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Perfect peach galette and my Blog of Shame...

9/11/2015

I am disgracefully behind in posting my baking notes and photos in the Rose's Alpha Bakers project. I am so far behind that I am going to put one of our assignments here on my home page. This is my Blog of Shame!

First, if you haven't read my blog before, Rose's Alpha Bakers is a group of bakers who are baking every recipe in the latest cookbook by my favorite author--Rose Levy Beranbaum. Please check out her books, they are the best baking books you will ever find! The one we are working through now is entitled The Baking Bible.

Her Perfect Peach Galette is a freeform tart, made with fresh peaches wrapped in a cream cheese crust, and it is another one of those recipes that brings out that deadly sin--GREED--in me. I loved it so much, I really would have preferred to have not shared it with anyone!

The peaches are blanched, peeled, and sliced. As fragrant, juicy, and almost irresistible as they are now, they will become the filling of a wonderful galette!

As I nearly always do, I made a double batch of the filling so that I can make another galette relatively quickly. The peach filling freezes easily and well.

The hot peach sugar syrup got hard when it hit the cold fruit. Rose said not to worry, it would liquefy again in the oven. Turned out, Rose knows...as usual!

Rolling out a BIG, super THIN sheet of cream cheese flaky pastry. I am using my cotton pastry sheet coated with flour, silicone rolling pin and wearing plastic gloves in an effort to avoid sticking. It worked...mostly.

Folding and pleating the dough around the puddle of peach filling.

The galette is misted with water and sprinked with superfine sugar before baking. The freeform shape is a big part of its "perfection!"

The galette is thin, crisp and bursting with juicy peaches. The Greed Factor is huge on this one. Do I really have to share?

Sliced open to reveal that the peach to crust ratio is just about perfect also.

This is so good, I don't even know how to describe it! You don't even need a fork--it's so thin and crisp, you could easily make this into finger food. Well, slightly messy finger food, but who cares, it's that delicious?!

We ate this galette for breakfast and dessert until it was GONE, which was very quickly. I had the best intentions of sharing it around, but it just didn't happen. ;-) Well, we were really busy that week...

Would I make this again?

YES!

In fact, it's so simple that I would make two at a time, and I wish I had done that. Except for rolling out that giant piece of pastry, this recipe is easy as, er, pie.

I could see freezing unbaked galettes for dinner parties or impromptu Greed Fests...

Thanks so much for visiting and commenting on my blog!

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Family Focaccia and Feast Day Pie

8/1/2015

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It's been a busy week, and I have two baking projects to tell you about--the best rosemary focaccia with garlic that I baked with my daughter and then the world's best cherry pie in memory of my mom. Make sure you read all the way down to see it all!

First...the Family Focaccia

I've been doing all of this wonderful baking with Rose's Alpha Bakers, and the Bread Bible Alpha Bakers, and often my kids aren't around to taste the results! This weekend I had a chance to bake some of my favorite Rosemary Focaccia from The Bread Bible for my favorite people.

Here's my daughter Jessica in on the baking. We made a double batch of the Rosemary Focaccia. Jessica is inserting slivers of poached garlic into the risen dough. I love this bubbly dough that results in such a crisp and chewy focaccia.

The garlic is poached in olive oil and then stored in the refrigerator in the oil. We drizzled some of the oil on top of the focaccia. Here Jessica is sprinkling the dough with chopped rosemary fresh from the garden. We also sprinkled it with a little bit of coarse sea salt before baking.

A pizza stone is placed in the oven when pre-heating, and then the focaccia is baked on top of the stone to ensure a crisp bottom crust.

Isn't this irresistible? It's crunchy, fragrant with garlic, olive oil and rosemary, and warm from the oven. The beautiful cook is an added bonus!

Our son Dustin and my husband Smitty are bonding beneath the hood of a car. I think that petroleum is the scent of father-son love at our house. They are in their own little world when they are immersed in a car project. However, they do welcome snacks delivered to the garage. (Look how dirty Dustin's pants are. I am so glad I don't do his laundry any more.)

