melded well, but I don't like my salad swimming. I followed all the recommendations in the recipe, but only used 2/3 of the vinaigrette and it was still too much for my tastes.

The bread recipe was originally for the bread machine. Well, my bread machine, the one I bought from a thrift store many months ago, finally kicked the bucket. So I winged it and adapted the recipe to work by hand. We all loved it, even my olive hating children. Because you use chopped olives, and because they are chopped so small, the olive pieces look more like flecks of pepper and the kids were none the wiser! ;) I love tricking my kids into eating things that they otherwise wouldn't. We enjoyed half the loaf and gave the other half to my neighbor who also loved it. Definitely a keeper!

And now for the recipes:

Greek-Seasoned Grilled Pork Chops with Lemon and Oregano

4 boneless pork sirloin chops (I used 3 bone in pork steaks)

Marinade:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 tsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. fresh lemon zest (or use 1/2 tsp. dried lemon peel)
2 tsp. dried Greek oregano (You can also use 2 T minced fresh Greek oregano, but I often use dried herbs in a marinade like this.) - I used fresh
2 tsp. minced fresh garlic (or use 1 tsp. dried granulated garlic) - I used fresh
fresh ground black pepper to taste

In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, Greek oregano, garlic, and black pepper. Trim all visible fat from pork chops and place in large Ziploc bag or flat glass dish. Pour marinade over pork chops and marinate in refrigerator for 4-8 hours, turning a few times if you're home.

To cook, remove pork chops from refrigerator and wipe off excess marinade. Dry chops with paper towels and let come to room temperature while you pre-heat gas or charcoal grill or George Foreman grill, or stove-top grill pan. (Preheat outdoor grills about 10 minutes. George Foreman grill or stove-top grill pan only needs to be preheated 4-5 minutes.)

For criss-cross grill marks, place pork chops on a diagonal to the grill grids, rotating 45 degrees when the first set of grill marks start to show.

Pork chops will take about 10-12 minutes to get done on an outdoor grill or stove-top grill pan, and about 5-6 minutes on a George Foreman grill which cooks both sides at once. Pork chops are done when they feel firm (but not hard) to the touch and look slightly browned. Serve hot.


Domatokeftethes: Tomato Fritters

4 ripe medium tomatoes, finely chopped
2 medium zucchini, grated
1 medium onion, grated
1 1/2 - 2 cups of self-rising flour (or add 1 teaspoon of baking powder per 1 cup of AP flour)
1/2 bunch fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/2 bunch fresh mint or fresh basil, finely chopped (I used basil)
salt
pepper
sunflower or canola oil for frying

Combine all ingredients except flour in a bowl. Add enough flour to make a thick batter.

Heat 1/2 to 3/4 inch of oil in a nonstick frying pan. When the oil is hot, drop the batter by tablespoonfuls into the oil and fry until browned. Turn once to brown on both sides.

Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on absorbent paper towels.

Yield: serves 4-6


Modern Greek Salad

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup Chianti vinegar (red wine vinegar)
Kosher salt
Freshly milled white pepper
1/2 cup haricots verts (French for green beans, use the small tender ones only)
1 pound mesclun salad greens (I used romaine)
1 English cucumber, skin on, seeded, medium dice
1 pint cherry tomatoes (I cut mine in half)
1 pint yellow grape tomatoes (I cut mine in half)
1 red onion, sliced thin
1 bunch flat leaf parsley, picked
1 bunch mint, picked
1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted (I sliced mine)
1/2 cup feta cheese, cubed

To make he vinaigrette, whisk the olive oil and vinegar together in a bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Blanch and shock the haricots verts. COmbine the mesclun, cucumber, tomatoes, onion, parsley, mint, olives, haricots verts, and feta cheese in a bowl and toss with the vinaigrette.

(Next time I will save the vinaigrette and serve it on the side.)


