31
Jan 2013

Valentine’s Day Recipe Roundup

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Valentine's Day Recipe Roundup - @SavorySimple


I never considered Valentine’s Day to be the most romantic of holidays when I was younger.  You see, February 14th happens to be both my mother and my brother’s birthday.  Now that I’m no longer living with my parents and am, you know, married, I like to do something small to celebrate the holiday aside from calling my family.  Maybe it’s a romantic dinner for two at home, maybe we go out, maybe Jeff (cough cough) brings me some flowers.

This year we’re dining in and I’ve compiled a Valentine’s Day Recipe Roundup with over 60 options for your entire meal.  Enjoy!

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Categories: Appetizers, Baking, Cake, Candy, Cookies, Cooking, Crisps and Cobblers, Cupcakes, Dinner, Holidays, Pasta, Risotto & Grains, Pie, Recipes, Roundup, Salads, Sauces, Seasonal, Side Dishes, Soups, Tarts Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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26
Jun 2012

Basil Mint Ice Cream

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Basil Mint Ice Cream

There are many things I love about our new home.  Friendly neighbors, an attic, packages delivered to my front door.  A real dining room.  Stairs!  The neighborhood is wonderful; we’re in walking distance to downtown as well as a beautiful trail for nature walks.  After years of living next to a fire station, we now enjoy quiet evenings (and as the world’s lightest sleeper, I really appreciate this).  I’m excited about having a real Halloween in the fall where costumed children come to my door for treats (I promise not to give them boxed raisins even though I hate keeping candy around).  I have to say, though, my favorite thing about home ownership so far is our large back deck.  I finally have a garden!  I still squeal with excitement every time I see a new veggie:

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Categories: Ice Cream, Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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19
Jun 2012

Strawberry Layer Cake

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Strawberry Cake ~ Savory Simple

More strawberries!  Can you blame me?  If there’s any time of the year to enjoy them, it’s right now.  Maybe I’m especially craving them because of my lack of success with strawberry in the garden.  I was so excited about the prospect of fresh strawberries that I bought not one, but two plants!  I believe that so far they have yielded me 4-5 berries total.  And I must say, they were some damn fine strawberries.  But I want more!  Luckily, I live close to several farmer’s markets.  They might not be straight from my backyard, but they’re close enough.

This moist, delicious layer cake is full of flavor.  I adapted a recipe from Sweetapolita (one of my many blog crushes) and couldn’t have been happier with the results.  I did make a few changes, however.  Since I’ve never used Jello-O or gelatin in a cake, I decided to omit it.  Rosie says that strawberry gelatin adds great color and flavor, so I decided to ramp up the other ingredients, adding orange juice, zest and fresh strawberries in between the layers.  I also added a bit potato starch, a trick I learned from Warren Brown’s CakeLove.  For the frosting, I decided to use Italian meringue buttercream because, well, buttercream is awesome.

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Categories: Baking, Cake, Recipes, Seasonal, Summer, Vegetarian Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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13
Jun 2012

Strawberries and Cream Tart

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Strawberry Tart ~ Savory Simple

I love preparing desserts.  There’s something so methodical about the process of baking that I find very soothing.  Planning, measuring, creaming, layering, decorating…  and beautiful vibrant colors to inspire me!  I certainly love cooking as well, but I don’t find it nearly as relaxing.  I feel as though I achieve almost a meditative state of focus and calm while baking, even when the dough misbehaves or an ingredient responds in an unexpected way.  This is why I also like more complex desserts.  Maybe that sounds backwards, but allow me to explain. At first glance, a recipe such as the one below might appear time consuming and overwhelming.  But it’s actually just two smaller recipes prepared back to back.  Most of the steps are relatively simple and you can work in phases.  When a recipe takes 4-5 hours, it can usually be broken down into 2 days.  This is especially true with tarts.  The dough almost always requires several chill/rest periods.  And for a no-bake tart such as this one, the cooked shell also needs to cool completely before adding the filling.  You can certainly do this in one day, but I find separating the days to be more enjoyable.

If you’ve never made a tart before, rolling and distributing the dough can take a bit of practice. Don’t let it worry you, though.  Anyone can do it!  I recommend watching a few YouTube video tutorials that demonstrate technique.  And then just go for it.  You can practice multiple times with the dough before baking it.  This dough is especially forgiving.  Just allow it to rest and chill between attempts.  It’s much easier to work with cold dough. Feel free to contact me with any questions!

This strawberries and cream tart is spectacular.  The filling is reminiscent of panna cotta and the sweet cream flavor is perfect with strawberries.  The dough, Pate Sucree, tastes like a cookie.  Since strawberries are in season right now I didn’t feel the need to glaze them, but if you make this in the off season, brushing some melted apricot jam on top will give the tart a beautiful shine and add flavor.

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Categories: Baking, Recipes, Tarts Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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17
Apr 2012

Orange Blossom Tahini Cookies

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Orange Blossom Tahini Cookies

Have you ever cooked or baked with tahini?  I’ve been using it quite a bit recently in salad dressings and dips.  In case you’re not familiar with it, tahini is a flavorful paste made from ground sesame seeds, and it’s one of the primary ingredients in hummus.  My friend Shannon says she actually craves it, and I don’t blame her!  Tahini is an incredibly versatile ingredient that lends itself to kitchen experimentation.  It’s smooth and dense like peanut butter, with a unique, nutty flavor.  Since I always have it in the pantry, I’ve started experimenting with ways to use it in desserts.

When I was younger my mother would sometimes bring home halvah, which is a sweet, rich candy made from tahini. That was my inspiration for these cookies.  They’re soft, moist and unlike any cookie I’ve ever tasted. One or two is more than enough to satisfy a sweet tooth.   Orange blossom water enhances the sweetness from the sugar and honey and provides a pleasant floral aftertaste.    Enjoy!

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Categories: Baking, Cookies, Vegetarian Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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