Two-Fer Tuesday

We're BAAAAAAAACK!

The ladies and gentlemen who spent the better part of three years baking their way through Dorie Greenspan's Baking - From My Home to Yours have a new project for 2012.Over three hundred home bakers from around the world are lining up their measuring spoons and mixing bowls and baking their way through Baking with Julia. According to the brains behind the operation, four of the bakers are men. Fifty three of us are Californians.

That's right, us. Welcome to Tuesdays with Dorie, redux: Baking with Julia. Please fasten your seat belts, and keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times. If the first two recipes are any indication, it promises to be a wild, sugar soaked, butter laden ride.

Uh huh. I said two recipes. I wasn't willing to pull my dad's signed copy of the book out from under plastic, so I killed some time procuring a working copy. The rest of the group started two weeks ago, with the White Loaves on page 81. Our foundress Laurie and her faithful sidekick Jules hosted the inaugural run, and if you're looking for the recipe, you can either buy the book or head to their blogs for it. And let me just say the book is worth the purchase price for this recipe alone.

I'm no stranger to bread baking. I've baked some pretty tasty loaves over the years. So the fact that I've uttered the words "the best white bread. ever" no less than a dozen times in the last 48 hours is non-trivial. The recipe makes two loaves. They slice easily, toast beautifully, and won't make it to the weekend.

The recipe behind curtain number two features chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate. The Chocolate Truffle Tartlets on page 382 showcase bittersweet chocolate as the headliner, with white and milk chocolate chips in supporting roles, and a cameo appearance by dutch processed cocoa in the crumbly pastry crust. Our hosts Steph, Spike, Jaime and Jessica have the recipe for you. Don't let the term tartlet fool you. These are for sharing. Three or four ways. They taste like candy. And they freeze beautifully.

And as our heroine Julia would say, bon appetit!

Sa-aaaaaanta!

We need to talk big guy.

Collin asked you very nicely. I begged, pleaded, cajoled... everything short of offering you my first born.

But no Wii for me underneath the tree.

I got your note. I understand demand's a little high this time of year. And that part of me that responds to guilt trips is GLAD Timothy and Tina in Texas had their best Christmas evah because of my sacrifice.

I also appreciate you putting in a good word with Cupid. But February's a long way off. There are seven Dorie Tuesdays to traverse before Valentine's Day. That's a LOT of butter and sugar buddy...

I give you this week's indulgence: Tall and Creamy Cheesecake chosen by Anne of the eponymous Anne Strawberry. Okay, so mine's not exactly tall or particularly pretty. Despite the water bath AND my tallest springform pan, we had a bit of overflow. And I was able to distribute the caloric love by using this as my contribution to the dessert buffet at a dance we attended in the city. My tasters didn't care that it was short and ugly. It WAS creamy and they had no complaints about the taste.

So that solves this week's "how do I keep this off my hips" dilemma. But have you looked at the list for January? French Pear Tart? Berry Surprise Cake? I'm glad you liked the cookies. Care to join me in one of the January delights? You can bring the elves...

Oh, and Cupid? You're welcome to join us too.

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TWD: Real Butterscotch Pudding

Okay, so it doesn't photograph worth a damn, but Dorie Greenspan's Real Butterscotch Pudding -- made with Dorie's trademark copious amounts of real butter and a dash of real Scotch -- tastes a-MAY-zing if the spoon-licking experiment is any indication at all.

Stay tuned... this week's Tuesdays with Dorie selection, chosen by Donna of Spatulas, Corkscrews & Suitcases will be the closing act in tomorrow night's Christmas celebration dinner with John's family.

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From the archives...
Dorie's got a bit of a dessert legacy to live up to. In 2007 we served the Daring Bakers' Yule Log challenge for our Christmas Eve finale.

Santa baby...

Forget the sable. Nix the duplex. I've got PLENTY of checks...

Collin was right. Aunt Dolores NEEDS a Nintendo Wii Fit.

You thought LAST week's Dorie assignment was a caloric nightmare?

Ha!

In this week's installment, Heather from Randomosity and the Girl chose to tempt us with Buttery Jam Cookies. And let me give you a hint big guy... if the word "butter" is in the title the final product's not likely to bode well for the diet. Even if they do taste like butter-coated ecstasy on a plate.

Furthermore, Dorie claims the recipe makes forty-some cookies. I got less than half of that. Twice the butter love.

Knowing full well that left alone on my kitchen counter, these babies *wouldn't* be left alone but would wind up basting my midsection in saturated fat, I've stashed them in the freezer until we need them for next week's cookie tray.

