FFwD: Caramel Topped Semolina Cake

One of the November selections for French Fridays with Dorie is a caramel-topped semolina cake.

Or, in other words, fancied-up cream of wheat.



It's a pretty tasty, simple dessert. Very similar to how I fix leftover cream of wheat cereal, except for the caramel top.



I was all excited to see how the final dessert would look, but when I flipped it out of the baking pan, it was flat as a pancake. I suspect it needed to cook a bit longer, since the sides of the cake adhered to the pan while the middle part flopped out onto the plate.




It still tasted fine, even cold the next day.

I might make it again sometime; or I might just continue dumping a bunch of brown sugar and milk on leftover cream of wheat to save some time.

If you visit the FFwD website, you can read how the others fared with their desserts.

TWD: Cranberry Lime Galette

By all rights, this galette shouldn't look as good as it does.

When the baking time was up, I decided that it needed just a few more minutes in the oven. So, I closed the oven door, and waited for the nice golden brown color to appear.

Only I got distracted. I walked over to the computer and started checking out various websites and blogs. Then, I went over to the dog to give her some attention. Somewhere in mid-pet, a little bell went off in my brain. Oh say, didn't you have a galette still baking in the oven? It must be carbonized by now.

Truly, the goddess of baking and ovens must have been overseeing everything, because the galette was perfectly cooked.



This is a simple, but delicious, dessert.

First, you roll out your pastry crust, then spread some finely chopped nuts and bread crumbs in the center.



Next, you spoon your fruit mixture over the crumbs.



Finally, you carefully fold up the sides of the pie dough, pleating the excess as you work your way around the galette.



Brush a little water on the dough, sprinkle with sugar, then bake for about 40 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. (I used a water spray bottle and it worked great.)



This week's hostesses were Whitney, April, and Elizabeth of Celestial Confections. Not only is this a lovely dessert, but it meets all the requirements for breakfast. And lunch.



Stop by Tuesdays with Dorie to see what the other bakers did. I understand there were all kinds of fruits filling this galette.

Daring Cooks: Lemon Soufflé

Dave and Linda from Monkeyshines in the Kitchen chose Soufflés as our November 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge! Dave and Linda provided two of their own delicious recipes plus a sinfully decadent chocolate soufflé recipe adapted from Gordon Ramsay’s recipe found at the BBC Good Food website.

For the November challenge, we could make either a savory or a sweet souffle, or both. I've made plenty of cheese souffles, so I chose a sweet one for a change, one that was lemon rather than the usual chocolate.



I made a roux-based sauce, adding sugar and eggs along with lemon zest, then folded in the beaten egg whites.


The end-result was an airy dessert with a delicate lemon flavor. It was everything I expected.

For the challenge recipes, head over to the Daring Kitchen. You'll also be able to see some of the amazing souffles that the other Daring Cooks prepared.

FFwD: Roast Chicken

Here's another recipe from November's French Fridays with Dorie, Roast Chicken for Les Paresseux, or lazy person's chicken.




Basically, it's just a roast chicken with garlic and herbs, and it turns out deliciously. The recipe is similar to how I usually roast a chicken, except you are supposed to put a slice of bread under said chicken during the roasting process.

In theory, you end up with a luscious-tasting piece of toast.


In theory.


My piece of bread totally disintegrated and was nowhere to be found amongst the potatoes, carrots, onions, and liquid.



Aside from three meals, I did get a month's worth of tasty-looking chicken stock from the carcass, which is always a good thing.

TWD: Not-Just-For-Thanksgiving Cranberry Shortbread Cake

Four thumbs up for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie selection! Jessica of Singleton in the Kitchen chose a shortbread cookie-type cake with a delicious cranberry-orange jam filling.



The cranberry-orange jam only takes a few minutes to make and would be delicious anytime. You can control the tartness by tasting the finished jam and adding more sugar, if necessary. I only added one tablespoon more and it turned out perfectly -- neither too sweet nor too tart.



For the cake part, you spread the jam between two shortbread layers in a 9" springform pan, sprinkle with sugar, then bake until the top is golden brown. This might require a few additional minutes.



The end result is wonderful. Why do I know this, aside from tasting it?




My daughter took some in her lunch today.

That says it all.



Next week, it will be my turn to make dessert for my quilt group. I was planning on making the Cranberry Upside Down Cake, but now I'm torn between that and this dessert. Decisions, decisions.

Jessica has the recipe posted on her website, and the other TWD bakers have their versions and opinions posted on theirs.

FFwD: Potato Gratin

For years, I've searched to find the perfect recipe for potato gratin. One that was simple, worked, and tasted good.

With Dorie's recipe, I'm pleased to say that I have finally struck gold.


This was a simple, yet delicious, dish. The thinly sliced potatoes were layered in the baking dish with garlic-infused cream and shredded gruyere cheese, then baked until golden and crispy.


Instantly, this became one of my favorite dishes. Stop by French Fridays with Dorie to see the recipe line-up for November.


Next up for me will be the Roast Chicken for Les Paresseux.


By the way, congratulations to Dorie for making the Best Books of the Year lists for both the New York Times and Amazon.com.

TWD: Peanuttiest Blondies

These are definitely substantial blondies, both in size and in heft.



The first TWD recipe for November was chosen by Nicole of Bakeologie: Peanuttiest Blondies. Chock full of peanut butter, peanuts, and chocolate chips.


The dough is one of the stiffest I've ever made for bar cookies. You really have to work to get it into all the corners.



But, it bakes up nicely.



Being the ornery person I am, I used natural peanut butter. I just can't figure out why it makes a difference.



I gave some to my neighbor's kids for their Halloween treat.


We tend to be brownie fans in this household. For blondies, these are pretty gosh darn delicious.




Head over to Nicole's blog for the recipe, and to the Tuesdays with Dorie blog for all the blondie renditions. (I know for a fact there are more than two.)