Unlike most weeks Jess and I finally had some time to relax. Unfortunately, because we had some time to relax we may have over relaxed when it came to our normal duties (Such as grocery shopping). Our typical week has us visiting the grocery store 2 possibly 3 times a week. We do a relatively good job of buying ingredients that can be used for more than one recipe however, we just like to make multiple trips a week to ensure that our food stays fresh and we do a better job of sticking within our grocery budget.

However, with this week having nothing overly special going on we planned on devouring our delicious left-overs and clean out some of our snack stuff as well. Everything was going well until I came home towards the end of the week to find Jess sitting with a bowl of salsa and some pretzels…..

“Salsa…….with pretzels dear…..Really….?!?” I asked.

“Yup” she replies casually as if nothing is out of the ordinary.

“You know if we are that low on food I can totally run to the store today to pick up something up.” I exclaimed.

“Are you kidding me salsa and pretzels are an awesome combination!” She says.

Speechless I tell you speechless! And that’s what got me thinking about today’s post. What weird food combinations that you love that make most people cringe? I personally LOVE …. I repeat LOVE ranch dressing on my pizza. Is this healthy? HECK NO! But it’s delicious! I swear! Jess swears by salsa on her eggs in the morning too. I thought she was crazy until I tried it. Not too bad actually. Now she was swearing by the pretzels and salsa routine and when I tried it I have to admit it wasn’t actually too bad. This then reminded me that my dad loved catsup so much he would actually dip his potato chips in it…. I still haven’t given that one a try, but he says it’s deliciously sweet and crunchy. I’ll spare you the details on how he makes that into a sandwich some days….

So again I ask you… What are your favorite weird food combinations that might make others cringe?

I don’t know why but sometimes I like to people watch…

Is this just something that I do or are there others out there who do this as well?

I find that sometimes you can learn something about yourself and others just by taking a few moments to step back and watch what others are doing. I was doing just that when I was at the grocery store this weekend picking up my groceries for the week. I happened to be in the olive oil isle when I noticed something that was somewhat frustrating. I was looking for a good extra virgin olive oil for salad dressing and bread dipping as I’ve been trying to eat healthier this year, but much to my chagrin I could not find a quality extra virgin olive oil in sight! While there were plenty of light oils and virgin oils galore I was limited to two extra virgin olive oil choices. Both were in plastic bottles and looked more l like vegetable oil then extra virgin olive oil. What’s up with that?!

Is it just me or has finding quality extra virgin olive oil been getting impossible lately? I guess this might have been why I started watching others who were in the aisle with me. As I was standing there I watched as patron after patron selected the cheaper oils and then one couple came by and I became a little alarmed as I overheard them talking about their going on a diet this year and how they should get the “light” oil instead!

Is this the reason for the decline of quality oils in the stores? Misinformation? Sadly I believe that it is. So to combat this as best I can I decided to write up a little refresher course for those of you who are in the market for olive oils.

How to choose the right olive oil

Buying olive oil has become somewhat of an everyday experience for most consumers. With the explosion of olive oil companies over the past couple of years; choosing the right olive oil can prove to be as daunting a task as picking a fine wine. Like most products quality does come with a higher price, but price does not always guarantee the highest quality. According to the IOOC (International Olive Oil Council) there are differing grades of olive oil that are derived from the ways in which the olive oil is harvested.

What does Cold Pressing Mean?

First, let’s get one of the most commonly misunderstood and confusing terms out of the way. Cold pressing and first pressing are interchangeable terms. The first pressing of the olives will produce the finest grade of olive oil. This process is typically done by hand and without the use of heat or other chemicals hence the interchangeable terminology. To extract more olive oil in the refining process, hot water is typically passed through the olive paste to extract larger amounts of oil. The difference in the two processes is where the term Cold Pressing got its name. Hot is usually the second pressing and produces a lower quality oil.

How do olive oils differ among each grade and what does this mean?

According to the IOOC there are many different types of olive oil. I have done my best to break down each type of oil that you will commonly encounter on your next shopping experience to arm you with the knowledge you will need to make an educated choice.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Extra Virgin Olive Oil is regarded as the highest grade of olive oil. Extra virgin olive oil is a direct result of cold pressing and will provide the most natural and flavorful taste of any olive oil. To be classified as extra virgin it must have an FFA (acidity Level) of less than 0.8%. The olive oil must also have the perfect aroma, flavor, color and be free from all defects. The lower the acidity level, the higher the quality of oil, and the more distinctive the flavor and aromas will be. Extra virgin olive oil is great for use with salads and when used for bread dipping.

Virgin Olive Oil

Virgin Olive Oil is the 2nd highest quality grade of olive oil. Virgin olive oil is also derived solely from the cold pressing of the olives but will typically have a milder, fruitier taste and odor. While there are no differences in the way in which the oil is extracted, virgin olive oil typically has an FFA (acidity) level of less than 2% and contains slight defects.

Olive Oil – Light Oil – Lite Oil

Typically these types of oil have been extracted using heat or hot water. The oil will generally have a high to very high FFA level and will contain obvious defects. Manufactures will typically refine this oil which will make it colorless, odorless, and flavorless. To help give it some flavor, small quantities of virgin olive oil will be added; this is typically around 5%- 15%. Contrary to belief Lite or Light oils do not prove to be a healthier option then extra virgin or virgin olive oils. The FDA recently restricted oils previously labeled as lite or light to be relabeled as “Light in Taste” or “Lite Tasting”. Light Olive oil does not have fewer calories and the term light simply refers to its light color, flavor and aroma.

Olive Pomace Oil

Olive Pomace Oil is extracted from the remaining portions of the olives after the pressing or “Pomace” by the use of solvents. The oil is then refined and mixed with a higher grade of virgin olive oil. This is again around 5%-15%.

Infused or Flavored Olive Oils

Infused or Flavored Olive Oils are generally extra virgin olive oils that have been processed with another fruit or vegetable to add flavor. The fruit or vegetable is typically placed with the olives as they are being pressed. The oil is then extracted in either the centrifuge or decanting state leaving behind its flavor. These can be wonderful alternatives to the “normal” extra virgin olive oil as they can add sweetness and make perfect toppings for a salad or fruit.