But I'm only human Santa. Sooner or later I'm going to give in to butter-basted temptation. And I've been good. Pleeeeease... bring me a Wii. I'll leave a couple of these guys by the tree...

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From the archives...
Menu for Hope III had raised over $25,000 by December 16 2006... go check out the stash being offered and give generously to Menu for Hope V!
In 2007, a 19th century salty snack replaced the microwave version in my kitchen.

Dear Santa,

I find myself in a bit of a quandary.

I'm trying to lose a little weight, to get into better shape, to smooth the transition from thirty-something into my forties. But it's the holiday season, with all of its temptations. And Tuesdays with Dorie. And the Daring Bakers. And a host of other culinary delights I'd just as soon NOT take permanent residence on my hips.

I've got a few tools in my arsenal in the ongoing war against butter and sugar. I spend several weekday lunch breaks working through an extensive exercise video library with coworkers. I hit the gym far more regularly than I used to. And I've got Lizette...

But my six year old nephew thinks I need YOUR help Santa. He suggested that I offer you some of these delicious Dorie cookies in exchange for a FUN way to exercise. Santa, Collin thinks Aunt Dolores needs a Nintendo Wii Fit.

Grandma's All-Occasion Sugar Cookies are quite tasty Santa. And with a quarter pound of butter and a cup of sugar, they're not the most dietetically disastrous Dorie offering (stay tuned... some of those are coming later this month). Grandma's goodies come to us this week from Ulrike of Küchenlatein. And if you can't get enough of them at my house, lots of other folks baked them too. Check out their results at the blog roll over at Tuesdays with Dorie.

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From the archives...
In 2006 I shared my introduction to sushi.
In 2007 I learned my readers are edjumacated.

TWD: To bake or not to bake

I came really close to bailing on this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe.

After a bit of a baking hiatus over the last couple of months I feel like I'm surrounded by sweet things. There's still a wedge of caramel cake on the counter. And several servings of last week's two-fer pie. I *was* able to offload the banana bars on John's parents... but do I really need yet another sweet temptation in the kitchen so soon?
So I did what I do when I'm trying to resist temptation. I shared the caloric wealth. I took the two-fer pie into work with me where it lasted on the counter next to the water cooler 18 minutes, beating two tins of Girl Scout nuts, a plate of chocolate chip cookies and a bag of home grown meyer lemons to the empty plate club. (and I walked out of the break room with a handful of the aforementioned lemons).

After a taste test and a photo shoot tonight, the majority of my Linzer Cookies will follow in the pie's footsteps tomorrow.

Have I mentioned how much my colleagues love the concept of Tuesdays with Dorie?

I made my cookies with hazelnut flour because I had it on hand. And tossed a bit of whole wheat pastry flour in the mix in a vain attempt at making them nutritious. Rather than a fruit center, I smeared my base cookies with a bit of Nutella to carry on the hazelnut theme. And the irony that I was assembling my cookies and licking Nutella off my fingers on commercial breaks during The Biggest Loser was not lost on me...

Special thanks to the first man to join our fold, "Noskos" of Living the Life who chose Dorie's Linzer Sables for this the first week in December. To see how the other Doristas approached this one, check out the blog roll.

From the archives...
In 2006 I followed the insanity of NaBloPoMo with Holidailies (which starts on the 5th this year).
In 2007 I channeled my inner Popeye.

Now THAT's more like it...

I *knew* my success with last summer's Dorie-licious blueberry pie was a fluke!

When I make pie dough, *this* is what it really looks like.

Thankfully John came to the rescue, added another couple drops of water, and as you'll soon see, my TWD Thanksgiving Two-Fer Pie wasn't a complete bust.

But first, the side story. It's sort of fitting that this one emerge during our anniversary month...

Very early in "us", John and I discovered a shared love of cooking and baking. And since I was living with my parents at the time, their oven got quite a workout in our early months. Ironically, I have no idea *what* we were planning on baking in it on the day in question. Just that I set the oven temperature to 350 without opening the oven first to ensure it was empty.

This was NOT a good idea in my father's kitchen. He used everything with a door save the dishwasher as potential storage space. And on this fateful afternoon, he'd stashed a jumbo pecan pie he'd purchased at Costco, one wedge missing. Which we noticed when we smelled the pecans burning. Since it wasn't salvageable, we pitched it in the trash. And when my father returned after the long weekend and wanted to know the whereabouts of his pie, I fibbed "John finished it. He LOVES pecan pie".

