☆☆ Berry Boy Bait ☆☆☆☆

Now we all know that berries are an excellent bait for boys....

So it is not surprising that in 1954, a 15 year old made a buttery blueberry coffee cake and seeing the effect it had on boys, named it Blueberry Boy Bait. The cake recipe that Renny Powell from Chicago had submitted a  recipe to the Pillsbury $100,000 Recipe and Baking Contest, only won her second place in the youth division that year, but it has stood the test of time and has been in circulation ever since.

Breakfast Strawberry Cobbler

Over the Father's day weekend we had gone strawberry picking with my uncle and aunt. I had been planning to go berry picking for a long time and we really went  overboard with the whole picking thing-y. Plucking fruits from the plants can be so additive. You see fresh succulent berries and think... "just one more" and by the time you are done, you have a overflowing basket of juicy red berries and somewhat reddish finger-tips. It is all so exciting that you find it difficult to stop even when you know you should and if a toddler accompanies then every pick becomes even more fun....

Sablé Breton Galette with Berries # French Fridays with Dorie

Yet another berrylicious dessert on the block !! and how gorgeous is it ?  

This week the Doristas chose to make Sablé Breton Galette with Berries. Though the dessert sounds rather complicated, it is really simple to whip up... the buttery crust is wonderful ! even before i put it in the oven I knew that it is going to be a favorite in our house. the butter and the sugar smelt so good. and of course it did not disappoint us. since my little one, is not fond of sauces, i gave him some crust  and berries while we were having the dessert. and his immediate reaction was "um more.." :-)  

and the lemon curd was simply A-W-E-S-O-M-E !! the easiest I have ever made and best I have ever tasted.. and just so that you know I have sampled lots ! I love lemon curd and without failure order a lemon tart for myself whenever I see one. since this one is whipped using whole eggs and not just the yolk it is lighter. plus you so not need whip it over a water bath (isn't that great ??).

of course this recipe uses tons of butter and might not be a dieter's favorite. but once in a while, an indulgence so delightful is always good for the soul.  it keeps you happy and satisfied... don't you agree ?

As a member of french friday's with Dorie I am not supposed to post the recipe on the blog. However you can find this particular recipe in Dorie's   July, 2009, Newsletter.  For more delicious recipes order your copies of Around the French Table from Amazon or from The Book Depository and join us as we cook our way through the book.

p.s : interested to know where the box of berries vanished after the first click. this is where they went. :-)

Berrylicious Ataif

Its already the second Thursday of June and hence the reveal day of

BEHIND THE CURTAIN DESSERT CHALLENGE !!

This month, the two ingredients that Sheryl wanted us to include in our desserts were Strawberries and Raspberries. Pretty apt for the season right ? While there were so many recipes which included the two, till yesterday I could not make up my mind as to what I wanted to make... and then i flipped the pages of this cookbook that I had borrowed from the library and BAM... I knew what to make...  I decided on Ataif, an Arabian syrupy yeasted-pancake which is often sandwiched with kishta (or ushta), which is milk clotted cream. 

I decided to stuff the Ataif with a mixture of paneer and berries, slather them with  raspberry coulis and set them afloat in kishta of some sort.  I say 'kishta of some sort' because the  puree of paneer and sweet milk on which i placed the Ataif can only qualify as a cousin of milk clotted cream... any way the result was phenomenal !! the creamy sauce tasted like "malai" and added so much to the flavors of Berrylicious Ataif !     

Berrylicious Ataif
ingredients

• for the pancake (8 pancakes)
• 1 1/4 tsp bread machine yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 200 ml tepid water 
• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• for the filling(the quantity is just enough to fill 3 pancakes)
• 1/4 cup paneer (i used homemade paneer)
• 1/4 cup strawberry+ raspberry, chopped
• sugar to taste
• zest of 1/2 lemon* (in case you are using store bought paneer. I did not use it)
• for the raspberry coulis
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 6 oz raspberry
• 1 1/2 fl oz water
• for the creamy sauce
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup homemade paneer
• 1/4 cup sugar
• for garnishing 
• few raspberries

please do not get intimidated by the long list of ingredients. i assure you that the recipe is really simple.. and check out this image... 

don't you want a bite ???

yes.. then read on.....   

