BIZZY BAKES

The first Friday of the month has arrived and so has Ina Garten Fridays.  Ina Fridays is a group who cooks recipes from the Barefoot Contessa monthly.  We do have a theme as to what part of the meal is represented.  This month, we are sharing appetizers.  I left my choice to the end of the month and as life would have it, an answer came to me by chance.   My husband went to a Bris (ritual circumcision) in the morning and brought me back a bagel and a large piece of cheese cake.  The day before, looking for appetizers, I had come across this spread but was not enthusiastic.  When I saw the bagel, I thought perfect, I will have it on a bagel.  I only cut up half to make it an appetizer.  It would have been yummy between two halves of the whole bagel. Smoked Salmon Spread (Ina Garten)   (adapted) Ingredients: 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature (I used whipped cream cheese) 1/2 cup sour cream 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1 teaspo...

It is good that Alyce reminds us when Ina Fridays are upon us.  I love monthly challenges but at times, forget they are coming soon.  This is dessert month and since I am having chocolate lovers for guests, I decided I could indulge on this chocolate ganache cake.  When I selected it, I did not know it was the easiest recipe around.  Using chocolate syrup in a recipe make it a snap to put together. I did have a major problem with this recipe and it probably is because I used oil instead of butter.  It took forever to finish baking.  I must have put it back in the oven a half a dozen times.   The knife kept coming out wet.  After the original 45 minutes called for, most of the cake was a puddle of chocolate.  I bet that would have been delicious but I was after a cake so I patiently kept putting it back. It happens that I was baking oatmeal cookies, at the same time, and I had to be in the kitchen anyway.  Otherwise, I doubt that I...

Ina Fridays yields pure deliciousness and her apple crisp is just another example of this.  I have already baked a yummy chocolate cake and could sit back and relax as far as my commitment to the Ina Friday group.  Who says that we should only cook Ina recipes once a month when they are so good. I did make a few changes to this recipe.  I had a container from Costco with five pounds of apples which consisted of 12 apples.  That is an awful lot of apples.  While that is what Ina asked for, I cut it back to 7 apples which more than filled the pan.   I did forget the two zests.  I love zesting, particularly oranges because of the fragrance and was delighted this was called for in this dish.  I put the zest in a small glass bowl and just didn't see it when I was putting together all the components.  Silly me. I don't have gluten-free oatmeal so I took my rolled oats and grinded them in my mini food processor.  Instead of butter...

We are having an extra amount of company, this Shabbos (Sabbath) which means I do additional baking.  I have Ina's book, How Easy is That?   I was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee and I landed on the page with this recipe. I just knew the coffee would be that much better with a piece of cake. This also is another dessert recipe to use for Ina Fridays.  Please do join us. Fresh Peach Cake   (adapted)  Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That?  Ingredients: 1/2 cup oil 1½ cups sugar, divided 2  eggs, at room temperature 1 cup sour cream, at room temperature 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 2 cups gluten-free flour 1 teaspoon baking soda  zest from 1 orange and 1 lemon ( I left this out of the apple crisp and was not going to let it go to waste.) 1 teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon kosher salt 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 3 large, ripe peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced Method: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch square baki...

Although, I am not posting daily yet, I am making sure to keep up with as many groups as possible. One of my favorites, which was started by Alyce  of  More Time at the Table ,  is Ina Fridays. (When my daughter died, Alyce was there for me and she kept in touch through these difficult months and I do want to acknowledge this publicly.) Ina has a ton of books, she has authored and the Internet is filled with her recipes. It is always easy to find what you are looking for with an Ina search. This month is Sides, Salads and Soups. I love all three but decided on a soup.  Winter is coming to an end and that means hot soups will disappear from our table. The minute the weather gets the least bit cool, my husband starts reminding me how much he loves hot soup, how it warms him in the cold winter and how it fills him up.  I hear this almost daily.  Do you think he really likes soup?  If I ask him what kind of soup he wants, his answer is "any kind,"...

I have linked this to a wonderful  link-up  s   Cook-Your-Books  in found at the outstanding   Kitchen Flavours .  If you have cooked a recipe from any cookbook, you might want to go on over and link it up also. My husband returned home from out of town and I wanted to make him something special so I asked.  Not a giggle out of you guys, please.......... He asked for mac and cheese.  I am guessing he was eating a lot of meat while away.  I know that every time, I spoke with him, he was eating on the run or making food for his grandkids.  For a man who usually eats vegetables and dairy, I don't think he got too much of these. He asked for it so he got it but I made a delicious salad to enhance the pasta dish.  Please keep in mind, I had all kinds of exotic plans, for this meal. Since Ina Friday is this week and we are doing sides, I am using this dish as my Ina contribution.  The recipe is found on page 101 of H...

I am a bit late posting this.  Last Friday was Ina Fridays starring appetizers from Ina Garten.  I chose this salmon recipe, topped with such good additions.  Ina calls it Panko crusted but to make it gluten-free, I had to substitute.  This is really good crunchy on top but soft in the body.  Nice flavors. Crusted Salmon (adapted from Ina Garten ) Ingredients: 2/3 cup sweet potato chip crumbs (in place of panko) 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 tablespoons  olive oil 4 (6- to 8-ounce) salmon fillets 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard Method: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl, mix together the crumbs, parsley, lemon zest, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Drizzle with the olive oil and stir until the crumbs are evenly coated. Set aside. Place the salmon fillets, skin side down, on a board. Generously brush the top of the fillets with mustard and then sprinkl...

This month, at Ina Fridays, is side dishes and frankly, I could live happily, only on sides.  When I go to restaurants, I don't want to order one of the mains, I look to the sides and often order a few of those instead.  That is a meal I love. This group was started by the dynamic Alyce from  More Time at the Table  I am excited to share that she will soon be publishing a very special cookbook, Soup & Sides for Every Season   and I, for one, can't wait to get my hands on a copy.  If you check out Alyce's site, you will understand why I am so excited about it. With our super delicious tomatoes from our garden, I couldn't resist, making Ina's roasted tomatoes.  Although, I did not take a picture, I served some of these with bright green broccoli.  A beautiful plate and one that we love. Roasted Tomatoes (adapted from Food Network ) Ingredients : 4 tomatoes, sliced,  2 tablespoons good olive oil...

Here it is the first Friday of the month and the bells are ringing for Ina Fridays.  I have been in many groups and I am finding, the once a month format, to be the most comfortable, for me.  I do like weekly such as my Donna Hay group but how many weekly groups can one handle, especially if two are scheduled for the same day? I had a wonderful cake scheduled to bake for this Dessert month but I simply never got to it.  This was not my month for baking.  In one week, I messed up on two cakes.  One, I misread the amount of flour and the second, I can't imagine what I did wrong, but certainly something was not right. Although drinks usually are planned for the first week of the month, this smoothie, seemed to be the ultimate of desserts, refreshing, filling and sweet.  Needless to say - delicious... ... Strawberry Banana Smoothie (adapted from Ina Garten ) Ingredients : 1/2 pint strawberries 1 ripe banana 1/4 cup orange juice 1/2 cup skim milk 1/4 c...