Ooops.

John HATES pecan pie. Loves the sweetness. Not fond of the nuts. In pie. He loves them raw. You figure it out.

Lucky for me, my dad never got around to baking him one of his favorite desserts.

So since I really don't want to eat 38,000 calories worth of pie this weekend, I placed a ring of pecans around the outside edge of the pie to stay true to the recipe without making it inedible for John.

The end result? Not my favorite Dorie recipe, but I'm betting some of that was operator error and that true holiday pie fans would adore it. In my case, the crust shrunk in pre-baking, and having nowhere else to go, the pecan sugar filling sort of lined the *outside* of the pie. Not unpleasant, but kind of ugly. And odd.

And it took *forever* to bake. I pulled it out of the oven after the requisite fifty minutes and dashed off to the gym. On my return I had pie soup. So back it went into the oven for five minutes. Fifteen minutes. Another 30 minutes before it was anything resembling slice-able. Not sure where I went wrong there, but it was gratifying to read the "Problems and Questions" on the TWD website and know I wasn't the ONLY one struggling with getting it to set.

Thanks to Vibi of La Casserole Carree for choosing this fitting ending to the traditional American Thanksgiving feast. The recipe can be found (thoughtfully translated to English at the end of the post) on her site. For far more photogenic versions of Dorie's masterpiece, check out the blog roll at Tuesdays with Dorie.

From the archives...
In 2006 I was playing with sugar and calling it "healthy"
In 2007 we made turkey stock that's still occupying a corner of my freezer.

A different kind of campaign...

Some of you will remember that at some point in the middle of the Reagan administration, a fast food election erupted and if you believe the Burger King paid pundits, the Whopper beat the Big Mac...

Well in early September 2008, Dorie's Whopper Drops -- Rachel of Confessions of a Tangerine Tart's selection of this week's Tuesdays with Dorie -- beats the pants off BOTH of them! (At least according to my tasting panel)

Another week, another candy-inspired confection. I love the way Dorie thinks. And Rachel, I've got about 2 dozen tasters asking for your email address so they can thank you personally for this pick.

With a popular vote of confidence like that, they're the lead candidate for this month's round of Operation Baking GALs.

Number 5 just cries...

This is where I unearth the closet country music fans... How many of you out there remember SheDaisy's late 90's breakup anthem?

You always said that I have multiple personalities
I bounce around somewhere between my dreams and reality
So where'd you dig up the audacity to ask me
How we've all been doing
Since you broke our hearts
(Well, so far)

Number 5 just cries a river a minute
7 wants to tie you up and drown you in it
Yeah, 14 just wants to say so long, bygones
32 wants to do things to you that'll make you blush
10 would key the El Camino that you love so much
And there ain't nobody wants to mess with 23
Oh, lucky 4 you tonight I'm just me

As I assembled the ingredients for Dorie's Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters, this week's Tuesdays with Dorie pick from Stephany over at Proceed with Caution, I couldn't get the ode to the failed relationship out of my head. The ingredient list read like a collection of multiple personalities. And the end result would be the perfect antidote to a wounded heart.

Because I'm not currently a woman with a wounded heart and too many chipsters make way too much me, I shared them with friends at Thursday night's bocce gathering over at St. Francis Cabrini. And because I didn't take pictures before the crowd descended, this is all I have to show for my effort...

Stay tuned, next week we convert a movie theater favorite into a cookie with Chocolate Malted Whopper Drops.

Blueberry Bliss

After nearly six months of anticipation, it's my turn to "host" this week's episode of Tuesdays with Dorie. Back in June I counted the weeks and figured out I'd be in the hot seat in mid August and I flipped through the book in search of a couple of recipes I might choose from. I liked the sound of Dorie's Corn and Herb Muffins and I knew corn would be plentiful in August (at least in the northern hemisphere). The Brown Sugar Bundt Cake sounded simple and satisfying.

But something kept drawing me back to the Blueberry Sour Cream Ice Cream. Blueberries are plentiful in our local markets in August and fairly easy to find frozen in other climates. Oh, and they're healty superfoods. And we haven't done an ice cream yet. What better time for what Dorie dubs the "summeriest of summertime ice creams"?

The timing turned out perfect. My nephew's in town this week from Texas and the young man won't eat much that's not white... but he adores blueberries and he was excited about helping me out with the recipe. The result: a creamy tangy bowl of blueberry bliss.

What... you want photographs? As soon as my camera battery's done charging...