Here is where things can really start to get complicated. Since the United States is not a participating member of the IOOC, there is a different rating system to govern US produced olive oils. The rating system is based on the acidity, absence of defects, odor and flavor; it is graded as follows:

US Olive Oil Grades

• U.S. Grade A or U.S. Fancy possesses a free fatty acid content of not more than 1.4% and is “free from defects”
• U.S. Grade B or U.S. Choice possesses a free fatty acid content of not more than 2.5% and is “reasonably free from defects”
• U.S. Grade C or U.S. Standard possesses a free fatty acid content of not more than 3.0% and is “fairly free from defects”
• U.S. Grade D or U.S. Substandard possesses a free fatty acid content greater than 3.0% “fails to meet the requirements of U.S. Grade C”

One of the largest problems I find with this rating system is largely in part to the vagueness of means in which the olive oil can be produced. Because it is so vague it does not offer the same quality assurance that is received with the IOOC guidelines.

Unfortunately, because the United States is not a participating member of the IOOC, a vast majority of olive oils are being sold under false pretenses as terms such as “Extra Virgin” may be used without legal restrictions. Perfect…right?!

A good olive oil should look somewhat cloudy, especially soon after it has been harvested. If the oil appears clear it means that it may have been refined during the manufacturing process, either in a centrifuge or by decanting process, and will most likely have an additional reduction in quality.

The oil should also be packaged in a dark glass bottle to protect it from the damaging effects of light and surrounding aromas. Since the olive is a fruit, olive oil is a fruit juice. Air, heat and light will cause the flavor or the oil to dissipate.

Finally, avoid buying extra virgin olive oil that is stored in plastic containers as they can absorb compounds in the plastic such as PVC (Polyvinyl Chlorides). The ideal storage temperature is 57 F although room temperature of 70 F works well if the oil is stored in a dark area. While refrigeration does not harm most oils, it is not recommended for expensive extra virgin olive oils as condensation may develop inside the bottle and will affect the overall flavor. I hope this gives everyone a little better idea of what the differences are and what to watch out for on your next shopping experience.

Another month and another Daring Bakers Challenge.

The December 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to you by Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi. They chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ everywhere to bake and assemble a gingerbread house from scratch. They chose recipes from Good Housekeeping and from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as the challenge recipes.

Last month when I discovered we were baking canoli I joked about how I thought the daring bakers were reading my mind as I had wanted to give them a try for a while. At the end of my post I continued the joke with predicting the fact that this month’s challenge would be Gingerbread houses as I had wanted to make them this month as well. Well imagine my surprise as I read that this month’s challenge was – in fact – going to be gingerbread houses! I just about fell out of my chair! How awesome!

Homemade gingerbread houses instantly bring me to memories of my childhood. I can remember going over to grandma’s house every year for Christmas or Christmas Eve and spending a majority of the day decorating my gingerbread house with as many pieces of candy I could get my hands on as if it was yesterday. While those houses were not made from scratch, unlike the one we did for this month’s challenge; I still enjoyed every little bit of it!

Another thing I remember from my childhood was the snow. Growing up in Minnesota I got plenty of it. We spent many a Christmas sledding through the woods outside my grandmother’s house and engaging in afternoon long snowball fights and loved every moment of it. It truly has been a long time since I enjoyed a white Christmas seeing as how I have lived in
Texas for a little over 10 years now.

Well lucky me because this month not only gave me a flash back of my past with the making of gingerbread houses but I also got a white Christmas as well! For the first time in many a year we received snow here in Dallas and I doubt that there could have been a bigger smile on my face for the holidays! The only thing that is unfortunate is that shortly after taking pictures of our gingerbread houses and some of our newly fallen snow our camera decided that it was time to quit! I was extremely disappointed as I wanted to share with you pictures and recipes of all our favorite Christmas cookies!
I guess we will have to be on the lookout and pick one up soon so that we can get everything back to normal around here as soon as possible.

Now back to the gingerbread houses!

I never knew it could be so difficult making gingerbread houses from scratch. In an effort to save myself some time with this challenge I wanted to make my dough in advance and have it ready to go so that I could really have some extra time in decorating it. However, while the instructions say you can refrigerate the dough overnight, I highly recommend you do not. The dough cools too much and becomes impossible to work with. It also dries out significantly despite being wrapped in plastic and got to the point where I decided to just throw it out and start over. I also added an extra 1/2 cup water to the recipe to give it a little more workability.

Then came the Royal Icing…. What a pain! This icing recipe sets up so fast that I could barely squeeze it out of the pastry bag. I ended up using it for a couple of pieces and then opted for a fall back Royal Icing recipe that I had saved from some cake decorating classes I took. It was much more workable and I think saved myself a tremendous about of time. While it takes a little more time to set your wrists with thank you!

Basically the recipe mimics the one we used for the challenge but adds a quarter cup of water to it and removes the vinegar. You can then add powdered sugar to stiffen it up a little bit if it is runny or add more water to it if it becomes difficult to work with. All in all I was really happy with my final result and still had a blast doing it. After all the point of a challenge is to challenge your capabilities right?

With the last of our out of town guests starting to leave tonight I am reminded of all the wonderful memories we have created over the past few weeks and look forward to the ones that we will make in the future. I wish you all the most happiest of holidays and ask you to hold those who may be less fortunate in these times in your thoughts and hearts.

Merry Christmas!

Y’s Recipe:
Scandinavian Gingerbread (Pepparkakstuga)
from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book by Beatrice Ojakangas http://astore.amazon.com/thedarkit-20/detail/0816634963

1 cup butter, room temperature [226g]
1 cup brown sugar, well packed [220g]
2 tablespoons cinnamon
4 teaspoons ground ginger
3 teaspoons ground cloves
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ cup boiling water
5 cups all-purpose flour [875g]

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until blended. Add the cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Mix the baking soda with the boiling water and add to the dough along with the flour. Mix to make a stiff dough. If necessary add more water, a tablespoon at a time. Chill 2 hours or overnight.

2. Cut patterns for the house, making patterns for the roof, front walls, gabled walls, chimney and door out of cardboard.

3. Roll the dough out on a large, ungreased baking sheet and place the patterns on the dough. Mark off the various pieces with a knife, but leave the pieces in place.

