Don’t forget to keep an eye on the BakingDelights Flickr group. Some awesome stuff there. Ben of What’s Cooking added images from his Food Buzz 24-24-24. Sarah from What Smells SO Good has some images of biscotti…and on and on!

Cookie Madness- Sour CreamFilled Chocolate Cookies with Dried Cherries. Yum

Linette from She Knows Parties has an entire party based on lemons. Lemons!

Rhubarb has always been a pie ingredient to me but Dorie Greenspan roasts it and then plops it atop ice cream. Yum. Personally I am thinking of what it would be like over cherry and white chocolate ice cream.

Zoe again. Plum Cupcakes with Sweet Corn Ice Cream. Uh huh.

Just look at the pictures of bread here and be very amazed.

Speaking of bread…Seven Grain Honey Bread from one of my favorite bakers.

I sorta wish Maybelle’s Mom would feed me if she is making this Roast Chicken and Dandelion Salad with Dried Cherries and Almonds

Image: Brambleberry Cottage

Post from: Baking Delights

I am not sure the foodies are genetically different from other people. I have a hunch that it has to do with many things but that eating a variety of foods while you are growing up is a good start, although not the only piece to the puzzle. My mom did not like to cook and we had a variation of one of three or four meals every night. I was not allowed in the kitchen because I was messy. My kids hardly ever have eaten the same thing twice. They all have helped and do help in the kitchen and are exposed to a variety of tastes and textures, as well as cultures through the food we eat. Kyrie is an expressive foodie. You can see it on her when she eats. She is a picky eater, not that she refuses to eat something but she won’t eat more than a few bites of anything that isn’t to her liking. Yesterday she had a hot fudge sundae. Apparently it hit the spot:

Is that not the picture of a true foodie? I just love that picture!

Anyway. So, if you want to be a little more experimental here are the basics I think you should have. Everyone is going to have different ideas, of course, so take what you like and add what you like! These are not in any particular order or priority.

1. Smoked Salt- This adds a layer of flavor that makes a difference in many foods. I have heard you can smoke it yourself but I haven’t done that yet.
2. Chipotle Granules- I get the Archer Farms ones at Target. These are not canned but are dried chipotle in a tiny dice. You find them in the spices section. Adds smoky spicy heat.
3. Several kinds of cinnamon- Head over to Penzey’s and choose a couple of the varietal cinnamons.
4. Wasabi- A Japanese horseradish, wasabi comes in paste and powdered form. I prefer the powdered and you can add it to so many things for an intense heat. It doesn’t burn your tongue so much, but like horseradish, it clears your sinuses. Wasabi Mayo is a fantastic dip for raw snap peas, and one of my new addictions.
5. Turbinado sugar- even if you aren’t interested in the health benefits, turbinado sugar is a nice, large crystal that adds texture when sprinkled on cookies. It melts down beautifully for creme brulees, and it is wonderful sprinkled over the crust of breads before baking.
6. Fleur de Sel- a flaked sea salt, Fleur de Sel adds unique flavor to all kinds of things, including caramels and truffles.
7. A good balsamic vinegar, preferably one in white and one dark. Don’t be afraid to pay a little more for this than you would normally…it is worth it.
8. Local honey, raw and in as many flavors as is available in your area.
9. Culinary lavender buds
10. Rose water
11. Lavender, Violet, Rose, and Elderberry Monin Syrups make wonderful flavorings and additions to Italian sodas, cakes, pies, custards, ice creams, and anything else…
12. Loose leaf Earl Grey Tea, another great flavoring ingredient
13. Pink, white, green, red, and black peppercorns…but not mixed
14. Five spice powder
15. Garam masala
16. Walnut oil
17. Smoked sesame oil
18. Jalapeno jelly
19. Bottled Key lime juice
20. Agave
21. Gluten (to help bread rise)
22. A variety of flours: rye, graham, whole wheat, teff, etc…
23. A variety of fresh peppers: anaheim, poblano, jalapeno,bonnet, serrano…
24. Artichokes, canned or fozen
25. Fontina cheese
26. Smoked Gouda, Edam cheeses
27. Whole milk buttermilk
28. Truffle infused oil
29. Kosher salt (should just be in everyone’s pantry)
30. Wheat berries for pilafs and such
31. Peanut oil- do not use anything else ever for frying! I use peanut oil for almost everything.
32. Several varieties of olives
33. Macadamia nuts
34. Pignoli (pine nuts)
35. Fresh rosemary
36. Fresh sage
37. Fresh lemongrass
38. Finishing salt
39. Heirloom tomatoes
40. Heirloom potatoes: rose, purple, etc
41. Orzo, and any other pasta that you haven’t tried. Try flavored pastas, whole grain pastas, etc.
42. Fresh fennel
43. The organic baby leaf salads: herbs, mixed greens, etc.
44. Seeds for sprouting. There are a ton of different kinds.
45. Ice Cream salt
46. Edible gold flake
47. Edible glitter/metallic sprinkles
48. Fondant
49. Vanilla pods
50. Cardamom

