TWD: Oatmeal Breakfast Bread

August 17, 2010 by Monica in Baking, Baking Club, Bread, Breakfast, Cookbooks, Fruit, TWD

I just cannot seem to get away from baking with fruit this month. After baking chocolate all weekend long, I’m back into fruit land once more, compliments of Natalie from Oven Love who gave us the Oatmeal Breakfast Bread as our Tuesday with Dorie week’s choice.

Oatmeal is not fruit, you may say… well yeah, but don’t let the name fool you. It has oats and a combination of spices and any dried fruit of your choice. And technically, I’m on the fence if calling it “Bread” would be appropriate, since it did not involve using yeast or kneading or even a rolling pin!

But at the end it did not matter, Tom was once more in high heaven, because not only did it have fruit, but OATS!

Onion, Fennel, and Orange Upside-Down Shortcake

June 23, 2010 by Monica in Baking, Breakfast, Cookbooks, Main Courses, Savory, Tarts

A while ago during one of my monthly visits to the bookstore to browse the cookbooks that I was told not to buy, I came across Savory Baking. This 168 page book from one of America’s top pastry chefs, Mary Cech is filled with recipes that focus entirely on savory baking.

The book has a clean, crisp layout and while you do need to have some knowledge of “baking/Cooking” Cech takes the time to explain how to bake successfully and her writing is easy and friendly giving you the necessary push to try her recipes even if they seem a bit complicated.

What really made me buy this book was the unique way she pairs the usual baking recipes like eclairs, tarts even shortbread with the savory ingredients. Enticing a baker/cook like me to dive in and try them out. And let me tell you I have already done 3 of the 75 mouth-watering recipes and so far, all of them have been a major hit around these parts.

One of the ones that truly blew everyone away was the Onion, Fennel and Orange Upside-Down Shortcake. This shortcake topped with caramelized onions, roasted red peppers cooked in an amazing reduction of dry sherry and balsamic vinegar is a delight. And the shortcake infused with orange zest is a combination that may sound a bit odd at first – until you take the first bite and realized that being daring and bold in the kitchen is what cooking is all about.

TWD: Sweet Cream Biscuits

April 20, 2010 by Monica in Baking, Baking Club, Bread, Breakfast, Quick Meal, TWD

If you follow along this blog, you know that for the last couple of weeks it has been all about cakes, and sweets, frosting and chocolate.

Frankly, I had been so tired to post anything else, beside my baking club commitments. And let me tell you I have some good savory stuff up my sleeves.

So, after looking at the choice made by Melissa of Love at First Bite, I was ready to do this. My first from scratch biscuits! After a couple of weekend of cakes, I was ready for something that had nothing to do with frosting a cake.

I need to come clean; I’m a can-a-biscuit cook. Yep, buy a can, pop open the can, bake and out to the table they go. In fact, biscuit in my house are not very common; we prefer to cook arepas for the weekend breakfast fare. But, when they are requested, the dough boy goes a long way in making things a bit easy in the CP household.