It’s funny -the things that impress you as a kid… When I was six years old I went to Disneyland for the first time. This, I must say, was after a few years of secretly harboured longing and no small resentment at being left behind as “too young” the first time my parents took my older sister without me. I had to wait until after my parents divorce and when I finally got there it wasn’t Disneyland itself that impressed me (although I could make a home there permanently any day) so much as going to a certain restaurant, having lunch and ordering what I wanted. (Yes-I was born a foodie through and through!) And it wasn’t so much ordering what I wanted as receiving a triple stacked BLT that came secured with frilly toothpicks to hold the layers together. Silly thing -but that sandwich with those toothpicks was like another world to me! (Then there were the pink plastic elephants that hung on the rim of “Shirley Temple” drinks along with a maraschino cherry- but really that’s another story altogether.)

 I recently listened to Anthony Bourdain’s memoir “Kitchen Confidential:Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly” on CD, a thoroughly absorbing account of his travels through the culinary world. It makes your blood run cold in spots but I recommend it -best read by him- his experience in his own voice.  In it, he describes his first taste of Vichyssoise on a trans-Atlantic crossing on the Queen Mary as his first hint that food was more than a substance you just stuff into your face. I already knew food could be good- even great- but this new experience was a glimpse into the adventure that is possible with food- that’s what the silly frilly toothpicks were for me.  Something, strange, foreign and exotic to my everyday experience in something as mundane as a sarnie. As a kid I always ordered BLTs or Club Sandwiches whenever we went out to lunch trying to hold on to the magic. Eventually I came to care more about the quality of the ingredients than the silly garnishes.

I still love BLTs but now I make SPLATs (Sourdough, Prosciutto, Lettuce, Avocado and Tomato) and I only have them now at home when tomatoes, fresh from the garden, are in season, I have a ripe avocado and there’s a loaf of really good sourdough- oh and obviously I use Prosciutto now. Why?- because it covers the WHOLE sandwich and you get that porky goodness in every bite. Just bake the slices for a few minutes laid out flat on some parchment in the oven until it’s crispy and use 2-3 slices per person.  Toast the bread, use some good mayo or aioli- homemade if you can- Best Foods/Hellman’s if store-bought, make sure you salt and pepper the tomatoes and mash the avocado over one whole slice of bread. So the next time you want a really good BLT come on over to the adventure and try a SPLAT! Frilly toothpicks are optional!

This months Daring Bakers’ Challenge is hosted by the lovely Rosa of Rosa’s Yummy Yums. She was to have hosted this month with Sher of What Did You Eat? and Glenna of A Fridge Full of Food but tragically Sher passed away suddenly in July leaving a rather large hole in the hearts of bloggers everywhere. Glenna has since suspended her Daring Bakers membership and that left Rosa all alone to host this month. She’s done a super job answering questions on the forum and giving moral support and she went ahead with an idea she attributes to Sher of doing Peter Reinhart’s Pizza Crust from “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” as this month’s challenge. Check out Peter’s blog here and head on over to Rosa’s blog for the recipe.

This is lovely crust but it does take some planning ahead. You mix it up and then it needs to rest at least overnight in your fridge followed by a two hour rise before baking.  I think the planning ahead is worth it- it yields a very workable dough and a nice crisp but chewy crust for your toppings. 

I put dough in a parchment lined pie plate in the fridge instead of a jelly pan- I really don’t have that kind of space in my fridge hardly ever.  I also baked one on a stone and one on a pizza plate with a sheet of parchment on top. I used semolina to assemble on a peel and then slide to the stone. My sausage pizza stumbled a bit on the stone so it deformed slightly but was still delicious!

I chose to cut my dough into thirds instead of sixths for larger pizzas. It was a little trickier tossing it (which was one of Rosa’s requirements) but I did it. Unfortunately the camera didn’t cooperate and all you get is one pic of my hands in the dough so I’m giving you this video of “I Love Lucy” which is highly reminiscent of my usual pizza making experience- except I don’t have a sheeter to start the dough in the right direction.

I baked two pizzas and froze the one remaining crust for future use. I topped one with ground sweet Italian sausage, green peppers, marinara, shallots and Mozzarella. The other was topped with basil Pesto, Prosciutto, shallots and Mozzarella. Both were delicious! Thanks to Rosa for a fun challenge!

This recipe marks my thirteenth Daring Bakers’ challenge (I joined in September of 2007 when there were under 100 DBs -now there are over a thousand!- but I had to sit out July’s challenge) so I thought I would post thumbnails of my completed challenges as a celebration!

My Daring Bakers’ Dozen!

Love to you all and thanks for a year of wonderful challenges!

Check out the thousand or so other Daring Bakers here.

