Tuesdays With Dorie...Kinda

Ok so I don't know if I really should be calling this Tuesdays With Dorie this week because although I made corn muffins, I made the ones on page 4 instead of the Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins on page 6. Did I make the wrong ones by accident? Nope. I made these a few days before the January recipes were announced. Since nobody in my family really eats corn muffins, I didn't want to make another dozen. Plus I couldn't cut the recipe in half because it involves 1 egg yolk (unless somebody has a solution?). Really, the difference is these don't use peppers or buttermilk.


Corniest Corn Muffins




For the real TwD recipe this week, please check out Rebecca of Ezra Pound Cake, who picked the recipe, and the other TwDers.

Tuesdays With Dorie - Lenox Biscotti

This week's recipe is Dorie's Lenox Biscotti. I have never made biscotti before, even though I am mainly Italian (gasp!). This recipe differs from other biscotti recipes because it calls for cornmeal. Whenever I went to the apple festival two weekends ago, I got really excited when I saw freshly-made cornmeal and flour for $1 each bag. I bought cornmeal and whole wheat flour, which is weird because I'm not a fan of wheat bread. They also had bran and flax seed, but I had no idea what I would do with them. I'm such a dork because only I would get excited over fresh flour. The farm has been doing this every year for how many years now, and this time I actually noticed. Probably because I haven't been observant of ingredients before.

A tip I never knew. You want to freeze flour to kill off any bugs. Also, flour tends to go rancid quickly, so freezing slows that process down by a few months. You could use the refrigerator too. Most families don't freeze flour because they go through all-purpose flour rather quickly. Just make sure you use air-tight bags or containers to keep moisture out.

Anyway, back to the biscotti. Dorie says to make the logs 12 x 1.5 inches, which make seem really skinny, but trust me. I didn't understand the dimensions either until after they were done baking because they spread ridiculously. Then she said to stand them up like a marching band after cutting for the second baking. Several TwDers were confused, and some of theirs wouldn't even stand up. Mine stood up just fine. If you are confused, Dorie means to stand them up so the cut sides are exposed. Mine came out fine, softer than the average biscotti, which my dad loved. He hates the really crunchy kind, but biscotti stands for twice baked and is meant to dip in a hot beverage. Some TwDers were saying they had to bake theirs longer, so maybe that's why mine came out soft. Some of them did fall apart but for the most part they held together. Try to bake only one tray at a time because I baked two trays, and the bottom tray cookies got burnt while the top tray was fine.

I made the lemon almond version. Since I only had one lemon and Dorie calls for two, the lemon taste was more of a backdrop while the almond, particularly the almond extract, was in your face. I highly recommend using two lemons.

I can now scratch this off of my challenge list.

Lenox Biscotti




Thanks Gretchen from Canela & Comino for picking this week's recipe! You can find the recipe on page 141-143 in Baking: From My Home To Yours or on Gretchen's blog.

Interview Questions from Paige + Cake

Have you ever known someone with the same birthday as you? I haven't met her personally, but Paige from Chef-girl.net shares my birthday - May 15. I replied to her post about interview questions, and she sent me 5 questions to answer.

1. What's the weirdest thing you've ever eaten?
I love to try new foods. Whenever I was in Scotland, my friends and I stopped at an Australian bar. I ordered a kangaroo burger while one of my friends ordered a springbok burger. Surprisingly, both were very tasty. The kangaroo burger was very lean, and I think I read on the menu it's healthier than a beef burger.

2. What ingredients do you always like to have on hand?
As far as baking goes, I always have a bag of chocolate chips plus the basics - baking soda/powder, shortening, sugar, flour, etc. As far as cooking goes, spices are essential - basil, chili powder, cumin, garlic salt, etc. I try to have some sort of veggie with dinner, whether it's frozen, canned, or fresh.

3. If you opened a restaurant, what would you call it, and what would you serve?
This is a tough one. I have ideas for a bakery but not a restaurant. Since I'm 50% Italian, I would probably have an Italian restaurant. As far as the name goes, I can't think of one right now. For my bakery, it would be called Chocolate Moosey, have a moose theme, and serve all types of baked goods. Maybe even a cafe/bakery because I love coffee.

4. If you were to go on a food-themed vacation, what country would you choose?
Since I've eaten alot of Chinese food and not much Japanese food, I would choose Japan because I love sushi and so I could experiment with different meals.

5 - (and the classic) Which three people (living/dead/fictional/real) would you invite to a dinner party?
Antonio Banderas because he's sexy, Owen Wilson because he's hilarious, and JD from Scrubs because he's my favorite character (besides Dr. Cox).

Directions for the Interview Meme
1. Leave a comment saying, “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. Please make sure I have your email address.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.


I also made dinner and dessert tonight. This is what I do on my day off from work.


Linguine Tuna Salad




1/2 lb. linguine
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp dried basil
1 (12 1/2 oz) can tuna, drained
1 (14 oz) can peas, drained
1 (7 oz) can mushrooms
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes, drained

1. Cook pasta according to package.

2. Meanwhile, combine juice, oil, onion, sugar, and basil. Drain pasta; toss with mixture. Add tuna, peas, mushrooms, and tuna. Chill for an hour before serving.

My thoughts: I subbed angel hair pasta for linguine. I would suggest using fresh veggies instead of canned.

Source: "Favorite Italian Brand Name Recipes" 1983 p.10


Lemon Cornmeal Cake




This has to be one of my best cakes yet. Since I had leftover cornmeal from the Weekend Cookbook Challenge round-up, I viewed the entries for ideas. This cake wins. You don't even need the powdered sugar on top, but I did it for garnish. You could also top with cream cheese frosting or glazed icing. Recipe can be found at Lemon Almond.



My baby looking for attention.

Weekend Cookbook Challenge 17

The theme for the next WCC is cornmeal. Cornmeal is very cheap to purchase, so I usually have a couple of boxes handy. I made this cornbread muffin recipe before and enjoyed them so much, I decided to share for this challenge.

EDIT - The round up has been posted here.


Corn Pup Muffins




3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 cup milk
1 egg, beaten with fork
2 Tbsp oil
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
4 hot dogs, cut into 1 inch pieces

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Line muffin pan with paper liners or coat with cooking spray.

2. Stir together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, chili powder, cumin, and garlic powder. Make a hole in the bottom of the bowl and pour in milk, beaten egg, and oil. Stir just until blended. Fold in cheese.

3. Drop a spoonful of batter into each muffin cup. Place hot dog piece into batter. Fill with enough batter to cover the hot dog (This does not mean drown the hot dog. It means make sure the piece is covered in batter because the batter will rise).

4. Bake 10-12 minutes. Muffins should be lightly browned and clean when toothpick is inserted. Let cool before removing from pan.

My thoughts: Being tired does not help me with this recipe. First, I forgot to add the chili powder. Second, I forgot to switch the oven from preheat to bake, so my baking time was alot longer. Third, I filled each cup too much so I only got 12 muffins and used only 2 hot dogs. The recipe does call for mini-muffin tins so that could justify for my amount. Despite my mess ups, I love eating these.

Source: USA Weekend Newspaper - Nov. 10-12, 2006