Greek Loaf
(If you want the bread machine version, click the Taste of Home link at the beginning of this post)

1 cup milk (70° to 80°)
1 tablespoon sugar
2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 to 1-1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups bread flour
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup chopped ripe olives

Dissolve sugar and yeast in warm milk and let sit a few minutes until bubbles begin to form. Combine bread flour, salt, oil and milk mixture. Stir until a dough forms then turn out onto a floured board or counter. Knead bread for 8 - 10 minutes, then place into an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled, about an hour.

Punch dough down, knead in the cheese and olives, knead until combined well, 3-5 minutes. Sprinkle cookie sheet with corn meal and form dough into a loaf. Place loaf on cookie sheet and spray lightly with cooking oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double about 40 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 F. Brush loaf with melted butter and sprinkle with seal salt. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden.

Scrambled Eggs with Garlic, Basil & Feta

I love breakfast. Eggs are one of my favorite dishes, so I am always trying to find different ways to serve them. It's usually just me though, as hubby's off the work early, the kids go off to school, and that's when I get to eat breakfast. I'm also diabetic, so I try to keep a good balance of protein, good carbs and good fats whenever I cook. I've heard a lot of good things lately about how Mediterranean recipes fit that bill perfectly. Most use good quality olive oil, plenty of fresh vegetables and lean meats.

I made a trip to the library and hit the cookbook section. I generally just scan the shelves looking for a new culinary treasure I have yet to experience. I hit the jackpot this time when I pulled the book Against the Grain: 150 Good Carb Mediterranean Recipes by Diane Kochilas off the shelf. The first recipe I tried after devouring all the pages in this great book, was Scrambled Eggs with Garlic, Basil & Gruyere. I didn't have any gruyere, so I used feta cheese. The results were absolutely, sop up as much as you can off the plate fabulous. I paired this mouth watering breakfast with some orange wedges and savored every morsel.

I buy farm fresh eggs. I am very fortunate to live in a rural area where I can do that. Not sure if you can tell from this picture, but the yolks are MUCH deeper yellow, more yellow-orange, than the grocery store eggs. This is because they are higher in protein. When chickens are allowed to be outside, scratching around in the dirt, eating protein enriched bugs all day, they produce eggs with a lot more protein than a chicken in a large egg farm (factory). Those chickens are kept in cages, stacked on top of one another, dropping out egg after egg after egg. Be cautious of some supposed "free range" claims, just because a chicken is allowed to be outside doesn't mean they will be able to eat bugs. For example, there are some egg farms that let the chickens out in a pen, but the pen floor is concrete! That means no scratching for bugs, and that's where the bird gains its nutrients to pass on to you and me through gorgeous orangey yolks. What's funny is that my mother in law told me that if she had opened an egg from the grocery store that looked like that she probably would have thought the egg was no good.

This is a very easy recipe, just whip the eggs together with everything except the garlic, which should be slowly cooking in olive oil over a low flame.

Cook the eggs slowly until done and enjoy!

Scrambled Eggs with Garlic, Basil & Gruyere
I halved everything here to make breakfast for one.

2 tsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, mashed
4 large eggs
1 tbsp light cream (I used whole milk)
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh basil
2 tbsp grated gruyere (I used crumbed feta)

Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over low heat. Add the garlic, cook until golden, but don't let it burn.

Beat together the eggs, cream, 2 tablespoons of water, the basil, and cheese in a large bowl. Pour the egg mixture into the skillet over the garlic. Scramble lightly and cook until fluffy and soft but not runny. Divide between two plates and serve.

Per serving: calories 237; fat 18g (saturated fat 6g); cholesterol 437mg; sodium 152mg; carbohydrates 3g, fiber 0g, protein 15g

Marble Chiffon Cake - an Ugly Duckling

I am going to consider this a partial fail, partial success. The marbling came out great, but I ignored my baking instincts and didn't question the recipe. I actually found this in an OLD Taste of Home magazine I had picked up at a thrift store. I really should have known better and should have googled the recipe FIRST, knowing good and well that Taste of Home would have it on their website. That would have been the smart thing, and the safe thing to do.