image:maryeaudet

Post from: Baking Delights

We are left with 4300 square feet of potential. This is bed and breakfast material. I hope that we can finish it out the way I want and someone who wants a bed and breakfast sees it. It is just perfect for it. Right now it feels as if it is too much for us under the circumstances. But I love it.

Perfect summer mornings like this remind me of being a kid…summer stretched endlessly…one adventure after another. I was one of the last generations to have the freedom of the woods, and small towns, and meadows near the areas I grew up. I could disappear in the cool, moist Pennsylvania morning and spend the day in the woods, lunching on ripe wild blackberries and hickory nuts, and old heirloom apple trees that had been long forgotten. I learned to love nature and I learned a lot about it. And the freedom I had gave me a lot of confidence that carried me through difficult times I faced later. Because of my love for nature I discovered a kindred spirit in Thoreau, who in turn let me to Whitman…and on and on.

Hours of solitude, days with nothing to do, these things enriched me and deepened my mind and allowed me to develop into who I was created to be without a lot of molding by society. I am sorry for kids today that don’t have those freedoms, that feel comfortable with their perceived academic success based on what they learned in a sterile book. My kids are blessed. Although we only have a bit over two acres there are woods to explore, a creek to swim in, and adventures to find. Here is what my 10 year old and 9 year old created in the back yard last week when they had a friend over. They had no help.They found adventure.

Nick is the one with the long hair. Uh..he is a unique child….trust me. Sean is “the quiet one”.  Amazingly, throughout high winds, storms, and chicken invasions the fort is still standing.

So…if you have lived through that much of my rambling..are you ready for..you know?

First up…Ben from What’s Cooking is an amazing photographer, no matter what anyone else thinks. He is one of the handful of food bloggers that could put images in galleries. Check out this Poblano Risotto to see what I mean.

If you haven’t heard this news you either are so not into food or you live under a rock…but Zoe and Jeff created a second Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day book and it will be released in October. It is available for preorder now. I have the first book and I love it! I lent it to a friend and she loved it so much she kept mine for two months until she bought herself a copy…LOL!

Megan’s Rainbow graduation cake is beautiful and I am so trying that filling SOON. I have been curious about the edible decals for cakes and now I am ready to try my hand at it too.

Valli of More than Burnt Toast has created chocolate perfection for Barefoot Bloggers with these outrageous brownies. They look perfect with walnuts and coffee and…can you imagine? A pound of chocolate!

Inge of Vanielje’s Kitchen was gone for awhile but she is abck with a vengence, blogging from her (seems to me) exotic existence in Africa, running a successful deli (similar to our tea room) and accomplishing it all beautifully. You can certainly understand why when you see these giant Peanut, oat and M &M’s cookies!

Nami-Nami is a new blog to me but one I will try to get to more often. Rhubarb is one of Marc’s favorites, and I usually just do strawberry rhubarb pie because … you know, that’s what people DO. Check out this rosy rhubarb ice cream of all things and then imagine it melting over a warm square of apple crisp or strawberry pie.

