Cake vs. Pie - Down To The Sweet Sixteen (Pun Intended)

Sorry I've been a bit lax the past few days - been super, super busy!  Here's the latest scoop:

The Cake Conference saw Carrot triumphing over Black Forest, and Ice Cream beating the crap out of Spice.

In the Pie Conference, it was an incredibly close race between Cherry and French Silk, with French Silk just taking the win by a few votes.  Also, Cheesecake dominated over Brown Sugar (mostly because Cheesecake IS A CAKE, AND CAKE > PIE).

This round we now have Birthday Cake vs. Pound Cake, and Apple Pie vs. Pecan Pie.  While I believe Birthday is just going to walk all over Pound, I'm not quite sure who will come out on top among the pies.

Cast your votes!

~Dorkopotamus (aka Katy)

Cake vs. Pie - Round 5

No surprises from last round - the chips fell as predicted, with Red Velvet's trimpuh over Coconut, and Key Lime kicking the crap out of Sweet Potato.  Boring!  Hopefully this next round will be more interesting.

In the Cake Conference, we now have Carrot going up against Black Forest.

In the Pie Conference, we have Cherry taking on French Silk.

Hmmm, some interesting choices here.  I'm honestly not sure how these are going to play out. 

Clicky to votey!

~Dorkopotamus (aka Katy)

Update:  Cherry and French silk are neck-and-neck with only a 96 vote difference between them!!  Your votes DO count!!  Yes, I get excited by the little things in life.

Cake vs. Pie - Round 4

No major surprises in the outcomes of Round 3.  The Cake Conference saw German Chocolate win easily over Funfetti (I think Funfetti was just too boring in comparison), and Wedding Cake's deliciousness beat out that of Pineapple Upside-Down.  In Pie, Pumpkin trounced its competition in Lemon Meringue, and Blueberry did the same with Rhubarb.  No upsets this week - pretty much went as I suspected it would.

This Round, we have Red Velvet vs. Coconut, and Key Lime vs. Sweet Potato.  I predict that both Red Velvet and Key Lime will take home the wins, but we shall see! 

Click here to vote!

~Dorkopotamus (aka Katy)

Cake vs. Pie - Round 3

Some surprising results from last week! 

In the Cake Conference, we had a very close call with Pound just taking the win from Angel Food, and Coffee wiping the floor with Bundt. 

In the Pie Conference, I was saddened to see Pecan kick Banana Cream's ass, but my spirits were lifted when Boston Cream* won over Peanut Butter. 

*Now, I'm curious about Boston Cream's inclusion in the Pie Conference.  Isn't it really more of a cake?  Even its Wikipedia entry says, "A Boston cream pie is a round cake that is split and filled with a custard or cream filling and frosted with chocolate.[1] Although it is called a Boston cream pie, it is in fact a cake, and not a pie.[2]"  So, although I am firmly entrenched in Team Cake, I will state now that if Boston Cream Pie takes the overall win, I will not be disappointed or upset.

Anyways, in Round 3, we have the following battles:

In Cake:  German Chocolate vs. Funfetti, and Wedding vs. Pineapple Upside-Down.

In Pie:  Pumpkin vs. Lemon Meringue, and Blueberry vs. Rhubarb.

Click Here To Vote!

~Dorkopotamus (aka Katy)

Cornmeal-Crusted Roasted Ratatouille Tart

Last night, to celebrate the arrival of my new food processor, I attempted Ellie Krieger's Cornmeal-Crusted Roasted Ratatouille Tart from her cookbook The Food You Crave.  I think it came out well, and the hubby really enjoyed it.  I liked it, but I didn't love it.  When I make it again, I think I need to spice it up a bit to give it some extra oomph.  But, it was good as was, and certainly fun to make!

Ingredients:

For the crust:
2/3 cup yellow cornmeal
1/3 cup whole-grain pastry flour or whole-wheat flour (I used whole-wheat flour)
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tbsp. canola oil (I used vegetable oil)
3 tbsp. water

For the filling:
2 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. olive oil (I ended up forgetting to use some oil at one point, whoops)
2 shallots, thinly sliced (about 1/3 cup) (I substituted a quarter of a large yellow onion here, finely chopped in the food processor - I might use more next time)
Cooking spray
1 small eggplant (about 1/2 pound), cut into 1/8-inch-thick rounds
1 small zucchini (about 1/2 pound), cut into 1/8-inch-thick-rounds
3 medium ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp. salt (totally forgot)
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper (totally forgot)
3/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (about 3 oz.) (I used more because cheese is delicious)
1/4 cup shredded fresh basil (I used 1/8 cup dried basil)
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

To make the crust, combine the cornmeal, flour, and salt in a food processor and pulse to incorporate.

