Under the Sea Sugar Cookies

 

I'm not much of a fan of snorkeling which is ironic because I love to swim, especially in the ocean.  I've gone a couple of times in Hawaii and the first few minutes were great, then came the onslaught of hyperventilation and after that it was game over.

My niece was hosting a Nemo birthday party for her daughter and asked if I could make the cookie favors.  In my imagination these Under the Sea cookie creatures are what I may have come across had I managed to stay under water longer than ten minutes.  Don't the cookies' vibrant colors just scream the tropics and crystal clear waters? Yeah, I know they aren't necessarily anatomically correct but these are just cookies, people! 

TWD Pizza Rustica

Looking for a savory dish to serve at your Easter brunch this Sunday?  You should definitely try Pizza Rustica, this week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe.  Don't be confused by the name; it's not a pizza you normally think of.  It's actually a deep-dish pie that's similar to a quiche and packed with ricotta, mozzarella, pecorino romano and prosciutto.

The pizza rustica was easy to make because the pastry dough was extremely forgiving.  For my pie I included two more cured meats to make it super flavorful, calabrese salame and capocollo.  Next time I think I'll also add some fresh or dried herbs like basil and oregano to kick it up a notch.  While a slice can be enjoyed cold or at room temperature I preferred it warm with a side of arugula tossed in vinegar and oil.  Delizioso!

Capital Region Dining and The Place They Call Home are this week's hosts and have published the recipe on their blogs.

Chocolate Eclair Cake

I live in constant fear that my gas oven will die on me.  It's happened before and for a baking fanatic like me it was my worst nightmare realized.  If you saw my oven for yourself you'd sympathize.  So can you blame me for always being on the lookout for no-bake desserts? 

My sister sent me this recipe for a chocolate eclair cake from Cook's Country a while back.   I'd never heard of it before but apparently it was quite well-known.   The no-fuss version is to layer a mixture of instant vanilla pudding and Cool-Whip between graham crackers, top the whole thing with ready-made chocolate frosting and refrigerate for a few hours.  Cook's Country amped it up big time by making everything, but the graham crackers, from scratch.

The flavors of the cake were great but I wish the graham crackers had held up their shape more, especially when it came time to slice.  Not sure how the folks at Cook's Country were able to get such nice, clean cuts because my crackers were kind of mushy.  Maybe next time I won't let the cake chill overnight; perhaps a few hours will suffice.

Quick and Easy Puff Pastry

 

If ever there was a Seven Wonders of the Baking World I think puff pastry, or pâte feuilletée, would have to be on the list.  It's one of the most versatile doughs you can work with for sweet and savory treats.   I grew up using the store-bought variety from Pepperidge Farm, a great product BTW, but wanted to try my hand at making it from scratch. 

Traditional puff pastry is very labor intensive and requires rolling and folding a butter block around a flour dough, similar to making croissants.  I'd heard about a quicker method where the butter is actually processed into the dough eliminating the need for lamination.  It sounded great but would the finished product really measure up?

When it doubt I always turn to the cooking and baking experts at Cook's Illustrated.  Their recipe for quickest puff pastry was supposed to deliver the multiple layers I was after in a dough that took 15 minutes to make.  Seeing is believing so off I went to test it for myself.

What can I say?  I'm definitely a believer!  The dough came together so quickly I thought it was too good to be true.  But the real test would be how the pastry performed in the oven.  I used the dough to make some French apple tarts and I couldn't believe how high they puffed.  The layers were so buttery, flaky and crispy.  All I can say is "Adios Pepperidge Farm...I've found something better."