Tuesday, July 31, 2012

TWD: Blueberry Nectarine Pie

Rolling pie crust right before the deadline hits!! We had such a busy weekend. A rehearsal dinner on Friday and a wedding on Saturday. Congratulations Thomas & Molly. Squeezing in baking time just wasn't there so today was my last chance. Then again by baking today I can imagine myself baking with all the other members.  I kept putting it off until I started the pie crust at 5:00 p.m. Here it is at 9:00 and I am trying to get the post up.
 The crust went together easy enough but it sure seemed moist. The time was getting late so I only gave it maybe a half hour in the frig.  It was a little sticky.

 The color of the fruit was so pretty and smelled so good. I tried to thicken it up because so many fellow bakers sounded like there was a bit of a problem with them being juicy. It still ended up really juicy.

 Interesting using a cake pan. I didn't quite roll it out enough to drape over the edge.  I made rolls with the extra dough and tucked it around the edge.

It really doesn't matter what went into it, what really matters is that it tasted pretty darn good! A scoop of ice cream melting on top of the warm pie and I was happy.
Thanks to our hosts Hilary of Manchego’s Kitchen and Liz of That Skinny Chick Can Bake!

Monday, July 9, 2012

Breakfast at Tiffany"s Bridal Shower

We had a really fun bridal shower this weekend.  Molly is officially joining our family July 28th so the to-be-sister-in-laws put together a great brunch.  I did a lot of the cooking - eggs benedict casserole, blueberry french toast casserole, homemade granola with yogurt, fruit salad, strawberry & spinach salad  and a selection of muffins. A chandelier hung over the gift table and a mimosa bar. Kim made a Tiffany Box cake - chocolate cake with chocolate ganache with raspberry filling, really delicious.
All that is left is the waiting till the big day!




This last picture is just me bragging. I was able to finish Molly & Thomas's wedding quilt. The quilt is made in her wedding colors.

Overnight Blueberry French Toast


Along with the eggs benedict I made an overnight French toast casserole also. I did not do a practice run on this casserole but from reading the reviews I just took a chance. I cut back on the cream cheese and just sort of made sure there was enough. It was another hit. I can see it being great on Christmas morning too!

INGREDIENTS:
12 slices day-old bread, cut into 1 inch
cubes
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, cut
into 1 inch cubes
1 cup fresh blueberries
12 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup maple syrup
 
1 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup water
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 tablespoon butter
DIRECTIONS:
1.Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange half the bread cubes in the dish, and top with cream cheese cubes. Sprinkle 1 cup blueberries over the cream cheese, and top with remaining bread cubes.
2.In a large bowl, mix the eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and syrup. Pour over the bread cubes. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.
3.Remove the bread cube mixture from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
4.Cover, and bake 30 minutes. Uncover, and continue baking 25 to 30 minutes, until center is firm and surface is lightly browned.
5.In a medium saucepan, mix the sugar, cornstarch, and water. Bring to a boil. Stirring constantly, cook 3 to 4 minutes. Mix in the remaining 1 cup blueberries. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, until the blueberries burst. Stir in the butter, and pour over the baked French toast

Eggs Benedict Casserole

This past saturday we had Molly's bridal shower. It was a success. We had a theme "Breakfast at Tiffany's". I found a great casserole for brunch it is a eggs benedict casserole. It is so easy, you can make the casserole the day before and whip up the sauce in the morning in 15 minutes.

12 ServingsPrep: 25 min. + chilling Bake: 45 min.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 pound Canadian bacon, chopped
  • 6 English muffins, split and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 8 eggs
  • 2 cups 2% milk
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • SAUCE:
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions

  • Place half of the bacon in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish; top
  • with English muffins and remaining bacon. In a large bowl, whisk the
  • eggs, milk and onion powder; pour over the top. Cover and
  • refrigerate overnight.
  • Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Sprinkle with
  • paprika. Cover and bake at 375° for 35 minutes. Uncover; bake
  • 10-15 minutes longer or until a knife inserted near the center comes
  • out clean.
  • In a double boiler or metal bowl over simmering water, constantly
  • whisk the egg yolks, cream, lemon juice and mustard until mixture reaches 160° or is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Reduce heat to low. Slowly drizzle in warm melted butter, whisking constantly. Serve immediately with casserole. Yield: 12 servings
  • (1-2/3 cups sauce).
    Nutrition Facts: 1 piece with about 2 tablespoons sauce equals 286 calories, 19 g fat (10 g saturated fat), 256 mg cholesterol, 535 mg sodium, 16 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 14 g protein.


Tuesday, July 3, 2012

TWD: Hazelnut Biscotti

July 3rd's task is making Hazelnut Biscotti which seems like a doable task. In my head I am thinking 30 for a wedding shower this weekend, 75 for a rehearsal dinner here in 20 days and I still need shoes for my dress maybe I should just put TWD on pause. I instead step right in to it thinking if I have to miss any (there are 3 Tuesday this month) I had better save the pass.

I love hazelnuts and really didn't read the tips on the TWD blog until after I had realized they were talking about the brown skins on the nuts and not some shell. After toasting the nuts and rolling them in a dish towel I learned that was one of the hints on the blog. The hazelnuts smelled great and so what if there are little hazelnut skins all over the place.

I added this picture of my vanilla so that my daughter that made it would see that I almost need more and she would lovingly make me more.


The recipe states that you should  use your hands to do the final mix because it is a stiff dough. Well it is a sticky dough also and I spent some time trying to get it all off before I gave in and licked it off my hands....washed and prepared for the next step. Here it states to flour your hands so you can shape it into a chubby log. Later I learned on the blog that if you wet your hands you might do better. I have got to remember to read the helps before the middle of it all.
There are so many options as to what you can add to the biscotti batter but when I saw chocolate chip I knew I found my match. I threw in some mini chocolate chips. They came out great - crisp, crunchy and delicious. Now for the cup of coffee!