OSI – April of Short + Rose

This week’s host is April of Short + Rose.
In her bio, she says “I’m April and I live in Memphis. I like to bake, knit, garden, travel and hang out with awesome people. I hate hot weather, rude people and answering the phone. I want to move somewhere cold and I hope to one day have an ounce of the creativity and a sliver of the adorableness some of the bloggers I adore do.”

Erin has selected Cherry Fudge Brownie Torte for this week’s TWD post.

Let’s all get to know a bit about her and then head over to her blog and show some TWD love!

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Questions:

1. When did you begin baking?

I’m not really sure but I am positive it was in my Nannie’s (my maternal grandmother) kitchen. She didn’t mind the messes I made when I was ‘cooking’.

2. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

An actress/ballerina/chef

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

World Peace cookies, hands down. I’ve made them so much. A delicious combo of sweet & salty.

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

Several, all of which I blame on myself, not the recipe. Probably the worst one was the Summer Fruit Galette, the dough came out terribly, I couldn’t blanch the peaches, it was just a disaster from every angle.

5. What recipe are you dying to make that no one has picked yet?

Sour Cream Pumpkin Pie (or Tart), in fact I’ll probably go ahead and make it soon. Pumpkin is one of my favorite flavors!

6. What one item in the kitchen could you never live without?

Whisks, I have three but I’m still always looking for a clean one. They’re fantastic.

7. Give us three adjectives to describe yourself.

Loyal, stubborn, sentimental

8. What super-power would you most like to have, and why?

Super speed! Then I could knit sweaters in minutes not months!

9. If you had a day to yourself, no distractions, what would you do?

Take a roadtrip! I love roadtrips, especially with a great self-made soundtrack & a mocha-to-go.

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

Tokyo, Japan. Amazing landscapes, amazing food & high speed rail!

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

Start a non-profit that focused on giving low-income children and teens an opportunity and the means to participate in the creative arts.

12. What meal and dessert would you choose to be your very last?

Filet mignon, caramelized onions, roasted mushrooms, mashed potatoes with goat cheese, rolls & chocolate bread pudding with Irish cream sauce.

13. What is the “strangest” food you ever eaten?

I don’t know that I’ve ever eaten a strange food, I’m pretty squeamish when it comes to weird food.

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

Salt!

15. Offer up one random, little known factoid about yourself.

My mom used to be into Civil War reenacting and so growing up I visited practically every Civil War battlefield in Tennessee.

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Note: I, (Jeannette @ The Whimsical Cupcake) will be heading the OSI portion of TWD every week. IF YOU ARE A NOVEMBER HOST and you haven’t done so already: please send me your answers OR if you have not received an email from me (most likely due to the fact that I couldn’t find an email addy for you), please send me one (flamegoddess65@aol.com). Without your answers, I can’t post the nifty facts about you That is all.

TWD Tees!

Ive been meaning to do this for years now. For real. I took 10 minutes and threw some tees and stuff together for yall. If you have custom TWD tees you would like, send me the info and Ill make a listing for you.

Everyone who buys a tee and sends us a picture of themselves in it, will be featured on the blog!

A new feature – volume 2

Hello fellow TWD bakers! I’m back with the “new feature.”  We really do need to come up with a name for this.  Anyway, to refresh your memory:  I will be writing/hosting/moderating a new column with a focus on that kitchen tool or ingredient that is always in use in your kitchen. Or the one that you have and you don’t know how to use it or have recipes to use it in.  Or the one that you only ever use for one thing and you’re looking to broaden your horizions.  Here’s a chance to inform and learn.

This week I’m looking at a kitchen tool.  It’s a handy dandy ice cream scoop!

I use my ice cream scoop for a zillion things in my kitchen.  Funny enough, I don’t use it for ice cream!  For that I use a spade.  But I digress.  I have two different sizes of ice cream scoop.  One is like the larger one on the top.  I use it for filling muffin cups, making meatballs, layering cake batter for marbling, scooping salads (tuna, chicken etc) to make them look pretty, and just about any place where a controlled amount is needed.  My second scoop is smaller, like the one on the bottom.  That I use for mini muffin tins, cookie dough, truffles, butter balls, and any other place where a smaller scoop is desired.  They make portioning out food very easy.  For me, it’s cleaner to use the scoop than a spoon or rubber spatula.

Sometimes a recipe will ask for a specific scooper by number.  A #20 is the standard size that you would find at an ice cream store.  According to my research:  ”Standard US disher size numbers are the amount of scoops in a quart. A number 20 is 1/20th of a quart. That would be 1.6 fluid ounces or 3.2 Tbsp.”  Having said that, the easiest way to figure out what a scoop holds is to fill it with water and then measure.  Or you could just eyeball it.

What’s your great use for an ice cream scoop?