O.k. since Valli’s brownies sort of magnetized me to chocolate (sigh) I would not be able to live with myself if I did not point out the amazing peanut butter and chocolate brownies on Two Peas and Their Pod. Imagine brownies with peanut butter AND Reeses cups!

You may not know this but my oldest daughter, Erin, has a dirty little secret. Yes. She is a Dr. Pepper Addict. Shhhh. I know. Heartbreaking. Please don’t tell her about this Dr. Pepper Bundt Cake recipe on Lick the Bowl Good.

Jenn from LeftoverQueen has been in the midst of a glorius move but I had to laugh when she Tweeted "At least the kitchen is unpacked". Isn’t that just like a foodie? I always had the kitchen unpacked and some baking going the first night in a new place. It was security for me. Anyway, she has a recipe for Norwegian Cardamom and Custard Buns. Yum. Seriously.

Donna at WayMoreHomemade lives not too far from me, and we got together with Kelly from Evil Shenanigans last Saturday for Kelly’s Food Buzz 24 24 24 shindig. It was amazing fun and Donna brought the pie. Umm…excuse me…she brought the piiiiiiiiiiiih. Lots of berries in this All-Kindsa Berry Pie (piiiiiiiiiiiih)

That;s it for me today. I have a couple of things left ot write and then I am hoping to just veg on this beautiful day. Have a blessed weekend!

images:marye audet

Post from: Baking Delights

In a Washington Post article covering the visit, one Miriam’s Kitchen official explained, “If anyone brings us donuts, Steve [the chef] throws them away. . . . It is not good food for our guests. We care too much to give them anything but the best. Steve wants our guests to have the same experience as if they were paying $30 for the meal.”

Puhleeze. They care too much?  Male Bovine Quadraped Fecal Matter.

I am all about generosity.  I could list stuff that my family has been involved with as far as feeding/sheltering/caring for homeless and people in need.  I won’t list it because that is not what this is about…but I say  that to let you know upfront that I believe human beings have a high calling and responsibility to minister to one another’s needs;physical, emotional and spiritual. It is a responsibility that we have impressed upon our children.

We have also been in financial positions where being given grocery bags of food was a blessing in the biggest way. In fact…We were vegan at one point, and going through financial crisis.  People generously (and anonymously) left bags of food in our car while we were in church…they left them on our doorstep.  Sometimes meat and animal products were involved.  You know what? We thanked God for it, and ate it!

So, it bothers me when we feel that people in need are somehow in need of superior treatment to the rest of society. A 30 dollar a plate soup kitchen meal is ridiculous.  Throwing out food because it is not organic/local/upscale is a slap in the face to those people who are providing it.

I will tell you something else.  I spent a few years dumpster diving.  The amount of food…GOOD food that gets thrown out is ridiculous. pathetic, and criminal. I have picked up entire cases of fresh green beans without a spot or a blemish, thrown out because a new shipment came in.  Cheese, imported cheese, loaves of bread…one time Marc and I lifted 300 half gallons of ice cream, still frozen, from a dumpster.  In fact, most people freak when I tell them this but when we were financially strapped on time we went for over 3 years living almost exclusively on what I “dove”…and we ate rather well.  No one got sick.  A year after I could afford groceries again I got salmonella, on some 6.00 a pound chicken breast I bought.  Ironic, huh?

My family will be fed.  I will grow it, kill it, or find it if I can’t buy it but they will not starve.  My kids love imported cheese, fruit, and crackers for dinner or a quick snack.  They will eat quiche, pasta with white truffle oil, or mushroom risotto with joy.  BUT…they will also eat fish caught in the creek, dandelion greens with bacon, cheap hot dogs, and store brand white hot dog buns.  Some weeks we have more money than others, some weeks we eat more upscale than others.  We have feasted on beans and rice, and feasted on grass fed beef roast.  Happily.  Ice water, Sweet Tea, or an expensive glass of wine…it all works as long as you are together.  We have a lot to be thankful for..and we are.

