Thursday, October 23, 2014

Dorie's Birthday Celebration ~ Cannelés



Per Nana ~
This week the Doristas are celebrating three big events.
The first and most important is Dorie Greenspan's birthday.
Second, her latest book - Baking Chez Moi- will be released. 
This is something we have been anxiously anticipating.
And third, we are marking the 4th year of cooking together 
from her book "Around My French Table". 

It has been a delightful journey, one that has taught us many new 
techniques, learned about different products which had been 
unfamiliar to us, and added many new spices and cooking 
utensils to our kitchen. 
For Dorie's birthday I have prepared the Cannelés from Baking Chez Moi.
 It only took three attempts to get them right, but I was determined. 
Jim and I enjoyed these delicious little cakes with a delightful cup of 
espresso and since I am not able to share these with Dorie in person, 
I am sending her a photo.

Happy Birthday Dorie.  
Enjoy your special day and I wish you many, many more !

Per Tricia ~
Happy Birthday Dorie !
And Happy Anniversary Doristas !

We have had a lot of anniversary celebrations around here lately and
 while the blogging anniversary is only number 4 - that is quite a milestone.
 Weekly blogging (ok, I do have a few make ups to do :) since 2010, 
nearing the end of cooking an entire book of recipes, and taking a journey 
that would lead us to gaining friends from around the world - including 
the fabulous Dorie Greenspan herself- continues to utterly amaze me. 
Canellé molds- my kitchen is happier with them added.
When I first heard of cannelés it was from a co-worker whose wife 
is a foodie. She did copious research and learned that a farmer's market 
on the Philadelphia Main Line, not far from us, supposedly had a vendor
 with amazing skills at making this pastry. She was on the hunt. I had 
never heard of them before and her verdict was lukewarm. She was a 
skilled baker and tough critic and went back to making them at home. 
And likely dreaming of a trip to Paris. I am still in touch with these 
friends and report on my weekly recipes tested, especially the baked treats. 
half way mark- I have already decided the big one on the left is mine....
Now when I think of that farmer's market I instead think of our Boston
 area Dorista- Betsy- and how Betsy has a sister somewhere near there...... 
so gee, wouldn't it be fun to get Nana and all meet up the next time
 Betsy is in town ??  Yup.  Because that is what Doristas do when they 
are not cooking cannelés in their own kitchens.  And because that is what
 cannelés mean to me after four years of cooking with this group. 
So how actually were they ?  
Fabulous.
 Utterly fabulous.
 I picked up tips (and many a calorie) from Nana's delicious test runs and
 aimed well at time in the oven. The aroma was amazing and the taste 
was utterly delicious.  The tops that puffed out while baking became
 a chewy sort of crispy consistency and my taste testers went NUTS. 
 I was already looking forward to Baking Chez Moi but this sealed the deal.

Thanks for everything Dorie and hope you have a spectacular birthday !

19 comments:

  1. 3rd time trying to comment:
    OMGorgeous copper tones from both ladies! And good job with the birthday setup for the presentations! Well done!

    I have so much batter left in the fridge, going to be eating canelles for dinner and supper tonight!

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  2. I'm so intrigued by the cannelles! I've never heard of them before, and didn't make them because I didn't want to buy such a single-purpose mold. Maybe I can justify it if I trade out my madeleine tray (despite all my efforts, I just don't see what the big deal is regarding madeleines.) Love all those beautiful, caramelized browns!

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  3. You both did an amazing job! It's been wonderful to get to know you both over the past four years - looking forward to more Baking!

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  4. I need to buy those molds...your cannelés look divine! It's been a terrific 4 years...and we MUST get together again!!! xo

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  5. Gorgeous canneles, way to stick it out, Nana. As frustrating as it likely was to make them 3 times, that really is probably the best way to really learn such a tricky recipe. The end result looks absolutely delicious.

    And Tricia, I couldn't agree more with your sentiments. This has been a wonderful experience and I'm so happy that I joined, not just for the food but also for the connections.