I am always amazed at how filthy they get. You would think I would be used to it by now. I call this "Cartoon Dirty." They're just so dirty, they look like cartoon characters.

Will he eat that last bite from his greasy fingers?! Dustin says "yes." Blech!

Feast Day Cherry Pie

August 2, 2010 was the day that my beautiful, beloved mother went to heaven. I decided to follow the ancient Christian tradition of honoring that anniversary as a feast day. Every year we commemorate the day with a special meal and do something to honor my mom.

This year I baked a cherry pie in her memory. It was her favorite fruit pie. She would have loved this one, it's the best cherry pie I've ever had.

The recipe is the from The Baking Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum.

I used canned sour cherries because I can never find fresh tart cherries, or even frozen. The canned cherries make a delicious pie, however.

The real secret to this fantastic pie is this concentrated cherry juice. I took a bottle of cherry juice from the grocery store and boiled it down until it was syrupy. A couple of tablespoons of this syrup added to the filling boosts the cherry flavor to make this pie incomparable. The cherry concentrate keeps indefinitely in the freezer.

When I make pie crust, I usually make several and freeze them. I wrap up the pastry discs in plastic wrap and then freeze them in vacuum sealed bags. I always feel rich with several pie crusts ready in the freezer, but we never leave them in the freezer for very long!

The pastry is trimmed into a nice circle with the help of a pot lid that's the right size, and a sharp paring knife. This is the bottom crust. It's transferred to the pie plate and then chilled for at least an hour before the filling and top crust is added. As usual with pastry, colder is better.

Me and my bright ideas...I wanted to make cute little flower cutouts on the top crust. The crust softened, the cutouts didn't come cleanly away, and then I couldn't get the top crust centered on the pie.

Oh well. I put some of the little lopsided cutouts on the top crust and sprinkled the whole pie with turbinado sugar. The sugar adds a little crunch.

Mom's Feast Day Cherry Pie. It's a real winner! If there is cherry pie in heaven, I'm sure it tastes just like this!

P.S. See these pastry trimmings? NEVER throw them away! I will wrap them up and add them to my collection in the freezer. It's easy to gently roll them together to make another pie crust. See page 15 of the Pie and Pastry Bible.

Thanks so much for visiting and commenting!

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Chocolate "Sound Thrashing" Cake for Tim and Meredith

7/23/2015

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The beloved son of our dear friends eloped last week. Both families favor the marriage and are happy for the couple. Congratulations to Tim and and his beautiful bride, Meredith!

Although a wedding is the start of a new life, it also includes a leave taking. As a mother I get a lump in my throat to think of how sad I would be if one of my children eloped. I hope I get to share the joy of that big moment, and to shower my children with love and blessings as they begin their new lives.
But for a young couple, of course, eloping is a romantic adventure.

So, when a young man I've known since childhood runs off and gets married, what should I do? The first thing that came to mind is to bake a cake. I chose the Black Chocolate Party Cake from Rose's Heavenly Cakes by Rose Levy Beranbaum.

I told Tim that if my own son eloped I would give him a sound thrashing! Therefore, in his honor I will always refer to this recipe as Tim's "Sound Thrashing" Cake.

This cake contains finely chopped walnuts suspended in a thick sour cream and cocoa enriched batter. This recipe is inspired by Rose's Golden Lemon Almond Cake, also from Rose's Heavenly Cakes. I love both of those cakes! She describes this one as "dense, tender and very chocolately."

Straight from the oven, the cake is brushed with a hot syrup made with turbinado sugar and cocoa.

Here's the cake unmolded and brushed all over with the cocoa syrup. It's wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and then served the following day.

Here are Tim and Meredith with their "Sound Thrashing" Cake. Wishing the two of you a long and happy life together!

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Traveling Eats at Beer Durham: sweet treats meet craft beer!

