FFwD: Lyonnaise Garlic and Herb Cheese

It was pretty much a no-brainer that I'd love this week's French Friday's with Dorie recipe: Lyonnaise Garlic and Herb Cheese (pg 20 of Around My French Table). Mix oil, red wine vinegar, garlic and herbs into ricotta cheese. Smear on bread. Smile.

Thank goodness it was such a simple recipe, because my brain went wonky while I was shopping for the ingredients. Who knows what would have become of a recipe that involved work? I have a glitch where, 7 times out of 10, I see that a recipe calls for shallots, and think, "Oh good, I have those in the fridge." However, I don't have shallots. I have scallions. I see the word shallot, and I visualize a scallion. I read the word shallot, and I buy a scallion. I do it all the time. I did it this time. I have no explanation.

I used up all my tarragon on a chicken earlier this week, so I took Dorie's recipe as a guideline, and used the herbs I had on hand: basil, chives, thyme, and parsley. And extra garlic, because garlic makes the world better. Stinkier, but better.

This is one of those tasty, satisfying, simple ideas that make me kick myself for needing a recipe for it at all. Why haven't I been doing this my whole life? It's such a logical food combination.

Conclusion: Loved it.

FFwD: Double Chocolate Banana Tart

I stalled as long as I could before making Double Chocolate Banana Tart, not because I didn't want to eat it, but because I didn't want to make it. In my brain, a fully baked chocolate tart shell + caramelized bananas + chocolate ganache + sliced bananas + glaze = lots and lots of work. Fortunately, my brain was wrong.

The dough for the shell whirs together in no time in the food processor. Then it's pressed into the tart shell, which is waaaay easier than rolling one out and hoping it fits.

All you do to caramelize banana is to cook slices in sugar. Boom. Done.

Chocolate ganache? That's just boiling heavy cream mixed into chopped up chocolate, then stirred with butter.

Layer it, cool it in the fridge, and shortly before serving, slice some fresh banana on top and brush them with heated apricot jelly.

There may have been four layers, but this was the easiest tart I've ever thrown together. It tasted like all the best parts of a banana split.

I would make this again in a heartbeat, but only if I had company coming for dinner. It's pretty, for one, but more importantly, it's quite rich, and I don't think the top layer of bananas will last long enough for Matt and I to eat it on our own. We kept a slice each for tonight's dessert, and sent the remainder off to the USO. I may regret that decision tomorrow.

Conclusion: Loved it.

I made last week's Provencal Olive Fougasse on time, but, as is becoming my habit, I didn't blog about it. All I can say is OH MAH GOD. I'm addicted to it. One bread was the star of my favorite type of dinner--small plates of meats and cheese and veg to grab at and nibble on--and I brought the second to a friend's graduation part last Saturday, where it promptly vanished. One friend said, "I hate olives, but I LOVE this!" Dorie Greenspan: forcing people to reevaluate their tastes, one mouthful at a time. 

Conclusion: Loved it.

FFwD: Almond Flounder (ahem, Tilapia) Meuniere

Matt had to go to a conference in DC for the week, so, in the name of pantry-and-freezer-emptying, I seized the masochistic opportunity to eat a stockpile of Nutrisystem meals that have been sitting around for over a year. I look at those boxes and see dollar signs, and I just can't bring myself to throw them out. They're nasty, though. Really nasty.

I don't mean to come down too hard on Nutrisystem. For some reason--desperation? a less-refined palate?--I didn't gag on them in the past. NS served me well both times I used it, and helped me lose 20+ pounds pre-wedding, then post-baby. Also, it always slaps me in the face with how few fruits and vegetables I eat in a day, when left to my own devices. Maybe it's because I'm just eating the meals to eat them, rather than as a means to an end, but I'm having a really hard time swallowing them. They may start accidentally falling in the trash can. hehe. Anyway. What this all leads up to is that, after a few of these wretched meals, I was really, really looking forward to this week's French Fridays with Dorie recipe: Almond Flounder Meuniere (pg 290 of Around My French Table.) I couldn't get my hands on flounder, so I used tilapia, for no reason other than that the cutlets were fairly flat, and I have it in my head, with no proof, that flounder is, too.

