TWD: Applesauce Spice Bars, finally

After a whirlwind trip to Arkansas and a brief (4-day) vacation, which, by all accounts I must have needed, I have once again thrown myself into the midst of baking and freelancing. I had hoped to make these applesauce bars before I left, but there are only so many hours in a busy day.



I had planned to make them yesterday afternoon, but one ingredient was missing. The apple. I could have sworn I had some. So, I begged one off of my dear neighbor, in return for some of the bars. She not only gave me an apple, but some delicious apple crisp that her 10 year old son had made that day in a summer cooking class.



I did substitute currants for the raisins, just for fun, and used dark brown sugar in the caramel glaze. These sure are sticky things, aren't they? But, moist and tasty, as well.



Thanks this week to Karen of Something Sweet for a nice treat. :) I'm trying to get caught up in the next few days, so I can return to my normal, crazy schedule next week. Some of the bars will go with me to the library tonight -- it's always good to share the wealth/calories.

By now, dear reader, I'm sure you've seen a plethora of spice bars, but if you haven't, check out the wonderful bakers at Tuesdays with Dorie.

TWD Delayed A Teensy Bit

Having just returned from my trip to Arkansas, I'm a tiny bit behind on my baking. I plan to make the applesauce bars either late today or early tomorrow, so they will appear.




I will also write up highlights of my visit in the next few days, so stay tuned.

Daring Cooks #4: A Delicious Spanish Dish

Rice with Mushrooms, Cuttlefish Chicken, and Artichokes


That was the Daring Cook's challenge for this month, chosen by Olga of Olga's Recipes. I swapped out only one ingredient as you can tell, since I didn't want to waste perfectly good cuttlefish. As it was, I'm glad I only made half the recipe.

Why?


Because it was so delicious that two of us quickly devoured it.



I made this last Saturday so I could take my time and enjoy the preparation.


First I made the Sofregit, a tasty melange of caramelized onions and fresh tomatoes with some garlic, green pepper, and mushrooms thrown in as well. It goes really well with leftover meatloaf, I might add.



The next component was the Aioli sauce. It's like making mayonnaise with a bunch of garlic. It truly added the best flavor to the finished rice dish. It took awhile to prepare, since you crush the garlic with a mortar and pestle before dribbling in the oil, a drop at a time. I did eventually switch to a whisk to help it along.




This lovely dish also gave me an opportunity to use some of the saffron I received as a Mother's Day gift from my older daughter. It was a most thoughtful and useful gift. Spices and herbs are always welcome.



Chicken, mushrooms, and artichokes, merrily cooking along:



I also used Arborio rice, which resulted in a nice, creamy texture. The photo really doesn't do it justice. Trust me, it was wonderful, and definitely a dish I will make again.




The post day for Daring Cooks is August 14. Since I'll be out of town, I'm sending this to autopost and keeping my fingers crossed that Blogger actually posts it. From the previews, I know that many of the Daring Cooks ended up with spectacular results, so take time to check them out. For the recipes, go to Olga's blog.


The new challenge will be posted right after I return, so I'm looking forward to the next cooking adventure.

Arkansas bound

Too early tomorrow morning I'm off to Arkansas for several days. It's a business-pleasure combo trip.


If I have the time tonight, I'll be autoposting two events for Thursday and Friday. That's assuming Blogger will post them. The last two times I used autopost, the files just sat there, so I have no idea what changed, but I'll give it a go anyway.


Meanwhile, if anyone has suggestions for meals in Fayetteville (dinner) or Little Rock (lunch), I'd be thrilled to hear about them.


I'll look forward to seeing all the new posts when I return.

TWD: Brownie Buttons

Brownie Buttons, the one-bite alternative to conventional brownies. These didn't last long. As you can tell, I chose to dust them with powdered sugar. While melted white chocolate or regular frosting sounds good, these little guys are rich enough to stand on their own.


My mini-muffin pan handles 12. Two buttons were baked in mini-paper cups. Of course, they were the first to disappear because of that.



The cooling rack was a dangerous location. Several buttons never received their powdered sugar dusting.


These were fun and quick to make, and very likely to be made again!



Brownie Buttons were brought to us this week by Jayma of Two Scientists Experimenting in the Kitchen. Check out the TWD blog for other renditions and opinions.


(Next week's selection is Applesauce Spice Bars, which may or may not be posted on-time, depending on my copious free-time, since I am heading out of town early tomorrow morning.)

YWPWT: Nutty Pies

Our pie challenge for August, thanks to Jacque at Daisy Lane Cakes, was to create something featuring nuts. My goodness -- there are so many choices out there. Not just the type of nut, but whether to use nuts as the focus in the filling or as an accompaniment in the crust.

Once again, I have been auditioning cookbooks (my bank account is suffering) and I was inspired to make a savory nut pie rather than the usual sweet one. Gruyère, Scallion, and Walnut Tart turned out to be quite delicious and will most likely appear at the table on a regular basis.

First, I assembled the main ingredients: cheese, scallions, walnuts, and custard filling:

Tart shell:


Next, the scallions are sprinkled onto the shell:


Then the cheese:


Then the nuts:


Followed by the custard filling:


Fresh from the oven:


Ready to eat:



All the ingredients can be prepared ahead of time, and the tart shell can be made in advance and either refrigerated or frozen. My cooking time was a bit longer than the recipe suggested. All taste testers gave this nutty, savory pie a big thumb's up!


Check out the You Want Pies With That? blog for other delicious, nutty pies.




Gruyère, Scallion, and Walnut Tart
(adapted from The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri)

Ingredients:

One 10-11" tart shell, unbaked

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 bunch scallions (white part and half of the green part), thinly sliced
5 ounces (150 grams) coarsely shredded Gruyère cheese
4 ounces (100 grams) walnut pieces, toasted, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup milk
1/2 heavy cream
3 large eggs
salt, pepper, nutmeg to taste

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C), placing rack at the lowest level.

Melt the butter in a small pan over medium heat and add the scallions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and let cook for a few minutes.

Distribute the cooked scallions evenly over the tart crust, then scatter the cheese and walnuts on top.

Whisk together the milk, cream, eggs, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and pour into the crust.

Bake the tart until the crust is baked through and well-colored on the bottom, and the filling is set and puffed, anywhere from 30 to 50 minutes.

Cool before unmolding.

Can be served warm or at room temperature.

TWD: Banana Bundt

This week's TWD baking special was Classic Banana Bundt Cake, chosen by Mary, The Food Librarian, one of my baking/blogging neighbors here in California. Great choice!


While I was looking forward to baking this, I discovered I was one banana short, with no extra time to shop for a really ripe banana.


My dear neighbor came to the rescue -- she always throws her extra-ripe fruit into the freezer, so she passed a frozen banana over the wall. The cake was saved!

I also used some extra thick Greek yogurt that I had on hand.



I would highly recommend this banana cake recipe. It is rich and moist and delicious, with a lovely banana flavor. My daughter gave it two thumbs up. This go-round, because I wanted to experience the true essence of all the flavors, I just dusted the top with powdered sugar. Next time, I will play around with a glaze or perhaps add some finely chopped dark chocolate to the batter. There is lots of room for experimentation.



Tune in to the other TWD bakers to get their take on this delicious cake.