4. [I rolled out the dough on a floured bench, roughly 1/8 inch thick (which allows for fact that the dough puffs a little when baked), cut required shapes and transferred these to the baking sheet. Any scraps I saved and rerolled at the end.]

5. Preheat the oven to 375′F (190′C). Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the cookie dough feels firm. After baking, again place the pattern on top of the gingerbread and trim the shapes, cutting the edges with a straight-edged knife. Leave to cool on the baking sheet.

Royal Icing:

1 large egg white
3 cups (330g) powdered sugar
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon almond extract

Beat all ingredients until smooth, adding the powdered sugar gradually to get the desired consistency. Pipe on pieces and allow to dry before assembling. If you aren’t using it all at once you can keep it in a small bowl, loosely covered with a damp towel for a few hours until ready to use. You may have to beat it slightly to get it an even consistency if the top sets up a bit. Piped on the house, this will set up hard over time.

For Jess and I this holiday season will prove to be one that is both exciting and exhausting. It will be exciting in that a week from now her sister will be getting married. That means we will have many extra guests from out of town that we normally wouldn’t expect for our holiday festivities. This is also where the exhausting part resides as well. We will have many extra guests from out of town that we normally wouldn’t expect for our holiday festivities…..

While I’m glad that they will be here for this special occasion and even more excited about the fact that many of them will be extending their stays throughout the holiday seasons a few problems do eventually pose themselves.

I would love to believe that our holiday season budget can easily expand to allow us to get everyone a unique gift that they were secretly wishing for all year. However, sadly that is not the case. This is why I love DIY Christmas present ideas. Not only do they extend your gift giving budget so that no one is left behind but it also shows the recipient that you cared enough about them to take some time out of your busy everyday life to make something that you are sure they would appreciate. (I mean who doesn’t appreciate a homemade DIY Christmas present?). DIY Christmas presents also allow you; the gift giver, a chance to make things that you are almost certain everyone will like, which really helps when you are dealing with the problem of getting something for that distant relative who you don’t normally see on a regular basis.

DIY Brandied Cherries Christmas presents will be part one of a multi part gift Jess and I will be giving out this year. While I would love to tell you that this is something you can whip together in a couple of minutes this week to cover those last few gifts you were struggling with, alas, I cannot. See I knew that we would have extra guests this year and had been thinking about what we would be able to get them 4 months ago actually. That is why I did this post on How to make Brandied Cherries. It takes about 3 to 4 months for the cherries and sugar to blend perfectly with the alcohol.

I wanted to make the DIY Brandied Cherries Christmas presents special so I went out and bought some inexpensive glass bottles with corked tops to create a really cute presentation. Now you can gift these brandied cherries simply by giving away the containers in which they were stored (which are cute enough). What’s nice about that option is the cherries come with the gift and will make one of the greatest ice cream toppers I have ever had.

However, I really wanted my recipients to focus on the cherry flavored brandy that has been created. This is by far a unique and delicious creation. You can drink this straight or use it in your cooking. Like a holiday ham glaze. You could also create some really interesting mixed drinks. Like Cherry Coke? You’ll love the brandied cherry coke this can make! Let your imaginations be your guide!

Seeing as how doing this has resulted in some brandy soaked cherries sitting in a container in my fridge I will have to get creative and use these up. I already have a few great ideas in my head and can’t wait to make the rest of this year’s gifts….

Brandied Cherries Recipe

Things needed for this DIY project:

12 oz glass jars – equal to the number of recipients
Funnel
3 feet of ribbon cut into 6 inch lengths
Scissors
Tape
Printable stickers – I had circle stickers that I got from Avery however, sticker paper and an exacto knife work well too.

Directions:
Fill jars with brandied cherries using a funnel. Make sure to securely attach corked tops and clean jar of any spilled brandy.
Cut the ribbon and lay it over the glass in a criss cross pattern. Secure in place with a small piece of tape.
Place stickers over top of tape and ribbon.

Another month and another Daring Bakers Challenge!

The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book.

I have such fun with this group of talented bakers. While I have only been a member for a few months it’s as though they read my mind. Last month I had been thinking that I really wanted to make some Macaroons for the holidays and sure enough that’s what we were asked to bake!

This was quite a pleasant coincidence I thought. Then it happened again with this month’s challenge. I had been watching an episode of “Cake Boss” which if you have caught by the way is an awesome show. They did a cannoli throwback a few episodes ago and totally got me wanting to make those delicious looking treats. Well sure enough I went to The Daring Kitchen website to see what this month’s challenge was going to be and wouldn’t you believe it was cannoli!

I really found making cannoli to be quite entertaining and definitely delicious. I especially enjoyed eating my mistakes! While most people like to fill their cannoli with something savory, I had different plans. I wanted to use a chocolate raspberry mousse and I cannot even begin to describe what a great choice that was. As I was pulling out some of my ingredients I also noticed that I still had some of my pumpkin spice mousse from a party I had thrown a couple of days ago and decided to fill a couple with that as well. This was also a winning combo!

The great thing about cannoli is that you are only limited by your imagination when it comes to flavor combinations. The cannoli is simply a shell waiting for your creativity! So if things continue the way that they have been…. maybe next month we will be making … our own gingerbread houses? I’ve always wanted to do that …..

CANNOLI SHELLS

2 cups (250 grams/8.82 ounces) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons(28 grams/1 ounce) sugar
1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.06 ounces) unsweetened baking cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon (1.15 grams/0.04 ounces) ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon (approx. 3 grams/0.11 ounces) salt
3 tablespoons (42 grams/1.5 ounces) vegetable or olive oil
1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.18 ounces) white wine vinegar
Approximately 1/2 cup (approx. 59 grams/approx. 4 fluid ounces/approx. 125 ml) sweet Marsala or any white or red wine you have on hand
1 large egg, separated (you will need the egg white but not the yolk)
Vegetable or any neutral oil for frying – about 2 quarts (8 cups/approx. 2 litres)
1/2 cup (approx. 62 grams/2 ounces) toasted, chopped pistachio nuts, mini chocolate chips/grated chocolate and/or candied or plain zests, fruits etc.. for garnish
Confectioners’ sugar

Note – If you want a chocolate cannoli dough, substitute a few tablespoons of the flour (about 25%) with a few tablespoons of dark, unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch process) and a little more wine until you have a workable dough (Thanks to Audax).

