Lemon-Scented Pull-Apart Coffee Cake

July 15, 2010 by Monica in Baking, Bread, Cookbooks, Sweets

As most food blogger out there, we collect recipes from all over. We print them out, we bookmark them, we tear them out of food magazines, we earmark them with post it on cookbooks and soon, before you know it, we have a cooking TO DO list.

Mine is pretty long, and pretty overdue.

I had this recipe in my list for quite a while now. I found it via Leite’s Culinaria website a couple of months back and printed it and saved it for that moment in time where I would totally have the nerve to tackle it.

Anyhow…

At first the recipe scared me; it had yeast and needs kneading, and the use of a rolling pin! Three things that I’m not good at using or doing. I made bread before – it was a traumatic experience and decided to stick to things that I’m good at, like cake and complicated savory dishes. Anything that has yeast in it has a life on its own and I’m a control freak so that is not a good combination - I know how to choose my battles, and bread is a higher power – so I stay away.

TWD: Raisin Swirl Bread

June 16, 2010 by Monica in Baking, Baking Club, Bread, TWD

I'm afraid of bread making or specifically anything that uses yeast.

There I came clean. Yep, using yeast scares me, maybe because I just don't feel comfortable with the whole poofing process and the kneading and if I have to take out the rolling pin and measure to get everything perfectly square or rectangular or round... I just break out in hives.

So of course when I saw the choice for Tuesday with Dorie, that Susan of Food.baby had chosen I said a little prayer and then had a bit doubts which turned into a full blown conversation with my bad-ass self telling me to get a grip and reminded me that "I did no join a baking club to sit and do the baking that I'm comfortable doing!"

So of course I had to do this. Be one with the yeast and conquer my fears.

TWD: Sweet Cream Biscuits

April 20, 2010 by Monica in Baking, Baking Club, Bread, Breakfast, Quick Meal, TWD

If you follow along this blog, you know that for the last couple of weeks it has been all about cakes, and sweets, frosting and chocolate.

Frankly, I had been so tired to post anything else, beside my baking club commitments. And let me tell you I have some good savory stuff up my sleeves.

So, after looking at the choice made by Melissa of Love at First Bite, I was ready to do this. My first from scratch biscuits! After a couple of weekend of cakes, I was ready for something that had nothing to do with frosting a cake.

I need to come clean; I’m a can-a-biscuit cook. Yep, buy a can, pop open the can, bake and out to the table they go. In fact, biscuit in my house are not very common; we prefer to cook arepas for the weekend breakfast fare. But, when they are requested, the dough boy goes a long way in making things a bit easy in the CP household.