Tuesdays with Dorie

P&Q Katherine Hepburn Brownies

CB — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 06:33:35 +0000

Congratulations to our TWD logo winner >> Lisa of Surviving Oz.

Even though Lisa isn’t an official TWD baker, she will be continuing the tradition of posting the complete recipe as the hostess this week. Please feel free to link to her blog for the recipe.

OSI: Carol of Mix, mix…stir, stir

chocolatechic — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:17:51 +0000

Today we are going to learn all about Carol.

Carol picked out today’s Perfect Party Cake.

She and her husband David “develop products that solve common culinary problems for everyday cooks”.

Lets find out more about Carol.

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When did you start baking?

It started young. In the 4th grade I used to bring home the Fanny Farmer’s Cook Book from my school library over and over. I would flip through the pages looking for anything I could make from the ingredients we already had in the house and recall making custard, probably because I was able to find sugar, milk, and eggs.

What is your favorite kitchen tool?

The spice containers I designed that will finally be on the market next month. I have a thing for kitchen tools that work really well and the fact that I couldn’t find a good storage solution for spices was so frustrating that I left my career and jumped into this new venture to create my dream storage containers. Building this company while watching the economy crumble; now that’s an entrepreneurial adventure!

My Kitchen Aid mixer is probably used more than any other piece of equipment in my kitchen. My Cuisinart is 22 years old, going strong, and still has 3 years left on the warrantee! For hand tools: 8″ Shun Chef’s knife, Microplane grater, Mario Batali wooden flat end spoon.

Which TWD blog is your favorite?

I enjoy reading as many different blogs as I can to see what this creative and talented group is up to. With that said, there is one that I especially look forward to reading because her clever brevity never ceases to amaze me. Case and point, for her recipe pick she posts a clever limerick, end of story. If you haven’t checked out Tommi at Brown Interior you should.

What has been your favorite TWD recipe so far?

Double Crusted Blueberry Pie. I think I only shared one piece, the rest was my pie!

What TWD recipe has been a dud for you?

Tartest Lemon tart. That just didn’t go well for me.

Which recipe are you dying to make that no one has picked yet?

Chocolate Caramel Chestnut Cake!

If you could live anywhere in the world for a year, where would it be?

Paris! Oh, maybe Hong Kong.

If you knew you could try anything and not fail (and money was no object), what would you attempt?

I am doing it by starting TableFare. Now how do I get the “won’t fail” and “money is no object” parts?

If you could have a super power, which one would it be, and why?

Fly. I could get so much more done and it would be a blast.

What is the strangest food you have ever eaten?

Jelly fish and Beef tongue. Not together, that would be gross.

What kitchen tool would you purchase if money were no object?

A wood fired pizza oven.

Give us three adjectives to describe yourself.

Creative, adventurous, inquisitive.

What spice do you use over and over again?

Coriander. I used to hate this flavor as a kid, now I can’t get enough.

P&Q Perfect Party Cake

CB — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 06:34:55 +0000

Partying is such sweet sorrow…

*ba dum bum bing*

Thank you! I’ll be here all night.

OSI: Andrea of Andrea In The Kitchen

chocolatechic — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:44:20 +0000

Today we are learning all about Andrea of Andrea in the kitchen.

Andrea picked out today’s Coconut-Roasted Pineapple Dacquoise.

She lives in Darwin, Australia, and had 2 adorable boys.

Lets find out more about her.

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1. When did you start baking?

From about 10. I had my dad’s copy of the Kids Betty Crocker cookbook from the 50’s. I still use the butterscotch brownie recipe from that book. I am teaching my boys (2 and 5) to cook- great fun

2. What is your favorite kitchen tool?

My KitchenAid. I can never go back to hand mixers again!

3. Which TWD blog is your favorite?

My fav would have to Steph from Whisk and Spoon- It was through her blog I heard about the TWD group which lead to me getting hubby to bring the book back from the States (still not in bookstores in Darwin).

4. What has been your favorite TWD recipe so far?

The Tartest Lemon Tart followed closely by the Dacquoise

5. What TWD recipe has been a dud for you?

The Real Butterscotch Pudding- just not for me.

6. Which recipe are you dying to make that no one has picked yet?

The chestnut cake, I almost picked that one as this is as close to autumn as we get but decided to go tropical instead.

7. If you could live anywhere in the world for a year, where would it be?

New York or Paris- enough culinary variety to keep me going for a while in both of those cities. Would love to go to cooking school in both of these cities but not speaking French yet involves one more step.

8. If you knew could you try anything and not fail (and money was no object), what would you attempt?

Pastry school followed by Wedding Cake business.

9. If you could have a superpower, which one would it be, and why?

The ability to make 2 and 5 year olds see reason (and go to bed when told).