DIRECTIONS FOR SHELLS:

1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer or food processor, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the oil, vinegar, and enough of the wine to make a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and well blended, about 2 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge from 2 hours to overnight.

2 Cut the dough into two pieces. Keep the remaining dough covered while you work. Lightly flour a large cutting or pastry board and roll the dough until super thin, about 1/16 to 1/8” thick (An area of about 13 inches by 18 inches should give you that). Cut out 3 to 5-inch circles (3-inch – small/medium; 4-inch – medium/large; 5-inch;- large. Your choice). Roll the cut out circle into an oval, rolling it larger and thinner if it’s shrunk a little.

3 Oil the outside of the cannoli tubes (You only have to do this once, as the oil from the deep fry will keep them well, uhh, oiled..lol). Roll a dough oval from the long side (If square, position like a diamond, and place tube/form on the corner closest to you, then roll) around each tube/form and dab a little egg white on the dough where the edges overlap. (Avoid getting egg white on the tube, or the pastry will stick to it.) Press well to seal. Set aside to let the egg white seal dry a little.

4. In a deep heavy saucepan, pour enough oil to reach a depth of 3 inches, or if using an electric deep-fryer, follow the manufacturer’s directions. Heat the oil to 375°F (190 °C) on a deep fry thermometer, or until a small piece of the dough or bread cube placed in the oil sizzles and browns in 1 minute. Have ready a tray or sheet pan lined with paper towels or paper bags.

5. Carefully lower a few of the cannoli tubes into the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Fry the shells until golden, about 2 minutes, turning them so that they brown evenly.

8. Lift a cannoli tube with a wire skimmer or large slotted spoon, out of the oil. Using tongs, grasp the cannoli tube at one end. Very carefully remove the cannoli tube with the open sides straight up and down so that the oil flows back into the pan. Place the tube on paper towels or bags to drain. Repeat with the remaining tubes. While they are still hot, grasp the tubes with a potholder and pull the cannoli shells off the tubes with a pair of tongs, or with your hand protected by an oven mitt or towel. Let the shells cool completely on the paper towels. Place shells on cooling rack until ready to fill.

9. Repeat making and frying the shells with the remaining dough. If you are reusing the cannoli tubes, let them cool before wrapping them in the dough.

Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Recipe

Ingredients:
3 squares unsweet bakers chocolate
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/3 cup water
½ cup sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup heavy cream whipped (soft peaks)

Directions:

Melt chocolate in microwave and set aside.

On top of double boiler soften gelatin in water. Stilling until dissolved. Add ½ cup sugar and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Once cool combine corn syrup vanilla gelatin and sugar mixture. Beat on high speed with a hand mixer for 15 minutes or soft peaks have formed.

Fold in chocolate quickly.

Fold in whipped heavy cream.

Pumpkin Spice Mousse Recipe

For some reason the end of the year always seems to fly by. One minute I’m outside enjoying the last few days of summer and the next minute it’s the middle of January and I’m left wondering what happened. It could be that I love the holidays so much I bury myself in them, so much so that I completely forget to take a moment and step back to enjoy each day as I’m constantly looking forward at what needs to be completed by the end of the week.

That is exactly what has been happening around The Gourmet Foodie Blog household. I have completely submerged myself into intricate details of our next Halloween party. For me Halloween is the second greatest holiday there is. While I know many a foodie are scoffing at the fact that I place this “pseudo” Holiday above that of the endless food buffet that is Thanksgiving, there has always been a special place for it in my heart (it probably has to do a lot with the copious amounts of candy and treats).

I promise to do a post on what we made for our Halloween party food as I have some really fun ideas planned. While I know this will be a little too late I just don’t have the time to make them before the night of the big event as I have been elbows deep in some props I plan to have at this year’s party. My fingers are literally black right now from all the spray paint I have been using and I’m beginning to wonder if they will ever be clean again (my bet is for sometime around Christmas).

Now where was I ….. oh yeah!…

What does this all have to do with a Mac Attack you ask?

Well because I have been so entirely busy I almost forgot about this month’s Daring Baker’s Challenge! Lucky for me I have a calendar alert for such an occasion… I quickly logged into the Daring Bakers website and read that our challenge would be macarons… I both cheered and moaned all at the same time. While I was excited because I have always wanted to try making macarons I have also heard many a bad things about how difficult they are to make and doing this on a short time frame could prove to be very difficult.

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

Fortunately the only thing I really found really difficult about making macarons was finding the almond flour. I had to go to 4 different grocery stores to find it! This would explain why I was so late in posting this today. I chose to add chocolate as my flavoring because let’s face it who doesn’t love chocolate? Maybe it’s because of all the Halloween decorations or maybe it’s because I love the combination of orange and chocolate. I decided to fill my freshly made chocolate macarons with quick and easy orange buttercream frosting. The resulting combination melted in my mouth and really satisfied my Mac Attack! I love these little treats so much that I can’t wait to start experimenting with other flavor combinations!

Ingredients:

Confectioners’ (Icing) sugar: 2 ¼ cups (225 g, 8 oz.)
Almond flour: 2 cups (190 g, 6.7 oz.)
Granulated sugar: 2 tablespoons (25 g , .88 oz.)
Egg whites: 5 (Have at room temperature)
Cocoa Powder: 2 tablespoons

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°F (93°C). Combine the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour in a medium bowl. If grinding your own nuts, combine nuts and a cup of confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a food processor and grind until nuts are very fine and powdery.
2. Beat the egg whites in the clean dry bowl of a stand mixer until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.
3. Sift a third of the almond flour mixture into the meringue and fold gently to combine. If you are planning on adding zest or other flavorings to the batter, now is the time. Sift in the remaining almond flour in two batches. Be gentle! Don’t overfold, but fully incorporate your ingredients.
4. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain half-inch tip (Ateco #806). You can also use a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off. It’s easiest to fill your bag if you stand it up in a tall glass and fold the top down before spooning in the batter.
5. Pipe one-inch-sized (2.5 cm) mounds of batter onto baking sheets lined with nonstick liners (or parchment paper).
6. Bake the macaroon for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375°F (190°C). Once the oven is up to temperature, put the pans back in the oven and bake for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, or lightly colored.
7. Cool on a rack before filling.