Well, against my better judgement I did not search it out, instead I followed the directions from the old magazine. I should have known better when the print version said to beat the whites to soft peaks.

My cake rose beautifully...

There was a LOT of shrinkage...

...but then when it was cooling in the pan it buckled in the weirdest way. It looks like 2 Michelin tires stacked on top of one another!

It still tastes delicious, it's just an ugly duckling. LOL I will make it again only using the edited directions on the TOH website :)

Incidentally, this was tasty the first day and part of the second, after that it declined and met its death in my Insinkerator. :-p


Marble Chiffon Cake
(This is the edited and correct version)

7 eggs, separated
1/3 cup baking cocoa
1/4 cup boiling water
1-1/2 cups plus 3 tablespoons sugar, divided
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 teaspoons grated orange peel

ORANGE GLAZE:
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
3 to 4 tablespoons orange juice
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel

Let eggs stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. In a bowl, whisk the cocoa, boiling water, 3 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons oil; cool. and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and remaining sugar. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks, water and remaining oil. Add to dry ingredients; beat until well blended. In another bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form; fold into batter.

Remove 2 cups of batter; stir into cocoa mixture. To the remaining batter, add orange peel. Alternately spoon the batters into an ungreased 10-in. tube pan. Swirl with a knife.

Gently spoon into an ungreased 10-in. tube pan. Cut through batter with a knife to remove air pockets. Bake on the lowest oven rack at 325° for 70-75 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Immediately invert pan; cool completely, about 1 hour.

Run a knife around side and center tube of pan. Remove cake to a serving plate.

For glaze, in a small bowl, combine the sugar, butter and enough orange juice to reach desired drizzling consistency. Add orange peel; Drizzle over cake. Yield: 12-14 servings.

Soft Gingerbread Football Cookies and Football Brownies

Football season is here! We are definitely football fans in this house. Our two youngest boys both play tackle on the local youth football league, and even my daughter is getting in on the action playing in the powder puff game at homecoming.

Recently, the boys' teams had a couple of parties and we needed to bring a dish to pass. Since I was in a hurry, I made brownies from a (shudder) box mix (eek!) and used a football shaped cookie cutter on them once they were cooled off. Then I added the laces them with a tube of white cake decorator icing. The brownies were a huge hit at the parties and the boys were very happy. :)

Then, I had an assignment for Disney to make some gingerbread cookies (sorry, can't say anymore about that), and only used a portion of this FABULOUS soft gingerbread cookie dough I found. I have never really liked gingerbread, well at least I didn't until I found this recipe. :) Roll it fairly thick and you'll have deliciously soft and chewy gingerbread. So anyway, I needed to use up the remaining dough, so I dug through the cookie cutters and decided to make the boys a helmet each with their numbers on them, some footballs, and played around with the rest, making some gingerbread people, ghosts, and pumpkins.

I found the recipe on Recipezaar and absolutely agree with the title. Some people had a little trouble with the dough being sticky, but I followed her directions exactly, including the part about letting the dough rest for at least two hours and had no problems at all. I didn't make the second batch of cookies until the next day. I had chilled the dough in the refrigerator overnight and took it out in the morning and let it come to room temperature before rolling it out.

The Most Wonderful Gingerbread Cookies 

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup molasses
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (optional - I didn't use this)

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves until well blended.

In a large bowl (KitchenAid's great for this) beat butter, brown sugar, and egg on medium speed until well blended. Add molasses, vanilla, and lemon zest and continue to mix until well blended. Gradually stir in dry ingredients until blended and smooth.

Divide dough in half and wrap each half in plastic and let stand at room temperature for at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours. (Dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Return to room temp before using.)