If you have an idea for this column, please e-mail me and let me know!  iahawk89@comcast.net

•••• These photos are from the Norpro page.  They had great examples of scoops.  Anyone else notice that these are on the cookie and muffin page!?

P&Q: Cherry-Fudge Brownie Torte

Sorry Im late folks. I had this nagging feeling the past 24 hours like I was forgetting something. It just hit me now what that was!

Go to it.

November Recipes

November shaped up to be a month with plenty of fall flavors. Perfect!

November 3- Katya of Second Dinner chose Chocolate Caramel Chestnut Cake on pages 269-272.

November 10- Em of The Repressed Pastry Chef selected Cran-Apple Crisps on page 422.

November 17- Pamela of Cookies with Boys decided on Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies on pages 76 and 77.

November 24-  Britin of The Nitty Britty picked All in One Holiday Bundt Cake on pages 186 and 187.

*With the November 26th being Thanksgiving, I am giving the option of posting late the week of Thanksgiving.  And a few of these  recipes would be spectacular for Thanksgiving dinner. With that in mind, you may post this months recipes out of order. Just remember to post on Tuesday, all but the week of Thanksgiving.

OSI – Erin of Prudence Pennywise

This week’s host is Erin of Prudence Pennywise.
In her bio, she describers herself as “a fun loving girl, given to flights of fancy and spontaneous purchases. Really. But when it comes to grocery shopping, my alter ego (Prudence Pennywise) takes over. I want the freshest ingredients at the best prices, which I use to create healthful, beautiful, fast (who has time?), delicious meals. My goal is to feed my family of four scandalously good food on about $100 a week. Get ready to save some pennies!” Her goodies look fabulous!!

Erin has selected Sweet Potato Biscuits for this week’s TWD post.

Let’s all get to know a bit about her and then head over to her blog and show some TWD love!

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Questions:

1. When did you begin baking?

One of my most distinctive memories is rolling out sugar cookie dough with my mother on my second birthday.

2. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Always a mother, but at various times a belly dancer, a pirate, and a world famous actress.

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

I can’t stop making the world peace cookies, but I’ve also had some late night cravings for butterscotch pudding of late.

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

The buttery jam cookie was the only recipe that had to be deep sixed.

5. What recipe are you dying to make that no one has picked yet?

All in one holiday bundt cake, pretty please.

6. What one item in the kitchen could you never live without?

One item…. I love my chef’s knife, but then I’d also need my cutting board. And if I’m being absolutely truthful, I can’t make it one day without ice.  I’m an inveterate ice-chomper.

7. Give us three adjectives to describe yourself.

Frantic, Blithe, Hungry

8. What super-power would you most like to have, and why?

If I could manage on little to no sleep, I think I could just about accomplish every needful thing.

9. If you had a day to yourself, no distractions, what would you do?

It would have to involve r eading, crossword puzzles, and baking with my two little ones.

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

Isle of Guernsey

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

I’d love to publish a cookbook.  Working on it now.

12. What meal and dessert would you choose to be your very last?

Grilled Steak Tacos with Guacamole and Pico De Gallo. Buttermilk Brownies for Dessert.

13. What is the “strangest” food you ever eaten?

I lived in South America for a couple of years, and there I ate hooves, livers, and hearts.  Shudder, convulsion, wretching.  I try not to think about it.

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

Chili Powder.

15. Offer up one random, little known factoid about yourself.

I’m the middle child in a family of ten children.

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Note: I, (Jeannette @ The Whimsical Cupcake) will be heading the Q&A portion of TWD every week. IF YOU ARE AN OCTOBER HOST and you haven’t done so already: please send me your answers. Without your answers, I can’t post the nifty facts about you That is all.

P&Q: Sweet Potato Biscuits

I am ahead of the game, as I already made these AND took the photos. I know, I know, its a miracle. They are lovely for breakfast. Hope you all like them as much as I did!

You know what to do…

OSI: Kayte of Grandma’s Kitchen Table

This week’s host is Kayte of Grandma’s Kitchen Table.
In her bio, she describers herself as “a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, a teacher, a friend, and a carpooling wizard.” She is such a sweet woman but be sure to pull out your best grammar when writing to her or she will just correct your mistakes

Kayte has selected Allspice Crumb Muffins for this week’s TWD post.

Let’s all get to know a bit about her and then head over to her blog and show some TWD love!

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Questions:

1. When did you begin baking?

I remember my grandmothers giving me bits of dough so that I could make a little pie or my own cinnamon roll as a child, but I didn’t really start baking until I started with Tuesdays with Dorie.  I joined because I wanted to learn how to bake something other than chocolate chip cookies, cupcakes (from a box mix), brownies (from a box mix), and apple pie.  It worked:  I can now bake more things than previously listed.

2. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

When I was a child I wanted to be nun who taught school or who was the librarian at a school.

