29 Feb
Daring Bakers: French Bread ala Julia Child
Posted by Chelle as Daring Bakers, Yeast Breads & Baked Goods | 22 Comments
I was definitely not surprised to see that this month’s challenge was bread, given that Breadchick Mary at The Sour Dough, along with Sara at I Like to Cook, was hosting it. French bread… great, I’ve been wanting to try it! I set out to get an early start on the recipe by printing it out and giving it a couple of thorough reads… but wait… FOURTEEN (as in, 14) pages? This recipe is 14 pages long?! Yowza! Well, that’s okay… I will sit down with my lunch and read through it. I had long finished my sandwich and chips and was only five pages into the recipe. Yikes. This is certainly a “daring” challenge!
I actually never read the recipe from start to finish in one sitting. I couldn’t get through it. And to be honest, I seriously considered just skipping this month. Aside from not even being able to read the entire recipe during the time it takes to watch a primetime drama, this was shaping up to be an all-day event, with an estimated 8 to 10 hour start to finish time. I got together with Laurie over at quirky cupcake and we decided to tackle the recipe “together” (which, in a virtual world, meant that we frantically instant messaged each other throughout the process, doing it at the same time in our respective kitchens). You can thank Laurie for my post, because had it not been for someone keeping me accountable I don’t think I would have mustered the energy to do this. So thank you, Laurie, for forcing me to put my game face on 
Now on to the actual recipe… as I said, this was an insanely long recipe. It is a Julia Child recipe, and I guess another shameful confession is that I’ve never made one of her recipes or have seen one of her shows. This was certainly a way to dive right in. I honestly can’t tell you if I even think I did this correctly. There were a lot of different types of kneading techniques and deflating techniques that I have never encountered before. There were no pictures or diagrams to go by, so I winged it by doing what I thought was correct.
The outcome of the recipe was good. I have never made French bread before (just some variations on white sandwich bread, Italian bread, and sweet rolls), so I have nothing to compare this to other than store-bought French bread I have eaten. This turned out to be about the same - it was good, it tasted like French bread should. I guess since it was an all-day affair with Julia Child I was expecting something out-of-this-world and leagues above anything I had made before. It really didn’t live up to those expectations, although as I said, it was good bread, but not especially remarkable. I just personally don’t really think it was worth the all-day effort. This perhaps may be a result of me not performing certain techniques correctly, as there was no real guide on how to go about them. Either way, we had a couple of good loafs of bread to eat over the course of a week and I got to make my first Julia Child recipe
Thank you again to Mary and Sara for hosting this challenge. If you are interested in seeing the recipe, you can view it at The Sour Dough.
26 Feb
TWD: Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits
Posted by Chelle as Rolls/Biscuits, Tuesdays with Dorie | 42 Comments
Thanks to Ashley at eat me, delicious for picking out this week’s recipe!
Well let’s just get the obvious out of the way first - I had to omit the pecans from this recipe due to my nut allergy, so that’s why you don’t see pretty little flecks throughout my biscuits.
That being said, I loved these biscuits! The butter and brown sugar gave them just enough sweetness that I didn’t think that they needed any butter or jam to add flavor. These were tender and flaky and, in my mind, what a perfect biscuit should be. I will be saving this recipe, however the next time I make them I will cut them out a bit larger. Two inches is pretty small after you see it cut out 
I’d also watch my browning - I set my timer for the minimum time in the recipe (14 minutes) and my biscuits got a little browner than they should (although I like most everything a little over-done so it wasn’t a problem for me). All in all, another winner by Dorie!
Our group has grown by leaps and bounds. Head on over to the Tuesdays With Dorie blog and visit the blogroll to check out the biscuits made by all of the other Dorie bakers!
Next week: Snickery Squares
Last week: Almost-Fudge Gateau
20 Feb
Chicken and Dumplings
Posted by Chelle as Chicken, Rolls/Biscuits | 0 Comments
I have only had chicken and dumplings once in my twenty-something years of existence. However, I do remember that I loved them. I have been seeing some of these dishes pop up on a number of blogs that I frequent, as well as on some cooking websites. The only problem was that I didn’t *love* any of the recipes. I liked parts of one, some parts of another, and so as a result I just never made any of them! This is where I run into problems, as I am a big recipe follower. Perhaps it’s the baker in me. Bakers NEED to follow recipes, or bad things happen. While this is not so in cooking, I still treat it as such. I am always leery to stray from a recipe, in fear of what might happen. I decided to just create my own recipe for chicken and dumplings (cut to bright lights and angels singing). I must say that I think it turned out fabulous! It felt warm and hearty, just like a good bowl of comfort food should. If you try this recipe, I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did!
19 Feb
TWD: Almost Fudge Gateau
Posted by Chelle as Cakes, Chocolate, Tuesdays with Dorie | 53 Comments
Almost-Fudge… couldn’t really explain it any better myself!
I was beyond excited when Nikki of Crazy Delicious chose the Almost-Fudge Gâteau for this week’s recipe. I decided to make two smaller cakes instead of one large 9″ one. The smaller sized cakes didn’t quite use all of the batter, but they were so cute, and I was able to freeze one whole cake for dessert another time. This cake was extremely dense and fudge-like, and was perfect with ice cream or a tall glass of milk. The perfect decadent dessert for a special meal!
Head on over to the Tuesdays With Dorie blog for a listing of the other Dorie bakers’ blogs and see how their cakes turned out. We are up to over 40 bakers now - welcome to all of the newbies!
Next week: Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits
Last week: Brown Sugar-Apple Cheesecake
13 Feb
Thin n’ Crispy Pizza Crust
Posted by Chelle as Pizza | 23 Comments
Let’s face it. There are two types of people in this world - those that love a thick chewy pizza crust, and those that love a thin and crispy pizza crust. I happen to fall into the latter category and until recently I have been unable to unearth a homemade pizza dough recipe that was the thin crispiness that I yearn for. I finally found it in a holiday edition of Cooking Light and this is definitely my favorite pizza dough recipe to date. The dough comes together easily (no electrics required!) and rolls out better than any pizza dough I have attempted before.
