YAY! for new toys!!

I need to find a way to store the blades, they don't all fit inside the bowl, but I'm pretty excited. The slicing blade is adjustable from 1 to 6 mm

YAY! for Noodles!!

Steph from Stephfood was our Daring Cooks' July hostess. Steph challenged us to make homemade noodles without the help of a motorized pasta machine. She provided us with recipes for Spätzle and Fresh Egg Pasta as well as a few delicious sauces to pair our noodles with!

I made Käsespätzle, which is spätzle with cheese and onions. It was really good. I have a spätzle maker (looks like this ), which makes it really easy. I layered the noodles with cheese and browned onions and baked until bubbly. YUM! For sure a once in a while treat.

YAY! for Baklava!!

Baklava is one of my favorite WOW desserts, something that's easy, delicious, and impressive. I usually use Alton Brown's recipe, except for the rose water, and make the syrup with orange blossom honey. Erica of Erica’s Edibles was our host for the Daring Baker’s June challenge. Erica challenged us to be truly DARING by making homemade phyllo dough and then to use that homemade dough to make Baklava. I do like it better with the store-bought phyllo, but it was fun to make my own.

YAY! for Potato Salad!!!

Jami Sorrento was our June Daring Cooks hostess and she chose to challenge us to celebrate the humble spud by making a delicious and healthy potato salad. The Daring Cooks Potato Salad Challenge was sponsored by the nice people at the United States Potato Board, who awarded prizes to the top 3 most creative and healthy potato salads. A medium-size (5.3 ounce) potato has 110 calories, no fat, no cholesterol, no sodium and includes nearly half your daily value of vitamin C and has more potassium than a banana!

I made a warm potato salad using red an yukon gold potatoes, with blanched snow peas, asparagus, and green beans, crispy turkey bacon, sliced scallions, and a mustard vinagrette:

1/4 cup oil (I used olive oil)
2 T mustard (I used Maille hot dijon, my favorite)
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste


It was really good, and made good leftovers later in the week. Yum!

YAY! for Plated Desserts!!!

The May 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Emma of CookCraftGrow and Jenny of Purple House Dirt. They chose to challenge everyone to make a Chocolate Marquise. The inspiration for this recipe comes from a dessert they prepared at a restaurant in Seattle.

I decided to go all out with the plating because I haven't done plated desserts since school. I made a half recipe by rounding up on the egg yolks, and didn't need all the meringue, but made it anyway. With the left over meringue I made these.

I borrowed the plate from work, and made a couple of less attractive ones for eating. I really wanted to do mine in a different shape and thought a heart would be fun. I made a croquante of hazelnuts, but forgot to put it on before pictures, so it's not there, but was really tasty.

YAY! for Soufflee Cookies!!!

This might be my new favorite cookie recipe! They're so easy and delicious. I had extra swiss meringue from another dessert project and wasn't sure what to do with it, and then I remember this post at :pastrystudio. I estimated that I had about 4 egg whites of meringue left so I doubled it (she doesn't recommend it, but I was baking two sheets in each of two ovens, so the batter didn't sit and wait). I cooked the top oven batch perfectly, but forgot that the lower oven is about 25 degrees cooler than the top and underbaked some, which were still tasty, just less pretty and puffy.

I definitely recommend trying this recipe, but be sure to have plenty of milk on hand when you do. :)

Gumbo

Our May hostess, Denise, of There’s a Newf in My Soup!, challenged The Daring Cooks to make Gumbo! She provided us with all the recipes we’d need, from creole spices, homemade stock, and Louisiana white rice, to Drew’s Chicken & Smoked Sausage Gumbo and Seafood Gumbo from My New Orleans: The Cookbook, by John Besh.

I didn't like it much, I think I cooked the roux too fast, it ended up oily and gritty. We made hush puppies to go with and they were great.