TWD: Lemon Madeleines

I almost didn't get to take a photo of these. My husb and I scarfed these down so fast. They kept disappearing! Ack!

I love the lemony goodness of these cookies. The lemon zest really adds a good kick to it. I also like how they make my breath all lemony fresh afterwards. I know it kind of makes it sounds like it might be too lemony, but it's not. It's the perfect amount of lemon and it's great with coffee or tea. Also, they were super easy to make! Huzzah! I'm totally going to make these again and try it with different flavors. Maybe lime. Maybe lilikoi. Guava would be interesting too...

For the recipe, you can find it in Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan. Also, check out the blogroll to see more pretty madeleines!

TWD: Brown Butter and Vanilla Bean Weekend Cake

Oh drat. Always a day late on posting. I could've done it last night but the Husb made some sashimi (woo who!) and we had some sake (double woo who!). Oh such lovely, delicious yuzu sake that made me quite sleepy and happy. But yes, this cake was very easy to make and it smelled amazing when you put the ingredients together.

However, the flavors were very subtle once completed. I thought the brown butter and vanilla would be more prominent, but it wasn't. Wah wah. The good thing is that it's still a good cake. Very much like a pound cake, but denser and not at all oily.

I didn't try it until the next day, but it definitely tasted better after toasting the slices. Also, it does a good job soaking up syrups. I had it for breakfast with some lilikoi syrup and it was quite yummy.

For the recipe, you can find it in Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan and also, you can check out the blogroll for more weekend cakes!

TWD: Eastern European Rye

Ok! First Tuesday with Dorie of the year! Woo who! Well, the first for me that is. Right now, I've been pretty busy dealing with trying to cut down the 9 foot tall weeds in our property. Whacking them down with the weed whacker or sawing the gigantor weeds with the electric saw. Whew! And I'm still not finished! But the good thing is, the wild pigs have helped keep some of it down. Hee..

Anyway.

It was fun taking some time off to make this rye bread. Though, I learned a pretty good lesson. I got to get a spice grinder if I'm ever going to make this again. Whew-wee. That was a lot of work grinding up the caraway seeds with the mortar and pestle. It's definitely a sit down and watch TV kind of work. Also, I learned that there are many different ways to shape bread. This is the first time I've ever done this method and it was kind of hard to understand. It talks about sealing seams while rolling and sticking fingers in the sides, then making hospital corners on the bed...Ackk! I was so confused. But luckily, PBS has a video of Baking with Julia, where the contributing baker, Lauren Groveman, is making pumpernickel using the same method (start at 11:43). Once I watched the video I was set! I still don't know what making a hospital bed looks like, but I was good to go!

It smelled so good while I was waiting for it to cool down. Ahhh fresh bread. Can't beat that...For lunch (half an hour after baking), the Husb and I had the Open Faced Reuben Sandwich, which is found on the next page. It was sooo tasty. So tasty that we had it the next day for lunch. MmmMm

For the recipe, see Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan. Also, check out the TWD's blogroll for some good looking ryes.

TWD: Palets de Dames, Lille Style

Tuesday with Dorie is cooking from a brand new book, Baking Chez Moi! Very exciting times! Lately, well, actually for a quite a while now, I've been feeling a little guilty since I didn't stay on track with Baking with Julia. But now there's new rules and I feel free! Yippee!!! Ahhahahaha!!!

Ahem. Anyway. Today's recipe was Palets de Dames, Lille Style. And I have no idea how you pronounce that, but sounds pretty fancy. If anyone knows, please fill me. :D It's a cute little cookie that is kind of cake like and with the icing, is very sweet. It would pair well with a black tea, such as earl grey. MmMmM It is definitely very difficult to eat just one.

I actually didn't like them the night that I made them. They were better the next day. And I feel like most of the "sugar cookies" I make, I don't like until the following day. I think it has something to do with the icing. It firms up more and the sugary water moistens the cookie a little bit. My SO, didn't like them at first either, but the next day, he thought they were better. Yay!

For the recipe, get Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan and join us on this baking adventure! Also, check out the blogroll for more pretty picture of cookies!