TWD/BWJ: Tomato and Cheese Galette

Galette, where have you been all my life? Delicious quickie meal! Especially if the dough is already prepped in the fridge. The crust has a nice crunchy texture thanks to the addition of cornmeal. And the filling could be anything. Last year it was fruit, and this week's recipe called for tomatoes, cheese, and basil. Which will be fabulous when our garden tomatoes are ready. Unfortunately, the garden got a bit of a late start this year (heck, it was COLD until mid-May!) so I was forced to use grape tomatoes from the grocery. A variety of cheeses got tossed in - jack, fresh mozzarella, goat cheese, parmesan, and something wonderful that I found at Whole Foods called "seaside cheddar". For those family members who insist on meat, I added some pastrami to one. 

There's one problem. They're small. So, future self, make two no matter what. Unless you're home alone. 

Now, by way of explanation as to why this post is over a week late... ROAD TRIP! Here's a taste:

Planetarium at the Tellus Science Center in Cartersville, GA

Discovery of the week! Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream has a store!
in Nashville.

Children's Holocaust Memorial in Whitwell, TN

World's largest Wind Chimes in Casey, IL

Mammoth Cave!  in Kentucky

World's biggest golf tee. 

world's longest historic covered bridge, Medora, IN

World's largest cedar bucket, Murfreesboro, TN

world's biggest baseball bat, Louisville, KY

And a shoe, from right down the street here at home:

TWD/BWJ: Savarin

I've never heard of Savarin before Tuesdays With Dorie, and was afraid it might be one of those two-day thousand-step recipes. Happy surprise! It was easy. And tasty.

And I'll fess up to something else. I had no idea what "poire eau-de-vie" was. Thought it might be some sort of fancy pear sauce from the gourmet section of the grocery store. Looked and looked in vain. So when the first LYL entry mentioned "brandy", it was a light bulb moment. No wonder I couldn't find it at the grocery - I needed a liquor store! Off I headed to the Smokerise Bottle Shop (where they have EVERYTHING). And yes, they had pear brandy, but maybe you can see from the picture what the problem was. Uh, no thank you, I don't think I'll spend $44 for something to sprinkle on cake. Although I was tempted to buy it just to figure out how they got that pear in the bottle. They had pear-flavored vodka, but is it appropriate to put vodka on a cake? I didn't know. The empty-handed ride home was a disappointment. Fast forward 24 hours and a second liquor store. This time I came away with a $15 bottle of pear liqueur. Close enough. Score!

Turns out the pear liqueur was my least favorite thing about the cake. Probably would've preferred a sprinkle of Cointreau (which already sits in the pantry waiting to be used). But at least I have a recipe to experiment with now. I've learned so much. My first soaked cake. Sugar water and liqueur? Far from unpleasant! Nothing to complain about here. And perfect with the organic strawberries that arrived in my CSA box.

Heating pad helped with the rise

Couldn't believe that tiny bit of batter rose this much

My husband said
"it looks like a big slice of pineapple"

Pretend you don't see that Reddi-whip...

The recipe for this cake can be found here and the other Tuesdays With Dorie bakers are here.

And here's a shoe for your viewing pleasure. Have a good week!

Savory Brioche Pockets

Oh yes, they were good. Homemade yeasty egg bread stuffed with cheesy potatoes (used feta, didn't have goat cheese in the house), caramelized onions, and asparagus tips. Yum! I think this would work beautifully with left-overs.

My ever-observant son commented that "something was missing". And what would that be? "Uh, MEAT?!?" What will I do with him? And then we discussed how bacon would have been a nice addition.

I feel guilty after whining about the cold weather last time. This week it started to warm up nicely. Even hit the 80s a couple of times. And with Memorial Day upon us, summer has officially arrived. School's out, swimming pools are open, grills are fired up, and there is SUN! Thank you, God! Life is good!

In other news, my husband started back on chemo. Just to stay on top of this thing. They've taken out the drug that causes the worst side-effects and that's been helpful. We pray that it will still be effective. Chemo days will still be on Tuesdays, but it seems that (for the moment at least) we are staggered with the Tuesdays With Dorie. So there's a chance that I might be able to bake on the right day. Not that you would know from this post...

The recipe for Savory Brioche Pockets can be found on Carie's blog here. She's also got some cool sewing tutorials. And the other TWD bloggers are listed here.

In honor of summer, here's a shoe:

TWD/BWJ: Fresh Rhubarb Upside Down Cake

Apparently, I have a problem with posting "on time". Even made this cake a day in advance, but never got around to the documentation. Guess I'm not perfect... as if there was ever any doubt, ha ha.

