[cwcdesign]

Hi Mike,

Just putting it in an 8 inch pan instead of the 9 inch might make a big difference - KAF recommends making their pastry cream minus the heavy cream for the filling. For the ganache, I used 1 cup heavy cream brought to boiling and poured over 1 ½ cups chopped dark chocolate (I used Ghiradelli) I didn't put Saran or anything over it so it held its shine for serving. That has become my favorite ganache.

[cwcdesign]

I hadn't made Boston Cream Pie in a few years because of the various issues I'd been having (chocolate chip cake last year). So I decided to go for it this year. I started by seeing if Ina had a recipe and was directed to a recipe by Gale Gand on the food network. i thought I would compare it to KAF's and discovered two things. Gale Gand's recipe had horrible reviews and KAF had redone their recipe since I last made it to deal with issues the commenters made.

I was very happy with the new recipe for the cake - I even used AP flour just to see. I made it on Tuesday and called KAF about the best way to wrap it to save it for Wednesday. It is a tender cake, and would probably be even more so if you used cake flour. I made a half recipe for the pastry cream because that's all that was called for in the recipe. I had to call KAF Aagain to see how necessary the corn syrup was for the glaze they recommended- it was - so I made the ganache for the big batch brownies which worked perfectly.

It's really good and it held together, but there are changes I'd like to make next time. I don't think there is enough height in the cake - I would consider baking two layers and then cutting some off the tops to allow for the cream to soak in. I would also make the full batch of pastry cream and make sure I thicken it up a little more. The ganache was perfect. I might try to upload a pic later.

2 days later (neither of us had any yesterday)and it's really good. I do like this recipe except, as I mentioned, making bigger layers and more pastry cream.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 3 months ago by cwcdesign.

[cwcdesign]

Yesterday, eldest son Nate, turned 29. He requested "Dad's Ribs," potato salad and Boston Cream Pie. I'll talk about the BCP in the baking forum.

On Tuesday I made the potato salad but it probably took me an extra 45 minutes because I sprained my right wrist (I'm left-handed) at work and had to go to immediate care during work because of workman's comp. it was quite the process to peel the potatoes. I put a ziplock over my wrist and splint and had to carefully peel the potatoes without twisting my right arm. I got it done however.

My husband learned his version of ribs from a restaurateur down here probably 25 years ago. They get baked long and slow in Italian dressing until ready to fall off the bone. Then they go on the grill (we use gas) with the BBQ sauce for up to 20 minutes. We were really excited to use my new grill for this. But the weather decided not to cooperate - it poured like crazy ? So, I googled cooking ribs when you get rained out. And Mark Bittman had an article about that since he lives in NY and can't always count on the weather. Fortunately, he likes to precook (braise) his as well. The answer is the broiler. We did put them on a rack over a sheet pan and broiled until - as he said - they are "crisp" It worked out surprisingly well and we enjoyed them. I also made a plate of sliced tomatoes with mozzarella, basil and balsamic vinegar.

Tonight I roasted some shrimp which is local.

[cwcdesign]

Rascals, glad to hear you're doing better ??

[cwcdesign]

Saturday I made a nice Greek salad to be eaten over several days- taking some for lunch today

[cwcdesign]

Sunday I made some lemon squares using a jar of Trader Joe's lemon curd that was near its use by date. I googled lemon squares with lemon curd and found this one

Lemon Curd Bars

They are really quite good - my crust went a little wonky but I think that's because my butter was too soft (it was really hot yesterday) and then I overprocessed it because of that - half went to my lemon-loving son who will turn 29 on Wednesday and the other half to work today

[cwcdesign]

Mike, it sounds like you've been having great fun with the souls vide. I wonder what Vibeguy would say about it.

