TWD Creamiest Lime Cream Meringue Pie

Lime pie in the summertime, what more could you ask for? Once again I had a recipe that tempers eggs, it makes me so nervous! Fortunately, this was a success and my pie had a creamy and delicious lime flavor, rather than egg!

Linda, from Tender Crumb, selected this recipe and her photos are amazing! Seriously, some people really put me to shame. I love the creamy lime flavor, but agree with Linda that I was wanting more ginger. I am, however, not a meringue fan, so I opted to top my pie with whipped cream. I believe whipped cream can top anything and make it better!

I loved the pie in a graham cracker crust and thought Linda's suggestion not to sweeten it was a good idea. I'll have to try that next time. If you're interested in a zingy and delicious summer pie, head over to Tender Crumb and check out the recipe and amazing pictures!

TWD: Applesauce Spice Bars

I'm now officially ready for autumn! The kids are on their way back to school and we have amazing apple bars. Now if I could get Tampa, Florida to cool down a bit...

These spicy little bars were DEE-licious!!! We loved every bite!! They had a cake-like consistency with a perfect buttery-carmelly icing on top. The bits of apple and chewy raisins were a perfect pair mixed into all the homey deliciousness. The crazy thing about these is that they were even better the next day. Of course, I omitted the nuts because they would have ruined this yummy treat. But we all devoured them.

Thanks Karen for choosing this delicious recipe. I will definitely add this to my list of favorites!!!

TWD-Brownie Buttons

It was my pleasure this week to "test" these little wonders that are called Brownie Buttons! Personally, I think chocolate and orange were meant to go together. Such a lovely combination. They were a snap to put together. I made batch #1 last week to give to a friend I was taking dinner to. The verdict, she was surprised to have liked them as much as she did because she is not usually a fan of chocolate and orange. (In my defense, I had no idea that was the case, otherwise I would have done them plain.) My thought is that the soft, fudgy brownie was just too good and couldn't be ruined by a bit of orange zest!

I made a double batch yesterday for the Fam, seeing as they were sorely disappointed that all of the first batch went out the door without even a little bite. Here at our house they were gobbled up. In fact, I had to make sure the husband knew he could eat a few but had to leave some for my pictures. This morning he told me how hard it was to not eat the entire plate of them, they were that good in his book.

Another five star Dorie recipe! If you are interested in trying out Brownie Buttons yourself, head here for the full recipe.

Happy Baking!

P.S. If you haven't been to see Julie and Julia yet, you are missing out and should definitely see it this week. It was fabulous!

p.p.s. When I was taking the pictures my almost 4-year-old kept saying, "Smile little brownie bites! Smile for your pictures!" I loved it.

Couscous Salad

When we left California, we very sadly left behind The Athenian Grill, a waterfront Greek restaurant with some of the tastiest foods I've ever had. Sometimes I long for their hummus with grilled pita or Lamb stew with a big hunk of feta, but with no avail.

Then one day, I found this tasty salad in a South Beach Diet book and adapted it to suit my taste. I love the way all the fresh flavors combine in my mouth. It almost takes me back to the patio by the water in Suisun. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!


Couscous Salad

Ingredients:
1/2 c couscous (flavored, if not flavored, add some chicken boullion when cooking)
1 large cucumber
2 or 3 tomatoes, depending on size
2 cups spinach
1/2 c crumbled feta (or the pre-packaged combo of feta, provelone, and parmesan)
1/2 c balsamic vinaigrette

Directions:
Prepare couscous according to package directions. Set aside to cool. Chop cucumber, tomatoes, and spinach. Mix all ingredients and serve. This actually keeps pretty well in the fridge for a day or two. For variety, I sometimes make this salad with navy beans or chickpeas in addition to the existing ingredients.

TWD: Classic Banana Bundt Cake

Happy August bakers. This week's TWD was chosen by The Food Librarian and it was delicious. I loved that it was quick to whip up. There was no drawn out process in order to get this goodie in the oven. It was like a slightly more moist banana bread, so if you like banana bread this is definitely worth a try.

This time around I was happy to have more mouths to feed a whole cake to. Our little family can eat a whole cake (unfortunately), but it is so much more enjoyable (and better on the hips) with more people to share it with.



First off...I love bundt cakes. They are so incredibly easy. You don't have to layer or spend a long time frosting. All you do is pop it out of the pan and it looks pretty. You can drizzle a little icing on top, but it looks fancy either way. The sour cream of course added a little extra moisture. The only changes I made was adding chocolate chips and a chocolate drizzle atop. I was deciding between chocolate ganache or the buttery chocolate frosting from a Texas sheet cake recipe. I went with the Texas sheet cake frosting. It was rich and delicious, but not quite as dark chocolatey as the ganache.



I served it up to a house full of people and it was enjoyed by all. I do believe the chocolate chips were a necesity in order to cut the strong banana flavor, but I think chocolate is better in anything.

If you want to give this recipe a try you can visit The Food Librarian or it is on page 190 of Baking: From My Home to Yours

Happy Baking

TWD: Vanilla Ice Cream

I LOVE homemade ice cream and I was thrilled when I realized this was my recipe/week to "bake." This week I made a batch of my own vanilla ice cream recipe and it was nice to compare and contrast Dories recipe with our old standby.

Dorie's recipe is a cooked custard-like cream that you cool and then put in the ice cream maker. I use egg beaters in mine and just dump it in and go. I'll admit that I was a little nervous when I realized I was dealing with boiled milk/cream and tempering eggs because of my blundered lemon custard months ago. I was anxious that I would have egg flavored ice cream to serve to my in-laws! I was, however, pleasantly surprised at my success this time around. I think it had something to do with a little more patience when adding boiling milk to eggs and sugar.

When my ice cream maker came to a stop, I was amazed at how creamy the ice cream looked and tasted! My standby recipe is delicious, but never this creamy.

This is my final presentation picture! I had the family chomping at the bit, children begging for ice cream. As we all sat down and started chowing I realized I hadn't taken a picture! Luckily, my brother-in-law, Adam, hadn't gotten too far and I was able to snap a picture of his bowl. The family loved it and our ice cream was devoured in minutes!

I really loved the creamy texture of Dorie's ice cream, but have to admit that I prefer the flavor of my old stand by recipe. I will definitely make this again and play around. I think the mint chip sounds delicious, but wanted to compare this recipe to mine.

If you'd like to see the recipe, check out Cafe LynnLu and her amazing photographs. I am always amazed at the creativity and talents of others.

Happy Baking!

TWD: Raspberry Blanc Manger

Happy Tuesday!!

Dorie, Dorie, Dorie, always finding new twists and turns in the kitchen. Keepin' it fresh, I like that! The Raspberry Blanc Manger is not something I ever would have thought up or even imagined. I really loved its smooth, creamy texture with raspberries popping with flavor here and there. I know its simple, but we really loved the raspberry coulis too. My kids all lined up for more coulis.

It was pretty easy to make. The recipe was very straightforward. I thought it would be jello-like, but it had a much more sophisticated texture. I served it on plates with coulis for the adults and scooped it like ice cream for the kids.







Something I'm working on: I love the almond flavor, but don't really enjoy the bits of almonds. Do I need to grind the almonds better? I've had this issue with a few recipes. Would a coffee grinder put out a finer granule than my mini food processor? I would also like to try it stacked on a yellow cake layer....

If you want to check it out, you can go to Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy, but I should tell you that hers looks WAY better than mine. You can also find it in "Baking From my home to yours" by Dorie Greenspan. Enjoy!!