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unforeseen hiatus

8/16/2021

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I had a friend call me the other evening to make sure my husband and I were okay. She hadn’t seen posts from me in awhile and she grew concerned. I assured her that all was well and the reason for the gap was we’ve had our daughter and granddaughters visiting us each week for a few days each week since July. My goal was to have quick suppers on Thursday evenings after my granddaughter’s swim lesson and for the other days, you prepare what’s appealing to a one- and four-year-old.
 
Here’s a review of what’s been going on in our culinary life.
​Several weeks ago, my husband and I went to Qua Pizza in Manasquan, NJ. Qua prepares Roman style pizza. Qua makes rectangle pies from a dough that has a long fermentation and is a high hydration dough. They bake their pies in blue steel pans which results in a crisp crust with a light, soft and airy interior. Between the crust and the tomato sauce, it’s a killer pie! The night my husband and I were there, their special pie that night was Cacio e Pepe with Zucchini Flowers. I’ve had their Cacio e Pepe before, which by the way, inspired me to find a recipe to make it a home. This pie was fabulous! The combination of ingredients and the zucchini blossoms made for a scrumptious supper!
 
Another evening a neighbor was gifted a fresh tuna filet. What to do? My husband suggested Blackened Tuna Bites. Off to my local food store where I found Cajun’s Choice Blackened Seasonings. I lightly coated the tuna bites with a bit of canola oil and then added the blackening seasoning. A quick sauté in a non-stick skillet and, a voilà quick appetizer, delish!
 
One of my favorite summertime desserts is blueberry and nectarine buckle from Gourmet Magazine, July 1991. As peak season for these two summer fruits is nearing the end, you must give this recipe a try. You can substitute peaches for the nectarines. However, I would recommend removing the peach skin before adding to the batter.
 
This recipe has a light crumb topping that really enhances the buckle. For the topping you’ll need unsalted butter, sugar, all-purpose flour, cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg. For the batter, unsalted butter, sugar, vanilla, double acting baking powder, all-purpose flour, salt, eggs, blueberries and nectarines. The recipe calls for baking in a 10-x2-inch round cake pan or a 2-quart baking pan.
 
There’s enough crumb topping to add another layer of both flavor and texture. The combination of the two fruits makes for delightful dessert, especially for a barbecue.
 
A few weeks ago, in the Monday edition of The New York Times, there was a German Chocolate Cookie recipe by Samantha Seneviratne. The recipe calls for all-purpose flour, natural cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, butter, granulated sugar, dark brown sugar, an egg, vanilla, coconut, chopped bittersweet chocolate and chopped pecans.
 
While the coconut may be essential to a German Chocolate cake, I nixed it for the cookies. I also used light brown sugar as that’s what was in my pantry and I purchased Ghirardelli Baking Bar, Premium, Bittersweet Chocolate, 60% Cacao.
 
These cookies were divine! The proportion of ingredients made for a slightly crisp edge, but a soft decadent chocolate center. Following the suggestions of other bakers, after rolling the dough in a ball, I slightly flattened the cookies. We didn’t find them overly sweet, but they were rich tasting and one cookie will satisfy any chocolate lover’s craving. I recently brought these to a picnic and I immediately received a request for the recipe from someone who’s husband had the foresight to bring some home to his family that couldn’t attend.
 
Both of my granddaughters have August birthdays and this year, the youngest turns one and the other four. My daughter is having a joint birthday celebration for the girls and I was tasked to creating sea themed sugar cookies for the young guests to decorate and some for the adults to eat.
 
My daughter found cookie cutters in the form of a mermaid’s tail, two sizes of star fish and scallop. I made royal icing to outline the cookies then decorated them with colored sugar. The kids had fun both decorating and eating the cookies. The adults enjoyed the cookies too! 

​Blueberry and Nectarine Buckle
Gourmet Magazine, JULY 1991
 
INGREDIENTS
 
For the topping:
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
 
For the batter:
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
2 cups blueberries, picked over and rinsed
2 nectarines, pitted and cut into 1-inch wedges
whipped cream or ice cream as an accompaniment
 
PREPARATION
 
  1. Make the topping: In a small bowl blend together the butter, the sugar, the flour, the cinnamon, and the nutmeg until the mixture resembles coarse meal and chill the topping while making the batter.
 
  1. Make the batter: In a small bowl with an electric mixer cream together the butter and the sugar and beat in the vanilla. In a small bowl stir together the baking powder, the flour, and the salt, beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture alternately with the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, and fold in the blueberries and the nectarines.
 
 
  1. Spread the batter in a well-buttered 10-by 2-inch round cake pan or 2-quart baking pan, sprinkle the topping evenly over it and bake the buckle in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean and the topping is crisp and golden. Serve the buckle with whipped cream.
blueberry_and_nectarine_buckle.docx.pdf
File Size: 53 kb
File Type: pdf
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German Chocolate Cookies
By Samantha Seneviratne 
From NYT Cooking
 
Yield: 2 dozen
Time: 45 Minutes
 
 
INGREDIENTS
 
1 cup/128 grams all-purpose flour
½ cup/47 grams natural cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
8 tablespoons/113 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature
½ cup/101 grams granulated sugar
½ cup/110 grams packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 ½ cups/128 grams lightly toasted, sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup/170 grams chopped bittersweet chocolate
1 cup/119 grams chopped pecans
 
PREPARATION
  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar together with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla until smooth.
  2. Reduce the speed to low and beat in the flour mixture. Add coconut, chocolate and pecans and mix to just combine.
  3. Portion the dough in 2 tablespoon scoops and roll them into balls. Place them on parchment-lined baking sheets, at least 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies until dry on top but still soft in the center, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately tap the sheets against a work surface to deflate them slightly. Let the cookies sit on the sheets for 3 minutes, then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.
german_chocolate_cookies.docx.pdf
File Size: 41 kb
File Type: pdf
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​Royal Icing
By Alison Roman
New York Times Cooking
 
Yield: about 1-3/4 cups
Time: 5 Minutes
 
INGREDIENTS
 
3 large egg whites
3 ¾ cups/453 grams confectioners' sugar (a standard 1-pound box)
 Pinch of cream of tartar
 Pinch of kosher salt
 Food coloring (optional)
 
PREPARATION
 
  1. Using an electric mixer, whisk egg whites till light and foamy, about 1 minute.
  2. Add powdered sugar, cream of tartar and salt to egg whites and continue to whisk, stopping to scrape down bowl as necessary, until extremely light and fluffy, almost like shaving cream.
  3. Thin icing with water by the tablespoonful until it has the viscosity of hot fudge. (This is the ideal texture for decorating.) Depending on your egg whites, this could be 3 to 4 tablespoons of water.
  4. If you'd like to tint the icing different colors, separate icing into small bowls. Add food coloring to each bowl using only a drop or two at a time, and stir thoroughly to combine, until desired color is achieved. Icing dries out fairly quickly, so keep covered until ready to use.
royal_icing.pdf
File Size: 39 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File



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    A former teacher, shop-a-holic, empty-nester redefining quick, family approved dinners. 

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