EAB Designs

Strawberry Popovers

 

 

Super easy, super quick and ever so delicious, you'll all want to bake up a batch of these strawberry popovers.  I bought my popover pan some time ago, but today was the first time I put it to use.  After just one bite of these heavenly little puffs, I knew my pan was going to be getting a lot of use.

 

 

They look decadent, but amazingly the ingredients are not ~ just eggs, milk, flour, a bit of sugar & salt, lemon zest, & strawberries.  The butter was to coat the pan and I only used a small amount of what is pictured here.  (Cooking spray is another option.) Once they came out of the oven, I lighlty dusted them with powdered sugar.  You could serve them with butter or jam, but I loved them just plain.

 

 

Here they are ready to be popped into the oven.  Be sure not to skip the step of pre-heating your pan before adding the batter.

 

 

Fresh out of the oven!  Serve them right away while still puffed.  Light, airy and perfect for breakfast or to serve with a salad. 

 

If at First You Don't Succeed...

After two failed attempts, I finally have an active levain, or sour dough starter - the secret to authentic, yeasty, artisan bread.  It's amazing how some little bubbles and a slighty sour, but wonderfully complex, smell can make a girl so happy.

 

 

Yesterday, I used the levain for the first time to make a rustic, dark, thick-crusted pain de campagne.  The dough turned out beautiful and was quite easy to shape into two small rounds. Here they are ready for their second rise in the bannetons.

 

 

The rounds did take quite a bit longer to rise than the wheat sandwich bread I usually make, but once I carefully placed them onto the peel, I couldn't wait to bake them off in the hot oven. In my excitement, I actually forgot to score the loaves before baking.

 

 

Thankfully, even without scoring, they still rose nicely and looked pretty authentic.  Wish I could send you all a slice, because it truly was scrumptious.

 

recipes from Local Breads

Sweet Pea in the Kitchen

Sweet Pea is home for spring break and baked us this delicious cake last night.  First she made lemon-blueberry preserves with a touch of fresh ginger and then swirled it through the lemon-flavored batter to create a marbled cake.  Lastly she added some of the preserves in between the layers and then frosted the cake with a lemon buttercream frosting.  I lost count of how many bowls, spatulas and pans were used in the process, but it sure was worth it.  Absolutely yummy! The recipe comes from the book, Sky High Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes.

How We Devoured the Baguettes

In addition to my husband sneaking slices of our fresh baked baguettes to snack on, here's a few ways we enjoyed them with our meals.

 

For lunch, we often have a salad with open faced sandwiches.  These were made with French ham, spring lettuces, a drizzle of homemade vinaigrette, and of course slices of our homemade baguette.

 

For dinner, we dipped our bread into this comforting Spanish Pea Soup with Crispy Prosciutto. The recipe hails from Ina Garten - the Barefoot Contessa and can be found here.  I love her new episodes which were filmed in Napa Valley.  One of them featured this soup. Since watching the shows, I keep telling my husband we're moving back to California to live in Napa Valley. 

 

Bread left over from the day before was put to good use in a favorite French Toast recipe. The recipe comes from  James McNair's Breakfast. Hands down the best breakfast cookbook I've discovered and a favorite in my collection. Perfect for treating yourself to a fabulous breakfast as well as for entertaining guests for brunch.

Artisan Bread 101

 

Growing up with a father who loved bread, and a mom who was a fabulous baker, it's no wonder I share both of their passions.  Learning to bake my own bread was one of the first things I set out to do in my own kitchen.  Happily, I discovered I had a knack for turning out delicious sandwich and sweet breads which we enjoy each week.  This year, I decided to educate myself on the process of creating sourdough and whole-grain recipes with age-old-bread-making traditions.  I borrowed an armful of Artisan bread cookbooks from the library and have been studying up.  I'm amazed by not only the process, but the science behind it as well.  First up, was the simple baguette which I baked on Sunday.

A baguette is a great place to begin as it doesn't require any liquid levain, or starter. A starter can take up to ten days to create.  I must confess my first attempt at cultivating a liquid starter failed miserably and I had to throw it out.  Although disappointed, I'm going to start again tomorrow. As for my baguettes, they turned out beautifully.

 

 

Crunchy artisan breads are best eaten right away so check back later this week to see what meals we've been enjoying them with.

Local Breads, by Daniel Leader, was my favorite book from the lot I borrowed from the library. Interesting reading and recipes.  Definitely will be purchasing a copy to add to my cookbook collection.

A Favorite iPad Subscription

I'm a big fan of Donna Hay's cookbooks.  Donna is a popular Australian food stylist, author and magazine editor.  I would have loved to subscribe to her magazine, but coming from Australia the cost was phenomenal.  However, I was thrilled when she released her magazine for iPad.  An annual subscription is less than twenty dollars and each issue is more inspiring than the next. Today I baked these yummy Gingerbread cookies from her holiday celebration issue.