Preheat oven to 375°. Grease or line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Place 1 portion of the dough on a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle flour over dough and rolling pin. Roll dough to a scant 1/4-inch thick (I rolled mine a bit thicker for softer cookies). Use additional flour to avoid sticking.

Cut out cookies with desired cutter. I actually found it easier to roll the dough out on the parchment, cut out the cookies and remove the outer pieces, leaving the cookie shapes on the parchment. Then lift the parchment up at one side, so that the cookie shape is now upside down, place your hand under it and peel the parchment off the back of the cookie. The cookie will land gently in your hand and won't get stretched out of shape like it would if you lift the cookie from the surface and place it on the pan.

Space cookies 1 1/2-inches apart. Bake 1 sheet at a time for 7-10 minutes (the lower time will give you softer cookies). Remove cookie sheet from oven and allow the cookies to stand until the cookies are firm enough to move to a wire rack.

Rotini with Creamy Three Herb Pesto & Chicken

You've heard my harp about this fabulous cookbook that I have, The Complete 15-Minute Gourmet. I found a pasta recipe using pesto and chicken. I didn't have any chevre, so I substituted with plain feta cheese. The flavors of the herbs mingled beautifully with the familiar taste of garlic and shallots, which I tend to use often. This is definitely a recipe I will make again and again, as I do grow so tired of tomato sauce on my pasta dishes. I need to harvest the last of my basil plant, so this will most likely be on the menu for next week, only this time I will pick up the chevre. :)


Rotini with Creamy Three Herb Pesto & Chicken
Note: Pesto can be made up to two days in advance.

Pasta:
12 oz rotini
1 tbsp olive oil
16 oz chicken tenders, cut into one inch pieces
dash of salt and pepper

Pesto:
1/2 cup (4 oz) chevre cheese
1/2 cup fresh flat leaf parsley sprigs
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup coarsely chopped shallots
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp coarsely chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp pepper, or to taste
1/4 tsp salt, or to taste

Cook rotini according to package directions.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat, Add the chicken; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until lightly browned and thoroughly cooked.

At the same time, process all the pesto ingredients in a food processor until nearly smooth.

When pasta is done, drain well. Return to the pasta pan, add the pesto and toss. Add chicken and toss again.

Garnishes (optional): sprigs of fresh herbs, tomato slices, Romano cheese.

One year blogging and interview with RecipeGirl.com

My one year anniversary for this blog (aka blogaversary) was on the 15th. I've been so busy with work that I haven't had time to sit down and really write this the way that I wanted to, until tonight. It's Saturday evening, I spent the first half of the day at my two younger boys' football games, volunteering at the concession stand, then came home and cleaned the house.

When the house was clean and I had taken my shower, I finally took a breath and did what I really enjoy...

I baked.
I planned my menu for next week.
I went through my cookbooks.

I think if I could spend all my time baking, cooking and blogging, I'd have the perfect job. :)

This post is not exactly what I had envisioned. For many months I imagined a wonderful display of pictures,  countdown of the most popular recipes on this blog, most commented posts, etc, etc. But I'm wiped out. I have been for last few weeks. If I'm not working what seems like 25 hours per day, then I am running back and forth to football games and school and trying to keep this house clean. So, even though I wanted this to be a glamorous and fun post, it's just not going to happen. The upside is that I have a fabulous guest today, and that's Lori of RecipeGirl.com! Her site is beautiful, filled with marvelous treats, and I am inspired by it daily. After reading my babble (if you dare) please read my interview with Lori below.

This past year I have learned a lot about myself, my love for food, and my obsession with baked goods.

One year ago I was blogging about recipes I had clipped from box tops, I was using boxed cake mix, Jell-o gelatin and prepackaged macaroni and cheese. One year ago I was stuck in a dinner rut. I hated making dinner. Seemed like the same thing over and over and boy was it boring.

Now I make flaky pastries, gourmet cakes and cookies, luscious custards, and homemade ice cream, all from scratch. I plan my menus using recipes I've found in fabulous cookbooks and on the amazing blogs I've discovered since I started this venture. I try different things all the time and have discovered so many new flavor combinations that it's put the joy back into cooking for me.