Yield: 10 dozen. Ami’s note: My yield was much smaller than this. I produced about two dozen filled macaroons.

Orange Buttercream filling

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Unsalted Butter
2 tbls Vegetable Shortening
3 1/3 cup Confectioners’ Sugar
1 tbls Orange extract

Directions:

Beat Vegetable shortening and butter until creamy.
Mix in Confectioners’ Sugar until smooth.
Add Orange extract.

I’m Back!

The September 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.

It feels as though I have been gone forever (two weeks in internet terms can be an eternity).

Unfortunately for me my old computer, which had been my reliable workhorse for the past 6 years, decided to finally take a break. Worse yet, it decided to take a permanent break by means of a (insert exploitative here) failed hard drive motor.
While I usually am pretty religious about backing up my data to an external hard drive, you pretty much have to be in this business, and I unfortunately had not done it in the two weeks before the day it decided to quit. This was made even more painful an event as I had literally just finished all of the posts I had planned on doing for the next 2 weeks! Including the one you are going to see today…

This meant that I had to re-do everything from scratch. So while I was in the process of re-doing everything I wanted to make some changes that I had been putting off for some time now. I felt I had a little more time to do something special so I hope you enjoy!

Vols au Vent is French for “windblown” and is used to describe the lightness of a small hollow pastry. They are typically round (which as you can see is only limited by your imagination) with an opening cut out of the top which can accommodate various fillings. While these fillings are typically savory; I felt as though something sweet could be just as satisfying.

The goal of this month’s Daring Bakers challenge was to get everyone to make a puff pastry from scratch. I must admit that I was one of those who would typically pick up my pastry from the grocery store in an effort to save time figuring it couldn’t be all that much different in flavor.

I stand corrected. Maybe it’s because the dough hasn’t been frozen, perhaps it’s because the quality of ingredients are better, or it could just be that with the amount of time it takes to make a puff pastry you just think it tastes sooo much better!

While I like to post recipes that are relatively quick and easy to make this one definitely does not qualify as quick. However, if you have an entire afternoon to devote to this I think it’s a great idea to give it a try. Making your own puff pastry is a good learning experience when it comes to working with dough because it can be so finicky.

For this challenge I filled my Vols au Vent with a little left over Pumpkin Spice Mousse that I had made earlier in the week for dessert. The pumpkin spice mousse is quick and easy and has a light fluffy texture to it which I thought worked perfectly with the soft flaky texture of the puff pastry. This is a fun little project and can be a cute presentation for your next fall party!

Michel Richard’s Puff Pastry Dough
From: Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan
Yield: 2-1/2 pounds dough

Steph’s note: This recipe makes more than you will need for the quantity of vols-au-vent stated above. While I encourage you to make the full recipe of puff pastry, as extra dough freezes well, you can halve it successfully if you’d rather not have much leftover.

Ingredients:
2-1/2 cups (12.2 oz/ 354 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cups (5.0 oz/ 142 g) cake flour
1 tbsp. salt (you can cut this by half for a less salty dough or for sweet preparations)
1-1/4 cups (10 fl oz/ 300 ml) ice water
1 pound (16 oz/ 454 g) very cold unsalted butter
plus extra flour for dusting work surface

Mixing the Dough:

Check the capacity of your food processor before you start. If it cannot hold the full quantity of ingredients, make the dough into two batches and combine them.
Put the all-purpose flour, cake flour, and salt in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse a couple of times just to mix. Add the water all at once, pulsing until the dough forms a ball on the blade. The dough will be very moist and pliable and will hold together when squeezed between your fingers. (Actually, it will feel like Play-Doh.)
Remove the dough from the machine, form it into a ball, with a small sharp knife, slash the top in a tic-tac-toe pattern. Wrap the dough in a damp towel and refrigerate for about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, place the butter between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and beat it with a rolling pin until it flattens into a square that’s about 1″ thick. Take care that the butter remains cool and firm: if it has softened or become oily, chill it before continuing.

Incorporating the Butter:

Unwrap the dough and place it on a work surface dusted with all-purpose flour (A cool piece of marble is the ideal surface for puff pastry) with your rolling pin (preferably a French rolling pin without handles), press on the dough to flatten it and then roll it into a 10″ square. Keep the top and bottom of the dough well floured to prevent sticking and lift the dough and move it around frequently. Starting from the center of the square, roll out over each corner to create a thick center pad with “ears,” or flaps.
Place the cold butter in the middle of the dough and fold the ears over the butter, stretching them as needed so that they overlap slightly and encase the butter completely. (If you have to stretch the dough, stretch it from all over; don’t just pull the ends) you should now have a package that is 8″ square.
To make great puff pastry, it is important to keep the dough cold at all times. There are specified times for chilling the dough, but if your room is warm, or you work slowly, or you find that for no particular reason the butter starts to ooze out of the pastry, cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate it . You can stop at any point in the process and continue at your convenience or when the dough is properly chilled.

Making the Turns:

Gently but firmly press the rolling pin against the top and bottom edges of the square (this will help keep it square). Then, keeping the work surface and the top of the dough well floured to prevent sticking, roll the dough into a rectangle that is three times as long as the square you started with, about 24″ (don’t worry about the width of the rectangle: if you get the 24″, everything else will work itself out.) With this first roll, it is particularly important that the butter be rolled evenly along the length and width of the rectangle; check when you start rolling that the butter is moving along well, and roll a bit harder or more evenly, if necessary, to get a smooth, even dough-butter sandwich (use your arm-strength!).
With a pastry brush, brush off the excess flour from the top of the dough, and fold the rectangle up from the bottom and down from the top in thirds, like a business letter, brushing off the excess flour. You have completed one turn.
Rotate the dough so that the closed fold is to your left, like the spine of a book. Repeat the rolling and folding process, rolling the dough to a length of 24″ and then folding it in thirds. This is the second turn.

