And yet another gourmet success! The Gourmet Girls met on Tuesday, September 20 at Laura Steven's (LS) home just two days after her return from Italy. Naturally she had to try out some of her new Italian cuisine on us! Unfortunately Raquel was detained and work and unable to join us. So, we started the night off with soup, salad, and bread. Andrea favored us with Sweet Pea Soup (Emeril Lagasse). I don't even like peas and this soup was delicious! Lara made a Rich & Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing which she served over wedge salads with fresh tomatoes and freshly ground pepper. True to form, Jodi stuck with the theme and made loaves of delicious Italian Bread. Then our main dishes were ready, Mahi Mahi with a red sauce and Gnocchi over figs. Lynley made a fantastic side dish Mashed Potatoes Baked with Three Cheeses (Williams Sonoma) For desert, I dove into a new project and created four different varieties of cake bites! I'm obsessed! Once again we had a fabulous evening with food and friends! 
The Cook in the Kitchen!
Andrea, Laura (LS) and Lara (LA)
Bridget, Lynley & Jodi
Mashed Potatoes with Three Cheeses
4 large russet potatoes cut into 1/2 inch cubes
4 1/2 oz Brie cheese, rind removed, cut into 1/2 inch dice
5 1/2 oz fresh white goat cheese, crumbled
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup whole milk, plus more if needed
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
Preheat the oven to 350. Butter a 9-inch pie dish.
Pour water to a depth of 1 inch into a large pot and bring to a boil. Put the potatoes into a collapsible steamer basket and set the basket over the boiling water. (The water should not touch the bottom of the steamer basket). Cover and steam until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a small knife, about 15 minutes. Transfer the potatoes to a bowl.
Empty the pot and wipe dry. Return the potatoes to the still-hot pot. Add two-thirds of the Parmesan cheese and mash well with a potato masher. Add the 1/4 cup milk, a scant 1/4 tsp kosher salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper and mash to blend, adding more milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed to reach the desired consistency. Transfer the potatoes to the prepared dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheeses evenly over the potatoes.
Bake the potatoes until heated through and the cheese is just beginning to brown on top, about 20 minutes. Serve at once, sprinkled with the parsley.
Gnocchi with Figs
Unfortunately we didn't get a picture of the fish!
Cake Bites Galore!
I have loved cake bites ever since my friend Karen Veranth introduced me to them at The Sweet Tooth Fairy! So the thought of creating my own was so exciting I could hardly stand it! I finally bought the book I'd had my eye on for the past month - (101 Cake Bites by Wendy Paul) and dove into the process! I made Chocolate Cream, Lemon Cream Pie, Chocolate Peanut-Butter Cup and White Chocolate Macademia. I also dipped some vanilla cookies in chocolate and sprinkled them (something I'd seen on Good Things Utah that week - not that great.) But the cake bites were pretty heavenly! I shared the gourmet left-overs with family, friends, piano students and neighbors and it seems Chocolate Cream Pie took 1st place, with Lemon Cream Pie as a very close 2nd. For all of the cake bites, it is basically a three-step process:
1. Bake the cake
2. Combine the crumbled up cake with frosting and other ingredients until it is a dough-like consistency. Then roll into bites and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
3. Dip the bites in chocolate and decorate the tops
White Chocolate Macadamia
I loved these!
1 box white cake mix
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup half-and-half
Mix together and pour into a 9x13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 28-32 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Remove from oven and cool completely. Crumble cake into small even pieces, placing crumbs in a large bowl.
ADD:
1/3 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
1/3 cup white chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
With the back of a spoon, mix together, form into bites and cool in the fridge 1-2 hours or 20 min in the freezer. Dip into white melting chocolate. Drizzle with melted chocolate and/or chopped macadamia nuts.
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
I should have taken better notes, but I'm pretty sure I halved this recipe.
8 TBS (1 stick) butter, room temperature
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
3/4 TBS milk or cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup
I thought these were the most difficult to make because the consistency of the dough was so sticky with the peanut butter. It was also my least favorite flavor, but others seemed to love them. You'll notice the chocolate is not very shiny and sort of dull looking. I used Gutitard Chocolate, which I purchased in a 5 lb bag at Gygi. Not sure why these are dull looking; could be I over-heated the chocolate.