I've learned a lot over this past year and I've made a lot of new friends. I give a lot of credit to Tuesdays with Dorie. I joined this wonderful baking group less than a month after starting this blog. I never would have imagined it would have broadened my culinary horizons so much and allowed me to grow into a confident baker. I have learned so many things from the fabulous TWD bakers and from Dorie Greenspan herself. Her book is absolutely wonderful, well written, and explanatory. Who knew I could make homemade biscotti, rugelach or the gorgeous Devil's food white out cake on the book's cover? I credit so much of this to Dorie and the wonderful members of TWD. So to all of you, thank you so much for helping me step out of my comfort zone.

Something else I am very thankful for are all the wonderful members of the Food Bloggers Discussion List. They are so eager and willing to help, open to ideas, and great at networking. I'm so glad to be associated with all of you!

I know I sound silly, like I'm accepting an award or something (LOL), but I also want to thank all of you that read this blog. You are my inspiration to keep going, though I do wish more of you would speak up in the comments so I know how I'm doing! :) I love to hear from you, so please don't be shy. :)

Here are the 10 most visited recipes on Amanda's Cookin' over the past year:

Italian Lasagna with Meat
Homemade Mocha Frappacinos
Baker's Square French Silk Pie
Making Pizza on the Grill
Chicken Salad with Grapes
Homemade Ice Cream: Oreo & Butter Pecan
Hot Hamburger Sandwiches
Banana Upside Down Muffins
Homemade Powdered Sugar

Thanks for being part of my first year! I'm looking forward to many more :) And now, I want to introduce you to Lori Lange, founder of RecipeGirl.com. I love her site and have similar visions for this blog. I want to take it to the next level someday, and Lori is a doing what I want to do - enjoying her writing, cooking, baking and making a living doing it. :)


Interview with Lori Lange of RecipeGirl.com

There are a lot of food blogs and recipe sites out there. I visit so many of them that I could literally spend all day everyday doing nothing but reading and posting comments. One of those amazing sites is the fabulous RecipeGirl.com. Lori's site is full of amazing dishes, appetizers, desserts, snacks and entertaining ideas. Her photos are beautiful and you are certain to find many recipes you'll want to print or bookmark.

(AC=Amanda's Cookin' -  RG=RecipeGirl)

AC: Lori, thank you for talking with me today :)

RG: Thank you for having me, I am honored!

AC: RecipeGirl.com is a beautiful site. Did it start off as a blog only? If so, when did you start and why?

RG: I left teaching elementary school after 12 years and was looking for something to do. A friend in a successful internet business had suggested that I create a website centered around something I was interested in. I had always been interested in cooking, so I ended up creating RecipeGirl.com in 2006. It began as a recipe database only. Truthfully, I had never even been to a food blog before I started the site. Eventually I started stumbling across them, and put together my own blog at the beginning of 2008.

AC: At what point did you decide to take your blog to the next level?

RG: I had the blog professionally designed at the beginning of this year (by BetterInPink.com)

AC: I'm sure there are plenty of bloggers out there that admire your site as much as I do. How did you go about finding what you needed to do to turn your blog into what it is today?

RG: My friend who owns a large, successful website in a similar industry has been my biggest source of advice and inspiration. I've also relied on tips from successful food bloggers, and learn a lot from reading others' blog posts and interacting with food bloggers on Twitter and Facebook. FoodBlogAlliance.com posts topics that are valuable to even the experienced blogger. I've been to a couple of food blogger conferences where top bloggers share their secrets of success. And I recently picked up a really, really good camera.

AC: What advice would you give to those bloggers wanting to move on to that next level, to get past that blogger or word press platform and become unique?

RG: Find a niche and stick with it. My site is much bigger than just a blog, so I typically blog about the best recipes that I've tested. I try to pick things that are unique and interesting- things that might be a little outside of the normal realm of cooking.

