Homemade Pop Tarts

Posted on August 21, 2011 by daisy | daisysworld.net

Kellogg’s Pop Tarts have been a convenient breakfast treat for many Americans growing up. Adults turn nostalgic at the mere mention of them, usually recounting days when they ate their favorite flavor on the bus on the way to school. I know it may be shock for many of you, but I didn’t have my first Pop Tart until after I got married. Chris used to love the Chocolate Pop Tarts and he would eat them with ice cream. I tried one, but I didn’t really care for the dry, cardboard-like pastry covered in super sweet icing. A couple of days ago, while perusing one of my favorite food blogs, Smitten Kitchen written by Deb Perelman, I stumbled on her entry for homemade pop tarts. Those pop tarts looked so cute, especially naked without that coat of icing. I knew that I had to make them this weekend.

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everything’s better with butter

Posted on July 2, 2011 by daisy | daisysworld.net

Homemade bread is good. Homemade bread with homemade butter is even better! Yes, you read it right. I made my own butter this morning! As it turns out, butter is surprisingly easy and fun to make. Essentially, heavy cream is just whipped until it breaks and the fat separates from the liquid. The fat is the butter and the liquid is buttermilk. How easy is that? I used a stand mixer, but a food processor works as well. Shaking the fermented cream in a mason jar for about 20-30 minutes will supposedly work but I prefer to have my kitchen gadgets do the heavy work.

I followed this cultured butter recipe from the Seattle Times, which calls for culturing, or fermenting the cream, before churning. I had no luck in finding a good quality, organic cream, so I settled for a pint of the Trader Joe’s brand. The resulting butter is a pale yellow color and creamy with a little bit of tang to it. Better quality cream would have resulted in a deeper yellow color and a richer flavor. Next time, I can experiment with adding different herbs and flavorings to make compound butter.

© Daisy’s World. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Daisy’s World with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

homemade french baguette

Posted on July 1, 2011 by daisy | daisysworld.net

There is nothing like the fragrant aroma of bread baking in the oven and it is actually simple and easy to do. There are only six ingredients for these french baguettes, most of them common pantry items – water, sugar, yeast, flour, salt, and cornmeal. When it all comes together, the dough requires kneading, which is one of my favorite parts of baking bread by hand. I love the feel of the dough as it turns from a sticky, squishy mess to a soft, smooth ball. It does takes at least 10 minutes of kneading and a couple of hours for yeast breads to rise and double, but the effort and wait are well worth it. The resulting baguettes are crusty on the outside and soft and on the inside. Slathered with butter, it is absolutely delicious!

Here’s my serving suggestion for the baguette – Sirloin Steak Crostini with Chimichurri Sauce, adapted from Martha Stewart’s Sirloin Kebabs. Chris made a half batch of the Chimichurri Sauce and marinated a little piece of steak so we could taste test the recipe before serving it to Paul and Tracey for dinner tomorrow. Chris grilled the steak perfectly and my homemade baguette soaked up all the tasty olive oil from the Chimichurri Sauce. Absolutely delicious! I hope Paul and Tracey will enjoy it, too.

homemade ice cream

Posted on June 2, 2011 by daisy | daisysworld.net

Our current obsession is homemade ice cream – Chris, with making it, and me, with eating it. Since January, he’s made sure our freezer is stocked with his delicious creations such as Meyer Lemon-Olive Oil (pictured above), Salted Caramel, and Pistachio ice creams. There were a couple that did not make the cut – Hazelnut Mascarpone and the Salted Almond – but I applaud his efforts and encourage his pursuit of inventive and out-of-the-ordinary flavors. My current favorite is the beautiful pale green Pistachio, with little flecks of the nuts left in. Yummy! The cost for a quart is about $5, a little more expensive than the store-bought kind, but it’s totally made with a special ingredient – love!

Bring on the long hot days of summer! I’ve got my spoon.

homemade pasta dough

Posted on May 27, 2011 by daisy | daisysworld.net

Once again, Karen was an inspiration. Actually her blog entry on Fettuccine with Fresh Basil was the inspiration for both our lunch and dinner. We dusted off the pasta machine and leafed through my huge notebook from Intro to Cooking Class to find the basic pasta dough recipe I had made 10+ years ago. It is truly amazing how four ingredients – flour, eggs, salt and pepper can turn out to be delicate pasta. We made the ravioli for lunch and Fettuccine Alfredo for dinner. Yummy!

Pasta Dough

Ingredients:
1 cup Semolina flour
1 cup All-Purpose flour
2 eggs
Salt and pepper, to taste
Water, as needed

Method:
Combine all dry ingredients. Make a well in the center. Mix eggs and pour into well. With a fork, start incorporating the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed to have the dough come together. Once it comes together, knead the dough until it springs lightly when pressed. Wrap in plastic and let rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Take out dough and cut into halves or quarters, depending on the size of dough. Roll out, according to pasta machine directions. Cook in salted boiling water until al dente.

Daisy’s World. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Daisy’s World with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.