7/17/2015

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Southern Living Magazine named my hometown of Durham, NC as the Tastiest Town in the South. This week I want to introduce you to two of the reasons Durham stands out.

Meet Bernie and Jill--the mother-daughter team known as Traveling Eats!

I met these two ladies at a cupcake decorating workshop that I taught a couple of months ago. Last week I caught up with them at a local craft beer shop, where they were meeting, greeting and offering some fantastic treats!

The venue was Beer Durham, a charming bottle shop in Durham, NC.

Ashley and Chad offer 20 craft beers on tap, plus bottles and cans, locally made snacks and wine. It's a great spot for a beer and banter in a terrific location right next to the Durham Farmer's Market.

Jill and Bernie have a way with single-serving treats! They are full of great ideas for flavor combinations and innovative ways to serve their delectable offerings. Here is a shot of some of their goodies from last week:

They had a huge menu of mouthwatering goodies baked in waffle bowls! How cool is that? I had that one in the middle--chocolate cake with peanut buttercream. I can't remember all of the flavors, but I also sampled their fresh Blueberry Pancake treat, topped with lemon curd.

Jill is FEARLESS when it comes to trying new things! Look at this one--Chicken and Waffles with maple syrup! If you aren't a southerner, that combination may sound crazy...but don't knock it until you try it, it's a sweet and savory delicacy--especially this one!

Abelskivers--Danish pancakes! See, I told you--these two are full of great--DELICIOUS-- ideas! These women are AMAZING bakers! Keep up with Jill and Bernie on Facebook here:

Traveling Eats

Beer Durham is the perfect combination of a friendly neighborhood tavern and a boutique carrying the finest artisan brews. Here's staffer Theresa with Ashley and Chad. While in Durham, don't miss it! More about Beer Durham here:

Beer Durham

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The Red Velvet Mariah

7/10/2015

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Back in March I posted about my dear friend Judy, who had taught me about Hammantaschen, and opened other culinary and spiritual truths of Judaism to me. (see that post here--http://artfuloven.weebly.com/roses-alpha-bakers/hamantaschen-to-honor-an-old-friend)

To our delight, last night, Smitty and I were lucky enough to spend an evening with Judy and her youngest daughter Mariah! Unfortunately, we didn't get to see Tom, Judy's husband. His itinerary didn't bring him to Durham in time to join us. He was sorely missed!

Of course, I wanted to bake something to sweeten up the occasion, and Mariah's favorite dessert is red velvet cake...so may I present
"The Red Velvet Mariah."

This cake is a combination of components from three books by Rose Levy Beranbaum, my favorite cookbook author. Rose has forgotten more about baking than I will ever learn, but I am indebted to her for the best cakes, breads, pies and pastries that I have ever tasted. Her recipes are part of virtually all of my family's celebrations.

First, the red velvet cake recipe comes from Rose's Heavenly Cakes. The original recipe is for a single layer, baked in a heart shaped or 9-inch round pan. I doubled that recipe and baked it in two 8-inch round pans. The resulting cakes were very tall, so I torted them for a total of four layers. That's a cake leveler there on the countertop. For cutting cakes horizontally, it's the easiest method.

Rose includes a beautiful raspberry glaze for her Red Velvet Rose cake in The Baking Bible. I glazed the layers before I filled them with icing.

It would be unthinkable to serve a red velvet cake without cream cheese icing, at least here in the American south!. That recipe is Rose's Cream Cheese Buttercream from The Cake Bible. I made a double batch of that icing. I wish I had made another half batch because I prefer to work with more icing than this amount allowed.

It was very warm in the kitchen, and keeping the soft icing cool wasn't easy! Yes, those layers are sliding and listing! The cake went in and out of the fridge several times during the process.

Piping FAST because the warmth of my hands softened the icing as I worked.

The tops of the fresh raspberries got flattened out in the cake carrier. Oh well.