I only have one thing to say about this recipe. And it's a personal opinion.

brown sugar + pecans ≠ "spring"

Made the trip to the Farmer's Market for the fresh rhubarb, even substituted Cointreau for the bourbon thinking it would seem fruity-er, but this cake still tasted like Autumn to me. And I'm ready for Spring. REALLY ready. Just when I think it's going to be warm, the temperature drops 20 degrees. I know I don't have anything to complain about compared to the folks getting SNOW in May, but it's almost unbearable this year. Spring (or should it be Summer now?) is tantalizingly close and yet just out of reach. It turned me against the cake psychologically. It's not the cake's fault, but most of it went to waste. Here are a couple of pictures just to prove that I tried.

Maybe I'll try this recipe again some crisp autumn day, when it's supposed to be cold. The other Tuesday With Dorie participants are here. And the recipe can be found on (new mom) Erin's blog. Literally, she just had a baby girl 3 days ago. Congratulations, Erin! Enjoy every minute because the time passes so quickly and before you know it, your baby will be graduating from college.

I say this with certainty because we have a new graduate in the family! Yes, my first-born, my baby, my son has a real degree now. He just received his B.S. in Computer Game Design and Development, with minors in Computer Science and Software Engineering. I'm so proud! And astounded at how fast he went from diapers to adulthood. Don't know what's coming next, but I can't wait to watch it unfold and reveal itself.

Here's a shoe. Perfectly calm in the middle of a busy intersection on Jimmy Carter Boulevard.

TWD/BWJ: Madeleines

Well, who'd have thunk it? Little cakes the size of a cookie! I always thought a Madeleine was more of a shortbread-y thing. Considered skipping this recipe since I knew it required a special pan that I didn't own, but stopped in at the Home Goods store and they had TWO different sized pans. So I bought one and will definitely be using it again. Easy-peasey and quick. I added lemon zest to the batter and drizzled with a lemon glaze after baking. And they were good for days! The recipe can be found here and the blog roll of other bakers is here.

Crushed up the egg shells
for my worms. What? I
haven't mentioned my
worm box before? Those
little guys are the best!

I was late baking these because on Tuesday, April 16th, my husband and I were enjoying our last day in Hawaii.  We spent a week making memories on the island of Oahu. Saw plenty of sites and spent a good bit of time resting, soaking up sunlight, and gazing at the Pacific. It was restorative. And I discovered papaya!









Was barely home long enough to make Madeleines and figure out what time zone I was in, then spent the better part of the past week at the big AQS Quilt Show in Paducah, Kentucky. Which just happens to be my hometown. It was amazing and wonderful, as usual. If you're not familiar with the current state of quilting, let me assure you that it's truly an artform. There was even a quilt about baking! This 3-dimensional quilt by Dominique Ehrmann of Quebec, Ontario entitled "Sweet Memories" commemorates her 25 years as a baker and chocolate maker.

And now a shoe. Michael spotted this one as we were crossing the road on the North Shore of Oahu to watch surfers.

Aloha!

TWD/BWJ: Rustic Potato Loaves

An easy yeast bread that didn't take 2 days! Yay! That alone puts it near the top of my favorites list. Following the advice of other bakers, I left the peels on the potatoes and liked the character they added. At first the dough seemed waaaaay too dry, but then something magical happened and it turned into a lovely soft mixture. I love it when the impossible happens.

smells good, Mom!

If you'd like the recipe, you can find it here. The TWD blogroll for this recipe is here.

Things are looking up in our world. It's finally beginning to get warm, we had a wonderful doctor's appointment (he used the word "awesome"!), and we're on our way to paradise. More about that next time...

On the way home from the doctor's office yesterday, I saw this shoe. Felt like a chartreuse celebration!

TWD/BWJ: Mocha Chocolate Chips

A miracle has occurred! I'm posting on the right day. And to honor the miracle, I ate one of these cookies even though I gave up carbs for Lent. It was a small cookie and it was fabulous. What can I say? I'm definitely a grace-dependent person.

A couple of notes to my future self:
1) Use at least 2 T. of espresso powder - only used 1 1/2 this time, needed more.
2) A combo of dark and white chocolate is good, but more dark next time.
3) Don't be afraid of the apricots. And add lots of chopped walnuts for Michael.
4) Refrigerate the dough overnight and use the small scoop.
5) Use the airbake cookie sheets and parchment.

Here are some pictures:

Ghirardelli chips are fine.
Don't worry about all that chopping.

Small is good. They don't spread so much
and you can eat more!

Caught her stealing the dough.
There's less mocha flavor after baking.

The recipe for these wonderful cookies can be found here and the other bloggers are here.

And now for a shoe. This past weekend was the Greater Atlanta Quilt Shop Hop. I put some miles on the car visiting the 10 quilt shops in the Atlanta area. The GPS took me astray while looking for one of them, and instead I came across the most amazing group of shoes in the road! Sometimes those who think they are lost are actually in exactly the right place. Here's a picture of one of those shoes.