Tuesdays with Dorrie: Cobbling together some Berries

My first Tuesdays with Dorie!

I was so excited when my copy of Dorie Greenspan's book, "Baking, from my Home to Yours" arrived. It's also my first time participating in a food blogging event. I feel like one of the cool kids now!

This Tuesday, participating bakers made the "Mixed Berry Cobbler". Though the recipe was a bit contentious, a very few modification seem to have done the trick. I added a cup of heavy cream instead of 3/4 cup, and instead of using two cups white flour, I used 1 cup whole wheat, 1 cup white. Finally, I put half the dough on top and half on bottom.

The ramekins were the stars- see below!

Check out Dorie's website to participate... Or buy the book to get this recipe!

These are the sugared berries. I added a teaspoon of almond extract to them, in addition to the other yummy things that Dorie's recipe calls for.
These are the cobblers fresh from the oven: two individual ramikins and one larger pie dish. The smell of warm berries and buttery crust is SO GOOD.
This ramekin looks quite tempting, no?
But they were even better when I cut around the sides and served them upsidedown. You can see that I buttered and sugared the bottom of the dish, then put a circle of dough on the bottom and the top. The bottom soaked up all the tasty berry juices.

Dough Boy Cartoon- Link

For all of us bakers that have ever put something in the oven that looks perfect... only to have it bake into an entirely different creation.

Never have the consequences been so dire!

From the comic, "Truck Bearing Kibble"

Ricotta and Almond Paste Cupcakes with Raspberries and Cream Cheese Frosting

Cupcakes fit for a Bridal Shower! (Which is what I made them for!) These cupcakes are a modified recipe from Chocylit's now defunct Cupcake Bakeshop:

 Cupcake Bakeshop

Still, she has many fine recipes to look through on the website. These are my favorite, though! They are always a hit, and the recipe turns out perfectly each time.

Ricotta Raspberry Almond Cupcakes
With Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from http://www.cupcakeblog.com/

~18 cupcakes / 350 degree oven

7 ounces almond paste (not marzipan)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
1 stick salted butter/ room temp
4 eggs, large/room temp
2/3 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup raspberries OR ½ cup raspberries and ½ cup blueberries (FRESH, only)

1. beat almond paste at low speed to loosen up, about 30 seconds
2. gradually add sugar while beating at low speed
3. continue to beat at low speed for 1 minute or so
4. add the ricotta and beat to combine
5. while beating at low speed, add a tablespoon of butter at a time, waiting for the butter to incorporate until adding the next pat
6. stop the mixer, scrape the bowl, beat at medium for about 2 minutes until fluffy
7. crack eggs into a bowl and break up with a fork
8. at low speed gradually add eggs about a tablespoon at a time, waiting for the eggs to incorporate until adding the next bit
9. beat again at medium speed for about 2 minutes
10. measure out flour and baking powder into a bowl and whisk to combine
11. Gently mix or fold the flour and baking powder into batter
12. fold in raspberries
13. scoop batter into cupcake liners, fill about 1/2 inch from the top (3/4 full)
14. bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean

Frosting:

1 8oz package cream cheese
½ stick butter/ room temp.
3-4 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Food coloring if desired

1. Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed till creamy.
2. Add sugar and vanilla, beat till combined.

The Joy of Veggie: a Mark Bittman Cookbook

So I really, really, really wanted to like Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian." And in some ways I did- just not in the way that I wanted to like it. OH well. Here's the scoop:

Mark Bittman is a paragon of simplicity. I love his short films on the NYT that demonstrate easy and pared-down recipes. I felt excited when I heard that he wrote a book just for us veggies!! So I ordered the book. But...

Then it arrived. All 996 pages of it. Oof.

So anyway, the book has many recipes, tips, and lists, such as "Everyday Stuffed Vegetables." When I looked up "cauliflower," I found 31 entries. Wow. I mean, the recipe I decided on- Cauliflower soup, Italian Style- was tasty, no doubt. But I kind of wish that Bittman would have pointed me there- would have highlighted his very best.

Then I decided I needed to think about this book differently- this isn't a simple book. It's all text, charts, and no pictures. This is the "Joy of Cooking" for vegetarians! How exciting!

If you want to buy the book, here's a link:

 Amazon.com

Veggie Cartoon- Click here for irony

This is the answer to all the folks that say, when confronted with the fact that someone is vegetarian, "But you're killing plants!"

I like the cartoon because it essentially says, "You're right!"