Okay- I know it’s not Sunday today but I promised our dear friend Jeff that I would post these waffles a while back and I am just getting to it. Jeff is an amazing chef and caterer so when he wants a recipe you know it’s worth making.

Every Sunday, Rick makes these wonderful oatmeal waffles for me. We enjoy them then with real maple syrup, sausage and lattes.

He, thankfully, makes extra and so we can have them again later in the week- either covered with Brown Cow Cherry Vanilla yogurt or I make an almond butter and honey sandwich with them right before I head out the door to work. You can cut some strawberries or other fruit and layer them in there too. It’s a quick and relatively healthy breakfast with all natural ingredients.

Oat Waffles

• 3/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• 1-1/4 cups water
• 3 Tablespoons butter, in bits
• 1-1/4 cups AP flour (Spelt flour works great too)
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk

Combine the oats and 1-1/4 cups of water in a medium saucepan. Simmer over medium heat stirring constantly for three minutes. Add butter, remove from heat and stir until the butter is melted in.  Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda and salt into a small mixing bowl. In a medium mixing bowl beat the eggs and combine with the buttermilk. Add the oatmeal and stir to combine. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended- do not over-mix. Preheat a waffle iron according to the manufacterer’s directions.  Run a little butter over the plates and fill with the amount appropriate to your waffle maker’s size. Cook until crisp on the outside tender on the inside. Serve with maple syrup, yogurt, preserves or almond butter, fruit and honey- however you like them.

Makes eight 4-inch waffles. If you have some left over- store in the fridge (or the freezer if you’re not using within a day or two.) Reheat them in the toaster or on a rack in the oven. I even like them straight from the fridge.

I really love Maranatha Almond Butter and The Savannah Bee Company’s Black Sage Honey together in these.

Hope you enjoy and sorry to Jeff for taking so long….

So we have two salads, ham and green onion biscuits, a  crustless quiche and a coconut cake… here’s the first:

Spring Mix Salad with Mint, Raspberries and Pecans

• 8 to 10 cups of the freshest spring mix baby greens you can find- washed , spun dry, dry , dry and held in a bowl with paper towels or a clean tea towel in your fridge. If you don’t grow your own and you buy the prewashed kind- wash and dry them anyway to refresh and make sure they’re clean, clean, clean!
• 2 cups fresh mint leaves, roughly torn
• 2 cups fresh raspberries
• 2 cups spiced pecans (make extra from previous recipe)
• small handful of shelled pinenuts
• handful of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
•  1 large shallot, minced
• 4 Tablespoons White Balsamic Raspberry Blush Vinegar
• 1/2 cup walnut oil or olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

In the bottom of your salad bowl put the minced shallot and whisk in the Dijon mustard and a little salt and freshly ground black pepper, add the vinegar and then slowly whisk in the oil to make a dressing. Add the other ingredients to the bowl and then gently turn them in the dressing when it is time to serve.  Note: Brianna’s Blush Wine Vinaigrette Dressing  works great as a salad dressing for this if you don’t feel like  making your own.

Garden Rice Salad with Tomatoes, Peas and Herbs

This makes a huge salad for a party feel free to halve it and you’ll still have a lot of salad.

• 2 Cups Wild rice blend cooked covered with 4 Cups water (or chicken stock if you’re not feeding vegetarians) and a little salt, just until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente (about 45 minutes) a rice cooker works well here.
• 2 cups marinated artichoke hearts, coarsely chopped
• reserve 4 Tablespoons of the marinade the artichoke hearts come in
• 2 cups new spring peas, fresh or frozen cooked and chilled
• 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 bunches of green onions, washed well, trimmed and chopped
• 2 pints of grape or cherry tomatoes, washed well and halved
• 1 cup combined fresh Oregano, Marjoram and Garlic Chives, minced
• 1 cup toasted almonds
• Dressing
• 1 cup of good flavoured olive oil
• 1/2 cup of Champagne Vinegar or White Wine Vinegar
• 1/2 Cup of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 2 cloves minced garlic

Mix all of the dressing ingredients together in a pint glass jar, shake well and then store in the fridge until ready to use. Mix the cooked rice, artichoke hearts plus their marinade, peas, green pepper, green onion and tomatoes and herbs in a large bowl. Add the dressing and toss gently. Top with the toasted almonds.