10. If you had a day to yourself, what would you do?

Sit down with my pile of cookbooks and read, plan and scheme. Then break out some of the cutters and sugar work tools that came in the mail recently, and decorate a cake or two!

11. What is the strangest food you have ever eaten?

Chang, which is Nepalese ‘beer’ made with fermented rice and river water. It is chunky, tastes a lot like off milk, and due to the river water a great way to lose 3 kg overnight! I piked out so Matthew (good husband) had to finish of my serve and since he obviously liked it so much they gave him another cup. Good times!

12. What kitchen tool would you purchase for yourself if money were no object?

Bring on the deck oven baby!

13. Give us three adjectives to describe yourself.

Passionate, opinionated, sensitive. (read, easy to pick on!)

14. What spice do you use over and over again?

Cinnamon

15. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Actress, doesn’t every kid go through that stage?

Logo Conest Winner and July Recipes

L W — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:59:18 +0000

I am excited to announce the winner of the logo contest! Thanks so much to ALL who entered. Its amazing what you guys can come up with. Without further ado.. our new logo!

and

Many thanks to Jaime of Good Eats n’ Sweet Treats for passing our contest info on to her friend Lisa of Surviving Oz. As soon as I saw the Eiffel Tower, I was sold. Thanks to Nikki, CB, Shari and Holly for helping me choose a winner. Love you gals. Seriously.

Next, the recipes for July….

July 7- Logo Contest Winner- Lisa of Surviving Oz chose Tribute to Katherine Hepburn Brownies on pages 96 and 97.
July 14- Denise of Chez Us picked Brioche Plum Tart on pages 54 and 55.
July 21-Susan of Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy selected Raspberry Blanc-Manger on pages 398 and 399.
July 28- Lynne of Cafe LynnyLu decided on Vanilla Ice Cream on pages 428 and 429.

Lastly, I am going on vacation from June 26-July 12. The internet access is spotty at best at the summer cottage. Ill try and check in. Have a great 4th of July all!

Much love, Bake on!

Laurie

schools out for summer

L W — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:55:52 +0000

Hey all my fabulous twd bakers,

I felt it necessary to write yall a quick note. Ive been getting a lot of emails about people unable to participate, lots going on, etc.. I hear you, I feel you. Summer has been so busy in my house. Ive made a lot of the last month’s recipes and then never find the time to post them on my poor neglected blog. So, in the spirit of not being a total hypocrite, I am suspending the participation requirements for now. Everyone who is in the group, is in the group. Even if your name doesnt appear on the blog roll, if you have emailed me about joining, you are in. Please try and meet the requirements, but if you don’t, don’t stress out about it. If you feel better about emailing me to let me know, that’s fine. Keep the emails coming. I like hearing from you.

Enjoy your summer! (or winter depending where you are.)

Much love, Bake on!

Laurie

OSI: Tommi of Brown Interior

chocolatechic — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:35:54 +0000

Hey TWD’ers.

Today’s OSI is all about Tommi of Brown Interior.

Tommi says of herself on her profile…

I spend most of my time reading, baking and cooking. I spend most of my thoughts on food and what I’m going to do the next day. I live with these two cats whose names are Sancho and Squirrel Cat. The main reason I’ve decided to blog is so that I can have the pleasure of participating in all of the wonderful food related blog events which take place here on the internet. Of course there’s also the self indulgence.

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1. When did you start baking?

My first disastrous attempts at bread and cake making came about when I was 7 or 8. I was using my only cookbook at the time – the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. After thinking that I just didn’t have the knack for it I gave up for about 10 years. Picked it up again when I turned 18 and had the good sense to buy better cookbooks and really learn a thing or two about what I was doing.

2. What is your favorite kitchen tool?

A whisk. A smaller whisk about 10 inches long. I use it for most of the funnest things I make. Also the tortilla press. And the pasta roller.

3. Which TWD blog is your favorite?

Shoot. Don’t make me choose, you’re all so danged entertaining.

4. What has been your favorite TWD recipe so far?

Just the other day I was dreaming about the chocolate banded ice cream torte. I used the ’span’s burnt sugar ice cream. Super, just super.

5. What TWD recipe has been a dud for you?

This one time when we were to make the double crusted blueberry pie I was deeply saddened at the fact that I had to buy blueberries because I pined for my blueberry farm days when I had buckets of the things all to myself. I waited until Tuesday morning to finally buy them and then I lied to my coworkers about why I had to go home early (to make the pie). And then when I got home I realized that I had left the blueberries at work. I can’t remember whether I slinked back to work to get them or if I just bought new ones. The pie turned out wonderfully and I ate the hell out of it by myself and loved it so I suppose it wasn’t exactly a dud. But the whole ordeal was a might bit disheartening.