Smitty is getting good at packing up cakes to travel! The chilled cake survived the trip across town in a cooler, and we shared it with my friend Judy, her sister Joy and of course, Mariah.

And here we are, the beautiful Mariah and her cake. It was such a joy to meet Judy's youngest child, and I know that she will grow in wisdom and grace.

I am so grateful for the friendships that have enriched my life! Smitty and I will treasure the memory of this evening, and pray it won't be so many years until we meet again! And next time, we dearly hope, Tom will be with us!

I really appreciate your time, so thanks for visiting my blog and posting comments!

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Sailing (and baking) with Dustin

6/23/2015

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That's Dustin on the right, and his friend Dan on the left in Dustin's buccaneer-class boat "Seeing Red." The Carolina Sailing Club held the annual Governor's Cup regatta last weekend, and Smitty and I shot photos from our little ski boat.

OK, I admit it--there's not much of a connection between baking and sailing, but I was determined to feature my incredible son Dustin on today's blog post, so I found a way. (I am a Girl Scout, after all!)

Once upon a time I took beginner sailing lessons impress a certain cute guy who was an avid sailor. It worked! Thirty years later, Smitty and I have two great kids, and he passed the "sailing bug" on to Dustin when he was a little boy.

Dustin's regattas usually take place two miles offshore in Rhode Island, or somewhere equally inaccessible, so we were thrilled that the Carolina Sailing Club's Governor's Cup regatta was taking place just around the corner at Kerr Lake in Henderson, NC.

So, while the sailors were double-checking their gear, studying the racing rules and making last minute adjustments to their boats, I was making my own preparations for the regatta. I was BAKING!

The picnic menu included sandwiches and also hummus (homemade, of course)...and that meant it was time to make a batch of pitas. Fortunately, I had dough ready in the fridge.

You can see one pita rolled out and ready for the oven, and a dough ball on the left ready to be rolled flat. I included this photo because I wanted to point out that my favorite way to roll pita breads is to use one end of a tapered French rolling pin. A regular pin also works fine, but this is my favorite technique.
To see my more complete blog post about baking pita bread, click on the Bread Bible Alpha Bakers tab at the top of this page and scroll down to the post dated April 7, 2015.

I also baked two vanilla pound cakes and wrapped the slices to hand out at the dock before the race. If you've read my blog before, you know how much I love to use my baking to connect with new and old friends. You make a lot of friends when you are handing out homemade pound cake!

Smitty and I shot 400 photos of the regatta! It wasn't easy to keep our little ski boat out of the course while handling a 50-200 mm zoom lens on a rocking boat.

Dustin and Dan in "Seeing Red" are in hot pursuit of Dustin's girlfriend Paulina and Jill in "Wasabi" as they round the orange marker. I love this photo!

Photos can't capture the spirit of our two days on the water. First they fly close hauled into the wind, taking all the sails can handle, heeled over and hiked out, riding the narrow edge between speed and capsizing, restraining the wind like jockeys, the main sheets like reigns on a thoroughbred.

Then they tack across the wind's face. A brief moment of scrambling under the boom. The sails grumble and luff, protesting their longing. The spinnaker is flown, the sails are trimmed, and the boat is carried on the palm of the tamed and silent downwind run.

There were 86 boats in this race! We couldn't get them all in one shot, but here's the best one we had of a large group of them.

Here are the photos I really wanted. On the left, Dustin took his beautiful sister Jessica for a little sail after the race. On the right, that's Dustin's sailing partner Dan. Although they had some problems with the boat, it's still like watching a well-oiled machine.

On the left is Dustin's girlfriend Paulina, and her sailing partner Jill is on right. They both sail on the NC State University sailing team. It is amazing to watch these young women sail.

Back to regular baking posts next, I promise!

Thanks so much for visiting my blog and for posting comments!