Green Onion Buttermilk Biscuits with Bourbon Glazed Ham

Biscuits

• 2 green onions, minced

• 2 Tablespoons Butter

• 2 Cups all purpose flour

• 3 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 8 Tablespoons (1 stick) COLD butter

• 3/4 Cup Buttermilk

Cook the green onions in 2 Tablespoons of butter until they are soft, set aside to cool. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt  together in a medium sized mixing bowl. Cut in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs with a few pea sized pieces left. Make a well in the center and add the cold buttermilk and the cooled green onions. Mix just until a rough dough forms then turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly just until it comes together enough to pat into a 1/2 thick square. Cut into 8 or 16 squares depending on how big you want your biscuits to be. Place them on a parchment lined baking sheet and brush each with a little buttermilk  and put into a preheated 425F oven for anywher from 12- 20 minutes depending on how big you cut the biscuits. They should be lightly golden brown and well risen.

Bourbon Glazed Ham

• Spiral Cut and Smoked half ham, about 7 pounds

• 1/2 cup good quality Bourbon

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder

I didn’t feel like heating my oven but you can do this in the oven or on the barbecue grill. For the grill wrap the ham in two thicknesses of heavy duty aluminum foil and place on a preheated grill that has been turned to low heat or on the low side of the coals. Cover and bake for about an hour and a half or until the internal temperature is 140F. Mix together the Bourbon, brown sugar and mustard and open the foil a bit on top to glaze the ham. Bake for another 20 minutes  and then remove and let rest in the foil. Place thin sliced between  a split green onion biscuit. You’ll have lots of ham left over for other meals.Mmmm.

Crustless Fresh Crab and Green Chile Quiche

• 6 eggs

• 8 ounces cream cheese

• 1  (24) ounce carton small curd cottage cheese

• 1/2 cup softened butter

• 1/2 all purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• freshly ground black pepper to taste

• 1 Cup milk

• 3 Cups grated Cheese- I use cheddar, mozzarella, Swiss and provolone mixed

• 1 pound fresh lump crab such as Phillips from the refrigerated section, picked over for shell and cartilage or pick your own fresh crab lots of work though

• 1/2 cup minced green onion

• 2 small cans minced green chiles, drained well

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a glass 9 x13 baking dish, set aside. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a mixing bowl with a hand mixer, beat the eggs. Mix in the cream cheese, cottage cheese and butter until fairly smooth. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. Add to the egg mixture and blend well. Add milk  and beat for a minute or two. Pour into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle the crab meat, cheese, green onions and chiles over the top. Bake for about and hour and a half or until set through to the center.

Coconut Cake with Brambleberry Jam and Candied Violets

• 1/2 cup softened butter

• 1-1/2 Cups granulated sugar

• 1 cup of good quality canned coconut milk

• 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

• 2-1/4 Cups cake flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 4 egg whites

• Frosting, recipe below

• 1 jar brambleberry or seedless blackberry or raspberry jam

• about 2-3 cups of shredded coconut ( I like Bob’s Red Mill large unsweetened shredded coconut)

• Candied Violets for decoration or other edible sugared flowers see how to make in my previous post here.

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease, flour and place a parchment circle in the bottom of three 9 inch round cake pans. Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Slowly add the coconut milk and beat in well. Add the vanilla and mix well. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt, add all at once to the creamed mixture. Beat until combined. Add the egg whites and beat just until smooth. Do not overbeat. divide the batter evenly to the three cake pans. Bake for 25 minutes or until a tester in the center comes out clean. Cool for five minutes in the pan, then remove to a rack and cool completely before frosting.

Frosting

• 3 Tablespoons all purpose flour

• 1 cup milk

• 1 cup butter, softened

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla extract

• 1/2 teaspoon coconut or lemon extract, depending on what flavour you like

Cook the flour and milk together over medium low heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Let cool. When cool Beat the remaining ingredients in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle mix in the cooled flour/milk  mixture and beat for about fifteen minutes or until fluffy.

To assemble cake, place a layer on your serving plate or a cardboard cake round and top with 1/2 cup of jam then frosting, repeat with second round, top with third round and then frost top and sides with remaining frosting, press shredded coconut into the frosting all around and then top with a  ring of  candied violets. Served with Spotted Dog Creamery Huckleberry Chip Ice Cream. Mmmm.

Spotted Dog Creamery is my favourite locally owned, small batch artisan ice cream maker. John, the chef/owner, is passionate about his product (and many other good causes) He is fighting for shelf space with the huge industrial ice cream giants. So go local- support small business and be sure to try his marvelous creations anywhere and anytime you can find them AND  be sure to ask for them at your local market if you’re in the area.

So that’s it- the last of the book club feast for this year and I’m on to July and my birthday tomorrow

We’re going to the Salt Lake Bees baseball game tonight -they’re playing the Sacramento Rivercats -go Bees! Rick is making my birthday cake as usual  (thanks sweetie!)- this year I picked a Mexican Chocolate Pecan Cake can’t wait….

xoxo