1 box dark chocolate cake mix
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup half-and-half
Mix all together and pour into a greased 9x13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 28-32 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Remove from oven and cool completely. Crumble cake into small, even pieces, placing crumbs in a large bowl.
ADD:
1 cup Chocolate Buttercream Frosting or 1 cup Peanut Butter Frosting
3 pkgs. (1.5 oz) regular-size peanut butter cups, unwrapped and coarsely chopped (I used the 4.4 oz package they carry at Wal-Mart for $1.00)
With the back of a spoon, mix together cake crumbles with other ingredients until a thick dough consistency forms. Shape into evenly sized cake bites and cool 1-2 hours in the fridge or 20 min in the freezer. Dip into melting chocolate. Drizzle with melted chocolate and/or chopped peanuts (I didn't do).
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
I can't remember but I'm pretty sure I did halved this recipe.
8 TBS butter, room temperature
1 cup peanut butter (chunky or smooth - I used chunky)
2 cups powdered sugar
3-4 TBS milk or cream
1 tsp vanilla
Lemon Cream Pie
These were probably the most time-intensive of the four recipes I did, since you have to crush the candy, make the frosting and zest a lemon. These were my personal favorite.
1 box lemon cake mix
2 TBS grated lemon zest
3 eggs
1 tsp lemon extract
3/4 cup half-and-half
Mix together cake mix, lemon zest, eggs, lemon extract, and half-and-half. Batter will be thick. Pour into a greased 9x13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 28-32 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Remove from oven and cool completely. Crumble cake into small, even pieces, placing crumbs in a large bowl.
ADD:
1/3 cup crushed hard lemon candy (I used Lemonheads)
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup Lemon Buttercream Frosting
2 TBS grated lemon zest
With the back of a spoon, mix together cake crumbles with other ingredients until a thick dough consistency forms. Shape into evenly sized cake bites and cool 1-2 hours in the refrigerator (I put mine on parchment paper on a cookie sheet) or 20 minutes in the freezer. Dip into white melting chocolate. I sprinkled the tops with yellow sprinkles, which I thought made them sparkle!
Lemon Buttercream Frosting
(This is 1/4 of the recipe listed in the cookbook, which made a little more than enough for one batch of cake bites).
2 TBS butter
1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 to 1 TBS milk or cream
1/2 tsp lemon extract
Place butter in a large mixing bowl. Beat until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds. Stop the mixer before adding the sugar or you will have a large mess to clean up. Add sugar, milk, and lemon extract. Beat frosting, starting on slow and increasing your speed until frosting is nice and creamy. Add more milk if frosting is too thick.
Chocolate Cream Pie
1 box chocolate cake mix
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
Mix together and bake at 350 degrees for 28-32 minutes.
ADD:
8 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (I think I used a little more than 1/4 cup)
Form into cake bites and cool in the fridge 1-2 hours or 20 min in the freezer. Dip into dark melting chocolate. (I used milk chocolate.) The cookbook pictures little white swirls of frosting on the top, which I tried but was not skilled at. I'd like to give this another shot.
Chocolate Buttercream
This was the first recipe of cake bites I tried, so I made the entire recipe of frosting, however I learned quickly that the frosting recipes in this book make far too much frosting for what you need. I made two batches of cake bites with this one recipe of frosting and have more left in my fridge. You could for sure half this recipe, maybe cut it in 1/4.
8 TBS butter
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
3-4 tsp milk or cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
The chocolate I used to dip these in was Milk Chocolate Flavored Candy (specified for fondue, candymaking, desserts and fountains). It was Chocomaker brand, which I purchased at Harmons in a 2 lb bag for $7.99. I thought it tasted every bit as good as the Guittards but I thought the shiny texture was much prettier and I didn't think they had a waxy flavor, which melting chocolate sometimes does. It was $1.00 more per pound that the Guittards.
