Of all the baking I've been doing lately these savory sablés were a great surprise: they are delicious - especially still warm from the oven - and perfect to be served with drinks before dinner; I can assure you they're wonderful with cold beer, prosecco and champagne, and if you try them with something else I would love to know. :)
Cheese and oregano sablés
slightly adapted from the fabulous and beautiful Scandilicious Baking
1 ½ cups + 1 tablespoon (220g) all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon table salt
pinch of freshly ground black pepper
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, very cold and diced
150g parmesan cheese, finely grated
2 medium eggs* + 1 egg, extra, lightly beaten with a fork, for brushing the sablés
2-3 tablespoons whole milk, cold
2-3 tablespoons dried oregano, for sprinkling
In a food processor, pulse the flour, salt, pepper and butter together until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the cheese and blitz again, then with the motor running add the eggs and 2 tablespoons of the milk and process just until a dough starts to form – add more milk if necessary. Divide the dough in half, then transfer each half to a large piece of baking paper, shaping each into a log. Fold parchment over dough; using a ruler, roll and press into a 3.5 cm (1.4in) log – like Martha does here. Wrap in parchment. Chill in freezer until very firm.
Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Unwrap one log at a time (keep the other in the freezer). Cut into 6mm (¼in) thick rounds; space 5cm (2in) apart onto prepared sheets. Lightly brush each slice with the egg glaze and sprinkle with the oregano. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until they are firm to touch and their bottoms are evenly golden brown. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets on wire racks for about 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to the racks and cool completely. Repeat the process with the other dough log.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
* I used 1 very large egg instead of 2 medium eggs
Makes about 40
3 Ocak 2013 Perşembe
Cheese and oregano sablés
Dulce de leche apple pies
When it comes to fruit desserts I need no convincing: I'll choose them over chocolate ones any day. Therefore, I got really curious when I saw the recipe for these pies: apple and dulce de leche together? Would that work? I don't think apple pies need any embellishment, but the idea of adding ddl intrigued me too much and I had to try it - what can I say? Delicious Australia
Dulce de leche apple pies
from the always delicious Delicious - Australia
Pastry:
2 ½ cups (225g) all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons icing sugar, sifted
150g chilled unsalted butter, roughly chopped
2-3 tablespoons ice water
Filling:
600g (about 3) Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, roughly chopped
¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter
3 tablespoons water
½ cup dulce de leche
1 egg, lightly beaten, for brushing
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Pastry: place flour, cinnamon, icing sugar and butter in a food processor, and process until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Gradually add the water (you might not need all of it) and process until the mixture starts to form a dough. Gather dough into a ball, flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
Make the filling: place the apples in a large saucepan with the butter and water. Place over low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15-20 minutes or until the apples are soft and the liquid has been absorbed. Cool slightly then stir in the dulce de leche.
Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Grease a 6-hole Texas muffin pan, then line the holes with baking paper.
Roll out the pastry on lightly floured surface and cut out six 12cm circles. Bring the remaining pastry together and roll out again. Cut out six 6cm circles. Press larger pastry circles into the lined muffin holes. Fill with the apple mixture. Brush edges with egg, then top with the smaller pastry circles and gently press together the pastry edges to seal the pies. Use any leftover pastry to decorate the tops of the pies, then brush with egg. Sprinkle with the sugar and bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden.
Stand for 10 minutes in the pan, then carefully unmold onto a wire rack.
Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream or with vanilla ice cream
Makes 6 – I used a muffin pan with 1/3-cup capacity cavities and got 8 pies; I did not line the pan with paper – I did not think it would work to press pastry on top of paper – and even thought I’d generously buttered the pan the pies got stuck and getting them out of the pan was a nightmare :S
I guess that using tartlet pans with removable bottoms would work better.
Roast onion tart and giveaway winners
Hello, everyone!
A new year has begun and to kick things off in a great way I have the list of the giveaway winners! The comments were drawn using Random.com. Please send me an email (patricia [dot] scarpin [at] gmail.com) with your first and last names and your magazine of choice until January, 10th, 2013:
- Silvana
- KJB
- Kyrsten
- Laura (Tutti Dolci)
- Isla Bonita
Congratulations!
***
I don’t know about you, but year beginnings are pretty busy to me – therefore, I’ll leave you with an easy and delicious tart, a recipe I’ve made twice already.