More info on Carolina Sailing Club here: http://www.carolinasailingclub.org/cscnew/index.php

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Building bridges, building friendships and the power of breaking bread

4/11/2015

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Last week, Christians around the world celebrated Holy Week just as Jews worldwide prepared to commemorate the ancient feast of Passover. It's no coincidence that these two sacred holidays occur close to one another on the calendar. Although Christians are taught the story of Passover, Jews may not realize how much our Christian feast of Easter owes to the observance of Passover.

It's important to remember that Jesus' Last Supper took place during Passover. The Gospel even recalls that Jesus "reclined at table," and that the supper took place on the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread.

St. John's Gospel refers to Jesus as the "Lamb of God." That title is still used in Christian prayers and songs, because we believe that Jesus' blood marks us as belonging to God and brings us salvation, much as the blood of the sacrificial lamb marked the doors and lintels of the houses of the Israelites when the Angel of God passed over the land of Egypt.

Easter's origin is forever tied to the holy feast of Passover. A bond that close calls for special food--shared food.

I didn't realize the impact this baking project would have on me, or I would have taken more photos!

Mediterranean Matzoh
from the Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum

I have been meaning to try this recipe simply because I love homemade crackers and this one sounded so delicious. Rose describes it as "paper thin, crackling crisp with a hint of rosemary and the suspicion of olive oil." On an impulse I asked my friend and neighbor, Penny, if she would like some for her Passover observance. Although they would be baked in my non-kosher kitchen, she accepted immediately.

The dough is the simplest combination of white and whole wheat flours, water, olive oil, salt and rosemary. No leavening, of course--to recall the haste with which the Israelites fled Egypt after the 10th and final plague--the death of the firstborn.

Once the dough is mixed, it is left to rest and then rolled out on a floured counter top. I was surprised at how easy it was to roll the dough into very thin sheets.

I pricked it all over before baking, because the first couple of them were very bubbly and not very crisp.

The dough is baked on a preheated baking stone at 475 degrees for a total of only 5 minutes. Halfway through baking they are turned over.

It was easy to slide the dough off of the floured baker's peel and onto the hot baking stone. Here you can see the flecks of fresh rosemary in the dough. As long as it fit on the peel, I knew it would fit on the stone, so I didn't worry about the shape. I made them all free-form.

Just as the instructions indicate, there is just enough time to roll out the next one while the matzoh in the oven is baking! Here is a finished matzoh.

These are just GREAT! They are wonderful plain and tasted great with homemade hummus too. We loved them and wished I had made a bigger batch. I think next time I might increase the amount of rosemary for a little more prominent herbal note, but really, they are so delicious, fast and simple to bake, what more could a baker (and food lover!) ask for?

Now for the best part--

To my surprise and delight, Penny and her daughter Katelyn took my homemade matzo to a Seder meal! I am so touched to think that my little "crackers" were part of such an important tradition. Penny said that the rustic appearance made the Seder plate look so much more authentic than the usual packaged matzos, and that the gathering was enhanced by these simple flat breads. They loved the taste as well!

Afterwards, Penny shared this lovely message from Jackie, her friend and hostess:

"Please tell your friend Michele that she has missed her calling. I tried her matzo with a little butter and salt and was blown away by the whole experience. I put it against this company in NY that is moving after 80 years and there is no comparison (Streitz Matzo Factory). Really phenomenal."

Once again we see the power of food to bring people together. Oh, how I love sharing the many blessings in my life with friends and strangers. It never ceases to amaze me how many people I am able to touch.

Please, my friends--bake, cook, and make some memories. You won't regret it.

My deepest gratitude to Rose Levy Beranbaum, author of the Bread Bible, for this, and so many other wonderful recipes!

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Baking frenzy, blog hiatus (involuntary, that is)!

4/10/2015

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My radiant and beloved sister in law Kathy and her new husband Charlie.

We took a trip to the Tampa Bay, Florida area for a family wedding--here's a picture of the happy couple! While we were there we also saw Smitty's mom and other sisters and brother, assorted nephews, and nieces, and new grand-nieces and even catch up with old friends. The icing on the cake was visiting my cousins in central Florida. What a wonderful trip!