Add the butter and oil and pulse about 20 times, until the mixture resembles small pebbles (it looked more like wet sand to me).

Add the water and pulse until the mixture forms a loose dough.

Remove the dough from the processor and press into the bottom and about 1/8 inch up the sider of a 9-inch tart pan with a detachable rim (I used a 9.5 inch glass pie plate and it worked out fine). 

Press aluminum foil into the bottom and up the sides of the pan on top of the dough.  Weigh it down with uncooked rice or pie weights.

Place the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.  Remove the rice and foil and bake for another 5 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool. 

Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees.

To prepare the filling, heat 1 tsp. of the oil in a small nonstick pan (doesn't have to be nonstick) over medium heat; cook the shallots (or onion if you're me), stirring, until softened, 5 to 6 minutes.

Coat two baking sheets with cooking spray.  Arrange the eggplant, zucchini, and tomato slices on the sheets in a single layer and brush with the remaining 2 tbsp. oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast the vegetables until soft but not browned, about 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool.

(I did this totally different.  I forgot to use the oil, salt, and pepper completely.  I also found I had way more veggies than could fit on just two baking sheets, so I did them in shifts; two sheets of eggplant, one sheet of zucchini, and then two of tomatoes.  I also found the cooking time to be WAY off.  It only took about 4-5 minutes for the veggies to reach the desired softness.  Maybe this is because the food processor sliced the veggies fairly thin?  See eggplant example below.)

Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Lay the eggplant slices on the bottom of the tart, overlapping them if necessary; cover with 1/4 cup of the mozzarella and some of the shredded basil.  Add the zucchini and shallots (onions), top with another 1/4 cup of the mozzarella and the remaining basil, then the tomatoes.

Top with the last 1/4 cup mozzarella (I added more after that until it "looked right" - I really like cheese) and the 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.  Bake until the cheese is melted and the vegetables have further wilted, about 25-30 minutes.  Remove from the oven, let cool for 5 minutes, and cut into 8 slices. Serve warm

~Dorkopotamus (aka Katy)

Food Processor

When I visited Kim last month, I watched with great interest as she used her food processor to make a delicious pesto stuffing for a piece of pork she was making for dinner (OMG soo good, btw).  Now, I always knew about these mysterious items known as food processors, but I'd never really used one before.  But watching her slice and dice with such ease really piqued my interest, as I despise the work that goes into manually slicing and dicing for meals.

When I returned home, I broke out my mini-processor.  It only holds about one cup, so it's really, really tiny.  But I was determined to give it a shot.  So, I started using it basically whenever I needed to cut veggies.  And damn if it didn't make my life easier, even though I had to dump and refill that sucker like a billiondy times.

Now for Christmas, my brother and his wife gave us a generous gift card to Williams and Sonoma, which we had been waiting to use until we thought of something really good to use it for.  I'm sure you can see where this is going.  The hubby and I finally went yesterday and used it to purchase our very first food processor!

I just finished washing all the bits and pieces, and cannot wait to begin using it!  Yeah, I'm actually that excited about a food processor.  What of it. 

~Dorkopotamus (aka Katy)

Portuguese Food Is Delicious

So tonight was a blast.  As previously mentioned, Ms. Industrious and I had a date planned to see her wedding dress for her second fitting, and also to grab some dinner at a Portuguese restaurant that she said was awesomesauce.

First of all, her dress is a-maz-ing.  Seriously.  It looks like it was made just for her, and it suits her personality to a T.  I couldn't stop squeeing the entire time we were there, and neither could she for that matter!  Sooo perfect, pretty, and elegant.  I wish I could say more, but of course I cannot.  Picard* is going to just keel over, stunned and speechless, when he sees her.  Hee hee hee I cannot wait! 

*I asked for Ms. Industrious' help in choosing a name for her fiancé, and she suggested Trekkie since he is a huge huge huge ST:TNG fan.  I really liked this, but something about it didn't have quite enough oomph.  And then it hit me - Picard.  His complete adoration for Captain Jean-Luc Picard has sealed his nickname fate.