Chilling the Dough:

If the dough is still cool and no butter is oozing out, you can give the dough another two turns now. If the condition of the dough is iffy, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes. Each time you refrigerate the dough, mark the number of turns you’ve completed by indenting the dough with your fingertips. It is best to refrigerate the dough for 30 to 60 minutes between each set of two turns.
The total number of turns needed is six. If you prefer, you can give the dough just four turns now, chill it overnight, and do the last two turns the next day. Puff pastry is extremely flexible in this regard. However, no matter how you arrange your schedule, you should plan to chill the dough for at least an hour before cutting or shaping it.

Steph’s extra tips:

-While this is not included in the original recipe we are using (and I did not do this in my own trials), many puff pastry recipes use a teaspoon or two of white vinegar or lemon juice, added to the ice water, in the détrempe dough. This adds acidity, which relaxes the gluten in the dough by breaking down the proteins, making rolling easier. You are welcome to try this if you wish.
-Keep things cool by using the refrigerator as your friend! If you see any butter starting to leak through the dough during the turning process, rub a little flour on the exposed dough and chill straight away. Although you should certainly chill the dough for 30 to 60 minutes between each set of two turns, if you feel the dough getting to soft or hard to work with at any point, pop in the fridge for a rest.
-Not to sound contradictory, but if you chill your paton longer than the recommended time between turns, the butter can firm up too much. If this seems to be the case, I advise letting it sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes to give it a chance to soften before proceeding to roll. You don’t want the hard butter to separate into chuncks or break through the dough…you want it to roll evenly, in a continuous layer.
-Roll the puff pastry gently but firmly, and don’t roll your pin over the edges, which will prevent them from rising properly. Don’t roll your puff thinner than about about 1/8 to 1/4-inch (3-6 mm) thick, or you will not get the rise you are looking for.
-Try to keep “neat” edges and corners during the rolling and turning process, so the layers are properly aligned. Give the edges of the paton a scooch with your rolling pin or a bench scraper to keep straight edges and 90-degree corners.
-Brush off excess flour before turning dough and after rolling.
-Make clean cuts. Don’t drag your knife through the puff or twist your cutters too much, which can inhibit rise.
-When egg washing puff pastry, try not to let extra egg wash drip down the cut edges, which can also inhibit rise.
-Extra puff pastry dough freezes beautifully. It’s best to roll it into a sheet about 1/8 to 1/4-inch thick (similar to store-bought puff) and freeze firm on a lined baking sheet. Then you can easily wrap the sheet in plastic, then foil (and if you have a sealable plastic bag big enough, place the wrapped dough inside) and return to the freezer for up to a few months. Defrost in the refrigerator when ready to use.
-You can also freeze well-wrapped, unbaked cut and shaped puff pastry (i.e., unbaked vols-au-vent shells). Bake from frozen, without thawing first.
-Homemade puff pastry is precious stuff, so save any clean scraps. Stack or overlap them, rather than balling them up, to help keep the integrity of the layers. Then give them a singe “turn” and gently re-roll. Scrap puff can be used for applications where a super-high rise is not necessary (such as palmiers, cheese straws, napoleons, or even the bottom bases for your vols-au-vent).

PUMPKIN MOUSSE
Recipe courtesy Dave Lieberman

Ingredients

1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
3 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup superfine sugar
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Ginger snaps, for garnish

Directions

Combine pumpkin, 1 cup cream, sugar and spice in a medium saucepan. Simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes. Cool fully.

Whip remaining heavy cream and vanilla to soft peaks and fold into cooled pumpkin mixture. Pour into a serving dish and crumble the ginger snaps over top before serving.

When I got the news that my topic submission for this months FoodBuzz 24,24,24 had been chosen I couldn’t have been happier! I have wanted to post on the subject of pairing wine with food for some time; however, I wanted to make sure I had all of the information correctly formatted before doing so.

First, a little aside, I want to thank Glenn for being able to put this class together on such short notice as sometimes is the case with the Foodbuzz 24,24,24 event. Glenn is the owner of Wineshark.com which is quickly becoming Dallas’ premier wine education website. What I love most about WineShark is the notion that “wine is for the real world. Wine doesn’t have to be snobbish or elite. It can be approachable, fun and affordable, but you need to be armed with the right knowledge. With a WineShark tasting, you’ll learn the simple tricks and techniques to dive into wine on your own and have a great time learning!” a concept that Glenn brings to light brilliantly throughout the entire class with both witty humor and fantastic stories. His class was full of information and I hope to do my best at bringing this information to you. However, if you have any questions please feel free to contact Glenn at Wineshark.com as he would be more than happy to answer any questions you might have!

When you sit down for a meal, whether it’s at home or at an elegant 5 star restaurant, knowing how to pair wine with food is a handy skill to have as wine is a fantastic way of taking whatever meal you are about to enjoy to the next level. Glenn does a great job of breaking wines into three categories which allows you to quickly make a decision without too much complicated thinking on your part. In the Wineshark class you learn that wines can do one of three things: they can serve as a compliment, contrast, or substitution to the dish.

Complimentary wines have flavors that are similar to that of the food. They blend and enhance a small range of tastes.

Contrast wines have flavors that are different from that of the food and can strengthen the flavor by providing an opposing taste.

Substitution wines provide a flavor the food lacks altogether, filling a hole in the flavor profile.

It’s really amazing how a complimentary wine can enhance the flavor of subtle notes within your dish. We began our meal by pairing a 2005 Domaine de la Becassone Cotes Du Rhone wine with a light summer salad. The summer salad consisted of greens, a little cilantro, and some black pepper along with a light vinaigrette dressing. The slight herbal note within this wine was able to compliment and enhance the herbal notes contained within the greens of the salad creating a light and refreshing meal starter.

Substitution wines can be a great choice for many dishes as well. Substitution wines do a great job of tricking your taste buds into thinking there is an additional layer of flavoring when really there isn’t one. To exemplify this we did a quick butter sauté to our shrimp and served them with some herb butter. This was then paired with a 2008 Brancott Sauvignon Blanc which is a wine that is known for its citrusy characteristics of honeydew lemon and grapefruit. I must admit I was really surprised as to how much a difference a substitution wine can make. The citrus flavors in the wine really burst through and tricked the taste buds into believing the shrimp had been marinated within a citrus sauce for hours.

