My friend told me several times that I should try this bakery at the Old Port. Every time I was down there, I would forget. Well, I decided to spend some girl time with my youngest daughter. We went to Portland for manicures. My daughter tried to talk me into taking her to her favorite restaurant but I felt it wouldn't be fair since the guys weren't with us. Instead, I took her to the bakery my friend recommended. My daughter and I picked up an almond raspberry galette, a tart, and a baguette. My daughter loves sweets so she was in heaven. Afterwards, she told her Dad that we will have to go again especially for the galette. While we were at the bakery, I saw a copy of their cookbook for sale. I decided to checked out the Standard Baking Co. Pastries cookbook from the library. For my daughter, I made the galette she loved so much. My daughter loved it even though I picked a blueberry filling. I will definitely make this dessert again and I will be purchasing the cookbook. Now, what will be the next thing we will have to try at the bakery?
Almond Blueberry Galette
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups all purpose flour
pinch of salt
3/4 cup sugar plus more for topping
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup blueberry jam
Directions:
- Grease a tart pan with nonstick baking spray. Set aside.
- In a food processor, pulse the sliced almonds until grounded. Set aside.
- In a mixer, mix the butter, flour, and salt until well incorporated.
- Add the sugar and the ground almonds. Mix until incorporated.
- Add 1 of the eggs and mix until the dough holds together.
- Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface.
- Working with half the dough at a time, knead the dough about 10 times.
- Roll out the dough into the size of the bottom of the tart.
- Carefully, wrap the rolled out dough with plastic wrap and place into the refrigerator to chill.
- Roll out the other half of the dough into the bottom of the tart pan.
- In a small bowl, lightly beat the other egg with 1 tsp of water.
- Lightly, brush the outside edges of the tart with the egg wash.
- Spread the jam evenly inside the egg wash border.
- Carefully top the tart with the other rolled out dough piece.
- Lightly, press the dough along the edges to firmly seal the two layers over the jam layer.
- Brush the top of the tart with the egg wash.
- Sprinkle a little sugar on top of the tart.
- Place the tart in the refrigerator to chill for 10 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Bake the tart for 20 minutes.
- Rotate the pan and bake for another 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Recipe adapted from the Standard Baking Company Pastries Cookbook.
One year ago....................................................I made Broccoli Cheddar Soup.
Two years ago..................................................I made Apple Cinnamon Loaves.
Did you already know..............................
-Galette is a French pastry cake.
-Galette tend to be flat, round or free forming pastries.
-In Canada, galettes tend to be more of a cookie.
My husband has ordered broccoli cheddar soup for the last three times that we ate out. He has even influenced our children so they have been ordering the soup too. Since it is so popular in our household, I wanted to show my husband how easy it is to make. We don't eat out a lot but I think we will be eating out even less now. This soup is so good. He told me that he could easily make this soup for us. Here you go babe!
Copycat Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup
4 oz. butter, unsalted
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 cups half and half
2 cups chicken broth
1 lb. fresh broccoli, chopped into small pieces
1 cup carrots, julienne
1 Tbsp paprika
2 tsp season salt
1/4 tsp ground mustard
4 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat.
- Add the onion and saute for 2 minutes.
- Sprinkle the flour over the onion and mix. Allow to cook for 1 minute.
- Whisk in the half and half with the chicken broth. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes.
- Stir in the broccoli, carrots, paprika, season salt, and ground mustard.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Stir in the cheese and allow to melt before serving.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Recipe adapted from The Recipe Critic.
One year ago......................................I made Chewy Brownies.
Two years ago....................................I made Fresa Agua Fresca.
Did you already know.......................
-Broccoli was a popular vegetable of the Romans.
-In the 1900s, Italian immigrants introduced broccoli to the U.S.
-The head of the broccoli is made up of tiny buds that are ready to flower.
For Mother's Day brunch, I wanted to make my Mom some flower cupcakes. I've been places where a real flower was stuck in the middle of a straw and then stuck into a cupcake. When I started researching which plants were poisonous, it became apparent that maybe it wouldn't be a good idea to use real flowers. The petals of a flower may not be poisonous but the stalk or leaves could be. Since there were going to be children present, I wouldn't be able to observe if they were eating the flowers. Most likely, it would have been my son so I figured I would have to substitute the flower with something safer. Since I remembered how my grandmother had pinwheels, I thought it would be a nice connection with her too. The pinwheels worked great. Plus the kids thought it was wonderful to blow on them. My wonderful sister gave me a grass decorating tip which made frosting the cupcakes easier. Also, none of the kids tried eating the pinwheel.