Secondly, she treated me (because she is a doll, and also because she totally ninjaed the check the second it arrived) to a fantabulous meal at the Madeira Restaurant in East Providence, RI. 

Let me sum up my feelings about the food there in one word: NOM.  Now let me sum up the meal in a lot more words.  Because I love food, and a meal like this deserves detailed praise.

To start there was this awesome bread.  Now I know you're thinking, ho-hum it's just bread.  You'd think that, but no.  This bread was exceptional.  It was so light and fluffy, but with a very distinct bready flavor that you wouldn't confuse with any other bread.  I stuffed my face with like five slices before Ms. Industrious tactfully reminded me that we had more food coming, haha.

Then we had an appetizer of Chourico `a Bombeiro, which is flame grilled Portuguese sausage.  And they weren't kidding about the flame part.  The sausage literally arrived ON FIRE.  The flame was so huge that when they set it down in front of us and walked away, we stared at it and each other for a few moments wondering how to put the fire out and go about eating it.  Then Ms. Industrious became brave and stabbed it with a fork and knife, put it on her plate, and blew out the flame.  My hero!  Now I was a bit concernd that this sausage would be Kielbasa-esque - of which I am not a fan.  But no, it was nothing at all like Kielbasa.  It was salty and delicious with a mild kick to it.  I gobbled it up quickly, and then started longingly at Ms. Industrious' portion because I wanted to steal it from her.

For the main course, I had Escalopes no Forno, which is baked scallops in a light lemon and butter sauce topped with bread crumbs and served with rice, roasted potatoes, and seasonal vegetables.  Sounds pretty conventional, right?  WRONG!  The "light lemon and butter sauce" was really some kind of awesome semi-creamy, maybe tomatoey?, and uber garlicky sauce.  I nearly died and went to heaven.  I savored each bite, wiping up every last drop of that sauce with my potatoes.  I also tasted her swordfish dish, which came with pasta (I think it was linguine), littlenecks, and more of that delicious Chourico sausage.  OMG her swordfish was so tender it was ridonk, and the sauce here was also decadent and delicious.  Both meals were out of this world.

Can you tell I'm a food person yet?

Lastly, we split a slice of Chocolate Truffle Cake for dessert.  And guess what.  It was amazing, too.  Big surprise given the rest of the evening's food, I know.  My favorite part of the cake was that not only was the frosting or ganache or whatever delicious, and the truffley mousse delicious, but the very cake itself had strong flavor and was delicious as well.  Too often cakes are just a vehicle for frosting, with the cake itself either being dry or boring.  But not this cake.  Sooo good.

At the end of the meal, Ms. Industrious and I came to the conclusion that part of the reason we're such great friends and get along so well is our mutual love of good food.  We're the kind of people who take a bite, and if it surpasses our high standards, close our eyes and smile to ourselves in utter enjoyment.  Same kind of people who lean back after a good meal, eyes half-lidded and bodies ready for bed.  Food coma FTW.

~Dorkopotamus (aka Katy)

Cake vs. Pie - Round 2

 

 
In Round 1, we had two conferences.
 
In pie, we had Apple vs. Grasshopper.  In cake, Birthday vs. Fruitcake.  The winners were unsurprising on both fronts, with both Apple Pie and Birthday Cake trouncing their respective competitions.
 
This Round, we have the following conferences - in cake, Angel Food vs. Pound, and Coffee vs. Bundt; in pie, Pecan vs. Banana Cream, and Peanut Butter vs. Boston Cream.  WHO WILL COME OUT ON TOP?!
 
Click below to cast your votes while you can! 
 
Cake vs. Pie - Round 2

~Dorkopotamus (aka Katy)

Cooking Endeavors and Plans with Ms. Industrious

So I attempted bolognese sauce for the first time last night, from a recipe I found in a cookbook by the awesome Ellie Krieger.  Most of her recipes have turned our splendidly so far, so I was hoping for the best.  However, this one was not so much bolognese sauce.  It's not that it was bad, per se, it just wasn't what it was advertised to be.  In my experience, bolognese sauce is a semi-creamy red meat sauce.  Apparently Ellie Krieger thinks bolognese sauce is some flavored meat and tomatoes tossed with pasta.  You see the incongruity.  Someone I know makes an excellent bolognese sauce *coughcoughKIM* and should give me some tips for next time.

