Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Tuesdays with Dorie: Lemon Loaf Cake

Wow, so apparently I missed Tuesday. I made this cake before Easter and had my blog post written out in my head, but failed to actually write it, and now it is Wednesday. Oh well, better late than never, right?

Check out our hosts this week for the full recipe: Treats and The Beauty of Life. As I mentioned, I made this before Easter so I could take it to my family since I was planning to go home anyway. I typically don't care too much for lemon things so I didn't expect much from this. Looking over the recipe, it seemed pretty simple and straightforward, but I was surprised that there was only the zest from the lemons and no juice used.

Ready to go in the oven.
I made the recipe exactly as stated, as I generally do. I did have to use a slightly smaller loaf pan than stated because that's the only size I have. It turned out fine, but maybe a bit more curved at the top.





I thought this cake was pretty good. It is very similar to a pound cake with a hint of lemon. If it is going to be lemon, I think I would prefer more intense lemon taste and also a glaze icing. This was a big hit with my mom though, so I'm glad she liked it.

Sliced and ready to enjoy! Notice the flecks of lemon zest. 

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Tuesdays with Dorie: Pizza Rustica

I missed the last recipe with being sick and St. Patrick's Day and all, so I was very excited to get back into it with this week's recipe--Pizza Rustica. Check out this week's hosts for the recipe:  Capital Region Dining and The Place They Call Home.
Having no idea of what this "pizza" would be like, I checked out the P&Q thread on TWD blog and saw that many people thought the crust was too sweet and many people used different filling ingredients. We eat mostly vegetarian so I planned on using spinach and mushrooms in my filling, but changed my mind when I found a locally-made pepperoni at the farmers' market. 
The pepperoni was unsliced and the recipe called for thinly sliced shredded prosciutto, so I just had my husband cut the pepperoni into thin slices and then cut into strips. I used ricotta from Trader Joe's, the remainder of a block of grocery store mozzarella, and parmigiano reggiano instead of romano. 
Even though I was concerned about the crust being too sweet, I made it as the recipe called for. I was surprised at how easy the crust was because I'm normally paranoid about my pie crusts. The whole pie came together pretty quickly. 
My husband and I were planning to eat this for dinner and I hadn't noticed that this was supposed to cool completely before served. I took it out of the oven, put it in the fridge for a few minutes, and when we couldn't wait anymore, we ate it. Yes, it was still hot, but delicious anyway. The pepperoni had a nice spice to it and both of us really enjoyed the sweet crust. Honestly I thought the bites at the edge of the pie with the most sweet crust were the best. My husband thought this was a keeper! We had it the next day for lunch cold and it was good that way too. 

Slice of pizza rustica, ready to eat! Local eggs with super yellow yolks contributed to the pretty yellow color. 
Check out the yummy local pepperoni in the filling.