Invest in a good camera. I never blog about a recipe unless I have good pictures to go with it. A blog with blurry, blah or unappealing pictures is simply not one that people enjoy visiting.

Invest in your own domain, They are inexpensive and give a more professional look to your blog. A domain is easier for visitors to remember as well.

Don't clutter the home page of your blog with a bunch of links and followers and 'awards' and such. The cleaner you keep it, the more professional your blog will look.

Don't ever, ever ask to exchange links with anyone- it's just not good etiquette.

AC: It's obvious that you love to bake and cook. How long have you been at it and when did you realize your love for cooking?

RG: I've baked since I was a kid- always made cookies with Mom, but I never really cooked much until I cooked with roommates in college. In graduate school I worked for a caterer, and that's when my love for cooking really took off. I loved the cooking, I loved decorating the tables, and I loved serving (cleaning up...not so much!).

AC: What's your favorite part of owning RecipeGirl.com?

RG: I love that I get emails every single day from readers who are enjoying the recipes that I post. I'm happy that I can cook, bake and photograph all day if I want to. I'm happiest in the kitchen.

AC: Do you have any favorite recipes on your site that you refer back to over and over, "go to" recipes so to speak?

RG: I'm not really one to repeat a recipe, but I do have a few family favorites: Avocado & Pine Nut Salad, Fudge Nut Layer Bars, Pumpkin Bread, Oreo-Chunk Brownies, and Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup.

AC: Tell us a little about yourself.

RG: I'm married (14 years) to a wonderful husband who is forever grateful that he has a wife who cooks! We have one son who enjoys being my #1 taste tester, and he's quite interested in cooking too. We live in San Diego, but we spent much of our summer in Massachusetts.

AC: Do you have any favorite recipe sites or magazines you turn to often for inspiration?

G: I'm a food magazine junkie. I have subscriptions to them all and often use them for recipe inspiration. When I'm looking for something special, I turn to Food Blog Search, since food bloggers write about the best recipes!

AC: I noticed that you adapt recipes to fit your needs, therefore making them your own. Do you also create recipes on your own?

RG: Yes, I've gotten better at that over the years. Often times I'll read cooking magazines at the gym and then I'll come home with an idea. Or sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and have a tough time getting back to sleep because I've thought of something new to do with brownies, etc. I've just started to enter a few recipe contests- no luck yet though!

AC: Do you have any formal culinary training? If not, who was your mentor?

RG: No, no formal training besides learning from the professional caterers that I worked with for a few years. Mom and Grandma all cooked, but they made more homestyle, family food. I'd say I'm more self-taught than anything else.


AC: What's your favorite kitchen gadget?

RG: I have two.  One is my microplane- I seem to zest or grate more than the average cook.  And also my remote digital thermometer with a long cord attached to it... I manage to find use for it in the oven, the bbq, glasses of water that I'm heating to mix with yeast, and even in candy making.

AC: What is your favorite kitchen appliance?

RG: Hands down, my best kitchen appliance purchase was my Viking Food Processor.  I lived without one for many years, and honestly I don't know how I did it.  The thing works like a tank, and saves many hours of chopping in the kitchen.   My Kitchenaid Mixer gets a pretty good workout too.


AC: Is there anything else you would like to share with us?

RG: I have a second blog debuting sometime in September! It's currently in the design phase, but it's something I'm really excited about. Details will be revealed soon!

Looking forward to seeing that new site! I want to thank Lori for taking the time to share so much with us. Be sure to visit her at RecipeGirl.com, you can follow her on Twitter @RecipeGirl

White Chocolate Ice Cream

I'm still working on my one year blogaversary post. I was going to hastily put it together due to my current insane workload, but changed my mind. There are soooo many things I have learned this year that I don't want to short change that lovely anniversary and then regret it. So instead, I will try to catch up on some blog posts sitting in the wings as I work on it.

