Pizza Rustica

I am not sure why this recipe isn't just called quiche. There is nothing that resembles anything pizza like, and everything that resembles quiche.

I was excited to make a pie crust that I didn't have to be too delicate with, and the filling was definitely favourites of this household... various cheeses and prosciutto. Yum!

Overall it was really good. The flavours were really clear. The salty filling was great with the sweet/cookie crust.

I had a ton of excess dough and didn't want to waste the goodness, so I made strawberry/lemon pockets, a raspberry jelly roll, and a Nutella roll. They were all very good.

May 24, 2009 - 1st Wedding Anniversary Picnic

For the first time I didn't make this week's recipe, which was Lemon Loaf. I had the opportunity to taste Tina's, and my tiny bite was delicious. The cake was loaded with lemon flavour, it almost tasted like artificial flavour since it was so strong and lemony. Really good.

I couldn't handle having more treats in the house since we were thawing a huge top tier from our wedding, cake. I was really surprised how well the cake froze and thawed out. The cake was only a tiny bit dry, but the flavour was all there.

Boca Negra

I don't even know what to say. I am really surprised it tastes as good as it does, as it looks a little crazy. What a nightmare this cake was to make. Everything seemed so easy. The recipe was simple enough and easy to follow. I used the food processor and it took 2 minutes to assemble. I originally baked the cake as directed in a water bath, and was really excited after the 30 mins because it looked just like the instructions said it would, there was a nice crust on top and a fudge centre. Only after inverting on a plate, the entire bottom came rushing out and all over. I didn't want to waste all that chocolate so I did my best to put it back together. I submerged the crust in the raw batter and put it back in the oven, this time without the water bath. The cake started to rise and and crack. When I pulled the cake out of the oven the entire cake caved in on itself and away from the crusty edge.

The cake tasted good on its own. A fudgy decadent chocolate cake. I also enjoyed it with the white chocolate cream. Andrew enjoyed the cake, but thought the cream was horrible. I took some pieces (heaps of chocolate mess) over to a friends. When I woke up this morning at my friend's place I was happy to see most had been polished off. It doesn't look pretty, but it sure is tasty.
 

Best Ever Brownies

It really is all in the name.

I am not a huge brownie fan. I like cake and I like fudge, but I don't normally like the hard little squares called brownies. Andrew loves brownies and I have attempted to make them for him in the past. I have used box mixes and recipes from scratch, and they have never been something I particularly enjoyed. My past experiences were so bad, I thought it was a joke that the baking dish didn't have to be greased, it was hard to trust the instructions.

But I am a convert. We are even fighting over the last piece. Wow these delicious gooey fudge treats are sooooo good.

I cooked the brownies for the full time and they were still pretty gooey in the centre. I was concerned that they were undercooked, but I didn't want to over cook them. I am very happy to see that Michele's look exactly the same.

Croissants

Behold my delicious flaky croissants!
I love croissants and it was very exciting to make them. I had no idea all the steps involved. It is not very hard or time consuming, just a lot of waiting... and waiting... and waiting.

I keep wondering with this many steps involved who figures this all out in the first place. It took me four days of following instructions; how did someone make the instructions in the first place? And I have modern conveniences, I assume the first croissants were made in a rustic place and in a very different time.

I am very happy I read through all the instructions first and watched the PBS segment. They would say assuring things during the segment such as not panicking if you see the butter coming through the dough. That was the best piece of advice since my dough looked like rolled out butter mixed with a little flour here and there.

I thought since there was so much effort involved and my love for croissants, I would use a combination of whole wheat flour and bleached... so that I wouldn't feel as guilty as I ate them all. No sharing this time!

I made the almond filling and filled all the croissants I made. I froze half the dough just in case the first batch didn't taste great and I could try again. I think the final result is absolutely wonderful, and turned out perfect (if I do say so myself). 

Andrew says delicious on the outside, but that the sweetness on the inside ruins it. Just means more for me!