what i did

• for the pancakes
• i added the sugar and yeast to 50 ml of tepid water and  set it aside. 
• 10 minutes later, i sifted the flour into a large bowl and added to it the remaining water along with the yeast solution. mixing all the ingredients well, i then covered the bowl with a kitchen towel and set it aside to let the batter ferment.
• after an hour, when the batter looked gloopy i preheated the oven to 375 degrees F, set a baking tray with parchment paper and heated a non-stick pan over medium heat and started making the pancakes. 
• i stuffed 3 pancakes and left the remaining 5 unstuffed. 
• for the stuffed  ones, i cooked the pancake on one side. when the bubbles on the surface solidified i took the pancake off the pan and kept it on a parchment paper with the uncooked side facing up. 
• for the others, ones the bubbles on the surface of the pancake solidified i flipped them over with a spatula and cooked the other side just like i would /do for a regular pancake.  and when done i stacked them in a plate.
• once all the batter was used up, i mixed the berries, sugar and paneer for the filling, put about 3-4 tablespoons of the filling into the uncooked center of the 3 pancakes i had kept aside, then folded the pancakes and pinched them halfway along edges. (from all the images i have seen online, i believe traditionally after stuffing, edges of the pancakes are pinched together all along to form a crescent shape. i however chose to leave them partially open.) then putting them back on the baking tray, i baked them in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, until the shells felt crisp.  (though many recipes just coating the stuffed pancakes with oil, i chose not to use any.)
• while the pancakes were getting done in the oven, i cooked up the raspberry coulis as well as the creamy sauce. 
• i made the coulis following Martha Stewart's recipe. i simply combined the raspberries, water and sugar in a bowl and cooked the mixture over medium high heat for about 8 minutes.then switching off the heat i set it aside to cool for a while before pureeing it and straining off the seeds from the coulis.
• for the creamy sauce, i added the paneer, milk and sugar in the blender and processed till all the ingredients were well combined.

and thats it. once the stuffed pancakes got done i plated them over a pool of creamy sauce, slashed some coulis on them, then poured some more sauce over the pancakes, garnished the plate with some raspberries and put the plated dessert in the refrigerator to chill. 2 hours later we scooped out our first bite of the chilled dessert. swooned with delight and wished that i had made some more.....

Hope you enjoyed gawking at the dessert as much as i enjoyed putting it together and hopefully you'll try out it while the berry season is still on...  for more berrylicious desserts check out what the other participants of BEHIND THE CURTAIN DESSERT CHALLENGE  have made...

This dessert is being yeastspotted.
also sharing it at all these food parties...
Monday Food:  Marvelous Mondays @ This Gal Cooks, Meatless Monday @Veggie Mama's,  Meatless Monday My Sweet and Savory, Just Another Meatless Monday @ Hey What's for Dinner Mom Tuesday Food:  Tempt my Tummy @Blessed with Grace, Totally Tasty Tuesday @ Mandy's Recipe Box, Tasteful Tuesday Party @ Nap Time Creations,  Show Me What You Got @ Our Delightful Home,  Hand Made Tuesday @ Ladybug Blessings, Share it Link Party @ Winthrop Chronicles, Hearth and Soul Blog Hop, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday Wednesday Food : Wow Me Wednesday, What's Cooking Wednesday @ Confessions of Overworked Mom, Cast Party Wednesday @ Lady Behind the Curtain ,  Wednesday Whatsit @White Lights on , Show and Share @ Semi Homemade Mom, Wonderful Food Wednesdays at @ Home Take 2, Seasonal Celebration @ Natural Mother's Network, Whole Foods Wednesday 101 Thursday Food:Link it Up Thursday @ Seven Alive, Creative Thursday @ Michelle's Tasty Creations, Fantastic Thursday @ Three Little Chiefs, Thriving on Thursdays @ Domesblissity, Freedom Friday @ My Turn, Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage  Friday Food: Foodie Friday @ Home Maid Simple, Friday Favorite (DYI too) @ Simple Sweet Home, Foodie Friday @ Not Your Ordinary Recipes,  Foodie Friday @ Rattlebridge Farm , Weekend Wonders @ The Thriftiness Miss, Friday Food Frenzy @ Mostly Food and Crafts , Weekend Potluck @ Sunflower Supper Club,  The Weekend re-Treat @The Best Blog  Recipes, Fresh Bites Friday @ Real Food, Wellness Weekend, Weekend Kitchen Link Party

French Fridays With Dorie : Goat Cheese and Strawberry Tartine

You know how I had been gawking at all the dishes that the Dorista's were making for French Fridays with Dorie. So last weekend I picked up a copy of "Around the French Table" from the library and soon after ordered a copy of the book and i registered myself as a member of the club. My book arrived day before yesterday. Ever since I have been flipping the pages, drooling over the photographs and bookmarking the simpler dishes which the members have completed.... I sampled a simple and fantastic recipe last night and packed some for mister's lunch today. more on that soon. For now let talk about Goat Cheese and Strawberry Tartine. 

Even before joining the club I had bookmarked this recipe. The combination of sweet strawberries with salty goat had seemed startling. But the simplicity of the recipe was inviting enough to want me to make these. So trusting the chef's expertise on the combination I had decided to try it out and finally i made these fancy French sandwiches this morning. 

Of course there is no denying the fact that the tartine look gorgeous. I liked the combination. However I did not find it extraordinary. It tasted as we had expected it to taste.  Since the strawberries I had weren't very sweet I liked the tartine better with a bit of whipped cream on top. 

Would I make these again ?  Probably yes. because they are so pretty to look at. I will however slip in a few baguette slices with goat cheese and sliced red grapes along side, since i love that combination so much more..

As a member of french friday's with Dorie I am not supposed to post the recipe on the blog.  You can however take a peek into the book and order your copies of Around the French Table from Amazon or from The Book Depository.