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  6. What a great birthday greeting you sent Dorie (and, us). First, this Post taught me how to spell cannelés. I have the accent aigu on the wrong "e". (I'll get that corrected when I finish this comment.) Next, you're right that a 4th year anniversary (FFWD) does not trump a 60th wedding anniversary (your Mom and Dad, our Ro and Jim). But I'm sure you agree that they both merit a whoopee and hooray (among other things). I am persuaded to buy the molds and, if you can ship Ro out here, I can eliminate my early fails. I would also provide breakfast in bed as she enjoyed when we were at the food bloggers conference. As I remember, we were out and about at 5am and she was NOT. A wonderful Post, a genuine tribute to Dorie and our FFWD colleagues and some sweet goodies to anticipate. I am so fortunate that the two of you have crossed my path. Very fortunate.

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  7. Wow Nana, A baker after my own heart…never give up! Your results are absolutely gorgeous! I love Canneles, they have been a favorite of mine for a long time. I’ve learned quite a bit by being a Williams-Sonoma groupie!
    Tricia…again beautifully done! So glad you ladies enjoyed this recipe! I delighted in your post and tribute to Dorie. It really has been a wonderful, exciting 4 years…I truly feel fortunate to have such awesome blogging friends, and to have met so many of you last year at the IFBC. Maybe we have to do it again! Happy Friday….Happy Anniversary!

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  8. Your cannelés look amazing! I love the caramelization! I also really like the plating with the beautiful roses.

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  9. Nana and Tricia, it's been so lovely blogging with you over the past four years. Both your versions of cannelés are gorgeous! Here's to a whole new book of recipes to work through together.

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  10. Ladies, your canneles look fantastic. Dorie would be very proud.

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  11. Perfection! Both of your Canneles are stunning! What a lovely four years, I'm so glad that I found FFWD and all the wonderful friends I've met through it. I hope to meet you both in person someday! Maybe when you get tired of cold weather in the winter you will have to make a trip to SoCal and visit the West Coast Doristas!

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  12. Wow! Those are perfect looking little cakes guys! You did an awesome job!
    I'm a bit far away here in Australia but I love to read about the group meeting even if I'm not there! Makes the world seem smaller and more intimate :)

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  13. I left my baking for the last minutes, and instead of beautifully burnished cannelés I had cake briquettes. But yes, that smell during that first half hour was glorious.

    If third time was the charm for Nana, I'm in great company. :-)

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  14. Nana, such effort! I hope each effort was more tasty than the last! :)

    Tricia, we just all need to wind up in NYC for a Dorista get-together, but it's really what we all do now isn't it? If we are near to a Dorista, we try to plan to meet up? :)

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  15. Your canneles (I'm not even trying the accent in the comment) both look amazing! I tried the frozen version from Trader Joe's (don't even know if they still have them), but they weren't as gorgeous as yours and I'm sure not nearly as tasty. Yes, yes, yes, Tricia, a farmers market meetup is necessary next time I visit my sister. I haven't been there since spring, but will let you know next time I'm in Philly. Or you let me know when you're visiting your kids up here in Boston. We're due for another meet up. I've added the canneles mold to my wish list on Amazon because I really want to try for myself. In addition to all this week's FFWD celebrations, extra happy anniversary wishes to both of you and your husbands (I can't remember whether I already wished you, Tricia, so I'll just reextend my best wishes.) Happy weekend!

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  16. Both of you had expert results with those canneles. Great photos too. I am also looking forward to the new cookbook and cooking with TWD.

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  17. I am absolutely stunned by how gorgeous both of your treats are! Ro and Tricia, these are amazing (though I probably think that every time I see your blog - well, maybe not for one of the nondescript soups!). I didn't even attempt them, but they look so good, and your description is so wonderful! What a delightful post!

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  18. Beautiful job ladies! I love the persistence.

    And yes, more meetups. Ahem, Vermont, ahem... Next year, when we move closer to Saratoga, it will be even easier :-)

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  19. Nana I'm impressed with your perseverance! I will have to get the molds so I can try this one. I'm looking forward to my book arriving! It has been a fun four years, hasn't it? We've learned so much from and about one another:) Miss you ladies! Wish I could join you when you meet Betsy in Boston! Nice job on the cooking and photography!

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