This fish couldn't be easier to prepare. Brush some egg yolk on one side of the fish, then dredge it in a mixture of ground almonds, flour, salt, pepper, and lemon zest. I had no lemons, so I took a chance and used orange zest. It was a delicious impulse. The fish is then cooked for a few minutes on each side in browned butter. YUM. I'm just sad that I haven't made this dish sooner. It's so easy and so tasty.

Conclusion: Loved it.

Unfortunately, I can't say the same for a catch-up recipe that I made last week. My freezer-purge finally prompted me to cook Short Ribs in Red Wine and Port (pg 254). Months ago, I bought frozen short ribs from the grass-fed beef guy at my farmer's market. I came home, threw them in my freezer, and haven't touched them since.

Who wants a fat sandwich?

I won't get too involved with the preparation, since it's so far in the past for everyone else, but I hated the outcome. I must have skimmed six inches of grease off the surface of the broth, and there were still great globules of fat on the bones. My stomach lurched just looking at them, and then when they turned out to just taste like stew beef (my most loathed enemy), I gave up and ate a bowl of Cheerios for dinner instead. For the record, Matt liked it. I hope the memory stands by him, because he's never having it again. ha!

Conclusion: Hated it.

TwD: Hungarian Shortbread

When I first tasted the Hungarian Shortbread (pg 237-238 of Baking with Julia) that we baked up this week for Tuesdays with Dorie, I thought it was okay, but nothing special. However, with each day that passed, it became more and more compulsively eatable. I only made half a batch, which was plenty.

This recipe employs a neat technique of freezing and then grating the dough directly into the pan. With the help of my trusty food processor, this was simple as could be. I couldn't find any rhubarb at the supermarket, so I couldn't make the recommended jam from it. I used a jar of tart lemon curd that I had in the fridge. It offset the sweet, buttery dough nicely. Too nicely. Nom nom nom!

Yep. Definitely glad I only baked half a batch.

I'm so glad that I read people's advice to bake the bottom layer for a while before adding the jam and top layer. I baked it for 15 minutes, and the end result still gave the effect of raw dough. I wish I left it in longer, because the best bits were the browned edges.

No one but me ate more than one piece of it, so this won't become one of my go-to recipes. In fact, I threw out what was left last night, because I didn't want to finish it all by my lonesome. I would have sent it to work with my husband, but he forgot to bring it on Monday, and today he flew off to a symposium in DC. Ah, well.

The hosts for this week's recipe are Lynette and Cher. You can find the full recipe on either of their blogs.

FFwD: Navarin Printanier

April in Texas is not the time to cook a thick lamb stew, which is the best way to describe this week's French Fridays with Dorie selection: Navarin Printanier. It hit 88 degrees yesterday. After half a bowl, I broke a sweat. My husband reminded me that it's still chilly in other parts of the country, so this wasn't a totally unseasonable choice to be put on the schedule. I know he's right, but that didn't help me want to eat it.

I've said before that I just don't like stew. I would like to amend that statement. I don't like beef stew. I've been delighted with most lamb stews that I've tried, and this one is no exception. Between the turnips and the pearl onions, the smell reminded me of Thanksgiving. The tomato paste and the large amount of flour used to thicken the broth made it even more hearty than stews I've eaten before. This would be lovely if you were snowed in. I'll keep it in mind for next winter, when I live someplace that actually gets damp and cold.

Conclusion: Liked it. Not to mention that it used up the bag of pearl onions that's been in my freezer since Thanksgiving, as well as my bag of baby carrots. The great freezer purge continues!

FFwD: Coconut Friands

I have no specific problem with coconut, except that, given a list of flavors, it would likely be my last pick. I don't mind it as a background ingredient, but I don't like it when it coats the outside of a cake (in the same way that I don't like nuts in my ice cream. It interferes with the texture in a way that other add-ins do not), or when it's the primary flavor of something, because it usually is TOO coconutty for my taste.

