DB: Tuiles

If you haven't spent some time with The Inn at Little Washington Cookbook, you're missing out. The food is beautiful, the photography is beautiful, and the entire book is inspiring. My favorite dessert of all time, in fact comes from this cookbook. The grapefruit tart is stunning in it's surprising in it's flavor combination of grapefruit, pecans and bittersweet chocolate.

These aren't the 1970's named "cigarette cookies" I remember my mom making as a kid. They were a bit thicker and more dense than I had hoped. But tasty. After some free-form shaping, my tuiles more or less looked like Pringles. I dipped them in some bittersweet chocolate, and served them with a slightly looser version the Inn's grapefruit custard. I meant to sprinkle it with the pecans, but the urge to eat overcame me.

This dish reminds me of these chocolate covered potato chips that we used to eat in boarding school. It's that chocolate and salt combination that gets me every time.

This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

TWD: Chocolate Gingerbread

This is what I get when I don't spend time with the Ps & Qs. It appears that my grandmother's 9x9 pan, really isn't. In fact, it's a 7x7 pan. So after an hour in the oven, my toothpick came out clean. I removed my gingerbread and actually turned it out from the pan to discover that the bottom center was still quite gooey. I dumped it back in the pan, and baked it again, this time with the top covered in foil.

After baking time #2, the cake wasn't going to budge from the pan. After cutting it into squares, I need to make that excruciating decision. Is there enough of this that's salvageable to take to the pot-luck, or am I starting from scratch (and therefore giving up the trip to the gym, which I need to offset earlier tastes of gingerbread).

I decided that I could serve small edge squares of gingerbread. So I cut them out. I had to turn them on their sides because of the small size and the curvature of the (7x7) pan. I drizzled them with the truly excellent frosting.

Leftover bites, I found tasted just grand with the "schmear" of chocolate frosting.

Overheard

K and her friend were getting ready for dance class.

K: Aren't you excited that Obama will be our president soon?
R: It's really exciting, but I don't know how he can be the president if I haven't voted yet.

TWD: Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins

Thanks to Rebecca at Ezra Pound Cake, there seems to have been a rash of chili making among the TWD bakers this week. For her selection, she chose these delightful Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins. I stayed close to Dorie's original recipe, with all of its spicy goodness.

For my chili, I chose to ignore the CSA beef in my freezer in favor of this vegetarian option.

Vegetarian Black Bean Chili with Orange and Cumin
Bon Appétit January 2009
by The Bon Appétit Test Kitchen
Yield: Makes 4 servings (plus leftovers)
Active Time: 30 minutes Total Time: 30 minutes
2 oranges
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chopped onions
4 garlic cloves, pressed
4 teaspoons chili powder
4 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 15.5-ounce cans seasoned black beans, drained
2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes in juice
Hot pepper sauce
Sour cream or plain yogurt
Chopped fresh cilantro
Grate enough orange peel to measure 1 1/2 teaspoons. Juice oranges. Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions; sauté 5 minutes. Mix in garlic and spices. Add beans, tomatoes, and half of orange juice. Simmer over medium heat until heated through and flavors blend, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Mix in orange peel and remaining orange juice. Season to taste with hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Ladle chili into bowls. Top with sour cream and cilantro. Pass extra hot sauce alongside.

TWD: Pear Tart

Nope, I didn't have this made by Tuesday. It was Thursday night before we sat down to enjoy it. But, in keeping with the New Year's Resolutions, I now have redone my kids bathroom and culled (slightly) my cookbook collection.

Delicious, this tart is, even with my avoid-the-grocery-store cheat of Rum Pastry Cream.

R2R: The hors d'oeuvre (not appetizer) edition

I imagine that these recipes were chosen by folks with PARTIES TO ATTEND. When I was a kid, I presumed my parents to have had a very glamorous social life. There were cocktail parties, and black tie dinners, even the occasional costume party. I remember eating the Tortino's frozen pizza while my mom watched the news, did her make-up and put in her contact lenses. As an adult, my life is much more pedestrian. My kids and their semi-regular babysitters don't have the same Saturday evening connection with the Muppet Show, The Love Boat and Fantasy Island that Cathi and I did.

When I checked out these 3 recipes at the beginning of the month, I imagined that I would have places to go -- you know, fancy holiday soirees. In the end, we had a delightful month, but our partying was limited to a jeans and gym socks with Guitar Hero New Year's Eve. So my fancy-schmancy Blue Cheese-Pear Crostini sat gracefully in their silver platter, on the kitchen island, not far from the venison meatballs and bbq pork. But they were good. And soon they were gone. And in the midst of my revelry and reverie, I didn't even acquire much photographic evidence.