Mom's Olive Oil Orange Bundt

While olive oil is a regular in European baked goods, only recently has it begun making the transition to the sweeter side of the kitchen in the US. I have been wanting to make a sweet dish with olive oil for some time but never could work up the courage. This week's Baked Sunday Mornings recipe forced me to make the leap as it was time to make Mom's Olive Oil Orange Bundt.

This cake is simplicity at its finest. A small list of ingredients, each with a very specific task, meld to create a cake that is full of flavor. Orange zest adds a sweet citrus note, yogurt adds richness and tang, and the olive oil brings moistness and fruitiness. I could definitely pick up the flavor of the olive oil, but if I didn't know it was in there, probably wouldn't have been able to put my finger, or taste bud, on it.

Making a meringue out of the egg whites adds an extra step but was well worth it. The texture was so light and airy. Almost like an angel food cake but with a million times more flavor. I did add a quick orange glaze and a sprinkle of powdered sugar but enjoyed a couple of slices plain too.

Another great recipe from Baked Explorations! Be sure to visit Baked Sunday Mornings to get this fabulous recipe and to check out the rest of Baked bloggers.

Pistachio Chai Muffins

I've really come to enjoy Cooking Light magazine. It's recipes and content are realistic in terms of modern day living and cooking. I've made several recipes from their magazine and have always been happy with the results.

There was a feature on healthier muffin options recently and while I was drawn to the bacon, chocolate, and lemon recipes, I decided to make the pistachio chai because I have never made anything with chai. Now, I am not a tea drinker. Don't like it hot or cold. But there is a chai protein bar that I've enjoyed in the past so I figured there was a good chance I would like these muffins.

Like I did. This is actually the second time I have made them. You could easily call them a spice muffin as the chai tea adds a wonderful warm spice flavor and appearance to the cake. The use of buttermilk and a small amount of butter keeps the muffin moist. Scattering bright green pistachios adds wonderful color and crunch and the buttery texture that only pistachios have. More flavor continues with the vanilla glaze.

I bought plain roasted pistachios but added a tiny bit of fleur de sel to the tops of the muffins and really liked the addition of salt. I also think these muffins could be further enhanced with some orange zest and maybe an orange glaze.

These are a delicious way to start or end your day!

Pistachio Chai Muffins

Maureen Callahan, Cooking Light, May 2011

7 9/10 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 3/4 cups)

• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 chai blend tea bags, opened
• 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• Cooking spray
• 1/3 cup shelled dry-roasted pistachios, chopped
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon water

• 
  
• 1. Preheat oven to 375°.
• 2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Cut open tea bags; add tea to flour mixture, stirring well. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine buttermilk, butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and egg in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.
• 3. Place 12 muffin-cup liners in muffin cups; coat liners with cooking spray. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle nuts evenly over batter. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in pan on a wire rack.
• 4. Combine remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, powdered sugar, and 1 tablespoon water, stirring until smooth. Drizzle evenly over muffins.

  Makes 12 muffins

• 
  

FFWD - Tilapia and Tomatoes en Papillote

Simple, fresh, easy, delicious. All the boxes you want to check off when looking for a quick meal in the dead of summer.

This week's French Fridays with Dorie recipe is for Salmon and Tomatoes en Papillote. Salmon is too fishy in flavor for me, so I substituted the much milder tilapia. Cherry, or grape, tomatoes are quickly seared in a skillet to enhance their flavor. I am only starting to eat any tomato that is not cooked to mush and sliced mine in half and cooked them a bit longer than the recipe called for to make them more palatable to me. I have to say I actually enjoyed the tomatoes quite a bit!

Freshly plucked basil leaves are placed on sheets of foil as a bed for the fish. The fish is then dressed simply with olive oil, thyme or rosemary, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Slices of lemon and more basil leaves lie atop the fish. The seared tomatoes are placed alongside the fish and the package is bundled up and tossed in the oven for a quick ten minutes or so.

This recipe is really quite lovely. Simple and elegant. I liked cooking en papillote and think you could try it on the grill as well. If I were serving this for guests I would use parchment paper for a prettier presentation. Tres parfait!

Baked Sunday Mornings - Blackberry Pie(s)

My friend Amy spent a couple of years traveling the country as a nurse. Her assignments took her to both coasts and a few spots in between and I was lucky enough to visit her for lovely long weekends that includes lots of catching up, shopping, sightseeing, and eating.

One of my favorite memories from these trips was picking blackberries from the bush that grew outside her rental home in Cape Cod. We took our basket of berries into the house and created a simple blackberry crisp. To date, it is still one of the best blackberry desserts I have ever eaten and I have to assume that is due not only to the wild berries, but the sweetness that came from picking our own fruit and the fun we had while doing it.

This week's Baked Sunday Mornings recipe is for Blackberry Pie. I had hoped for local berries, but it's a little too early here so I opted for fresh berries from the market. I wanted something easily portable and decided to make baby pies in a muffin pan. I loved the easiness of the handheld, portion-controlled mini-pies and their rustic appearance.

The pie crust recipe included in both of the Baked cookbooks was easy to make and work with although I found the flavor to be a bit bland. I may use a different recipe for the upcoming Peaches and Dream Pie but then again, I may use this one because it was incredibly forgiving.

The recipe for the filling is fairly straightforward and the only surprise ingredient was brown sugar. I loved the slightly caramel flavor it added and will definitely use brown sugar in future fruit crisps and cobblers. I also loved the bright note that a shaving of lemon peel and a squirt of lemon juice added. The filling was pretty awesome. While blackberries are delicious, they come with the aggravation of seeds. The seeds in my berries were plentiful and large and plan on making this again when berries are available at the farmer's market in the hopes I can enjoy them without breaking a tooth on a seed.

I love the end result of almost all of the Baked recipes I have tried, but feel a need to complain once again about their sloppy recipe writing. This particular recipe called for too many bowls for the filling (mixing the lemon peel and lemon juice separately?!) but didn't include instructions to cook the pie on a baking sheet to catch overflow. Their recipes are often complex and the addition of more explicit instructions would make their cookbooks much more accessible to all cooks.

Check out the other Baked bakers and their rendition of this recipe, here.