Daring Bakers- Fresh Frasiers - Challenge #6

Jana of Cherry Tea Cakes was our July Daring Bakers’ host and she challenges us to make Fresh Frasiers inspired by recipes written by Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson in the beautiful cookbook Tartine.

I was initially going to skip this challenge because life got in the way, but then I was visiting a friend who encouraged me to pick some fresh raspberries and strawberries from her yard.  The fresh fruit made me think of this challenge.  I decided that the combination of both of these fruits would go great with the chocolate chiffon cake.  The making of all of the components was easy.  I learned that I am not a huge fan of pastry cream.  I can take it or leave it.  The challenging part was the assembly of the cake.  As you can see in the picture, the berries can be seen around the sides, but not as pretty and nice as I was hoping.

The taste of the cake was very nice; the pastry cream and cake still let the taste of the berries shine through.  The two other people that were lucky to have a piece, said it was very tasty.  I can see making this again, definitely for more practice on the assembly part.

Daring Cooks- Homemade Noodles- Challenge #6

Steph from Stephfood was our Daring Cooks‟ July hostess. Steph challenged us to make homemade noodles without the help of a motorized pasta machine. She provided us with recipes for Spätzle and Fresh Egg Pasta as well as a few delicious sauces to pair our noodles with!

I was excited to see this challenge, because a good friend had recently introduced me to Chinese hand-shaven noodles at a restaurant in Seattle's International District.  Initially, my goal was to attempt to make these at home. Then life got in the way, so I decided to attempt those at another time and decided to make German Spätzle.

It is a recipe I definitely will put in my rotation of things to make. It was quick and easy and quite tasty.  It made a great light dinner for me one night.  I mixed in thyme, oregano, basil, and a pinch of cayenne pepper. It was quite tasty.  Below is a picture of the dish.

Daring Cooks-Potato Salad-Challenge #5

Jami Sorrento was our June Daring Cooks hostess and she chose to challenge us to celebrate the humble spud by making a delicious and healthy potato salad. The Daring Cooks Potato Salad Challenge was sponsored by the nice people at the United States Potato Board, who awarded prizes to the top 3 most creative and healthy potato salads. A medium-size (5.3 ounce) potato has 110 calories, no fat, no cholesterol, no sodium and includes nearly half your daily value of vitamin C and has more potassium than a banana!

I'm not a huge fan of potato salad.  If it is around I'll have a little but won't be disappointed if it is not on the table.  When I saw this table, I immediately thought of Sriracha Potato Salad.  I used a marinade recipe from a good friend has the base for the recipe.  The batch I made was way spicy so I had to adjust the amount of Sriracha back so normal people could eat it and live.  Below is a pic of it and the recipe!  Enjoy!

                                                      Sriracha Potato Salad

3 pounds red potatos

2 chopped green onion tops

1 tbsp parsley

½ tbsp fresh thyme

1/2 tbsp fresh sage

1/2 tbsp fresh rosemary

3 cloves chopped garlic

¼ cup  rice vinegar

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 to 2 tbsp Sriracha sauce depending on taste

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp parsley

1 Tbsp fresh thyme

1 Tbsp fresh sage

1 Tbsp fresh rosemary

3 cloves chopped garlic

2 chopped green onion tops

salt and black pepper to taste

Wash and slice potatoes into quarter inch slices, then quarter each slice.  Boil potatoes 20 to 25 minutes til tender.  Drain well and allow to cool. 

Place potatoes in large bowl and drizzle rice vinegar over potatoes and toss to coat.

Mix remaining ingredients together in a small bowl.  Add the mayonnaise mixture to the potatoes and toss lightly to coat.  Add green onions toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper if needed.  Chill until ready to serve.

Daring Bakers-Chocolate Marquise- Challenge #5

The May 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Emma of CookCraftGrow and Jenny of Purple House Dirt. They chose to challenge everyone to make a Chocolate Marquise. The inspiration for this recipe comes from a dessert they prepared at a restaurant in Seattle.

Wow! and Wow! again.  This dessert is amazing.  I made this for a birthday party and it blew everyone away.  The presentation and the taste.  It was immediately put on the please make it again list.  I did follow the recipe as provided, but am exciting to try a few variations.  One is with balsamic vinegar, black pepper, and strawberries. The other is using a chili salted caramel as inspiration. The spiced candied almonds were such a hit, that my partner asked for a separate batch just to munch on.  Below is a picture of the finished product.

Daring Cooks-Gumbo-Challenge #4

Our May hostess, Denise of There’s a Newf in My Soup!, challenged The Daring Cooks to make Gumbo! She provided us with all the recipes we’d need from creole spices, homemade stock and Louisiana white rice, to Drew’s Chicken & Smoked Sausage Gumbo and Seafood Gumbo from My New Orleans: The Cookbook, by John Besh.

I was excited to see this month's challenge because it reminded me I had not made gumbo since I had returned from New Orleans last summer.  I've been making gumbo for years, so when I make it I almost go in to auto-pilot mode.  The gumbo is always a hit among friends and provides a few days of tasty lunches afterwards.  I especially enjoy now that I've been introduced to file powder. 

Below is a picture of my bowl of gumbo!  Enjoy!