The iPad edition is beautiful and filled with remarkable food photography, videos, step by step cooking instructions and charming animation.  The first two issues were available for free, one being the celebration issue.  Recipes are based around fresh seasonal ingredients with lots of seafood dishes to choose from.

I bundled up some of the cookies to give as gifts and the rest I'm saving to make Gingerbread Lemon Ice Cream sandwiches.  (Growing up, my mom used to make gingerbread cake with a lemon pudding sauce and it's been a favorite flavor combination of mine ever since.)  Enjoy your weekend and stay warm!  We're expecting a bit of snow if a few hours and I'm looking forward to watching it fall.

Thanksgiving Prep

 

The house is clean, the girls and company will be arriving today and I'm in the midst of prepping for our Thanksgiving meal.  I couldn't be happier.  To add to my excitement, I just took these delicious "Parker House Rolls with Sea Salt" fresh out of the oven.  I know they're delicious because I couldn't help but give myself an early treat.  I'm thrilled when reading a recipe and I come across the words "make it ahead".  Love that!  The rolls can be frozen after baking and reheated on Thanksgiving.  The recipe appeared in the November Food Network magazine, but you can find it online here.  Plan ahead though, after their first rising they do need to rest in the fridge for at least 8 hours before baking.

I wanted to take the time to let you know how thankful I am for all of you who visit me here and to let you know how much I truly appreciate you.  Wishing you a most wonderful Thanksgiving filled with the company of family, friends and great food.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Julie 

Make Ahead and Freeze Appetizers

We love to entertain in the fall and often have friends over for dinner.  For those weekends when I have a little less time to prepare, it's great to have a few things stashed away in the freezer that I've previously made and can be baked fresh at a moment's notice.  French gougères, or cheese puffs, are so easy to make, incredibly delicious and your friends will think you spent hours preparing them.

Simple ingredients:  butter, fresh eggs, cheese (I use Gruyère), milk, water, flour & salt.

Once the dough is spooned onto the baking sheet, you can either bake the puffs straight away, or freeze them for later.  To freeze, just place the entire baking sheet in the freezer until each puff is firm and then place them in a sealed freezer bag to bake off later.

Before your guests arrive, just place some of the frozen gougères on a baking sheet and pop them into your oven.  Upon arriving, your guests will immediately feel welcome by the fabulous smell coming from your kitchen.  The gougères are light & airy and wonderful with a glass of wine. Your guests will love you!

The recipe I use is from a favorite cookbook, Around My French Table, by Dorie Greenspan. However, epicurious.com has the recipe online which can be found here.

Bread & Jam

I love baking bread, especially on a cold and rainy day like today.  I made two loaves of my favorite whole wheat bread and I wish you could smell the kitchen right now.  There's nothing like a fresh slice of bread with a bit of butter, or as I prefer, toasted with my favorite jam.  I must confess, I was first drawn to Bonnie's Jams because of the label design.  Isn't it great?  I especially love their Black & Blue jam (blackberries & blueberries mixed).  The raspberry is equally delicious though. My favorite bread recipes come from a book I've owned for many years, The Book of Bread by Judith Jones. The hardcover is out of print now, but used copies are available. If you enjoy all kinds of homemade bread, even if you're just a beginner baker, I would highly recommend adding a copy to your cookbook collection.

Carrot Cookies

When I was a teenager, our family became close friends with a dear neighbor, Mrs. Bushell.  She often joined us for dinner and family celebrations.  Like my mom, she was a wonderful baker and always brought over yummy things for us to eat.  She happily shared her recipes with us which I added to our family cookbook a few years ago.  Last night, I made her carrot cookies and lost count of how many I ate - they are delicious!  She would have been be so happy to know I'm sharing her recipe with all of you.  Enjoy ~

Lemon Pudding Cake with Fresh Berries

Sweet pea was busy in the kitchen today making these fabulous lemon pudding cakes with berries.  Prepared like souffles, the batter is poured into ramekins dusted with fine sugar. After baking in a water bath, and cooled, they are turned out onto dessert dishes and topped with fresh berries and a dusting of powdered sugar.

The recipe makes four individual cakes.  Delicious and light we enjoyed every last bite!

The recipe is by Tyler Florence, and can be found here.

 

Cantaloupe Sorbet

 

When we were in Rome, we loved visiting our favorite gelato cafe during the hot summer afternoons.  My husband always ordered Melone (cantaloupe) gelato.  Once we returned home, I wanted to make a refreshing dessert that would remind him of his favorite Melone gelato, but with less calories.  I adapted this recipe for cantaloupe sorbert or ice.  It's delicious and I don't even care for cantaloupe!