TWD: All-American Apple Pie

>> Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Fall has finally arrived.  The foliage on the deciduous plants in our backyard have turned a deep crimson, the blazing hot and unusual summery weather we got to experience a couple weeks ago is now replaced by brisk, cooler temperatures and al fresco dining gives way to cozy meals in the warmer indoors.

What better way to welcome a beautiful autumnal morning than 

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FFwD: Hachis Parmentier

>> Friday, October 22, 2010

The first time I had hachis parmentier was in Paris but the irony was, it was served during a Brazilian party thrown by a Brazilian friend whom I met in pastry school. It was quite an eclectic meal with dishes from various countries and cultures: a part-American-part-French appetizer of endives with ratatouille and cubes of cheddar.

I particularly loved the 

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TWD: Caramel Pumpkin Pie/Tart/Some Kind of Layered Dessert

>> Wednesday, October 20, 2010

I'm totally mad at myself for being a day late on this week's TWD post and even more frustrated, to the point of infuriation, at having to fix the messed up codes on my previous blog template. What began as a task to fix page break code errors late Monday evening snow-balled to an entire Tuesday of switching templates multiple times, trouble-shooting, reformatting and changing layouts along the way. By the time I was ready to throw in the towel, it was already time to prepare dinner. So it was a night without any desserts at our home, which is, honestly, quite rare these days. They say that you get what you paid for and in my case,  since I have been using free blog templates, I guess I shouldn't complain.
Eager for the opportunity to head back to the kitchen this morning - I don't think I can look at another html code ever again - I was looking forward to making the pumpkin caramel pie, this week's recipe picked by Janell of Mortensen Family Memoirs, from pages 322-323 of Dorie's Baking: From My Home to Yours. I opted to make a smaller, layered version of the dessert starting with a thin layer of round tart crust, the caramel pumpkin custard and a light mousse to which I had added some of the leftover pumpkin puree; the individual components were then assembled in a dessert ring.

(this better work now!!)

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An Opulent Afternoon in Paris and an announcement

>> Tuesday, October 12, 2010

We're only about a month or so away from the start of the holiday season so folks, let me ask you this: have you started getting ready yet?
Glorious Fall, with its warm, golden tones and a bounty of seasonal fruit, foliage and nature's gifts, offers an abundance of inspirational decorations for the holidays. Almost a standing tradition at our home, we would kick-start mini projects for the holidays as soon as October arrives and get a head-start on the holiday shopping to avoid those last-minute stresses not to mention, getting the best deal for our money. I'm on a mission to find the perfect end-tables for our sectional in the living room, toys for all the little munchkins - this has always been the biggest headache factor for us, gifts for the in-laws (an even bigger headache) and select cookware for our holiday feasts. As an avid online shopper, imagine the thrill
when

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An Afternoon Affair To Remember in Paris

>> Monday, October 11, 2010

"Old Time, that greatest and longest established spinner of all! His factory is a secret place, his work is noiseless, and his hands are mutes" ~ Charles Dickens
Contrary to my leisure days at home, the summer months in Paris were a constant drill of activities, swaying to the momentum of demo classes, practical sessions, practice bakes, catching up on class notes, mentally preparing for the next day's classes (and facing the capricious chef), hanging out at neighborhood cafés in the evenings, tête-a-tête-ing with either Regina or Gabi, my two new but dear friends. While there seemed to have a lot of time in my hands when I was home, there weren't many moments in Paris that I wasn't heading off to meet someone, do something, or be somewhere. Once the excitement of being in a new city waned, there were occasions when the rhythm of the city was simply, well, just overwhelming. I yearned for time to slow down, time to be alone - it seemed that I was often surrounded by people, those I knew and didn't  (think Metro, Paris' famed public subway) - and enjoy the unadulterated bliss of soaking in the pleasures of Paris alone, for the sake of pleasure itself.>/span>

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A belated FFwD Post and Celebrating Harvest Time

>> Sunday, October 10, 2010

A mustard tart? I must admit I wasn't too excited about it initially but after reading everyone else's rave reviews about this week's FFwD pick, I knew I had no excuse to not try the recipe. I'm truly glad that I jumped the "mustard" bandwagon because it's really quite a genius of a recipe, with that touch of je ne sais quoi that has become so familiarly, so rightfully, French. I made the carrot-leek version in a square tart instead of round, scaled up the custard portion but I'm afraid, not enough to fill the tart to its brim - note to self: increase by one and a half times recipe portion in future. Although this post is a day late, I'm a mustard tart convert now and this is definitely one that I will keep making again and again, I'm sure.
Please head over here to see the wonderful works of other FFwD members.

On a different note, one of the pleasures of living in the Bay Area is the gorgeous weather, pleasantly>/span>

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A headstart on the holidays: Spectaculoos Sandwich Cookies with White Chocolate-Peppermint Candy

>> Friday, October 1, 2010

Do you realize that we have entered the final quarter of the year and only a month or so away from the start of the holiday season? Well, neither did I but the folks here certainly did and are preparing ahead of time, prompting the perfect opportunity for me to share this recipe of a cookie that I got totally addicted to while living in Paris.
Speculaas (or speculoos in French) is >/span>

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French Fridays with Dorie

Je suis vraiment, vraiment, vraiment heureux aujourd'hui parce que c'est vendredi - pas un vendredi ordinaire. C'est vendredi français avec Dorie!! Donc voila, voici mon gougères!

Unlike my struggles with French language, Dorie's gougères were a breeze to make. Truth be told, it was >/span>

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