Glenn then provided us with another example of the effects a complimentary wine can have. We were served a cracked peppercorn and salt crusted roast pork loin with a chipotle cream sauce. He paired this with a 2003 Rincon Pinot Noir. The peppery notes within the wine really caused the pepper flavor with the dish to explode. Despite the fact that this dish was served with a spicy chipotle cream sauce, the peppery notes were the star as they really came forward with the wine.

Contrast wines have exactly the opposite effect than that of a complimentary wine. A seared blackened tuna was prepared with an extremely hot wasabi sauce. The purpose here was to show how a contrast wine will strengthen flavor by providing an opposing taste. The fruitiness of the 2007 Monchof Estate Riesling was able to cool the flames emanating from the heat of the wasabi causing the silky flavor of the tuna to really pop! Contrast wines can be great for meals that have a strong flavor that sometimes overpower the dish.

One of the things I really enjoyed about this class was the fact that Glenn truly believes that wine can be paired with every meal, even something as simple as Texas BBQ Brisket. The 2006 Vina Gormaz was served as a substitution wine. The spicy flavors of the brisket will fill the tip of your tongue while the wine can fill in the gaps causing the smoky flavor of the brisket to really explode.

Finally we finished our meal with another example of a complimentary wine. We paired one of Glenn’s favorite wines a 2006 Writer’s Block Syrah with some milk and dark chocolates. The compliment here showed how the silkiness of this wine can bring out the silkiness of the chocolate.

When asking yourself how to pair wine with food you really only need to remember this one simple concept. Wines can compliment, contrast or substitute flavors contained within a dish. So the next time you sit down for a meal choose your wine based on whether you want to enhance the flavor, tone down the flavor or create a flavor within your meal and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

The August 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful
of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos
Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers’ cookbook Kaffeehaus: Exquisite
Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

My vacation is officially over. While I had fun on my trip and enjoyed massive amounts of relaxation I was extremely excited about getting back into the kitchen and what better way to kick the rust off by starting with a Daring Bakers Challenge?

While last month was my first dip into the Daring Bakers world I definitely felt as though this months challenge was really a difficult challenge. Maybe it was the fact that I have enjoyed myself too much on vacation; or maybe it was the fact that I was under the gun to get this challenged baked in a short time I found myself rushing to finish my torte in a reasonable amount of time.

If you are not failure with this cake I would recommend you give yourself a little more time then what is described in the recipe but the extra effort is really worth the effort. Light and fluffy this cake is extremely delicious! Bon Appetite!

Equipment

2 baking sheets
9” (23cm) springform tin and 8” cake tin, for templates
mixing bowls (1 medium, 1 large)
a sieve
a double boiler (a large saucepan plus a large heat-proof mixing bowl which fits snugly over the top of the pan)
a small saucepan
a whisk (you could use a balloon whisk for the entire cake, but an electric hand whisk or stand mixer will make life much easier)
metal offset spatula
sharp knife
a 7 1/2” cardboard cake round, or just build cake on the base of a sprinfrom tin.
piping bag and tip, optional

Prep times

Sponge layers 20 mins prep, 40 mins cooking total if baking each layer individually.
Buttercream: 20 mins cooking. Cooling time for buttercream: about 1 hour plus 10 minutes after this to beat and divide.
Caramel layer: 10-15 minutes.
Assembly of whole cake: 20 minutes

Sponge cake layers

6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1 1/3 cups (162g) confectioner’s (icing) sugar, divided
1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (112g) sifted cake flour (SUBSTITUTE 95g plain flour + 17g cornflour (cornstarch) sifted together)
pinch of salt

Chocolate Buttercream

4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (200g) caster (ultrafine or superfine white) sugar
4oz (110g) bakers chocolate or your favourite dark chocolate, finely chopped
2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons (250g) unsalted butter, at room temperature.
Caramel topping
1 cup (200g) caster (superfine or ultrafine white) sugar
12 tablespoons (180 ml) water
8 teaspoons (40 ml) lemon juice
1 tablespoon neutral oil (e.g. grapeseed, rice bran, sunflower)
Finishing touches
a 7” cardboard round
12 whole hazelnuts, peeled and toasted
½ cup (50g) peeled and finely chopped hazelnuts

Directions for the sponge layers:

1.Position the racks in the top and centre thirds of the oven and heat to 400F (200C).
2.Cut six pieces of parchment paper to fit the baking sheets. Using the bottom of a 9″ (23cm) springform tin as a template and a dark pencil or a pen, trace a circle on each of the papers, and turn them over (the circle should be visible from the other side, so that the graphite or ink doesn’t touch the cake batter.)
3.Beat the egg yolks, 2/3 cup (81g) of the confectioner’s (icing) sugar, and the vanilla in a medium bowl with a mixer on high speed until the mixture is thick, pale yellow and forms a thick ribbon when the beaters are lifted a few inches above the batter, about 3 minutes. (You can do this step with a balloon whisk if you don’t have a mixer.)
4.In another bowl, using clean beaters, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining 2/3 cup (81g) of confectioner’s (icing)sugar until the whites form stiff, shiny peaks. Using a large rubber spatula, stir about 1/4 of the beaten whites into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the remainder, leaving a few wisps of white visible. Combine the flour and salt. Sift half the flour over the eggs, and fold in; repeat with the remaining flour.
5.Line one of the baking sheets with a circle-marked paper. Using a small offset spatula, spread about 3/4cup of the batter in an even layer, filling in the traced circle on one baking sheet. Bake on the top rack for 5 minutes, until the cake springs back when pressed gently in the centre and the edges are lightly browned. While this cake bakes, repeat the process on the other baking sheet, placing it on the centre rack. When the first cake is done, move the second cake to the top rack. Invert the first cake onto a flat surface and carefully peel off the paper. Slide the cake layer back onto the paper and let stand until cool. Rinse the baking sheet under cold running water to cool, and dry it before lining with another parchment. Continue with the remaining papers and batter to make a total of six layers. Completely cool the layers. Using an 8″ springform pan bottom or plate as a template, trim each cake layer into a neat round. (A small serrated knife is best for this task.)

