Cookbook Archives - Page 2 of 5 Kitchen Conundrum

Boca Negra Cake- Tuesdays with Dorie

February 19, 2013 by Renee

After the week I have had, and it’s only Tuesday mind you, I am thankful to have something so incredibly chocolatey and decadent to soothe my over-stressed mind and satiate my soul! I couldn’t bring myself to make last Friday’s Coeur à la Crème from the French Fridays with Dorie group. The heart shape and the Valentine’s Day theme just struck a raw nerve with me and I ended up returning the mold I had purchased to make it. Needless to say, I am not a fan of the holiday.

I almost did not make this cake too, as it’s lusciousness and opulence seemed like something only lovers could share on the most special of occasions, an anniversary or birthday dinner, perhaps. But I changed my mind and at the last minute went to find some good quality bittersweet chocolate.

Chocolate really does soothe the soul and this Boca Negra cake fits the bill perfectly! It’s dense and rich and oh, so good! Just what the Doctor ordered and maybe it’s the sugar rush or the bourbon, but one bite is all it takes to put a smile on even the most cynical among us.

I did encounter a few snafus when making this. Firstly, the recipe states that one should boil a mixture of bourbon and sugar and once its boiling to pour it over bits of bittersweet chocolate that you have broken up into a bowl. This part worked fine and the chocolate melted alright, but the next step was to mix in and melt two sticks of butter into this chocolate mixture. This proved nearly impossible as the chocolate had cooled down significantly and the butter just refused to melt. The chocolate was a big glob in the bowl. I ended up putting it over a double boiler and remelting the chocolate just to allow the butter to melt properly. Even after a good whisking, it finally came together only once the eggs were incorporated.

It was a thing of beauty going into the oven, only to emerge 30 minutes later with a center the consistency of jello. While it looked beautiful, had I sliced it then, I felt it would just have fallen into a puddle of chocolate goo onto the plate. So, back into the oven it went for ten more minutes. The end result was a cracked top which had puffed up so high that it needed to settle before I could complete the inversion onto the plate!

Next, because the cake was still quite warm when I was serving it, the creme (a wonderful mixture of heavy cream, bourbon and white chocolate-which tastes just like eggnog!) melted all over the top when I made my pre-photo decorative swirls.

All of that aside, it’s a very fast and easy cake to create….and no matter what it looked like or how far off it veered from what it should be like, it was sinfully delicious!

As with the French Fridays with Dorie group, I can’t reprint the recipe. But you can purchase the book here.

Classic Snacks Made From Scratch by Casey Barber, Cookbook Review

February 15, 2013 by Renee

Last weekend there was nearly a riot in my house as everyone had lists of recipes they “had to have” made from Casey Barber’s new book, Classic Snacks Made From Scratch. With choices like Twinkies, Strawberry Pop-Tarts and Nacho Cheese Doritos, it took a lot of compromise and a bit of arm wrestling, but we narrowed it down to just four recipes-Cheez-Its, Chicken in a Biskit Crackers, Hostess Chocolate Cupcakes and Oatmeal Creme Pies.

For us adults, the 70 recipes in this book are a throwback to some serious treats from our childhoods. For me it was the Chicken in a Biskit Crackers and for Ari it was the Oatmeal Creme Pies. But for both of us, it was those amazingly sweet Hostess Chocolate Cupcakes with the fluffy white creme filling that really tugged us back to days when we’d open our lunch boxes and discover the one thing that no one would dare trade. For the kids, Cheez-Its are always on their snack menu and we literally go through several boxes of them at a time!

We spent Saturday and Sunday recreating the four recipes to much success and applause. There would have been cheers and accolades, but mouths were full!

Throughout the book, Casey rates each of the recipes on a difficulty scale from 1-5, with 5 being the most difficult. The Hostess Chocolate Cupcakes were labeled a 4, and while there were many components, it was not that difficult to put together. The hardest part was perfecting (we didn’t!) the swirly White Doodle Icing on the top! Their taste? Exactly like the real thing- but without all the preservatives and chemicals. The chocolate cupcake was dense and flavorful while the creme in the middle was just as fluffy and delicious as the original. And the best part? The recipe makes a bit more of the white creme than is needed, so you have some extra for those that love the creme filling! (Like me!)

The molasses inspired Oatmeal Creme Pies were incredibly soft and chewy, and once filled with the sweetened cream cheese filling it rivaled its branded version. A real indulgence!

The crackers were quick and easy to prepare. Several recipes require some “Special Ingredients” but have no fear, Casey tells readers exactly how to find them. The Chicken in a Biskit Crackers called for Buttermilk Powder, which I actually did find in the powdered milk section of the grocery store, just where Casey said it would be! These crispy crackers had the same light chicken flavor that I remembered from my youth and were a big hit.

I think, had I emptied a box of Cheez-Its and replaced them with the ones we recreated from Classic Snacks Made From Scratch, that no one would have been able to tell the difference. They were that good. Not only did they taste identical, they looked identical!

Needless to say, nothing lasted very long- everything was eaten within a day or two and now we have another long list of recipes that have been ~~demanded~~ requested. Seems we will be recreating Classic Snacks for a long time to come!

With 70 nostalgic recipes, this book is a snack lover’s delight! Get your own copy of Casey Barber’s new, fun book, Classic Snacks Made From Scratch here.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book to review from the publisher, Ulysses Press. All opinions expressed are my own and I was not compensated in any other way for this post.

Focaccia- Tuesdays with Dorie

February 5, 2013 by Renee

I have really enjoyed the French Fridays with Dorie cooking group. It’s been a fun way to make sure I get some blogging in each week in addition to my own (mis)adventures in the kitchen and beyond and I’ve also been able to read some really great new blogs from this endeavor. A big plus.

So, because I have had a lot of fun with that group, I have now also joined the Tuesdays with Dorie- Baking with Julia group. There are only two recipes a month so it’s not as intensive and it’s baking- so it’s guaranteed to be all yummy things! (I hope!)

The first recipe I have joined in with is Focaccia. The host this week is Sharmini of Wandering Through. Make sure you visit her blog for the recipe and visit the LYL section of the Baking with Julia website to see how everyone else did.

This foccaia is much like the breads we made at Kea Artisanal but with a few less toppings. In this recipe, I used some whole wheat flour as we are low on AP flour. But it didn’t affect the rise in any way. It still came out fluffy, chewy and had a nice crunchy crust.

A generous drizzle of olive oil that I brought home from Puglia this summer and some roasted garlic with rosemary on top made this a wonderful meal with some sliced tomatoes and mozzarella.

As with the French Fridays with Dorie group, I can’t reprint the recipe. But you can purchase the book here.