That said, this week's French Fridays with Dorie pick of Coconut Friands (little cakes baked in mini muffin tins) was perfectly timed. I was having a lousy Wednesday (fourth anniversary since my dad died) and a little baking therapy was just what I needed. This recipe made me happy because I had all the ingredients already, it used up my coconut and four egg whites that I had in the freezer (trying to eat through the contents of my pantry before I move this summer), and it was easy as can be. I wasn't in a mind-space to do much besides stir ingredients together, so it was perfect.

All that was left by the time I remembered to snap a photo. Don't judge me. haha

I was delighted at how much I liked these little cakes. Especially when they were fresh from the oven, the edges and sides were a little crisp, almost like they'd caramelized. That effect was gone by the next day, but it was lovely while it lasted. They certainly tasted of coconut, but the flavor seemed mild because it was so well balanced by vanilla. I think that the use of unsweetened coconut was crucial to keeping the flavor in check. Hot, they tasted of whipped cream, somehow. I can't explain that.

Needless to say, therapy baking turned into therapy eating. Oh well, it was just for a day. Charlie liked these too, much to my surprise. Maybe I've just been baking the wrong flavored treats for his palate. He ate one and then ran to the kitchen and was stretching to reach another off the counter. Eat up, lad, eat up. Please, don't make me eat them all myself.

Conclusion: Loved them.

Also, consider this a public service announcement. I made the Basic White Loaf from Baking with Julia that was previously covered by Tuesdays with Dorie. The bread was easy and delicious, but the damn dough broke my Kitchenaid mixer. Online searches have revealed to me that you are not supposed to turn the Kitchenaid mixer on higher than level "2" when using the bread hook or it will burn out the motor, so when the recipe instructed me to raise the speed to medium, things went wrong. I had no idea, and I'm guessing some of you don't know either. I have to take her apart this weekend to check out her innards, because the interwebs tell me that the most common problem can be fixed with a $25 replacement part--some failsafe piece that it designed to break before the motor is actually damaged. Fingers crossed!

How can I stay mad at a face like that?

Let me just tell you, kneading butter into a stiff dough by hand is no fun. No fun at all.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Lemon Loaf Cake

I held out against the siren song of Tuesdays with Dorie for as long as I could. I wanted to join them back when they were baking through Dorie Greenspan's book, Baking, but the group was closed to newcomers by the time I found out about them. They finished Baking a few months ago, and have moved on to a book that Dorie wrote with Julia Child, called Baking with Julia. I refrained, thinking that I didn't need baked goods around the house every week. I read posts of folks who participate in both TwD and FFwD, and everything they were making from Baking with Julia looked so, so good. And, contrary to my expectations, it wasn't all sweet. About a week ago, it clicked in my head that they weren't posting on a weekly basis. I ran to check Tuesdays with Dorie's website, and realized that yes, it's a bi-weekly group. Twice a month sounds much friendlier on my waistline than four times a month. Yeah, boyeeee! I ordered my book and skipped off to a vacation in New Orleans.

My enthusiasm to get started immediately upon my return from the trip contributed to the mediocrity of my Lemon Loaf Cake (pg 252, or recipe can be found on our hosts' posts, here or here.) I in no way blame the recipe, and I want to try it again, properly. See, my book hadn't arrived yet on Sunday when I went to the supermarket, so I bought ingredients that I thought could be in it, hoping the book would arrive on Monday so that I could bake it by Tuesday. I did not anticipate cake flour or heavy cream, and my loaf pan was the wrong size. I ran to CVS in a monsoon yesterday, certain that they would have heavy cream, but all I could find was half and half. My toddler and I were already drenched, so I grabbed the half and half and crossed my fingers that it would work.

The loaf came together easily and smelled wonderful while it was baking. It has a nice lemon flavor (though I think a lemon glaze icing on top would be perfect), but the texture was definitely wrong. No doubt about it, this tough, chewy crumb was not as it should be. Oh, well. Note to self: half and half is not a valid replacement for heavy cream. Ha! My husband took the cake to work (Navy), so he could put it out in the USO. Sailors always wander through there looking for treats, and I'm sure they'll appreciate it.

I'm super-excited to be part of the group and baking along with this remarkable, intimidating book. There are some complicated recipes in there! Holy moly. I'm especially excited about all the breads. I'm in bread mode these days. Should be fun!