In other news, I'm looking forward to tonight!  I'm going with Ms. Industrious to a dress fitting for her wedding gown!  Woohoo!  Girly time!  I can't wait to see the dress in person.  It's been a lot of fun hearing about all the planning and decision-making that's been going into planning her wedding.  I love this stuff, and I couldn't be more excited for them.  I've known the groom since high school, but have been super-close for about...7 or 8 years now?  Wow...has it really been that long already, or am I just terrible at math?  Anyways, I couldn't have chosen a better girl for him if I'd tried.  They are simply fantastic together.

Hmm...he needs a nickname, too.  I guess Mr. Industrious makes sense?  But that's too obvious.  This is too difficult.  I will have to think on it.

Anyway, all of this makes me reminisce about my own wedding.

I miss all the hoopla that comes with planning a wedding.  As stressful as it was, it was so totally worth every second of planning, every curse, every tear.  To have that one perfect, magical day marrying the person you love.  *sigh*  Memories...  Yeah, I'm a romantic sap, what of it?

Our Cake Topper

~Dorkopotamus (aka Katy)

Team Cake Forever

Cake vs. Pie - Who Will Win?!

Clicky linky to cast your votes!

~Dorkopotamus (aka Katy)

Quick Dish, but with no fancy pictures

So, this is a great one dish meal....v. easy, w/not a lot of prep. I dont have my own comp. yet...and no way to upload pictures....so, the recipe and description will have to suffice.

Need
~ 4lbs. chicken breast trimmed and pounded thin
1 cub bread crumbs
8oz. chopped mushrooms (can use more if mushroom fan)
1 box low sodium Stove Top stuffing for chicken
1 cup white wine
half of 1 can cream of mushroom soup - low sodium (can also use cream of chicken or cream of celery)
1/2 stick melted butter (preferably unsalted, but no biggie if only have salted in house)
8 slices swiss cheese (can also use mozzarella)

Preheat oven to 325


Make sure chicken breasts are washed, trimmed and pounded, then split each breast in 2.  Coat with bread crumbs and lay flat along bottom of baking dish (pyrex or corning ware type).  Sprinkle one box of stove top over bottom layer of chicken using entire box.  Mix 1/2 can of soup, wine and melted butter together, then pour over stove top mixture.  Saute mushrooms til slightly browned and layer on top stove top mix.  Last cover with cheese on top and pop into the overn.  Bake for about 35-40min or until meat thermometer reads 160 and cheese is crisp on top.  Serve up with a salad or favorite veggie and done.  Easy, yummy chicken dinner to feed the whole family. :)

btw, i love how KT has been showing you pics along the way of her cooking endeavors, and apologize that i could not do the same.  (Guess youll just have to take my word that this both looks and tastes yum yum)

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Ingredients:

8 red potatoes
1 lb. of baby carrots
1 medium onion
3-5 cups water
3 diced garlic cloves
2 and a half bay leaves
1 (3 pound) corned beef brisket (with or without spice packet, as you prefer)
1 small head of cabbage

Step 1:  Peel and quarter 8 red potatoes.

Step 2:  Place in bottom of large crockpot.

Step 3:  Add approximately 1 lb. of baby carrots to the crockpot.

Step 4:  Chop a medium onion into bite-size pieces and add to the crockpot.

Step 5:  Add 3 cups of water, 3 diced cloves of garlic, and 2 and a half bay leaves on top (I really don't need to add a picture of this, but I took one, so what the hell).  You can feel free to add the spice packet that comes with the corned beef - I chose not to because it included mustard seeds and the hubby is horribly allergic to them.  Plus, we both prefer a less-seasoned taste to our corned beef and cabbage.

Step 6:  Place the corned beef on top (I had to cut mine in half so it would fit).  Cover with another cup or so of water, so that the corned beef is about half-covered with liquid.  Cover the crockpot, and cook on low for approximately 2 and a half hours (total cook time will be approximately 8 hours).

Step 7:  At the 2 and a half hour mark, flip the corned beef over.  Do it again in another 3 hours, squishing things down a bit as you can.  The broth should be getting a more browny-brothy color at this point (like in the second picture below).

Step 8:  In another hour and 15 minutes, quarter a small cabbage, and squish it in there.  I had to scoop out some of the broth so things wouldn't overflow.  Turn the crockpot to high.  Another 30 minutes in, flip the cabbage over.  It should start looking less bright green (as in the second picture below).