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| Photo taken by my son! |
Pinwheel cupcakes
12 chocolate cupcakes
1 cup green frosting
12 pinwheels
Directions:
- Using a multi-opening decorating tip, pipe the green frosting onto the cupcakes to resemble grass. (My sister gave me a Wilton Decorating Tip #233).
- Cut the pinwheel stick in half.
- Clean the pinwheel stick before inserting in the middle of the cupcake.
Enjoy!
One year ago.........................................................I made Abstract Art Sugar Cookies.
Two years ago.......................................................I made Seven Cheese Bread.
Did you already know.............
-In 2003, Omikami Amaterasu became the oldest mother when she gave birth to a son.
-More babies are delivered in the month of August.
-By age of 44 years old, 81% of women have given birth.
Happy Mother's Day!
Since my Mom has four children, I like to celebrate Mother's Day with her a week early. My younger sister tends to do the same. Then my other sisters does something special for her on Mother's Day. It is nice since my Mom celebrates Mother's Day for two weekends and not just one. Yes, she is that special! I know my Mom likes potatoes so I wanted to make sure I had a potato dish for her Mother's Day brunch. I also figured breakfast sausage would be a great addition. When I looked for a recipe to make, the majority of the recipes had frozen hash browns. I wanted to take the extra steps and make it from scratch. Also, my husband's family makes this wonderful potato dish on the grill so I used it as my inspiration. My Mom said she liked the dish. My son said he really liked it. He did help me so he took the credit. It does encourage him to help me more in the kitchen if he gets the credit.
Breakfast Potato Bake
2 lbs. red potatoes, scrubbed
1 tsp vegetable oil
2 tsp unsalted butter
1/2 lb. breakfast sausage
1/2 cup green peppers, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
2 eggs, lightly scrambled
2 tsp season salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
4 oz. cheddar cheese
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Spray a 13x9 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Parboil the potatoes for about 10 minutes.
- While the potatoes are cooking, heat the vegetable oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Brown the sausage, onion, and green pepper in the skillet. Set aside.
- Drain the potatoes.
- Place the potatoes in a food process to grate.
- Add the potatoes, eggs, season salt, and pepper to the sausage mixture. Mix until incorporated.
- Evenly distribute the potato mixture into the baking dish.
- Top with the cheese.
- Cover and bake for 30 minutes.
- Uncover and allow to bake for another 15 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
Recipe by Jen of Sweet Morris.
One year ago...............................................................I made Fruit Cups.
Two years ago.............................................................I made Pizza Sauce.
Did you already know................................................
-Potatoes originated in South America.
-In the 18th century, salted potatoes were served as a dessert.
-Potato is a vegetable.
This week my recipes are inspired by my Mom. My Mom loves Hawaiian King Rolls so I made a bunch of them and gave her a bag full. My husband surprised me by saying that he had never had them. I did point them out at our local store and he still said he never had them. (Yes, we even have them in our stores in Maine.) My Mom told me that she liked them. My family really liked them. If you have never had them either, they are sweeter than a typical roll.
Copycat Kings Hawaiian Bread
1 egg
2/3 cups pineapple juice
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp ground ginger
2 1/4 cup all purpose flour, plus more for surface
1 (1/4 oz.) envelope of yeast
1/4 cup butter, melted
Directions:
- In a large bowl, add 1 cup of flour. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk the egg before adding pineapple juice, sugar, ginger, and the butter.
- Add 1 cup of flour to the egg mixture and incorporate well.
- Sprinkle in the yeast and mix well.
- Add another 1 cup of flour. Mix until incorporated.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm surface until doubles about 1 hour.
- Once doubled, place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead in the remaining 1/4 cup of flour.
- Shape the dough into equally sized rolls.
- Cover the rolls and place in a warm place and allow to rise for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Remove the plastic wrap from the top of the rolls.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown and cooked throughly.
Did you already know.............................
-In the 1950s, Robert Taira opened Robert's Bakery in Hawaii.
-In 1977, the business opened a new bakery in California.
-Currently, the third generation of the Taira family are running the business.
Did you already know..............................
