I Scream for ...

Blueberries and sour cream in soft serve ice cream. Tuesdays With Dorie has again come up with a winner.


Disappointed with the Cusinart Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker, not more than one large or two small servings was extracted for each session. And I admit to practicing all summer.


I settled on the ice cream scoop version. I want perfection.

Banana-fana-fo-fana

As a child, some of the sweets my mother and I used to bake were banana breads and marble cakes. The marble cake was so good that we would beg her to bake it for family occasions, which she did. It was full of chocolate and so swirly-pretty to look at. The recipe was from the Settlement House cookbook, the bible many housewives used when planning family meals.


This September, my mother is planning a visit to celebrate her birthday. Living in Florida, she will only visit when the weather is warm, above 70°. This week’s Tuesdays With Dorie recipe is Black–and-White Banana Loaf from the Baking From My Home to Yours bible.




For her birthday cake, this combo might just do.



Now, to decide on presentation.



Option A: loaf or maybe a Bundt...but needs something,


Option B: coffee ice cream a' la mode,





Option C: Hot Gritty NYC aka Baked Alaska.



Thoughts?

Galette, No Worries

I knew my frozen Good For Everything Pie dough would soon return to the kitchen table. Tuesdays With Dorie has assigned Summer Fruit Galette.



I've selected nectarines and blueberries.



Roll out a circle.



Fill.


Chill.


Bake. Rest. Eat.

Give Piece a Chance

It’s dessert, no really. I know I look like celery, I’m sunburned.







Please believe me. I want to be your friend. Rhubarb needs help. O.K a couple of glasses of Rose, (ay) yes its summer and I want you to like me.












I may have a heavy hearty biscuit on my head but hey, got to protect myself from the sun. Like my pictures? Wasn’t easy. ‘Actually I taste pretty good. Not a 10 but maybe an 81/2.


http://tuesdayswithdorie.wordpress.com/

Chocolate Therapy

It’s the ultimate comfort food. Yes, chocolate is now classified as a food. That means chocolate pudding. Mothers comfort their children with servings of this rich, thick and velvety dessert. it’s perfect for summertime, with no oven to turn on to heat up the kitchen.

Boxes of this dessert stared down at me from the top shelves in the supermarket. Pictures of instant pudding desserts appear in mountain-top peaks. It does make you want to scoop in and lick your fingers clean.



And say no to custard cups. Indulgence is about enjoying this in a stemmed glass. Sorry Dorie. I think those creative genius’ got the photo right. But you’ve got taste.

All American Blueberry Pie

I love blueberries and blueberry pie. It's the time of year when a perfect July 4th dinner is a steamed Maine lobster, sweet Long Island corn and homemade blueberry pie. The bakers at Tuesdays With Dorie, (TWD) assigned the timely Double Crusted Blueberry Pie. As a child, a summer lunch would be a bowl of blueberries with a dollop of sour cream. Each berry was picked over to eat only the bluest of berries.
There's a place in the garden, (check out the Hydrangeas) to make room for a berry patch.


I plan to pick berries, bake pies and place them on a table at the end of my driveway. Two types of blueberry plants to think about; highbush and lowbush. From what I know, low is the way to go. But maybe a mix. These hardy plants do well in the sun, however, don't let them dry out. Also, blueberries love the sandy acid soil of the eastern part of Long Island.

This pie was a delight to make. Dorie took the fear out of making piecrust. And for an extra juicy, syrupy filling, I crushed of few handfuls of the blueberries mixed with the whole berries. As you can see, I went lattice for the top. After all, pie is about originality.