We were in Massachusetts last week - we drove up and back. I asked my local fish guy up there if there was anyway I could keep swordfish fresh for 3 days on the road. They have their own boats and they only sell harpooned swordfish - it's always the best and I miss it down here. He said they were getting fresh ones on Friday and Saturday (they also clean and cut it themselves) and he would pack it for me so it would last a week! So I got some for my friends we spent Sunday night with and some for dear friends down here for Tuesday. I did put Tuesday's batch and the ice packs in my friend's fridge in PA just to help with the 12 hour drive on Monday.

I can't take credit for Sunday's fish, but they grilled it perfectly and we had a lovely dinner with fresh Vegas from their garden. They sent me home with little plum tomatoes which I roasted ala Ina for our Tuesday dinner. The fish was still fresh and I grilled it perfectly - it was a treat and made my friends and my Mom happy.

Last night I tried salt brining my chicken breasts per my friend in PA and they were definitely more tender than my previous attempts with the supermarket chicken.

[cwcdesign]

It finally arrived today!!! I had the call to see which order so they could cancel the other. She asked if it fit - I tried it and it did - turns out some of them don't. Can you imagine waiting this long to get one that didn't fit. Yuck

[cwcdesign]

Glad you arrived safe and sound, BA.

Tomorrow we head out for Massachusetts by car and Will left his job at Jos. A. Bank today, so he will take some time off.

On Thursday, I baked him some brownies for his boss because they are close. She loves milk chocolate- you know I'm a dark chocolate fiend. So I made a batch of KAF Fudge Brownies using the triple cocoa blend from KAF. My espresso powder completely solidified in the jar (I won't tell you how old it was) so I added extra vanilla. Then I used milk chocolate chips instead of semisweet. After they cooled, I made milk chocolate ganache for the top. We put them in the fridge overnight and then cut into small brownies. She was thrilled and said they were perfect and she'll probably freeze most of them

[cwcdesign]

Safe travels!

[cwcdesign]

One of the things I dislike about Ina Garten's baking recipes is that she always uses extra large eggs. So I googled egg size substitutions and it says that you can use large eggs in place for one or two eggs. I think this means that the amount of egg is more flexible than we think.

I like your idea of using the flax seed and water - let us know how it turns out

[cwcdesign]

So Sunday I tried Crockpot Fiesta Chicken and Rice, despite the fact it used a can of cream of chicken soup. I decided to put my ChefAlarm probe in one of the chicken breasts to cook it by temp. It took 2 ½ hours at high (I started late). It is definitely a keeper chicken, rice, beans, corn, cheese, etc. But I do have to adapt my slow cooker times.

Tuesday I made a sheet pan scampi and then I tried the sheet pan BLT salad again - I think I prefer straight up BLTs. Last night I put together a mini antipasto and tonight made a panini with leftover cold cuts.

It's been so hot and I've been working a lot so haven't felt much like cooking.

BakerAunt - when do you leave?

[cwcdesign]

navlys I'm learning that my new crockpot (Hamilton Beach) is so much faster than the old one - I've recently found a chicken recipe I want to try and the poster has the same as mine and she says to cook on LOW for 4-5 hours instead of the old times of 6-8 on low. No more leaving in the morning and letting it cook - it would be mush - guess how I know ?

[cwcdesign]

It's too hot here to do much of anything - heat index of 104 at 4:30 - we've mostly been eating salads, but yesterday I grilled chicken for Caesar salad. I made Karen Noll's eggless Caesar dressing but I substituted ¼ cup of whole milk Greek yogurt for part of the mayo and added a tablespoon of milk to thin it a little. Then I spread some on the chicken before I grilled it. It was a perfect dinner. Leftovers tonight

• This reply was modified 7 years, 4 months ago by cwcdesign.

[cwcdesign]

I didn't bake Sunday night's dessert which I actually made on Saturday - Girdle Buster Pie - ice cream pie with Oreo crust - Ben & Jerry's was on sale so I used their Urban Bourbon ice cream.
Yesterday, I made blondies with peanut butter red, white & blue M&Ms. They were a hit at work this morning

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