Archive for November, 2010
I always like seeing a bag of limited edition chocolate chips pop up on grocer store shelves around the holidays, and seeing Nestle’s seasonal Tollhouse Dark Chocolate & Mint Morsels was no exception. Flavored chips promise a little departure from standard chocolate chips in a form that is just as easy to incorporate into a cake or cookie dough. The problem is that not all of them live up to these expectations, often having artificial flavors that make them taste slightly off. That is not the case with these at all.
The Tollhouse Dark Chocolate & Mint Morsels are a mixture of about 2/3 dark chocolate chips and 1/3 mint chips. It is an incredibly good mix of flavors that can be eaten straight out of the bag or incorporated into a recipe. The mint pieces are creamy and taste strongly of fresh mint on their own. The dark chocolate is smooth, with great cocoa notes, and isn’t too sweet. They balance each other beautifully and their combined flavor is like that of an Andes chocolate after dinner mint. The chips melt well and their flavors hold up after baking. These are definitely tasty (even on their own straight from the bag) and, if you’re a mint fan or just want to do a little mint-infused brownie, cookie or cupcake baking, definitely keep an eye out for these on the baking aisle.
As tasty as pecan pie and other similar nut pies are, that rich filling can sometimes make the pies a little bit heavy. This Citrus Walnut Tart is a nut-filled dessert that is a little bit lighter overall, but no less rich in flavor. The tart starts with a cookie-like base that has a buttery flavor and a nice hint of crunch to it. It is topped with walnuts and a sweet, maple and citrus syrup.
The tart is easy to put together because the crust is made with the creaming method, like many cookie doughs, and there is no need to fuss with a pastry crust, pie weights or anything like that. It is simply pressed into the pan and baked. I used a lightly beaten egg white to create a little bit of a seal on the bottom crust to prevent the filling from saturating it and making it soggy. As you make it, it may not seem like there is that much syrup to create the filling for this tart, and that is true. This is because the walnuts are the star here and the citrusy syrup simply serves to give them a flavorful coating and bring new flavors into the dessert.
If you don’t have a tart pan, you can also press this crust into a 9-inch square pan and come up the sides of the baking dish about 1/3 of an inch. Although you’ll have to serve it in squares rather than slices, you’ll still get all the flavor of the original dessert. In fact, this is a great option if you’re looking for a slightly more casual way to serve this, or for something to take to a holiday party where bars might serve more people than a tart would.
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The TV show Cake Boss on TLC is focused on the day to day workings for Buddy Valestro’s New Jersey Carlo’s Bakery, including everything from the family dynamics of those who run to place to the efficient production that goes into make beautiful cakes for weddings and birthdays. In Cake Boss: Stories and Recipes from Mia Famiglia, you get a lot more background on Buddy and the history of the bakery, making this book a great companion for fans of the series and those who might simply be interested in the inner workings of a very successful bakery.
The book starts out with the story of Buddy’s father, who was born in Italy and grew up working in his grandfather’s bakery, and how h came to work at – and eventually buy – Carlo’s Bakery in 1963. It has been in the family ever since. The book goes on to describe the work that buddy’s father did there, how Buddy rose up to the challenge of filling his shoes after his death and how he built on the bakery’s success to make it bigger and more popular than before. It’s one of those classic American stories where hard work and skill reap big rewards in the end for everyone involved. The book is full of great black and white family photos from the last several decades.
After the history lesson, there is a big section of recipes from the bakery, with many cake, pie and frosting recipes. The one that will stand out the most is the recipe for lobster tails, which are the bakery’s signature (and most difficult to make) desserts. This particular recipe even warns that you might not want to attempt the sfogliatelle dough at home unless you’ve had experience working in a bakery before! Still, the recipes are well written and well explained, and while most are much simpler than the lobster tails, there should be no reason that a little persistence shouldn’t pay off for home bakers and result in some great bakery-quality cakes to enjoy while watching the show or reading the rest of the book.
Thanksgiving is a holiday really has it all. A big roast, lots of side dishes and even more desserts. The one thing it doesn’t have (according to my father, amongst other people) is bacon. So, this year, I’m putting together a Thanksgiving menu that is infused with bacon. I know there is no shortage of bacon lovers out there, so feel free to infuse some bacon into your Thanksgiving, too!
- For the turkey, I decided to go with the High Heat Turkey method I used last year with success. I considered putting bacon on top of the turkey for this menu, but instead I’m introducing some bacon fat into the turkey drippings to make Bacon-Infused Turkey Gravy. You can get the recipe below.
- Stuffing – whether I was doing a bacon theme or not – is definitely Bacon, Pumpkin and Pecan Stuffing this year. This stuffing recipe is so savory and delicious, it can be addicting. Fortunately, a double batch of stuffing means more for turkey sandwiches the next day.
- Yorkshire puddings are typically made with beef drippings, but I make my Huge Yorkshire Puddings with butter. You could chop up some pieces of already cooked bacon and add them in to the popover batter, but instead I would use bacon fat – or half bacon fat and half butter – to cook the popovers and give them a hint of bacon flavor to tie them in with the turkey and stuffing. I’m doing these in place of dinner rolls.
- Oven Roasted Brussel Sprouts are a great side dish in general, but are another food that really takes to bacon. Cook a bit of bacon in a frying pan and toss the brussel sprouts in the bacon to coat them before putting them in the oven. You can sprinkle the bacon on top for a little more crunch, if you like.
- Use either Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes or Duchess Potatoes as the potato dish. With a bacon gravy already on the menu, you don’t want to go too crazy with bacon (yes, even if you’re a big fan of bacon!).
- Because the stuffing recipe has some maple syrup in it, and since bacon has such a savory flavor, this sweet Maple Brown Sugar Cranberry Sauce is a nice contrast to all of the other dishes here. It’s sweet, tart and has a definite maple flavor to it.
For dessert? I know there are lots of maple and bacon cupcakes, donuts and cookies out there, but that might be overkill here after such a rich meal. Skip the bacon after dinner and go with a classic Thanksgiving pie.
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I like homemade cranberry sauce because it is so easy and usually much better tasting than anything you can buy. The most basic cranberry sauce recipe calls for whole cranberries, water and sugar. From this basic combination of ingredients, you can really flavor the sauce any way you like. You can add spices or citrus zest, apple or orange juice, and really make the cranberry sauce unique – not to mention make it match your personal flavor preferences or the overall flavors in your meal.
For this cranberry sauce, I decided to play around with the sweeteners in the sauce itself. I used maple syrup and brown sugar to give this cranberry sauce a richer, slightly darker flavor than some cranberry sauces have. The berries themselves are nice and tart, so this sauce isn’t too sweet, but because you can clearly taste the maple and brown sugar notes in the finished dish, it is a wonderful contrast to savory dishes (like turkey and stuffing at Thanksgiving!).
The sauce will thicken as it cools, but it is not as thick as many sauces that come premade from the market. I don’t mind a little extra cranberry juice because it makes the sauce more versatile, perfect for pouring on pancakes and waffles as well as for serving with dinner. If you like yours to be a little thicker, simply cut the water down by half when you’re making the sauce. This sauce can be made a week or so in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
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