The homeless people I have met just want to eat.  They are hungry.  In my lifetime I have met only one person who was snooty about the homemade cinnamon rolls I made him for breakfast and lamented that there wasn’t bacon and  eggs.  When I was growing up we had  words for that.  Unappreciative, ungrateful, and spoiled come to mind.

The idea of throwing donuts away because they are not healthy enough to feed to homeless people is disgusting.  Homeless people often have drug addictions and alcohol addictions, and the diseases that go along with them.  They have mental and emotional problems, they are run down, and beaten down.  They need showers, someone to listen to them, and a pat on the shoulder.  The need medical care.  And they need calories.

Many a man existed on donuts and coffee for breakfast during the depression.  My dad talked about making soup from ketchup packets at a local diner…and the butcher giving him a large bone *for your dog, son” knowing that my grandmother would make it into soup.  Dad said that they often asked for the offal that paying customers wouldn’t eat.  Noone has time for misplaed pride when they are hungry.  There is a lot of nutrition left in a rused head of iceberg lettuce, people.  And when you are panhandling a 2,000 dollar a day crack habit somehow expensive organic food  is hard to justify.

I am sick and tired of being told to feel guilty because I am blessed, because I work hard, and because I think outside the box.  I will gladly give toys and other items for gifts for children at Christmas but people, I am darn tired of being told that I need to give a needy child an i-pod touch when my own kids don’t have them.

As un-politically correct as this will sound there is an old saying: Beggars can’t be choosers. If you are in need and someone gives you something?  You say thank you and feel grateful.

No one deserves anything. No one gets a free ride.  You work hard and you maintain high standards and ethics and maybe you won’t get rich but you can look yourself in the mirror and smile.

If an upscale restaurant has 500 quail in calvados reduction  dinners left over one night and donates them to a shelter then WOW! That is cool stuff for the people eating there that night.  But…to try to maintain that high of a standard every night and expect people to feed homeless strangers better than they feed their families? That, my friend, is unrealistic and beyond belief.

Homelessness should not become another place for a few idiots to show everyone how generous they are and how humanitarian they are by throwing away good food that doesn’t meet some unrealistic standard… It should not be a place for a wanna-be- 5 -star chef to make his fantasy life come true.  Give the homeless guy a hotdog, a baked potato and some coleslaw, and, by the way?  A cold glass of ice water tastes fantastic on a hot day.

You want to show how humanitarian you are?  Offer free meals to active military personnel, police, firemen, and disabled vets.  That’s what we used to do at our restaurant.  I offered a homeless guy a meal in trade for an hour of work once…but the men and women that served society? They ate free.

That soup kitchen?  They don’t care about the guests.  They want people to notice how cool they are, maybe they have their own generosity issues,  I don’t know.  Personally? I am glad to continue doing what I am doing without feeling the need to publicly assuage my guilt by serving homeless people mushroom risotto.  A big scoop of rice with salt, pepper and butter…some spinach or broccoli…a wedge of lettuce, and a slice of meatloaf with a nice apple for dessert may not be upscale but it is what these men and women need.

And the worst of it is? These types of soup kitchens are popping up all over the country and asked the President for a bailout.  They got 150 million.  You know where that money came from right? Yep…your pocket, taxpayers.  150 million will feed average food to a lot of hungry people.  It doesn’t go so far when the chef aspires to be Gordon Ramsay.

Thanks for letting me vent.  Now it’s your turn.

Homeless people: should we be spending the money to feed them ris0tto and pate or should they use what is given with thanksgiving?  You know what to do.  Leave a comment.

1. No swearing
2. No attacking other commentors..or me for that matter

Lets have some good conversation here.

image:sxc

photoshopped by maryeaudet

Post from: Baking Delights

I know..you wonder why I have waited so long, don;t you?

Honestly, it was pure D. laziness on my part.  He sent me this awesome recipe but when I tried to publish it there was a lot of code that I needed to delete.

So I deleted the whole thing because I was in a hurry.