Directions for the chocolate buttercream:

1.Prepare a double-boiler: quarter-fill a large saucepan with water and bring it to a boil.
2.Meanwhile, whisk the eggs with the sugar until pale and thickened, about five minutes. You can use a balloon whisk or electric hand mixer for this.
3.Fit bowl over the boiling water in the saucepan (water should not touch bowl) and lower the heat to a brisk simmer. Cook the egg mixture, whisking constantly, for 2-3 minutes until you see it starting to thicken a bit. Whisk in the finely chopped chocolate and cook, stirring, for a further 2-3 minutes.
4.Scrape the chocolate mixture into a medium bowl and leave to cool to room temperature. It should be quite thick and sticky in consistency.
5.When cool, beat in the soft butter, a small piece (about 2 tablespoons/30g) at a time. An electric hand mixer is great here, but it is possible to beat the butter in with a spatula if it is soft enough. You should end up with a thick, velvety chocolate buttercream. Chill while you make the caramel topping.
Lorraine’s note: If you’re in Winter just now your butter might not soften enough at room temperature, which leads to lumps forming in the buttercream. Male sure the butter is of a very soft texture I.e. running a knife through it will provide little resistance, before you try to beat it into the chocolate mixture. Also, if you beat the butter in while the chocolate mixture is hot you’ll end up with more of a ganache than a buttercream!

Directions for the caramel topping:

1.Choose the best-looking cake layer for the caramel top. To make the caramel topping: Line a jellyroll pan with parchment paper and butter the paper. Place the reserved cake layer on the paper. Score the cake into 12 equal wedges. Lightly oil a thin, sharp knife and an offset metal spatula.
2.Stir the sugar, water and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over a medium heat, stirring often to dissolve the sugar. Once dissolved into a smooth syrup, turn the heat up to high and boil without stirring, swirling the pan by the handle occasionally and washing down any sugar crystals on the sides of the pan with a wet brush until the syrup has turned into an amber-coloured caramel.
3.The top layer is perhaps the hardest part of the whole cake so make sure you have a oiled, hot offset spatula ready. I also find it helps if the cake layer hasn’t just been taken out of the refrigerator. I made mine ahead of time and the cake layer was cold and the toffee set very, very quickly—too quickly for me to spread it. Immediately pour all of the hot caramel over the cake layer. You will have some leftover most probably but more is better than less and you can always make nice toffee pattern using the extra to decorate. Using the offset spatula, quickly spread the caramel evenly to the edge of the cake layer. Let cool until beginning to set, about 30 seconds. Using the tip of the hot oiled knife (keep re-oiling this with a pastry brush between cutting), cut through the scored marks to divide the caramel layer into 12 equal wedges. Cool another minute or so, then use the edge of the knife to completely cut and separate the wedges using one firm slice movement (rather than rocking back and forth which may produce toffee strands). Cool completely.

Assembling the Dobos

1.Divide the buttercream into six equal parts.
2.Place a dab of chocolate buttercream on the middle of a 7 1/2” cardboard round and top with one cake layer. Spread the layer with one part of the chocolate icing. Repeat with 4 more cake layers. Spread the remaining icing on the sides of the cake.
3.Optional: press the finely chopped hazelnuts onto the sides of the cake.
4.Propping a hazelnut under each wedge so that it sits at an angle, arrange the wedges on top of the cake in a spoke pattern. If you have any leftover buttercream, you can pipe rosettes under each hazelnut or a large rosette in the centre of the cake. Refrigerate the cake under a cake dome until the icing is set, about 2 hours. Let slices come to room temperature for the best possible flavour.

Variations

Shape: The traditional shape of a Dobos Torta is a circular cake, but you can vary the shape and size if you want. Sherry Yard in Desserts By The Yard makes a skyscraper Dobos by cutting a full-size cake into four wedges and stacking them to create a tall, sail-shaped cake. Mini Dobos would be very cute, and you could perch a little disc of caramel on top.
Flavour: While we both love the dark chocolate buttercream and this is traditional, we think it would be fun to see what fun buttercreams you all come up with! So, go wild! Or, you could brush each layer with a flavoured syrup if you just want a hint of a second flavour. Cointreau syrup would be divine!
Nuts: These are optional for decoration, so no worries if you’re allergic to them. If you don’t like hazelnuts, then substitute for another variety that you like.

Egg concerns

The cooking process for the buttercream will produce lightly cooked eggs. If you fall into a vulnerable health group then you may wish to use an egg-less buttercream.

It just so happens that Peaches are in season (well sort of)! A friend of mine happened to be driving though the Texas Hill Country (down by Fredericksburg) and was gracious enough to pick me up some fresh peaches. It’s like the peach capital of Texas down there…. As soon as I saw them I knew exactly what I was going to make!

When we took out trip down to Fredericksburg Texas the other month the peaches were just becoming ripe and now we are at the end of the season, a somewhat sad reminder that the end of summer is slowly drawing near. While those of us in Texas would never guess that as 100 degree plus days seem to stretch late into the weekly forecast the end of the peach season here in Texas tells us that cooler days are not too far away.

I do have to admit Peaches are one of my favorite fruits. They look extremely beautiful, they smell fantastic, and they can be used for a million different delicious desserts from a simple peach cobbler to a delicious smooth and creamy ice cream.

With my vacation fast approaching (sometimes it feels as though it couldn’t come fast enough). This is why I wanted to share with you the recipe that I will be using to enjoy the peaches that were graciously brought up for me the other day.

That’s right Peach Sangria! I love Sangria during the summer (especially Peach Sangria) because it is such a light and refreshing drink. Peach Sangria for me is best enjoyed while on vacation; at a time when worries and schedules melt away and the fleeting days of summer seem to last forever.

This Peach Sangria recipe has been my go to recipe for pretty much every big summer vacation I’ve taken in the past couple of years. So if you happen to have a friend (or if you yourself decide you want to) stop and pick up some of the last fresh Peaches here in Texas I suggest you make yourself a large pitcher of Peach Sangria and do a little nothing for the next couple of hours or days (that’s really up to you).

Peach Sangria
Makes 10 tall drinks

Ingredients:

6 peaches skinned and sliced
1 cup peach schnapps
½ cup fine sugar
750ml bottle of rose wine
4 cups 7 up or other citrus flavored soda
1 cup rose champagne

Directions:

Place ingredients in a pitcher and stir with a spoon until well combined. Refrigerate for about 2 hours. Sit back drink and relax!