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

Absolute favorite:  Creamiest Lime Cream Merin gue Pie.  I made the mistake of making a small version (7″ – half the regular size) as I thought my guys wouldn’t really care for it as they love chocolate weeks at TWD.  Big Mistake.  I got one teeny tiny sliver of that pie and they ate the rest in one sitting.  I need to make it again and not tell them.

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

Rice pudding, not because the recipe was a failure, but because we don’t like sweet rice.  I made it anyway thinking maybe some miracle would occur.  It didn’t.

5. What recipe are you dying to make that no one has picked yet?

The Translucent Maple Tuiles, pp. 173-175 (I was going to pick them, but I didn’t think they would be very popular, and I hate it when people frown at me!)  I picked the Allspice Crumb Muffins because they were easy, the ingredients were readily available without needing a run to the store possibly, they seemed inexpensive, they sounded seasonal, and they didn’t require messing up the entire kitchen with tons of dishes/pots/pans/bowls/utensils, etc.  How did I do?  I’m thinking there are lots of smiles right now.

6. What one item in the kitchen could you never live without?

My taste tester, Matt (17 year old son) because I don’t like chocolate and he is willing to taste test all chocolate items for me.  Oh, you mean a tool:  my metal bench scraper as I use it every single day for tons of things.

7. Give us three adjectives to describe yourself.

“Compulsive, Ordinary, Bookish” were my thoughts, but Nancy at The Dogs Eat the Crumbs thought I should list “Optimistic, Curious, Enthusiastic,” and I liked the sound of those, so let’s go with those.  And, then, Cathy at The Tortefeasor chimed in with “Kind, Fun, Compassionate, Friendly, ChocolateHater, LemonLover,” and I am thinking I am soun ding even more interesting and even I was beginning to like me, so let’s go with all of those and maybe there is a part of me in there somewhere.

8. What super-power would you most like to have, and why?

To go back in time and correct every single mistake I have ever made.

9. If you had a day to yourself, no distractions, what would you do?

Read historical fare.  This will surprise no one who knows me.

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

Ravenna, Italy.

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

I would love to visit every museum in the world.

12. What meal and dessert would you choose to be your very last?

Meal would be French Onion Soup and a really really good grilled cheese sandwich.  Dessert would be Graham Cracker Pie made by my Grandma Ohl.

13. What is the “strangest” food you ever eaten?

Cow tongue.  I have no idea what possessed me, and am fairly confident it will not be possessing me again.

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

Nutmeg.

15. Offer up one random, little known factoid about yourself.

I cannot parallel park.

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Note: I, (Jeannette @ The Whimsical Cupcake) will be heading the Q&A portion of TWD every week. IF YOU ARE AN OCTOBER HOST and you haven’t done so already: please send me your answers. Without your answers, I can’t post the nifty facts about you That is all.

A new feature!

Hello fellow TWD bakers! I will be writing/hosting/moderating a new column with a focus on that kitchen tool or ingredient that is always in use in your kitchen. Or the one that you have and you don’t know how to use it or have recipes to use it in.  Or the one that you only ever use for one thing and you’re looking to broaden your horizions.  Here’s a chance to inform and learn.

For this first installment, I’m going with an ingredient.  I have recently discovered Garam Masala.  It’s an ingredient usually found in Indian cooking.  There are, apparently, many styles of this spice blend.  Mine is from a great local store called The Spice House.  It is described as “A northern Indian Punjabi style of seasoning, this mix varies from standard curry in that it is a tripart base of cardamom, coriander, and black pepper with the kalonji seed instead of cumin.”  (I admit to not knowing what a kalonji see is.)

I have only recently taken a liking to Indian food.  I used to think that Indian food was always spicy.  I have no idea where that impression came from, but there it was.  But the husband loves it, so we’ve started eating it slightly more often.  While going through my old magazines, I found a past issue of Cook’s Illustrated with a recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala.  It looked interesting.  Then I saw it on America’s Test Kitchen.  I found this recipe and thought to give it a try.  On a side note – although it is thought to be an Indian dish, the UK claims it as a national dish and has said that it originated there.  Hmmm.

It is a very easy, very good meal to prepare.  The chicken without the tomato based sauce is excellent.  Together, they are amazing.  It has a slight bite which is tempered by a the creaminess of the yogurt and, well, cream.

So far, this is the only recipe that I use the garam masala in.  And while this is fabulous and I could eat it at least once a week, I’m on the prowl for more.  If you’ve never used it, I would definitely give it a try.  If you have used it in other things, were they enjoyed?  Any ideas?

I’ll be posting on the first and third Thursdays of the month. If you have a tool or ingredient that you’d like to share, please let me know! Send any ideas to me at iahawk89@comcast.net. *****Edited to add – looks like I got my dates wrong.  I’ll be posting on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month.  ;-)

P&Q: Allspice Crumb Muffins

I have made these, oh, 4 or 5 times already. Love them. So easy to whip up in the morning.

Let’s hear it…