TWD - Chocolate Truffle Tartlets

As I mentioned in my last post, I am doing TWD with my mom. My mom and dad put 3 kids through college on a teacher and newspaper editor salary. As a result, my mom was the queen of making do with what you have. She made an art of it. So imagine my surprise when my mom sprung for the cute little tart pans. I almost did, but then remembered summer camp fees, piano lessons and soccer fees. So I made do with what I had - a 9" tart pan and three 4" mini cake pans. And it turned out fine.


I wanted to love this recipe and it was very good, but with all the recipes that I still want to try, I don't think I will make this again. I think what prevented this from being a great recipe is the crust. I should have known that baking a crust for only 12-15 minutes at 350 in humid Sugar Land, TX does not a good crust make. I wanted a crispier crust to counterbalance the creamy fillings. I found the crust to be kind of soggy. I will say the next day after the tart sat in the fridge, I liked it more and the crust did not bother me as much.

My daughter loved this recipe, my son said "six out of 10 stars" and my husband who doesn't like chocolate (gasp, I know) didn't try it.

The biscotti recipe that I used for the tarts is a great one. I hadn't made it in awhile, so I was glad to resurrect it for this project. Here's the recipe - it comes from Southern Living:

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/chocolate-chip-cinnamon-biscotti-10000000521033/

TWD - White Loaves

I am very excited about this Tuesdays with Dorie adventure. I am doing it with my mom (retirededitor.blogspot.com). We are already having great fun. So here I am with my two loaves of white bread. I used to have such a fear of yeast bread, but then came SAF instant yeast, and now I bake yeast breads with much more confidence. I found this bread really great and a little different than other yeast breads with the addition of butter at the end. I liked the nice tight crumb - makes it sturdier for sandwiches, etc. My kids loved it. I used it to make a sandwich for my son's lunch. He said lots of kids were asking "what's that?" He said "it's homemade bread; my mom made it." He said the kids then asked "you can make bread at home?" and wanted to try it. Now, how's that for a comment on life in America today?

Sophia's Runway Party

Dining on PB&J are Karaleigh, Olivia and Sofia















The runway girls - Elizabeth, Avery, Olivia, Sofia, Karaleigh, Mya and Sophia.

Sophia blows out the candles.

Martha cuts the cake - she knows how to do the "loaves and fishes" with cake.

The excellent makeover team of Michelle and Caroline work their magic on Avery.

Karaleigh, Sofia and Elizabeth

The favors.

Avery struts her stuff.

Bashful Sophie on the runway.

Present time!

Sophia and the snack cart (Molly - note the Martha Stewart letters above the cart)

The runway

The table before the girls arrive.

The invitation.