For now, here's the recipe for those of you who want to try it. And go check out the blog roll to see what 200-some other Doristas have to say about my choice.

Blueberry Sour Cream Ice Cream
as published in Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

1 cup blueberries - fresh or frozen (if frozen, thaw and drain)
1/3 cup sugar (or more to taste)
pinch of salt
grated zest and juice of 1/4 lemon (or lime as you prefer) or more juice to taste
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup sour cream

Put the blueberries, sugar, salt and lemon zest and juice into a medium nonreactive saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring, until mixture boils and the berries pop and soften, about 3 minutes.

Turn the berries into a blender and whir until you have a fairly homogeneous puree, about one minute. (It will never be completely smooth, and that's just fine.) Add the heavy cream and sour cream and pulse just to blend. Taste and, if you'd like, add a squirt more lemon juice or a tiny bit more sugar.

Pour the custard into a bowl and refrigerate until it is chilled before churning it into ice cream.

Scrape the chilled custard into the bowl of an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. Pack the ice cream into a container and freeze for at least 2 hours, until it is firm enough to scoop.

From the archives...
In 2006 we crossed the bay to check out the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market in celebration of farmer's market week.

Lost My Marbles: A TWD tragedy narrowly averted

Well it was bound to happen.

To be honest, I expected it weeks ago, with the pie crust.

But no. I wait until the quick bread, one of the (presumably) *easiest* recipes I've encountered in my tenure with TWD to fail with a Dorie recipe.

It's my fault. I took a short cut, and tried to melt the chocolate in the microwave even though I know that method almost always gives me grief. I didn't want to be bothered with the water bath. As happens about 50% of the time, my chocolate started to seize. I *thought* I'd salvaged it.

But when I tried to free my banana bread from the pan it was pretty clear I hadn't. The chocolate sections separated from the pure banana sections so perfectly you'd have thought I *planned* it that way.

Sigh, not a pretty picture, but it made tasty parfaits with a healthy scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Other people fared far better than I did with Dorie's Black and White Banana Bread, this week's pick from Ashlee over at A Year in the Kitchen. Go check them out!

From the archives...
In 2006 I kicked off National Farmers' Market Week announcing a week long field trip to the bay area's best markets.
In 2007 we found comfort in Sicily with Jamie Oliver's Italy.

Maybe Mo was right...

"Strawberries..." he used to sigh, "what a waste of perfectly good rhubarb."

I'd scrunch up my face in disgust and assert that my father was out of his mind... rhubarb was nothing more than candy colored celery, and bitter celery at that.

He'd roll his eyes and maintain that was just my "immature taste buds" talking, that when I grew up I'd change my mind.

Well I've managed to avoid rhubarb for most of my adult life, focusing instead on the spring and summer fruits I *know* I love. But when I told my tasters from last week's assignment that it was supposed to include rhubarb but I couldn't find any, our hostess went out to her garden and picked me several stalks. So this week's Summer Fruit Galette (chosen for this Tuesday with Dorie by Michelle in Colorado Springs) became a rhubarb galette.

And I learned that somewhere between 15 and 40, "my taste buds have matured." Because combined with Dorie's no-fail pie crust and a sweet succulent custard, this rhubarb R-O-C-K-E-D.

Somewhere, my father is lounging on a cloud, a martini in one hand and a cigarette in the other, and he's laughing that knowing "I told you so" laugh...

Technorati Tags: Food | Baking | Tuesdays with Dorie | Summer Fruit

TWD: Life IS a bowl of cherries...

Subtitled Effective Meeting Management 101: Navigating (Square Dance) Politics.

If you've been around a while and paying attention, you know that John and I square dance, and that we have spent the last several years as officers of our regional dancers association. And if you've ever taken a leadership role in a recreational activity, you know that the "politics" involved rival anything going on in the state, local or international arena.

One of the obligations of serving on our executive board is hosting the occasional meeting. And I learned during our April meeting that this hosting obligation comes with some benefits. My living space is fairly open, so I can hang out in the comfort of my kitchen and still keep tabs on what's happening in the living room/dining room area. I learned when hosting the April meeting that I could multi-task, that assembling the Daring Baker Cheesecake Pops gave me a delightful diversion from the discussion at hand. AND the promise of tasty treats after the meeting kept most people on their best behavior.

So when we hosted the July meeting this Sunday, I was grateful that Amanda from Like Sprinkles on a Cupcake added Cherry Rhubarb Cobbler to this week's Tuesdays with Dorie dessert menu. A chance to take out my stress with a cherry pitter! And the baking smells emanating from the oven might have limited debate as people anticipated the lunch and dessert to come. Score!