Roast onion tart
from the always yummy and beautiful Australian Gourmet Traveller
¼ cup (60ml) extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
finely grated rind of 1 lemon
2 red onions, thinly sliced horizontally
2 onions, thinly sliced horizontally
350g puff pastry sheet
1 egg, lightly beaten with a fork, for brushing
85g creamy goat’s cheese*
Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper.
Combine oil, vinegar, thyme and lemon zest in a small bowl and season to taste. Place onion slices in a single layer on prepared sheet, keeping slices intact (don't separate into rings). Drizzle over half the oil mixture and roast until very tender and lightly browned (20-25 minutes), cool to room temperature.
Turn oven temperature to 200°C/400°C.
Trim pastry to a 20x25cm (8x10in) rectangle and place on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Score a 1cm border partway through pastry, prick inside border with a fork, brush edges with the beaten egg. Spread goat's cheese within border, arrange roast onions on top, bake until pastry is risen, golden and cooked through (about 20 minutes). Drizzle over remaining oil mixture, serve hot with a leaf salad.
* I’ve made this tart twice, and once I used homemade ricotta seasoned with salt, freshly ground black pepper and lemon juice – it worked out fine
Serves 4
Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies
Today is my mom's birthday. Happy birthday, Mom!!! This is her chocolate chip cookie recipe.
Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies
There is nothing special about this recipe. Except for the fact that it's in almost every one of my Sunday memories gowning up.
And just so y'all know, this was my very first time to make chocolate chip cookies from scratch. I know. I'm growing up so fast.The funny thing is that for some reason, I was a little nervous that I was going to mess them up. Don't worry; I didn't.
Every Sunday, I would sit Indian style on the kitchen counter while my older sister, Jenny, would make these cookies. She would always double the recipe because there are 7 people in my immediate family, and most of the time, we would also have friends over after church. We would still end up with almost the same amount of cookies as a regular batch though, because we would eat spoonfuls and spoonfuls of the dough at a time. Spoonfuls, I tell you! Some were made with nuts and some with out, "So as not to poison my little sister," my mom would say. Some were baked the full amount of time and some were left a little gooey, the way Dad likes them. Jenny would pile up a big plate of the gooey ones and race upstairs and give them to Dad. I always tagged along, as if I helped or something. Then he would instruct us to "hide the rest so he didn't eat them all," even though I'm pretty sure he knew where they were hidden. Yes, Mom's cookie recipe brings back lots of great memories. And after eating several of this batch, it made me so happy inside and so grateful to have such a wonderful family!
Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies Becky Munson's recipe {with her notes} makes 441 C dark brown sugar1/2 C granulated sugar1 C butter flavored Crisco1 1/2 tsp vanilla2 eggs2 1/4 C flour1/2 tsp salt1 tsp baking soda1/2 package semi-sweet chocolate chips {or mint chocolate, milk chocolate, white, dark or butterscotch}1 C chopped nuts {In Oregon, she used walnuts. In Oklahoma, she used pecans. I used pecans}
"Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream together thebutter and sugar until well mixed. Add the vanilla and stir, then addthe eggs, blending after each. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, and bakingsoda, then gradually add to the sugar mixture, stirring after eachaddition. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by spoonfuls onto agreased cookie sheet and bake for about 10 minutes or until lightlybrowned. Remove from pan and cool on counter top. Makes about 5 dozensmall cookies or 3 dozen large ones." *Just a quick note, I have a convection, gas oven and wanted to try putting them all in at one time. The oven was on convection at 325 degrees and I baked them for 11 minutes. They came out perfect!
Now, every food blogger has their own favorite verion of this recipe, kind of like a man and his "big fish story." So if you were waiting on me to deliver this line, here you go: "These are the best chocolate chip cookies in the world!"
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM! I LOVE YOU! XOXO
A Little Christmas Photo Shoot with Tinsley Harper
I took these the day after we got home from the hospital and she was 4 days old. My older sister, Jenny, got her several little Christmas outfits and I wen't a little crazy!
Let's hope little Tinsley Harper likes photo shoots, cause there's gonna be a lot of them!
{Kind of in love with this little smile!}
{This one makes me MELT!}
{Santa Baby!}
{Sweet little open eyes}
Thanks for letting me share! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas full of family, blessings, yummy food and LOVE!
