This is happening today for lunch. Love this Tomato Corn & Avocado Salad!
- {Picture and recipe courtesy of MLS}
Author Archives: stacey
Vincent Talleu, Master Baker
I am a huge fan of these four Vincent Talleu‘s youtube videos showing him in his bakery making bread, chocolate pastries, etc. I could watch these all day long if I had time.
Check out this bread making marathon one. This one if my favourite. It’s 11:38 minutes long, but worth every second you spend watching it. I’d be highly surprised if you don’t drool or exclaim from five new tricks you pick up watching him.
Master bakers. Bless their hearts. They’re not only awesome to work with, but awesome to stand back and watch if they let you.
MSL’s Dutch Blueberry Pancake
Years ago I used to collect the small Every Day Food digest mags from the supermarket. Not all of them, but the ones that had enough interesting content to justify the purchase.
And in their March 2009 issue, they introduced their cast iron skillet dessert called Warm Berries ‘N’ Dumplings as well as the this scrumptious Dutch Blueberry Pancake, and they went hand-in-hand with Martha’s version of the classic, Blueberry Grunt. I have been drooling ever since. I always say I’m going to make each of these desserts during blueberry season, but I never do.
This year I will! Will you? (I know Dr. Maggie will. :-))
(All pictures and recipes are courtesy of MSL.)
Italian (Chopped) Dressing Salad
Oh, I do love me a chopped salad something fierce! This looks like something I would definitely add to my salad repertoire. This one popped up on TheKitchn.com this morning. Check out this Italian Dressing Salad over at Hot Pot Cooking.
Giada’s Nonna’s Lemon Ricotta Muffins
- Lemon Ricotta Muffins by Giada
Giada’s Nonna’s Lemon Ricotta Muffins recipe. If you haven’t tried or tasted these, you MUST. This one is a favourite of my husband’s. I didn’t toast the slivered almonds on top, but I bet if I had, that would have simply added another dimension of flavour to these babies. And believe me, they’re already bursting with amazing flavours and sport a texture that will think you’re eating part of a cloud.
Why are you still reading this post? Go make these muffins. NOW!
Personal Size Pumpkin Pie Tortes
- Personal Size Pumpkin Pie Torte
Every year as Summer gives way to Fall, my husband’s mind starts to drift away from ice cream to pumpkin pie. This is a little recipe I made up a few years back that he liked, and I really haven’t shared it much online since. I want to change that.
I have two small torte pans I use in favour of one big pie plate at home. It’s easier for me to bake up two and freeze or give away one of the two than to deal with eating pie morning, noon and night for the better part of a week anytime I get into pie making. This recipe is designed to be split up perfectly, but it will also fit all into one pie pan or plate if that’s what you want to do, or it can be doubled if you want to make a long sheet of pumpkin pie squares for a large crowd.
(From the archives)
24 Lady Fingers, crushed up to fine grind (not powder grind)
1C Butter, melted
2 1/4C Prepared pumpkin pie filling
1/3C Evaporated milk
1 Egg, large, well beaten
Finely grind up Lady Fingers in food processor. Melt butter and add to a small bowl before dumping in Lady Finger grinds. Mix well and pour half of the mixture into each of the small torte pans (roughly 8” – 12”).
Press the mixture outwards from the middle and up the sides all around the pans. Place the torte pans in the freezer for 10 minutes to set the crust. In the meantime, mix the pie filling with the evaporated milk and well beaten egg and set aside.
- Pumpkin Pie Torte Crust
When the crusts are hard, pour the mixed pie filling into each pan and bake for 15 minutes at 425. Reduce temperature to 375 and bake for an additional 30 minutes or until an inserted knife in the centre of each pie comes out clean. Serve warm with whipped cream on top and hot coffee, tea or cocoa at its side.
Auntie Stacey’s Fish al Fresho
- Auntie Stacey’s Fish Al Fresho
This is a lovely, light tasty lunch I often made at work for the husband and me using leftover cooked fish fillets. The salad is made in the morning and is left it in its marinade to rest in the fridge for 3+ hours.
The marinade is simple:
one glug of white vinegar
two glugs of olive oil
S&P
fresh parsley
Add to this vegetable medley:
diced white onion
red pepper
diced tomato
diced cucumber
Cover and chill until time to serve with the fish.
That’s it, that’s all. Not much magic to make it, but people will think there is when they taste it. It looks so pretty, no?
Pumpkin Syrup
While thinking about The Queen’s Pumpkin Scone Clones, the recipe for Pumpkin Syrup popped into my head. If you can’t make or eat the scones, at the very least you should be able to still enjoy some of the same pumpkin flavour in your tea or latte, right?
PUMPKIN SYRUP:
2 C sugar (of your choice)
2 C water
2 tbsp pumpkin puree (not pre-made pie filling, just the pulp)
2 1/2 tea pumpkin seasoning **
** Can be store bought or it can be a mix of 2 tea ground cinnamon, 1/2 tea each of ground nutmeg and ground ginger. **
Simmer boil everything for 15 minutes, whisking every minute until the sugar and spices are fully blended into the water, in a small saucepot. Remove the pot from the burner for ten minutes to cool before straining the pumpkin puree out.
Decant the finished thinned out syrup into a lidded jar and refrigerate overnight. You will have lovely, thick syrup to add directly to your morning coffee or into your milk before you froth it to create a lovely PS. You’re welcome!
Cream Cheese Baked Mac & Cheese
A while back I found this fantastic looking baked mac & cheese by Jessica Burns that uses cream cheese over a traditional bechamel sauce, and my brain woke up.
Don’t get me wrong, I love me some bechamel sauce, but sometimes I like to try variations on old classic themes just to, you know, mix it up a bit. I would hate to be on my deathbed and regret only ever eating mac & cheese one way. Zzzz…
So, yeah. I’m going to give this a whirl this week. Will you? Head on over the Jessic’s blog for the recipe and ingredient listing.
Ice Queen’s Starbucks Pumpkin Scone Clones
![Pumpkin Scones Recipe [pic courtesy Career In The Oven]](http://strangeaddiction.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/pumpkin-scones-iced.jpg "pumpkin-scones-iced")
Pic courtesy of Career In The Oven. Pumpkin scone recipe comes courtesy of Ice Queen. Susan runs a cooking school. And she’s funny. Consider stalking her. She likes stalkers.
FYI, I send a batch of these to my brother and to a dear friend in the mail. They held up well if you seal them first and pack them in bubble wrap or styrofoam popcorn.
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups all-purpose flour
7 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
3 tablespoons half-and-half
1 large egg
6 tablespoons cold butter
PLAIN GLAZE:
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk
SPICED ICING:
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons half and half cream
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch ground ginger
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon ginger in a large bowl.
3. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin, half-and-half, and egg.
4. Cut butter into cubes then add it to the dry ingredients. Mix with your hand, rubbing the butter in until it is the texture of cornmeal or coarse sand.
5. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients, then form the dough into a ball. Pat out dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a 1-inch thick disk. Vut it into eight triangles, like a pizza, and separate them a bit so they can spread.
6. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes on a baking sheet that has been lightly oiled or lined with parchment paper. Scones should begin to turn light brown. Watch them, they burn quickly near the end!
7. While scones cool, prepare plain glaze by combining ingredients in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed. Mix until smooth.
8. When scones are cool, use a brush to paint a coating of the glaze over the top of each scone.
9. As that white glaze firms up, prepare spiced icing by combining ingredients in another medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed. Drizzle this thicker icing over each scone and allow the icing to dry before serving (at least 1 hour). A squirt bottle works great for this, or you can drizzle with a whisk.