I stuck pretty close to the recipe this week (which you can find on Amanda's blog) with the exception of the rhubarb. When I couldn't find any in four market stops I decided to substitute the plums that are overrunning my fruit bowl at the moment. They provided a similar tart texture and their juices were perfect for sopping up with the cobbler topping.

Speaking of the topping, the recipe made a LOT more than I needed to cover my 8x8 pan. So I sugared up several pints of blackberries and made some mini cobblers too.

In the end the executive board didn't even get to taste the fruits of my labor. Not to worry; they didn't go dessertless. In addition to the several (store-bought) desserts that people contributed to the pot luck lunch, they polished off the last of my chocolate pudding cups in no time flat.

The cobbler got consumed at last night's dance group (where the hostess gave me two pounds of rhubarb fresh from her garden that I'll be employing this week). The only suggested improvement: *more* than a pound of cherries next time.

Technorati Tags: Food | Baking | Tuesdays with Dorie | Summer Fruit

TWD - The Proof is in the Pudding

I burn about 400 calories in thirty minutes on an elliptical trainer.

Even with a fraction of the butter in a typical recipe, Dorie's Chocolate Pudding contains 312 calories.

Do we see the problem here?

My solution? Half the serving size. Because this stuff's not your grandmother's pudding out of a box. This is luxurious chocolate love.

Chosen by Melissa of the eponymous It's Melissa's Kitchen, Dorie's pudding recipe employs a handful of raw ingredients - staples in any baker's kitchen. And an industrial 11-cup food processor. Since mine holds a scant 8 cups maximum and I didn't want to make my pudding in batches, I let it sit on the sidelines and put the Kitchen Aid to action. It seemed to work fine; the end result was a rich, creamy lump-less pudding.

I chilled the pudding briefly before piping it into 13 dark chocolate dessert cups and refrigerating for the requisite four hours (time I spent cleaning the kitchen, hitting the elliptical machine, and standing in line at the grocery store). And served the pudding cups sprinkled with toffee bits.

Interested in ditching the little brown box and making pudding from scratch? Melissa's got the recipe posted on her blog; go check it out.

Just remember to renew your gym membership...

Technorati Tags: Food | Tuesdays with Dorie | Key Ingredient: Chocolate

And now, the rest of the story...

For some Americans, the Fourth of July is about fireworks. For others it's an excuse to pop open a beer or twelve. And it probably comes as no surprise to the two of you reading this that for us the Fourth of July is about food. (Well food and a couple of days away from the office). Summer food. Red meat (or white meat or fish), cooked over fire. A buffet lined with an overwhelming assortment of salads, sides and desserts.

This year, John and I joined dance friends on a trip to Mendocino county's Fort Bragg for the holiday weekend. We spent Friday evening at a pot luck barbecue where the hosts provided the charred protein and the guests supplied the aforementioned buffet assortment.

What would I make that would withstand a three hour car trip with the air conditioning set to eleven? Tuesdays with Dorie to the rescue: Amy from South in your Mouth selected a great contribution to anyone's barbecue dessert buffet: Double-Crusted Blueberry Pie.

There's only one small problem...

My name is Dolores, and I'm afraid of pie crust. One of my deepest, darkest culinary secrets: I don't bake it, I *buy* it. T'heck with diamonds... Pillsbury is this girl's best friend.

I blame my phobia on my mother. She made the most amazing pie crusts I've ever encountered. She didn't use a recipe... she made it by feel. And I never took the time to learn her technique. Because what the heck, there's always *next* Thanksgiving, right? Yeah, well... All I know is that she used a combination of lard and butter.

Since picking up a Pillsbury wasn't an option for a TWD assignment, I took a deep breath, read the recipe four or five times, shoved a cube of chopped butter and a quarter cup of shortening in the freezer and poured myself a nice glass of wine. And then I pulled the moulinex out of hibernation and dove right in.

The result? It's certainly not pastry perfection, but I think this is a recipe I can work with. I wasn't embarrassed by the end result, and if the picture I posted at the beginning of the day is any indication, it certainly didn't suck.

Thanks Dorie. Thanks Amy. I think my clandestine relationship with Pillsbury's over!

And now you know...

the rest of the story!

