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By Michelle Abendschan, on February 12th, 2013%
Valentine’s Day Baking Tips & Tricks at Darigold in Seattle
I was recently invited to a dairy baking demonstration at Darigold headquarters in Seattle. And of course, when someone invites you to spend the day in Seattle tasting fancy desserts and pastries made with mountains of cream and butter, the correct response is, “Yes! Of course I will attend!”
Upon arriving at Darigold, we had a butter and sour cream tasting, learned a bit about the company and then it was time for the demonstrations and dessert tastings.
Chef Pierre Fauvet was on hand to take us through the creation of not three or even four desserts but five! Five dairy-rich, decadent desserts. Such a difficult way to spend an afternoon. In addition to Sour Cream Raspberry Chambord Cheesecake, we also sampled Salted Caramel Tart, Cream Puff Swans, Raspberry Cream Tart and Chocolate Eclairs.
I’ve posted the cheesecake recipe below. It would definitely make a wonderful Valentine’s Day dessert, but it does need to chill overnight, so plan accordingly.
 . . . → Read More: Valentine’s Day Dessert: Sour Cream Raspberry Chambord Cheesecake & a Day at Darigold
By Michelle Abendschan, on February 9th, 2012%
This French Friday with Dorie pick, for me this week, was the perfect recipe. It was super quick and chocolatey and aside from the nutella, I actually had all the ingredients already. Perfect!
Instead of brioche, I used challah as the recipe suggested as an alternative. But not just any challah — I had some cranberry challah rolls in the freezer. This was the perfect excuse to defrost one, slice it up, and slather it with goodness. Plus, I thought the cranberries added to the overall flavor.
Notes:
1. I kind of wish the other side of the bread was toasted too. If I do this again, I’d probably toast the one side, flip it over and then spread the butter and toast up the second side.
2. I had no patience for a double boiler and just gave the nutella two 15-second cycles in the microwave.
3. I used chopped pecans for the top, as I didn’t have any hazelnuts.
That’s pretty much it. Here’s a link to everyone’s posts and my photos below.
The makings of a delicious snack.
Challah buttered and toasted, orange marmalade on.
Here . . . → Read More: FFwD: Nutella Tartine
By Michelle Abendschan, on April 17th, 2011%
What’s better than fudgey, chocolately, crinkley-topped, walnut-filled brownies? Brownies made with browned butter so they are even nuttier and tastier.
These are good for a weekend because you have two whole days to eat a lot of them before you decide you really should take them into work Monday, so you don’t eat them all.
Or something like that…
Browned Butter Brownies with Walnuts
From Bon Appétit Magazine
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
10 tbsp (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder (spooned into cup to measure, then leveled)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs, chilled
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup walnut pieces
Position rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 325 degrees F. Line 8x8x2-inch metal baking pan with foil, pressing foil firmly against pan sides and leaving 2-inch overhang. Coat foil with nonstick spray.
Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat.
Continue cooking until butter stops foaming and browned bits form at bottom of pan, stirring often, about 5 minutes.
Remove from heat; immediately add sugar, cocoa, 2 teaspoons water, vanilla, and 1/4 teaspoon (generous) salt. Stir to . . . → Read More: Weekend Browned Butter Brownies
By Michelle Abendschan, on January 21st, 2011%
I love this chili! I’ve made it twice in the past month. It’s really good…not mouth-burningly spicy (but it has a kick), very complex and if you are not from Texas, it’s perfectly appropriate to add beans, imho. Hooray! If you want your chili all meaty and Texas-like, just increase the meat to 3 pounds and loose the beans. How you prefer your chili is between you and your kitchen, that’s what I say. This is just how I like it.
The second time I made it, I actually grabbed a boneless rib eye steak from Trader Joe’s, cubed that up and used that for the meat. I think it was about $5 and I liked that better than the $12 worth of short ribs I used originally. Go figure.
Oh and this leftover chili makes EPIC NACHOS. Seriously. Just load some tortilla chips up on a baking sheet. Scatter some spoonfuls of (warmed up) chili on top, add cheese and diced red onions and stick in a 400 degree oven until the cheese melts and the chip get a little golden. Wow. Yeah. You’re welcome.
Portland-Style Chili with Beer, Coffee & Chocolate
Adapted from a recipe in Food . . . → Read More: Not Really So Texas-Style Chili
By Michelle Abendschan, on April 5th, 2010%
I once spent the better part of a day making a Rick Bayless Mole Sauce recipe. Hours and hours and the end result was…fine. Which I’m pretty sure had much more to do with my execution than the recipe, but there it is. I wasn’t in love with it and jwa actually didn’t like it. Then I make this recipe not expecting much and it is really good. I guess you just never know.
Of course I have absolutely no problem spending all day on a sauce, but I’m okay taking a short cut or two, which is no way should be interpreted as a “semi-homemade’ anything. Seriously. Don’t make me come over there.
Anyway, even though this is “easy” it still takes about an hour or so to prepare. I also found it very beneficial to make the sauce earlier in the day so it has 4+ hours to hang out and meld and stuff. When I tasted it right after making, the peanut butter taste was very strong but a couple of hours later, the spices were more dominant and it had evened out quite a bit. It was even delicious! So, allow about an hour . . . → Read More: Easy Mole Sauce (and what to do with it)
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