Well, I finally did it. I broke down and made macarons. They have only been on my “to-do” list for more than ten years, ever since I visited Ladurée {Maison de Macarons in Paris}. These natural macarons with pink raspberry buttercream filling taste deliciously like raspberries and are the perfect bite-sized melt-in-your-mouth raspberry almond treat for Valentine’s Day or any other day.
You might recall that not too long ago I posted about the Pepperidge Farm “Puffection” Holiday Entertaining Challenge. Now for the second part of the challenge: my own “Puffection” creation using Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry. Golden, caramelized sugar coats these puff pastry palmiers. Enjoy them plain, with cinnamon and sugar, or dipped in chocolate for a special holiday treat.
When Pepperidge Farm contacted me about the “Puffection” Holiday Entertaining challenge I was intrigued and gladly accepted. The first part of the challenge involved cooking an existing Pepperidge Farm recipe. I chose these individual Chocolate Fondue Cups because they are festive and perfect for holiday (or anytime) entertaining.
Fortune cookies have been on my list for a while now so when DailyBuzz Moms announced the Thanksgiving Kids Table 9×9 I thought that it was the perfect opportunity to make “I am Thankful for…” Fortune cookies.
In this cordon bleu-inspired chicken, the chicken is stuffed with pistou/pesto, artichoke hearts, feta cheese and roasted red peppers.
In this savory croissant, the ham and cheese are baked inside the buttery pastry dough to make a warm, panini-style sandwich that is great for a main meal or as the side to a soup or salad.
My inspiration for this chocolatey version of the croissant came from the popular French pastry, pain au chocolat, which is essentially a chocolate-filled croissant in the shape of a rectangle instead of a crescent. En lieu of plain chocolate I decided to try Nutella which turns out to be a popular croissant filling in Germany.
These flaky, buttery pastries in the shape of a crescent are essentially croissants. I like to make an assortment of flavors but these almond crescents oozing with melt-in-your-mouth almond filling are my favorite.
Croissants are a flaky, buttery pastry in the shape of a crescent. They are traditionally made with a yeast dough that is layered and rolled with butter (a process called laminating) but this recipe simplifies the process. I like to make an assortment of croissants, leaving some plain to be served with butter and jam or used as sandwich bread, and filling the rest with sweet and savory ingredients.
This version of Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic is easy because you put all of the ingredients in a casserole dish, bake it in the oven and forget about it. The end result is a rich, comforting meal. If the thought of forty cloves of garlic frightens you, there is no need to worry. The garlic flavor mellows as the cloves cook and when they are done, they are rich and buttery, perfect for slathering on your favorite bread or even the chicken itself.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
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