Technorati Tags: Food | Baking | Tuesdays with Dorie | Key Ingredient: Blueberry

Another TWD Success

I've got a huge deadline at work in a few hours, so the extended story will have to wait until the end of the day. But for now please excuse the crapulous cell phone photograph and just consider the story it tells. My full sized Double-Crusted Blueberry Pie disappeared from the barbecue dessert buffet in under ten minutes. Now go check out the 200 or so other blueberry pies debuting on the internets today...

TWD: This week's melodrama: Savory or Sweet?

Yes, I used the base recipe. One of the many things I've learned in my tenure with the ladies and gentlemen of Tuesdays with Dorie is that I LOVE Dorie's basic biscuit recipe. And if recent history's any indication, I'm pretty good at it. Which I would never have known *without* TWD, as biscuits and their various offspring just weren't projects I attempted in my kitchen.

But this week I didn't have dried apple on hand, so I grabbed a package of apricots. They're a yellowish fruit with a similar dried consistency. And since cheddar really doesn't pair with apricot for me, I grated a hunk of Swiss to take the role of "cheese" in this week's drama. And I tossed in a handful of fresh lavender because it called to me from its countertop vase. I considered rosemary but dismissed it. Next time I think I'll use it... it definitely would have added to the tension I've been building between savory and sweet.

So there you have it, my riff on Dorie's Apple & Cheddar Scones, chosen by Karina of The Floured Apron as this week's assignment. That's where you'll find the recipe this week, should you want to try it for yourself.

From the archives:
In 2007, the Leftover Tuesday Roundup revealed...

Technorati Tags: Food | Baking | Tuesdays with Dorie

A TWD Two-fer: Cream Puffs & Cobbler

In the spirit of driving Peabody *nuts* I'm a week late for last week's assignment but on time for today's. How'd I manage that? I spent the hottest Sunday of the summer season in the kitchen with the oven on. What can I say Peabody...? I live to serve!

First last week's Peppermint Cream Puff Ring selected for our enjoyment by Caroline of A Consuming Passion. Like many other Doristas, I elected to make individual cream puffs rather than a ring because they're easier to transport and serve that way. And rather than mint, I infused my whipped cream filling with a vanilla bean and a bit of chai-spiced tea. We went out to dinner with friends on Sunday, and it was easy to pass up the dessert menu when we knew these waited for us at home.

Next on the baking to-do list: a delightful biscuit topped Mixed Berry Cobbler offered by Beth of Our Sweet Life. Frozen fruit, tossed with sugar, lemon and cornstarch, topped with a flakey slightly sweetened biscuit crust. I added a half bag of frozen mangoes to my berry medley because it was time to use them in something. Baked them up in individual ramekins, and I've discovered they make an indulgent but not unhealthy breakfast topped with a generous dollop of yogurt.

These two selections prove my longstanding theory that some of the very best things in life and in food are comprised of a handful of simple ingredients thoughtfully combined.

Oh... and Peabody? Hang tight love... I'm eyeballing the Apple Cheddar Scone recipe now... who knows... I might *really* surprise you and come in *early*!

Technorati Tags: Food | Baking | Tuesdays with Dorie

I'm late... I'm late...

It's been another crazy week in my world...those of you here in search of cream puffs are going to have to give me another day or two to catch my breath. In the mean time, check out nearly two hundred others over at Tuesdays with Dorie.

TWD: My cheatin' tart

So this week's Tuesdays with Dorie assignment comes to us from Marie of A Year from Oak Cottage: La Palette's Strawberry Tart.

I participated. But by some standards I cheated.

You see in the name of economizing and in getting a handle on what I have in "inventory" I'm working my way through the freezer. And way down at the bottom, beneath a hunk of tri tip and two bags of edamame, I found a bag of frozen pastry dough. Leftover from my April contribution to A Taste of Yellow. And thus Thomas Keller's pine nut pate sable became the base for Dorie's strawberry tartlettes.

I baked off the tartlette shells, spread the warm pastry with some strawberry chipotle jam, topped it with a generous handful of Swanton Berry Farm strawberries and a dollop of jam studded goat yogurt. In fifteen minutes from freezer to table we have a sweet light dessert that makes the perfect ending to a warm summer weekend.

I know I'm going to make this again and again this summer and well into the fall (with Dorie's tart recipe as well as Thomas'). It's a great way to showcase whatever fruit flavors are abundant throughout the seasons.

Want to try this in your kitchen? Dorie has the recipe posted here.

From the archives...
In 2007 I refused to be conquered by cupcakes.

Technorati Tags: Food | Baking | Tuesdays with Dorie | Key Ingredient: Strawberry