Pastiera : Neapolitan Easter Pie aka Ricotta Cake (A Cake A Week # 6)

Celebrating Easter with food and crafts was all over the blogs. and though we do not celebrate Easter, the excitement around found its way in and I decided to indulge.I baked a traditional Italian Easter dessert, Pasteria also known as the Ricotta Cake. This is a delicious dessert made with creamy ricotta, eggs and arborio rice cooked in whole milk with a hint of cinnamon. Apparently, this dessert originated in Naples and there are several versions of it. I choose to baked the Martha Stewart version which I found at Our Italian Table and we were delighted at the outcome. 

Since I was baking the cake for just the two of the three of us, Mr MN, baby and me, initially I scaled down the recipe to one-third. however, because of my inexperience with  arborio rice, I found it difficult to cook as directed in the recipe. so, half way through the cooking I made some  minor changes. also, it had actually become quite late by the time i finished cooking the rice, so i refrigerated it right away and proceeded to make the cake the next day. thankfully none of that spoilt the cake and we relished it very much for our Sunday brunch.

now a quick look at my bake of the week and then off to the recipe...

Recipe Adapted from Our Italian Table

ingredients 

1 +1/3 + 3/4 cups whole milk

1/4 cup arborio rice 
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt1 tespoon vanilla extract
3/4 +1/8 cups granulated sugarUnsalted butter, for pan

All-purpose flour, for pan

2 cups ricotta cheese

1 large whole egg + 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten

chopped almonds and raisins

for the garnish

Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Strawberry sauce (recipe given below)

what i did.

I started by boiling 1 + 1/3 cup of milk in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. when the milk started boiling, i stirred in the rice, cinnamon and salt. then reduced the heat to medium low and cooked, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. however my rice did not become tender in the time mentioned in the recipe, though most of the milk had evaporated. so i added about 1/4 cup of milk and stirred. and then repeated the process 2 more times till the rice became tender and creamy and all the liquid was absorbed.

i then added the 1/2 cup sugar and vanilla extract and refrigerated the cooked rice till next morning. ( note that refrigerating was not part of original recipe but i did so because it was pretty late and this did not meddle with the final product.)

next morning, i preheated the oven to 350 degree F, buttered and floured my 6 inch spring-foam pan, then combined the cooked rice with ricotta, the whole egg, the egg yolk and the remaining sugar. finally i poured the battered into the prepared pan, sprinkled the chopped almonds and raisin on top and baked for 75-80 minutes, until the surface of the cake looked golden and firm.

i then took the pa out and let the cake cool completely before transferring it into my inverted rubbermaid box and refrigerating till Sunday brunch.

On Sunday I served the cake with Martha Stewart's Strawberry Sauce.

For the sauce, i microwaved 3/4 cup frozed strawberry + 1 teaspoon sugar + freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 a lemon. The combination was refreshing and we really enjoyed it... and Easter or not around here we'll certainly be having lots of this...

Happy Baking and have a nice week !

Sharing this with 

Cake of the Week @ Casa Costello

Saturday Dishes @ The Tumbleweed Contessa, Mix it Up Monday @ Flour Me with Love, 

Flavors of Cuisine ~ Italian, an event announced by Julie of Erivum Puliyum and hosted by Priya of Priya's Versatile Recipes,  FR Event ~ Bookmarked recipes, an event announced by Swathi of Zesty South India Kitchen and hosted by Pallavi of Cook, Eat, Burp.

Monday Food:  Marvelous Mondays @ This Gal Cooks, Mop it up Monday @ I should be Mopping the Floor, Meatless Monday @Veggie Mama's,  Meatless Monday My Sweet and Savory, Just Another Meatless Monday @ Hey What's for Dinner Mom

Tuesday Food:  Tempt my Tummy @Blessed with Grace, Totally Tasty Tuesday @ Mandy's Recipe Box, Tasteful Tuesday Party @ Nap Time Creations,  Show Me What You Got @ Our Delightful Home,  Hand Made Tuesday @ Ladybug Blessings, Share it Link Party @ Winthrop Chronicles, Wow Me Wednesday, What's Cooking Wednesday @ Confessions of Overworked Mom, Cast Party Wednesday @ Lady Behind the Curtain ,  Wednesday Whatsit @White Lights on , Show and Share @ Semi Homemade Mom, Wonderful Food Wednesdays at @ Home Take 2, Seasonal Celebration @ Natural Mother's Network, Hearth and Soul Blog Hop : 145, Thursday Food:Link it Up Thursday @ Seven Alive, Creative Thursday @ Michelle's Tasty Creations, Fantastic Thursday @ Three Little Chiefs, Thriving on Thursdays @ Domesblissity, Tasty Thursdays @ The Mandatory Mooch, Freedom Friday @ My Turn, Spicy Thursday @ DC in Style
Friday Food: Foodie Friday @ Home Maid Simple, Friday Favorite (DYI too) @ Simple Sweet Home, Foodie Friday @ Not Your Ordinary Recipes,  Foodie Friday @ Rattlebridge Farm , Weekend Wonders @ The Thriftiness Miss, Friday Food Frenzy @ Mostly Food and Crafts , Weekend Potluck @ Sunflower Supper Club,  The Weekend re-Treat @The Best Blog  Recipes