Recently I opened up David Lebovitz's Perfect Scoop and turned to page 33. I, like David, am a white chocolate fan. As he says, some purists will argue that it's not real chocolate. I echo David's thoughts "Although that may be technically true, who cares?" Well said David. :)

I didn't have any fancy white chocolate to use for this recipe, just the white chocolate baker's squares. They worked out beautifully and if you like white chocolate you will like this ice cream! The book suggests topping this with Sour Cherries in syrup (on page 185 of his book ) or pairing it with chocolate cake. I say it's fabulous all by its lonesome!

The full recipe is at the end :)

I think I've mentioned before that I have learned to gather all my ingredients ahead of time. Saves time while making the recipe and it also saves you the disappointment of discovering that you thought you had something on hand when in fact you were out. :-p As you can see, my egg yolks are in a plastic sandwich bag. The most efficient way to extract those yolks from that bag is to cut off a bottom corner and squeeze them out.

Start by putting all the chopped white chocolate into a bowl and place a mesh strainer over the top. Set that aside.

Mix the sugar, salt and milk together and warm in a saucepan.

After you've whisked the egg yolks in a separate bowl, temper the eggs by adding a very slow drizzle of the warm mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly. You can increase the drizzle after you've added about 1/4-1/3 of the warm milk mixture. Put the warm egg mixture back into the saucepan.

After cooking the mixture and thickening it to a custard, strain it over the white chocolate. I had to stir for quite a while to get all the white chocolate to finally melt.

Next, stir in the cream.

Then put the bowl into an ice bath and stir until cooled.

After the custard has completely cooled in the refrigerator, churn it in your ice cream maker. Then put into a container and freeze it completely. Then you get to EAT it :)

White Chocolate Ice Cream

8 oz white chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream

Put the chocolate pieces in a large bowl and and set a mesh strainer over the top.

Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. In a separate medium bowl whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer over the white chocolate. Stir until white chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth, then stir in the cream. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

TWD: Flaky Apple Turnovers

APOLOGY - I'm apologizing to any TWD bakers this week. I am so swamped with work I'm lucky I actually got these made. I may not be able to get out and post comments, and I'm sorry for that. Just wanted to make sure I got this out there :-/

Today is my one year blogoversary. However, it's also Tuesdays with Dorie. So I decided to hold off on my one year post until later tonight to allow the TWD post to shine through. After all, these Flaky Apple Turnovers chosen by Julie of Someone’s in the Kitchen are to die for! You can check out Julie's blog for the recipe or flip open Baking From My Home to Yours to pages 316 and 317.

I have been insanely busy with work this past couple of weeks. So much so that I haven't been able to blog the way I would like. I work for Disney's Kaboose.com as their kid's craft expert and during Disney's acquisition of Kaboose from June through July, I did not have any assignments. So now that is all ironed out, I have been slammed with assignments and have been a crafting fiend for the last two weeks. My living room has been over run by craft supplies, glue, construction paper, felt, wiggle eyes, and pom poms.

So with that all said I don't have any step by step photos or anything truly insightful to say about this recipe other than it really is fabulous. I will definitely make it again, only next time I think I will try subbing brown sugar for the white sugar that is mixed with the apples, I have a feeling the results would be similar to a Taco Bell caramel apple empanada (insert Homer Simpson "oooooaaaahhhh").

The dough has sour cream in it, making it rather sticky, but if you follow the recipe instructions and peel back the wax paper slowly after rolling, you shouldn't have too many issues. I allowed mine to sit in the refrigerator overnight, so it was pretty easy to work with. Dorie says these freeze very well and do not need to be thawed, just add a few extra minutes to the baking time. I will definitely do that next time, these are really a winner!

Delicious!

Oh, if I can muster up enough energy, my blogoversary post tonight will include some fun stuff I've learned over the last year as well as an interview with one of my favorite recipe blogs. See you later!