I came home to find my computer locked up with viruses, my email program crashed, and I was unable to update my blog. But the baking went on!! Here's a thumbnail sketch of what has kept me busy while Smitty rebuilt my laptop:

Walnut Fougasse (foo-ghass) This semi-flat bread, about 3/4 inch thick is soft inside with a crisp crust. Best of all is the deep walnut flavor, thanks to the chopped walnuts and the walnut oil in the dough. The shape is intended to resemble an ear of wheat--come on, suspend your disbelief! Evidently, this is a French traditional loaf shape, according to Wikipedia.

The recipe is from the Bread Bible. This is the first time I had made it.

Sour Cherry Pie from the Baking Bible--this was an assignment that the Alpha Bakers baked while I was in Florida, but I'm showing it here because I'm so far behind! Here is a breakdown of the process:

The crust is Rose's aptly titled Perfect Flaky and Tender Cream Cheese Pie Crust. The filling is a mixture of sour cherries, lemon juice, almond extract, sugar, cornstarch and concentrated cherry juice (more on that in a moment). Because fresh cherries aren't available right now, I used canned fruit and it turned out perfectly.

Rose's recipe called for the optional addition of "Michelle's Miracle Cherry Concentrate." It's only available online, and of course shipping is as expensive as the product these days! So I improvised. I'm a Girl Scout, after all.

I purchased tart cherry juice--note that the label says "from concentrate!"--and boiled it down to a syrup. The result is amazing! I added it to the pie filling as if it were the one Rose specified. I am thrilled with the results! I froze the leftover syrup for future pies. Surprisingly, it didn't freeze solid, but remains a thick liquid in the freezer.

The instructions called for a "pastry jagger" to cut the lattice strips. What the heck is a "jagger?!"

But guess what--I actually have one! All this time I called it my zig-zag pastry cutter wheel, or even a pinking wheel--as in pinking shears (think those scissors that make zig-zag cuts to finish fabric edges).

The "jagged" lattice strips are woven on the pie and then sprinkled with a little sugar for extra crunch.

The best cherry pie I've ever had!! Immediately noticeable is the depth of flavor, which has to be from the cherry juice concentrate. And as always with Rose's recipes, the next thing you appreciate is the fact that it's not overly sweet. She always hits the right balance of sweetness, for my palate, anyway! The recipe is on page 200 of the Baking Bible.

Just before Easter, I baked a big batch of Rose's Mediterranean Matzoh to share with our friends and neighbors, Penny and Katelyn. Although they weren't baked in a kosher kitchen, Penny and Katelyn took them to a Passover Seder meal.

Stay tuned for a separate blog post about this! For now, let me say that they were DELICIOUS! Find the recipe in the Bread Bible.

Cran-Raspberry Upside Down Cake with Raspberry Italian Meringue--another Alpha Bakers' Assignment. See the details about this wonderful cake by clicking on the Alpha Bakers' tab at the top of this page! That post was dated April 7.

Pita Bread! This addictive recipe can be found in the Bread Bible. Read all about it by clicking on the Bread Bible Alpha Bakers tab at the top of this page.

Stay tuned for much more!!

I really appreciate your comments! Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

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Lemon love: Lemon Possett Shortcakes

2/25/2015

10 Comments

My post is late! So rather than wax poetic, I will get straight to the point--this is a wonderful recipe!

Four components:

ethereal sponge cakelettes
lemon syrup
apple glaze
impossibly light, creamy lemon possett filling

The batter for the cakelettes is so fluffy and perfect!

Here is my 12-cavity shortcake pan by Fox Run sprayed with non-stick spray and ready for the batter. The recipe specified a 6-cavity Marianne shortcake pan. This one was much less expensive. Thinking that it would make twice as many cakelettes, I doubled the recipe. Turned out that my little cakes were much smaller than the Marianne pan and I ended up with lots of extra batter. I baked the extra in an assortment of ramekins.