This Asian inspired calamari salad is incredible.  I am very picky about calamari.  I have had it at the Sardine Factory in Monterey, as well as a place that used to be on Canary Row called the Outrigger and I liked it both times…but I won’t order it unless I am pretty sure of the chef.

Well this was amazing.  My favorite.  Addictive.  I could eat TONS of it.  Pinkie swear.

It isn’t really a salad, the greens are wilted and it is served warm…but oh my gosh….

Do try it because it is just that awesome.  Oh, and if you are not sure about calamari? Try it with chicken breast. 

Chef Jeff’s FIVE SPICE CALAMARI WITH ASIAN GREENS
Recipe Courtesy of Chef Jeff Moschetti, Warwick Melrose Hotel

VINAGRETTE

Makes 2 cups
1 cup Sweet Thai chili sauce*
2 tablespoons Rice wine vinegar, unseasoned*
2 tablespoons Lime juice
1 cup Grapeseed oil
2 teaspoons Sesame oil*
2 tablespoons Soy sauce*

Add the chili sauce, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce and the lime juice to a blender. With the
motor running, add the oils slowly to emulsify. Makes 2 cups

FIVE SPICE DREDGE

2 cups All purpose flour
3 tablespoons Chinese five spice powder*

Mix well.

CALAMARI Serves: 4 – 6

2 cups Calamari tubes – cut into rings
Five spice flour
¼ cup Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons Caramelized yellow onions
1 cup Mizuna
1 cup Totsoi (mixed greens can be substituted)
1 tsp. Black Sesame Seeds
Nori seaweed * – cut into ¼” x 2” long strips
Salt to taste
Dredge the calamari in the five spice flour and shake off the excess. Fry until golden brown and let drain.

Toss the calamari with the vinaigrette, greens and the onions. Place in a bowl and garnish with nori seaweed and the black sesame seeds.

Serve with chop sticks.

* Can be purchased at an Asian market or Central Market

Image:(c) 2009 Marye Audet

Post from: Baking Delights

But, now that it is over…meh…we’ll see.

Anyway.  I thought you would like to know that the menu and recipes for the inaugural luncheon menu have been released and you can recreate the luncheon in all of it’s glory at home.   For some serious change.  Because these ingredients aren’t cheap.

No, my Dem friends, it is not Hiney of Roast Bush.  It is a rather interesting menu that honors President Abraham Lincoln, a move that I thought was inspired, daring, and very, very cool.

Here is the menu:

Seafood Stew (a favorite of Lincoln’s)

Duck Breast with Oregon Cherry Chutney

Herb Roasted Pheasant with Wild Rice Stuffing

Molasses Whipped Sweet Potatoes

Winter Vegetables

Cinnamon Apple Sponge Cake

If you would like to recreate the menu the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies provides the recipes, and I found them published on Newsday.

image:SXC

Post from: Baking Delights

I am pushed for time this morning…so I am going to speed link without much chatter.   Thanks to everyone who sent me links!

Ezra Poundcake-Almost Fudge Gateau 

Tartelette-Chocolate and Caramel 

Culinary in the Country-Banana Whoopie Pies 

My Kitchen Snippets- Churros 

I Shot the Chef-Chocolate Semifroddo 

Fotocuisine-New Mexico Chile Three Mac and Cheese 

More Than Burnt Toast-Portuguese Custard Tarts

The Kitchen Sink-Chocolate Espresso Cake with Bailey’s Buttercream

Baking And Books-Coffee Glazed Chocolate Chip Scones 

Thyme for Food- Vanilla Cognac  Bread 

Have a great weekend, y’all!

Image:MaryeAudet 

Post from: Baking Delights

I have had an amazingly busy week. Hopefully soon I will be able to share a couple of bits of fantastic news…(no I am NOT pregnant)..Until then check out what I have found today! The image is the caramelized onion and eggplant pizza I made for dinner last night..recipe coming soon….

You know that with me it is all about the desserts. Check out this Black Forest Tiramisu by Alexandra at Addicted Sweet Tooth…

This next post got me on two counts…I spent summers in Michigan as a kid, and the state just oozes fruit and vegetables in the summer..I miss that! Also, being in the south, who can resist fried pies? These Sour Cherry Pocket Pies at Dog Hill Kitchen are baked not fried, but you could easily deep fry them…Yum!

Peabody has a rockin’ recipe for brown sugar pound cake, but what I found more interesting this morning is the beginning of that post where she talks about being rejected on Tastespotting…Peabody? Rejected?Geez.

I have been rejected, but I expected that because I don’t see myself as one of the cool kids with the super imaging powers. I likeTastespotting for several reasons, one it helps me to find out what I want to feature on Saturdays, although that isn’t the only place I go.

But then I started thinking. Are we, food bloggers all, becoming a caste system rather than a bawdy band of foodies? Are there certain people who, when you see their names in your comment section, make you feel like you have hit a pinnacle? Do you find yourself lusting after the kudos and accolades? Sometimes I do! O.k.back to your regularly scheduled Saturday…I just felt philosophical this morning.

If you haven’t heard, Courtney is going through a rough patch, so if you pray I am sure she would appreciate them, and if you don’t good vibes sent her way would be helpful.

It is summer and what is summer without blackberries? You have to check out these amazing sounding Blackberry Almond Bars from Jacque at Daisy Lane Cakes…Yummy!

I was browsing Epicurious and found this Frozen Mango Meringue cake. I am thinking of doing it this week since i have the egg whites from Eggology left…It just sounds so ..wow!

If you like that salty/sweet combo in chocolate covered pretzels, and chips head over to How to Eat a Cupcake and check out these Salted Caramel Cupcakes.

I don’t think Em is a Repressed Pastry Chef any more..check out the Double Chocolate Chunk Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

Jennie, at My Cake Wardrobe has a pink post. I love the images on this Strawberry Panna Cotta.

O.k…that;s it for today…I have women’s ministry lunch to attend. I am taking the penne salad but this time I made it with broccoli and wild rice…eh..I liked it better with the penne, the rice soaked up too much of the dressing and it seems bland to me. Sigh. Shooulda stuck with the penne.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Image: Marye Audet 

Post from: Baking Delights

How fast do the weeks go by at your house? They have flown by this summer. In fact I realized that I needed to start thinking about what I am doing for Christmas this year, LOL!

Chris left last Wednesday on schedule. Sad, but it was such a nice visit. I miss him but I am so proud of the man he has turned into. I was worried there for a few years.

It is almost the 4th of July. Picnics, parties, fireworks…you have to love it!What plans do you have?

I saw these cupcake pops at Carly’s Kitchen and I thought that they would be awesome decorated for 4th of July. What a great, non-melty centerpiece!

Mmm…it is cherry season and is there anything better than Cherry Clafoutis? Maybe, but I don’t knwo what it is…Check this especially nice one out from Mandy at Fresh From the Oven.

Tanna, at My Kitchen in Half Cups is a fellow Dallas area resident. One of the absolutely wonderful things about summer in Dallas is that bread dough rises in about 2 minutes. Check out the soft garlic knots. These would be perfect in a basket on a 4th of July picnic table surrounded by steaks, grilled shrimp or brisket.

If you are tired of deviled eggs as a picnic staple, consider tea eggs from Barbara at Winos and Foodies. Just different enough to get you some well deserved attention.

Remember, at least if you are my age, the themed parties in the 60’s? One of the big summer themes was a Hawaiian Lu…Lo… ..oh heck..I can’t spell this morning..a Hawaiian BBQ. Check out this Hawaiian braised pork from Persnickety Palate.

On the same not…mmmmm…Grilled Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken Sandwiches. Drool.Pish Posh Cooking is a new blog to me. I will be back. ..Sound like Arnold don’t I?

I have been unable to participate in the Royal Foodie Joust for several months now. Sigh…blogging and life is hard for me to keep up with. But I love seeing what everyone else is doing.. Valli at More than Burnt Toast has some Apricot Ginger Scones with Apricot Honey Butter. This is her entry into the joust and it looks amazing. Good Luck Valli!

James Tay…I mean Dharm has entered the Joust with an equally scrumptious looking Poulet d’Abricot

Maybe it will be a tie. Good luck Dharm!

Dana always is doing something cool at Dana McCauley’s Food Blog. She posted about cupcakes in a jar…what a great idea! That would be awesome for sending for lunch, you know? Or little 4th of July table decorations…or…. make a label on a tooth pick with guests names on them and stick the sign in the cupcake as place-cards? Yeah..I love things that inspire my own creativity.

Speaking of Cupcakes, the Cupcake Hero Deadline is Monday June 30. The theme seems to be Melons. YUMMY ! I can’t wait to see what they come up with. Get baking this weekend and send your entries to April at Abby Sweets.

Tomorrow is the Daring Bakers Reveal. Now, I don;t get online on Sundays but I have my post set to publish and I CAN tell you this was an amazing item. Be sure to check out all of the….well you will find out tomorrow…that all of the Brilliant Daring Bakers Baked.

Have a great weekend!

Post from: Baking Delights

My son got home yesterday afternoon. It is the first time he has been home since December of ‘06 and we are beside ourselves with excitement. The shadow is, of course, that he will be leaving at the end of the month for 3 years overseas. It is kind of cool right now, here at the house. We have ALL of our kids, our son-in-law, and our grandkids under the same roof for the first time. This is the first time all of our kids have been together since Erin got married 7 years ago…so it is unique. I feel like I am cooking for an entire platoon, which I almost am. 13 people per meal x 3 meals a day…

Anyway..so it is Saturday and that means checking out what everyone has been doing this week.

As you know, it was the Daring Bakers Challenge reveal and that was an incredible challenge! There are so many really fabulous renditions of the opera cake that I almost just wanted to leave it off the blogsurfing. I can’t do that without directing you to Helene’s blog, Tartelette, in case you haven’t seen the absolutely spectacular job she did.

Amazingly, even though that was going on everyone had time to post other things!

Check out the luscious looking Plum Tart on Michelle’s blog, When Baker Barks. The images are really excellent and you can almost smell the freshness of the plums.

So how do you think Tiramisu Macarons would taste right now? Yeah, me too. Check out Weevalicious Recipes.

If you have never had pulled pork before you are in for a treat. It is easy to make int he crockpot and it is SO good with some cole slaw on a homemade whole wheat bun! Check out The Way the Cookie Crumbles for the recipe. I just realized I have never posted my recipe for homemade hot dog and hamburger buns..sigh! I will get that posted soon.

Check out Recipe Girl for some adorable baseball cookies! You could use the idea for soccer or anything…great for a boys’ birthday.

The Passionate Cook has some Mojito Cheesecakes that look great. I have been thinking about Marc’s birthday cake the last few days and thought that I would try a mojito buttercream..NOW I almost HAVE to!

Nothing is as summery to me as Greek food, and one of the best sources for Greek recipes is Valli at More than Burnt Toast. She has a fantastic recipe for Grilled Spatchcock Chicken with Saltsa Yiaourtiou. Garlic, olive oil, fresh herbs…what’s not to love??

For the past few months Jenn, the Leftover Queen, has been posting her top picks on Fridays.

We have strawberries a few more weeks yet, not many. Marie at A Year From Oak Cottage has this awesome Triple Strawberry Pie that I want to try before they are gone!

Hannah’s Country Kitchen has some Welsh Rarebit Crumpets that not only sound amazing they LOOK it. What a great idea for a brunch or light lunch!

Don’t forget about the coffee giveaway on Kettle and Cup. I am changing the rules a bit to day to make them easier. If you have all ready done it by the old rules you will be entered in the drawing three times!

Cathy at Noble Pig has some beautiful mixed berry and cherry clafoutis. Perfect summer dessert with some creme fraiche..yummy.

Hey, have a great weekend everyone

Image:Marye Audet

Content:Marye Audet for Baking Delights.

Post from: Baking Delights