Daring Cooks Challenge - Ricotta Gnocchi

This month, the first ever Daring Cooks Challenge!

Ricotta Gnocchi!!

We have chosen a recipe from the stunning cookbook by Judy Rodgers, named after her restaurant, The Zuni Café Cookbook.

I am so frustrated because mine was an abject failure.

I made these and they were soo soft, it wasn't funny. I tried a few in the test batch and they fell apart. (they had a great light taste though, not eggy in the least) Adding more liquid in the form of egg whites just seemed so counterintuitive, so instead I added some flour. It didn't really help. I left them in the refridgerator on parchment paper to dry them out individually. Didn't help. Tried freezing them. Didn't help. Took the frozen ones and cooked them in butter. Nope. Somehow this was just an abject failure for me or I just don't know what I did wrong. I live in an italian neighborhood in Brooklyn, where many of the stores carry fresh made ricotta, and the flavor really seemed to be something I would like. I agree that mine (if they would have worked) would have needed a light sauce.

April Daring Bakers! - Cheesecake

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

I have not been blogging my challenges with the Daring Baker's, and I think that it is time for that to change! :-)

This month,the challenge is Cheesecake. I was inspired to do a layered chocolate/plain cheesecake, something that I had admired but never really tried. The reality is I have only ever made 1 cheesecake and I was intimated by this challenge, which is why I put it off until the last weekend. Imagine my surprise when this was so easy and so tasty!!! Definitely a keeper and lots of possibilities with this recipe!

As is plainly visible, I got a huge split! This photo was taken right out of the oven. As the cake cooled, the split got bigger and bigger! :-( I wonder if it was caused by overbaking or if it was caused by what I used for the chocolate layer. I had Hershey's Special Dark Kisses hanging around, I took 6, melted them with a small amount of heavy cream, and added that to half of the cheesecake batter. Perhaps the chocolate seized? I also used tea bisquits for the crust, and cut the butter in half after seeing that a few bakers had problems with the butter leaking out. The bisquits crust definitely got hard enough.



I cut the cake after 5 hours, since I was not serving it to company. It was so light and airy, it reminded me more of cheesepie than cheesecake. The texture was so overwhelming that the flavor got lost. After storing the rest of the cheesecake overnight, it definitely solidified for a more traditional cheesecake texture and the chocolate flavor started to come through. Definitely a keeper!

Winter is here!

It is snowing out. Beautiful peaceful snow falling on an anxious, restless mind...

What to do next?
What do I want?
What do I want to do next?
Aren't these the eternal questions?

Sitting in the house, no longer my home... wondering what else is out there, curious, excited, wondering if it is too late? Can this be a starting line, or a finish tape?

Feelings are good... my friend!

Resolutions!

All it takes is a beautiful day, rising early in the morning and a small list of things to do, which get done, to make you compile a longer list of things to do!
As I sit around the house in the early afternoon, looking around I see a lifetime of things to do and feel the excitement to get started!

For my blog, I should post daily. I have wanted to add links and text, upload photos, and start themes to post about. I resolve to work on the blog everyday to make it the best tool for me. On it goes!

Daring Baker Challenge!

Hurrah, Rafa!!!

Congrats on your win! Thank you for making me spend 7 hours in agony, hoping against all hope that you would win, not letting me feel secure in your win even with you up two sets to zero! We are seeing not a changing of the guard, but the making of a true rivalry, two equals working to make each better, looking for an edge to beat the other player. Your grace and class remind us of all that is good in sports, the willingness to throw mind and body into physical exhaustion in order to elevate the sport itself. Looking to see you here in NYC....

Sitting in a crowded room, watching the Belmont, the frenzy reaching a crescendo, everyone was excited as they all "know" that they will see history in the making, the first horse to win the Triple Crown in 30 years. Except that doesn't happen, and Big Brown finishes last. The room falls silent, dead silent, aware that what they have seen isn't very important at all. I doubt that many people will remember next week the name of the horse that was going for it this week. After the race, the questions started. What is wrong? Let's take lab work, let's second guess his trains. Maybe he is a horse, not a machine. Maybe a bad day, maybe he just didn't run like the wind. Maybe we are not as in control as we wish, maybe this is why we still need to run the race. Cheers, Big Brown.