The cakes baked in ramekins had to be cored to create a cavity for the possett. I am doing a rather awkward job of it with the first knife I could put my hand on. The cakelettes in the back of the tray are the ones from the nice shortcake pan. They have a nice, smooth uniform shape.

The cooled cakelettes are brushed inside and out with a sugar syrup laced with fresh lemon juice.

The cakelettes are brushed with a thinned apple jelly glaze. I admit it--I was getting sick of handling these little things at this point. I was wishing that I had only made six like the recipe called for!

The Possett: A magical concoction of cream, sugar and lemon juice. It thickens into a soft mound to fill the cakelettes.

A perfect marriage of sponge cake filled with creamy tart lemon filling.

Do I love the Lemon Possett Shortcakes? Yes, I do!

The recipe calls for Meyer lemons, which are available, but much more expensive in this area. I used regular lemons with the modifications to the recipe that Rose recommends in her book.

I would like to try this recipe with key lime juice instead of lemon. I would also love to make this as one big cake instead of the individual servings.

Here's a link to the pan-- http://www.amazon.com/12-Cup-Shortcake-Pan-Non-Stick/dp/B004FRYCF8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424914879&sr=8-1&keywords=shortcake+pan

And to see how the rest of the rest of the Alpha Bakers did with this extraordinary recipe, click here! http://rosesalphabakers.blogspot.com/

NEXT WEEK: Hamantaschen

Thank you, dear readers, for visiting my blog and leaving your comments!

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A Valentine for Jessica

2/14/2015

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I introduced my husband Smitty a few weeks ago. Now I would like to you to meet Jessica, my marvelous daughter!

Jessica's apple pies are legendary! Here she is picking apples for pies, applesauce and apple butter. Fortunately, North Carolina has lots of orchards within driving distance. I wish I had a photo of one of her pies but they are usually eaten before anyone get can get a camera out!

When a mother wishes for a a little girl, she wishes for a daughter just like Jessie. She is wise, generous, courageous, funny, and much smarter than her mother. No one in the world is unimportant to Jessica. I am so blessed to be her mother. Her middle name is Rose, after my beloved mom. Jessica Rose, my jewel!

This is part of her harvest of carrots. Jessica is a passionate gardener.

Okay....here's the one thing I just don't get about this wonderful young woman. She runs! I keep telling her that running is only for emergencies but she doesn't listen! Here is Jessica and her friend Christina at the end of a half marathon last fall.
Crazy girls.

Jessica, like both of her grandmothers, is a nurse. When she graduated from nursing school, we had a big party to celebrate! As I have mentioned, she is a very fine baker. Spritz cookies are another of her specialties. She makes dozens of them every Christmas for lucky friends and family.

Aren't these adorable? She pressed these spritz cookies in heart shapes and piped the EKG symbol on them for her nursing school graduation party!

Happy Valentine's Day to all, most especially to Jessica Rose, RN, my dear daughter. Gifted in many ways, she brings joy to those who are lucky enough to know her!

Thank you for visiting and commenting!

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<<Previous

Thanks for visiting me and my Artful Oven!

Perfect peach galette and my Blog of Shame...

Family Focaccia and Feast Day Pie

First...the Family Focaccia

Feast Day Cherry Pie

Chocolate "Sound Thrashing" Cake for Tim and Meredith

Traveling Eats at Beer Durham: sweet treats meet craft beer!

The Red Velvet Mariah

Sailing (and baking) with Dustin

Building bridges, building friendships and the power of breaking bread

Mediterranean Matzoh
from the Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum

Baking frenzy, blog hiatus (involuntary, that is)!

Lemon love: Lemon Possett Shortcakes

A Valentine for Jessica

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Thanks for visiting me and my Artful Oven!

First...the Family Focaccia

Feast Day Cherry Pie

Mediterranean Matzohfrom the Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum

Archives

Author

Categories

Mediterranean Matzoh
from the Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum