Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Dorie's Coconut Teacake
This week's selection comes from Carmen of Carmen Cooks . She chose Coconut Tea Cake for this week’s Tuesdays With Dorie recipe. Dorie mentions that it is a little dry from the regular cake that you may be used to. But, if your familiar with teacake you know this is the way it should be. This would be great with a berry compote.
I changed it up a bit by adding spices such as cinnamon, ginger, allspice...and in place of coconut milk,(which I didn't have on hand), I used buttermilk with coconut extract and lots of Meyer's Dark Rum. For the finishing touch....after baking I brushed with rum. Then drizzled white chocolate on top with toasted coconut to garnish.
Blended Together by Suzy at 4:20 PM 3 Others Say:
Labels: Tuesdays with Dorie
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Orange Tian DB
Blended Together by Suzy at 9:05 PM 1 Others Say:
Labels: Daring Baker
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Getting Baked in Hawaii....I'm Jealous!
This is my version of a Baked Hawaiian.
Most of you have probably had Baked Alaska at one point in your life. Well this is very similar and easy to put together. The hardest part is making the meringue. So if you want to skip that part, just add whip topping instead.
Assembly:
**For the bottom I used Pineapple Upside down cake, cutting it into a circle.
**On top of that a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, Then I placed it in the freezer for an hour
**Then a piped a glossy meringue to cover it, you can then broil it under your broiler. Or use a lovely browning touch , which will give you nice coverage.
**I served it with a caramel rum sauce, and garnished with pineapple chunks and pineapple leaves. Pineapples are now $2.25 in stores.
If you can't make it to Hawaii,
give this dessert a try!
Blended Together by Suzy at 8:49 AM 1 Others Say:
Labels: vacation
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Dulce de Leche Duos
OMG......... Dulce de Leche? Yummo! Dulce de Leche in the cookie batter, then sandwiched between two cookies? These were delish for sure. As I said before, I make these recipes on the day of. So I am just finishing these and it is like 9:00 pm. I only had one half.......and now can't wait for tomorrow to try some more. I changed it up bit adding some chocolate fudge frosting in the middle. I should have added a little Sea Salt on top. That will be next time. Mine came out thicker than the other TWDers. Almost like a baby whoopie pie.
Most grocery stores now carry Dulce de Leche in a can, in the international aisle. Otherwise known as sweet milk in Spanish, like a milky caramel. But, if you can't find it, you can place a open can of sweetened condensed milk in a crock pot on low, overnight with about 2 inches of water.
Many thanks to Jodie of Beansy Loves Cake for hosting and selecting Dulce de Leche Duos as this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie. If you would like the recipe, visit her blog or buy the book.
Blended Together by Suzy at 9:59 PM 6 Others Say:
Labels: Tuesdays with Dorie
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Chocolate Raspberry Tart
This week it is Raspberries and Chocolate. What a wonderful combination. Many thanks to Rachelle of Mommy? I'm Hungry! for picking this recipe for our Tuesdays with Dorie choice this week. This was easy, simple, and delicious. I decided this week to go with my rectangular tart pan found at my hot spot, HomeGoods. It has a removable bottom which is great when it comes to easy out of the pan. And I couldn't help but add some white chocolate drizzle on top.
Blended Together by Suzy at 10:20 PM 1 Others Say:
Labels: Tuesdays with Dorie
Monday, March 15, 2010
Irish Soda Bread
With St Patricks Day right around the corner, I'm baking up some Soda Bread. My soda bread has caraway seed in it , which is traditional. I have made so much soda bread in my life, I think I could do it in my sleep sometimes. I serve mine warm with Orange Marmalade, which is so awesome!
IRISH SODA BREAD
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup butter, melted
**Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan, or a cast iron round pan.
**Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, seeds, and baking soda. Blend egg and buttermilk together, and add all at once to the flour mixture. Mix just until moistened. Stir in butter. Pour into prepared pan.
**Bake for 65 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the bread comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Wrap in foil for several hours, or overnight, for best flavor.
Blended Together by Suzy at 8:57 PM 1 Others Say:
Labels: Quick Breads
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Colcannon for St. Patty's Day
Another beer demo this weekend, just in time for St. Patrick's Day. The Holland based Heineken was the sponsor of this event. Maybe because the bottle and company colors are green they decided to push it during this Holiday. It would be hard to come up with a April Tulip based theme, don't you think? When I first read the directions, I wasn't sure how it would turn out. But it was delicious and the beer really added to the flavor! It also had an interesting folklore that went along with it.