Saratoga Springs: Mrs. London's pastries

Saratoga State Park

Mrs. London's

I spent the day in Saratoga Springs, home of horse-racing. I eschewed betting in favor of stomping around hiking trails and eating fabulous food at Mrs. London's, a pastry shop I visited at my mom's suggestion. (The above are pictures of their beautifully wrapped boxes and of the almond croissants that I bought.) Crunchy and sweet on the outside-- buttery, almond-pasty, and soft on the inside. Perfection. If you go, feel free to get anything you want, but don't leave without the almond croissant. It beats any pastry I've ever tasted in my life.

Also: Saratoga Spa State Park is AMAZING, and anyone who lives in Central NY should definitely go. It's a normal state park studded with ancient geysers that spew smelly water. In particular, the instant fossilization process that occurs due to the high mineral content of the water is quite fascinating. I took off my shoes and climbed up enormous mountains of fossilized leaves and minerals- so soft! So unlike anything I have ever seen or felt!

There are many picnic tables and hiking trails and other goodies at the park: above is a link to the (rather inferior) park website. DO NOT let that deter you. The trip is worth it. The $6 is worth it.

(Am I cultivating an obsession with mineral water? I did just visit Sharon Springs last weekend, another town that became famous for its foul-smelling carbonated springs. (Sharon Springs is about an hour south of Saratoga Springs, on Route 10).

Sharon is far more dilapidated than Saratoga. Some of the Gazebos that house the geysers at Sharon Springs were a bit scary to approach, as in: this soft board I am stepping on looks like it is rotting, and I can hear rushing water running underneath it... hmm.

But Sharon Springs is also more manageable, especially with the cute "historical walk" that takes you through a quarter-mile of main street with plaques as guides. Just don't spend too much time looking around you for the buildings pictured on the plaques- most have burned down. Fortunately Sharon Springs isn't shy about filling you in on the gory details.

Interesting tidbit: Sharon Springs became a hot vacation and business spot for Jewish patrons who wanted to "take the waters". Apparently Saratoga Springs was very antisemitic for a while, and wouldn't let Jews set up businesses.)

My first contest: Coconut and Lime Recipe

This is my favored cooking drink: some cheap red wine with ice, frozen raspberries, and lime. Mmm.
This will be my first web contest- OK, it's just a random drawing for the winner, but still. I made the Broccoli Pesto recipe from Coconut and Lime- very easy to make. I added some marinated artichokes on top, which really complimented the delicate broccoli and garlic flavor of the pesto. I think next time I would up the cheese and oil, too.

Link to Recipe

Fig Twist- Recipes Gone Wrong

Link to recipe


Recipes Gone Wrong...













If you check out the link, you can see the gorgeous-looking thing I was aiming for from "Cook Almost Anything At Least Once." It is a rolled scone stuffed with rum flavored fig filling, with a jam glaze. However, this is what came out of my oven. Ick, right?

But then, I cut it open and YUM! it is so pretty and even more tasty. I highly suggest this recipe, even though it was hard and frustrating at times. And sticky. And I was covered in flour.

Mangosteen- you used to make me feel special

   Link to Article

When I first read about the mangosteen I envisioned subtlety: the NYT article several years ago promised a luscious texture and subtle floral aromas. Mmm. Since the fruit was banned for import in the US due to (overblown) fruitfly contamination concerns, I began my search in Oaxaca, Mexico. I hunted down one false lead after another, including a deceptive poster at a cafe that had pictures of the "Frutas de Mexico," which included a mangosteen.

I then searched in England, where I finally found a mangosteen at Fortnum &Mason in London, a pricey yet pristine department store with a level devoted to the most rarest and specialest comestibles. But once I touched the long-awaited fruit, I realized that with my modest traveler's equipage there was no way I would be able to open it. The shell, dusky scarlet, is like a thick nut! Not at all subtle. Oh, how I wanted the tender white segments inside, and oh-how-much money I had paid for them! I asked the kind, if uninformed, deli counter proprietor to help me open it, and what resulted was a macerated mess of mangosteen flesh. I didn't really care. It was really, really tasty.

The next year, I returned to England and found a whole bag of the darned things in London's Chinatown. And I found a knife.

But today the mangosteen is available in the US, and my search seems a bit pointless. Couldn't I have waited a few more years? Perhaps. But I guess it was worth it, to have tasted the mangosteen two years ago, and feel special for a little while.