6. Which recipe are you dying to make that no one has picked yet?

I went crazy picking one recipe out of my long list of contenders. The next top choice was the apple turnover.

7. If you could live anywhere in the world for a year, where would it be?

Italy or Mexico. Either trying out the life of a vintner or a vaquera.

8. If you knew you could try anything and not fail (and money was no object), what would you attempt?

I’d leave the not failing part up to myself, but if money was no object I’d go to grad school and continue to study botany, then I’d continue to go to school and study library science and archiving. Then I’d sail around the southern part of the world do botanically satisfying things and archiving things. And reading books.

9. If you could have a superpower, which one would it be, and why?

Microscope vision. This question has spurred so many nerdy fantasies and I’m just going to leave it at that being my choice.

10. If you had a day to yourself, what would you do?

Wake up, make coffee, squeeze a grapefruit, pet my cats, skip the shower, poach two eggs, eat them, make bread dough, pack a lunch, go picnicking, nap in the woods, go home, play music, read, watch a Clint Eastwood film, fall briefly in love with Clint Eastwood, take20a long time making dinner, eat dinner, drink wine, eat dessert, drink whiskey, read, go to sleep.

11. What is the strangest food you have ever eaten?

Gee, I don’t know. I roasted and ate a banana slug once.

12. What kitchen tool would you purchase for yourself if money were no object?

A big, bitchen espresso machine. I’m pretty sure that could be a valid kitchen tool.

13. Give us three adjectives to describe yourself.

resourceful, slick, mischievous (refer to number 11 – no I didn’t)

14. What spice do you use over and over again?

Cumin.

15. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be an artist, a veterinarian, a chef and a librarian.

P&Q Coconut-Roasted Pineapple Dacquoise

CB — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 13:58:43 +0000

It’s pronounced da-kwaz. Don’t believe me? Hear for yourself.

P&Q Honey Peach Ice Cream

CB — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:16:52 +0000

You scream. I SCREAM. We all scream for ice cream!

OSI: Jessica from My Baking Heart

chocolatechic — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:26:12 +0000

Hi fellow TWD’ers.

Today we are going to learn all about Jessica from My Baking Heart.

Jessica picked today’s Parisian Apple Tartlets.

I just loved these tartlets.

Thanks so much for picking this week.

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1. When did you start baking?

I helped my mom off and on when I was younger, but I didn’t really become obsessed with it until about 2 years ago. Yes, I said obsessed.

2. What is your favorite kitchen tool?

Bertha, my Ice Blue KASM. She and I have been through a lot…

3. Which TWD blog is your favorite?

I have hundreds of favorites, and I absolutely love the photos on a few specific blogs, but I don’t want to hurt any feelings. I’ll just say that ‘My Baking Heart’ is my favorite…

4. What has been your favorite TWD recipe so far?

The Pumpkin Muffins & the Granola Grabbers. Fall is my absolute favorite season and these two recipes made Autumn ‘08 even better!

5. What TWD recipe has been a dud for you?

Oh, my… the Two-fer Pie and the French Pear Tart. The Two-fer Pie wouldn’t even come out of the pie plate and the tart crust burned to a crisp, resulting in a very ugly little tart.

6. Which recipe are you dying to make that no one has picked yet?

The Cranberry-Lime Galette… I went back and forth between this and the Apple Tartlet!!

7. If you could live anywhere in the world for a year, where would it be?

I’d move back to Fort Worth in a heartbeat. Or Santa Fe… I love it out there.

8. If you knew you could try anything and not fail (and money was no object), what would you attempt?

I’d open my own wedding/event planning business or enroll at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris.

9. If you could have a superpower, which one would it be, and why?

Mind reading… so that I could know what everyone’s thinking about me when my back’s turned.

10. If you had a day to yourself, what would you do?

I’d definitely get a massage, first thing. Maybe a little retail therapy (preferably antique shopping) with a Decaf Americano. Then I’d grab a good book and head out to the lake to read.

11. What is the strangest food you have ever eaten?

Sehk-wee-bvee (Sec-wee-vee)… a Native American dish which consists of cow or buffalo intestines stuffed with meat. And no, even though I’m 3/8 Comanche, I didn’t like it.

12. What kitchen tool would you purchase for yourself if money were no object?

A 21st century oven… preferably a double, with a warming drawer.

13. Give us three adjectives to describe yourself.

Thoughtful, silly & devoted.

14. What spice do you use over and over again?

Cinnamon. Om nom nom.

15. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

An athletic trainer for the Texas Rangers… and I came close, but only got as far as the Advertising Department!