Step 9:  Let the crockpot do its magic for another 30-45 minutes.

Step 10:  Take the meat out, trim the fat, and slice (totally forgot to snap a pic).  Serve with the veggies, and enjoy!  The hubby likes his without broth and without cabbage, and with butter mashed into the veggies.  I prefer mine with lots of broth, and I heart cabbage.  It was nom nom nom either way!

~Dorkopotamus (aka Katy)

The way to a mans heart is through his stomach (Or so says an Italian Mama)

Ok...so i figured out a temporary solution to my crapped out computer screen...if i zoom to like 500% (exaggeration) i can almost see the words (this is true).

Im making my brother-in-law, we'll call him BiL for short, my grandmother's cheesecake.  See he had some minor surgery and instead of being all needy and sickly, hes been looking out for ME and my kids.  (I mean come on, we know you're super awesome, its palpable from a mile a way, but even this was a little too cool for me.)  So, i decided i would try my grams most excellent Cheesecake (cuz i know its one of the few treats he likes)  And its kinda funny but im totally intimidated.  I mean this is a family recipe, no cookbook, just history and memory.  And you know what, it might even be her mothers, or her mothers mothers....you know, legendary and deeply personal to my family. TRADITION!  That's the word.  Ok, and my mom has started making it lately, even she was too afraid i think to attempt it 'til recently, and of course, She Nailed It (no jokes please).  I dont even like cheesecake so i have no clue what it should taste like, never made one myself, and NEVER attempted any recipe that is straight from the family archives.  Can anyone relate to this?  There is a lot riding on this...we Italian women are kinda identified by our cooking prowess.  (So, i dont necessarily agree with this but it doesnt make it any less true).  There is a bit of old school in me that believes this counts for something..that my gram hanging on by a thread these days, her hands too arthritic to hold a utensil, would be proud and pleased.  Ok, i admit it is her i will be channeling during this endeavor, and im not at all too pleased with our last few years we spent together.  The "good years" left of her life, i was a snotty teenager with little patience and a blind eye that was sometimes downright cold, or worse, oblivious.  And i need to make it right, but she doesnt even know my name anymore and if i can do this, YES IT SOUNDS STUPID, i will have done something in homage to her.  Because she was an Italian Mama, if nothing else, with a gift to love and care, and that included keeping her house tip top and her cooking, meticulous and filled with all her heart.
But hey, its only a cheesecake - so no pressure.

~Kim

Balsamic Roasted Potatoes

Stage 1: Potatoes!

Stage 2: Quartered potatoes with rosemary, thyme, and a pinch of nutmeg.

Stage 3: Frying up the seasoned potatoes with garlic for about 5 minutes.

Stage 4: Baking the potatoes for 30 minutes, then tossing with balsamic vinegar and some salt and pepper to bake for another 5 minutes.

Stage 5: Voila!

~Dorkopotamus (aka Katy)

Girls Night and Tangents

Tonight is Girls Night - a group of about 5 girls getting together to cook, eat, and be merry.  We always do a potluck and tend to use the night as a testing ground for new recipes.  One of my favorite recipes so far has been an amazing broccoli with fresh ginger and balsamic vinegar made by the very industrious...well, actually, this brings up a good point.  What should I call people here?  Should I call them by name?  Make up names for them?  Hrmm...  For now, I think I shall call this particular friend Ms. Industrious.  Yes.  Well.  Yeah, that's kind of lame, but it's all I've got for now.

So anyways, Ms. Industrious makes this awesome broccoli dish that I never get to eat because the hubby dislikes all three major ingredients.  Especially the broccoli.  Which he is allergic to because it is somehow part of the mustard family.  Just imagine that chick from The Exorcist...that's him on mustard.  Very bad situation.

I don't often get to eat things he doesn't like/is allergic to, so on Girls Nights I really appreciate eating these forbidden foods.  Hence my love of the broccoli dish.  And so tonight I will be making something that sounds delicious to me, but he would probably hate, hehe.  Did I mention I love cooking?  Because I do. 

Long, tangental story, short...here is the recipe for Balsamic Roasted Red Potatoes that I will be attempting tonight, only with russet potatoes instead.  I'll try and remember to snap some pics later as I cook.  Fun!

~Dorkopotamus (aka Katy)