Colcannon
1 pound cabbage chopped
2 pound potatoes sliced
2 scallion chopped
1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup butter
Directions
**In a deep frying pan with 1 Tlb. of olive oil, layer the potatoes, onion, cabbage, in that order. Then add the beer , cover and simmer 2o minutes.
**When potatoes are tender, smashed them. Add the scallion. milk, butter, salt and pepper, continue to mix in.
**Add in the bacon bits, and serve up hot as a side dish!
Blended Together by Suzy at 10:54 PM 0 Others Say:
Labels: Dinner Recipes
Friday, March 12, 2010
Happy Birthday Girl Scouts!

Today marks the 98th birthday of the organized group known as the Girl Scouts.
March 12th, commemorates the day in 1912 when Juliette Gordon Low officially registered the organization's first 18 girl members in Savannah, Georgia. The group is still going strong after all these years with over 3 million members nation wide. More than 50 million American women enjoyed Girl Scouting during their childhood—and that number continues to grow as Girl Scouts of the USA continues to inspire, challenge, and empower girls everywhere. I am a lifetime member, and my daughters have been members since they were 5 years old.
My oldest daughter in 3rd grade Brownies.
The last few months have been the season for the girls to sell their boxes of delicious treats. Everyone has their favorites, and some even buy enough to put away into the freezer for special times. To savour at a later date.

Tired yet?
I was able to find one of the easier ones...
Do Si Do Peanut Butter Cookies
These are actually very tasty...Give them a try!
Directions:
Blended Together by Suzy at 3:01 PM 0 Others Say:
Labels: cookie recipes
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Blue Plate Meatloaf Anyone??
My family loves meatloaf. This is one meal I can get everyone to eat. And I make more then enough for leftover meatloaf sandwiches. The secret to anything made with ground meat is to add a little spinach to the mix, whether your making meatloaf, meatballs, or your own hamburger concoction for the grill. The spinach will always make it moist and delicious and will add some good vitamins too! Serve with a nice heap of mashed potatoes and a veggie, and your all set...
Blended Together by Suzy at 7:27 PM 2 Others Say:
Labels: Dinner Recipes
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Big Kid Thumbprints TWD
This week's choice of thumbprints reminds me of Holiday time. I usually only make these a very few times a year. But, after trying these I think I'll make them more. Dorie had a little twist of adding more than a cup of ground hazelnuts, equal to the flour. I didn't have any hazelnuts on hand. So I did a half and half mix of almond flour and ground pecans. Then I added a couple of tablespoons of Hazelnut flavoring I use for coffee. Dorie boiled the jam before putting it in the thumbprint after baking. Which made the jam set up nicely. Great idea!
Great thanks go out to Mike from Ugly Food for an Ugly Dude (cute title...don't ya think?) for hosting this week's Tuesday With Dorie pick! You can get the recipe from Mike's blog, or turn to page 164 of Baking From My Home to Yours by the fabulous Dorie Greenspan.
Blended Together by Suzy at 8:37 PM 3 Others Say:
Labels: Tuesdays with Dorie
Friday, March 5, 2010
Best Oatmeal Cookies Ever....
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Blended Together by Suzy at 10:09 AM 1 Others Say:
Labels: cookie recipes
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Wordless Wednesday and Kitchen Gadget Envy....


Wordless is dreaming of a built in one of these, for the single serving cup of Joe in the morning or anytime....

Or the perfect copper pot to beat your egg whites in....
Blended Together by Suzy at 8:02 PM 0 Others Say:
Labels: Home
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Happy Birthday Dr. Suess!
Every year across America, school children are celebrating Dr. Suess's Birthday, which is today. I bet if you visited your local elementary school on this day, you would see many black cats with their stove pipe, red and white striped hats. Or how about Thing 1 or Thing 2? My favorite of course, is that Black Cat...the costume hangs in my closet, for any occasion that might come up! Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known to the world as the beloved Dr. Seuss, was born on March 2, 1904 on Howard Street here in Springfield, Massachusetts. His mother, Henrietta Seuss Geisel, often soothed her children to sleep by "chanting" rhymes remembered from her youth. Ted credited his mother with both his ability and desire to create the rhymes for which he became so well known.
So as you go through the day, think of that special Dr. Suess book or saying that comes to mind, because who doesn't know "Green eggs and Ham said Sam I Am." And like me and many others, it will probably give you a nice grin from ear to ear......
Blended Together by Suzy at 7:35 PM 1 Others Say:
Labels: school projects
Toasted Coconut Custard Tart TWD
Blended Together by Suzy at 1:55 PM 3 Others Say:
Labels: Tuesdays with Dorie
Monday, March 1, 2010
One of those days......

Blended Together by Suzy at 8:58 AM 1 Others Say:
Labels: Extra