2 Ocak 2013 Çarşamba
Turkey Tetrazzini
After Thanksgiving and Christmas, we always end up with a bunch of Turkey leftovers. So we have traditions in this house on what they are used for. We roll turkey Taquitos and we make Turkey Tetrazzini. Those of you that have been reading me for a long time, know that this is the first meal I ever learned to cook. I have had to make some changes to it, since going gluten-free, but it is just as tasty as ever. This is the perfect thing to make with your leftovers. It freezes well too! Gluten- Free Turkey Tetrazzini
from the kitchen of Kathy Querin
1/4 cup butter1/8 cup better batter flour1/2 tsp salt1/4 tsp pepper1 cup chicken broth1 cup whipping cream2 TB sherry1 package (7-8 oz) cooked quinoa spaghetti or linguine noodles2 cups cooked Turkey1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 350Melt butter over low heatblend in flour and seasoningscook stirring until mixture is smooth and bubblyRemove from heatStir in broth and creamheat to boiling stirring constantlyBoil 1 minuteadd sherryStir in pasta noodles and chickenPour into a baking dish and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheeseBake 30 minutes.
Gorgonzola stuffed mushrooms
I have exciting news! We are moving! The time has finally come. Our kids are old grown and leaving the nest, so my husband and I are downsizing to a loft downtown San Diego! I am so excited! We have had so many joys bringing up our kids, but now it is time to move into the next phase of our lives together! I am letting you know that my posts will be a little off and on for a week or two as we get settled into our new home. In the meantime... Let me give you my husbands absolute appetizer recipe: Gluten Free Stuffed Mushrooms10 large white large mushrooms1/2 C GF Italian vinaigrette1/4 C minced green onions (white and green parts)2 garlic cloves minced5 oz gorgonzola cheese5 oz cream cheese3/4 C grated Parmesan cheesesalt and pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.in a saucepan, add vinaigrett, green onions, garlic, and bring to a boil.
Add 3 cheeses, reserving 1/4 cup of parmesan for sprinkling over the top of the mushrooms. Heat until fully melted and then remove from heat.Remove the stems from the mushrooms. Fill mushrooms with cooked cheese mixture.Bake for 25 minutes at 350.
Cocktail Round-up
 Gingerbread Martini |  Candy Cane Martini |
 Lemoncello |  Orange Dreamsicle |
Happy New Year!
Gluten-Free Sugar Cookie Recipe HERE.Another year has come and gone. I look back at this past year and think of all the exciting growth that has happened with my blog. Thank you all so much for supporting me by coming and reading and asking me questions about cooking. You all make my life so much brighter! I look back to a year ago when I sold my company and wanted to semi-retire and just focus on what I love doing... cooking, baking, writing, sailing, travelling. I have to say this year was a major success! With over 430 posts this year to this blog, over 4,000 followers on pinterest, nearing 2,000 followers on facebook. I am calling this blog a big success for 2012! 
me and my hubby at dinner en blancI had a few setbacks. One of them being diagnosed with Phyto-Photo-Dermatitis. Which to sum that up for you... I am allergic to limes, lemons, and anything acidic. I just have to wear gloves when I work with them or this happens:
Glad to have that painful experience over!One of the best accomplishments of 2012; Becoming an official published author! For those of you that missed it. You can now buy my cookbook; "Gluten-Free is Easy". It is available at amazon and barnes and noble in e-book formats, and will be in print in May of 2013. Get it here: www.glutenfreeiseasy.com.
2013 will be a big year for us, because we moved to a loft downtown. 
We are now officially empty nester's. I will be missing my daily hikes with my daughter and fuzz butts.
Don't you worry though. My daughter and I have many a cookin' day planned and I will keep updating you with great gluten-free recipes. I am also cooking for my husband and writing for Gourmet Cooking For Two. Feel free to follow: www.gourmetcookingfortwo.com. It is a romantic blog about cooking for just 2 people and how to keep the romance alive. I am having fun with it! 
I am thinking about starting just a blog about Christi in the city, that will just be me randomly taking pictures like I usually do. I have not ever lived in the city before. I come from a very small town in Oregon, so this is going to be quite the culture shock, but in a good way! It is something I have wanted for a while, but as you all know, you put your dreams on hold for your kids. Now it is time for them to go live theirs and for me to live mine. We will still live close and I will see them all the time, so it is not as scary as it sounds! So I am going to leave you with one of my favorite quotes: "Don't listen to the nay-sayers. They are the ones that let all the negatives keep them from living their dream... Don't you dare let them prevent you from living yours."
What is your dream? Spend 2013 making your dream happen!
Happy New Year!!!