Monday, October 29, 2007

I hope the Colorado Rockies beat the Bostini Red Socks Cream Pie, Daring Bakers Challenge II


OK, so my title dosen’t really work anymore, but I thought I would leave it. I wrote up my second Daring Baker challenge this weekend, when the Colorado Rockies still had a chance. I have decided to leave this title because I am still bitter that the Red Sox knocked out the Tribe! I grew up in a suburb of Cleveland and have been a long time Tribe fan.

This is my second month as a Daring Baker and our challenge was to make a Bostini Cream pie. Here is a recap of the experience…..

Mistake #1: I sat down to review this month’s challenge and make my grocery list. I wrote down “cream of tartar” and didn’t think much about it. Until I got to the grocery store. It was at that moment that I realized I had no fargin clue was COT was. I thought about using a life line and calling someone, but figured that wandering the grocery store, trying to figure it out myself would be a better idea. So, after navigating the isles and the annoying mid-day shoppers, I decided that COT was probably tartar sauce. It was creamy and I felt that tartar was close enough to tar-tar, right?? WRONG. Before adding the impostor COT to my egg whites, I figured I would at least do a quick internet check. I realized that the two were not even close to being the same thing. Why didn’t they just tell me that COT is potassium hydrogen tartrate? That I get. Science truly is the international language. To my more sophisticated Daring Bakers, please don’t hold this confession against me. This is my first experience baking with COT! I swear, I have learned my lesson.

Mistake #2: The Daring Baker group has two blogs: one that is visible by everyone and one that is only visible to its members. The member only site has questions, tips and posts of the finished challenge. Very useful information that is helpful to look at BEFORE you begin the challenge. When I made the custard part of this recipe, I put it into star shaped molds. After several hours in the fridge, the custard didn’t firm up. After looking at the blog I realized that many others had this problem. I couldn’t redo because I was out of whole milk (Jr. finished the rest with dinner as a special treat….did you realize that a serving of whole milk has 16 grams of fat and 22 grams of sugar? Yuck!). So I just modified how I put it all together. I’ve got the rest of the cups in the fridge and am hoping for an overnight miracle.

This was a fun recipe to make and didn’t take as long as I thought it would. It did take me a little longer because I had to go back out to the store for some cream of tartar…… OK, I’ll stop complaining about my stupidity.

I am one of those weird people that only likes to taste orange flavor in an actual orange or in orange juice. Anything flavored with orange grosses me out. The cake part of this was flavored with orange. Next time I make it I will substitute strawberry. The guys ate this for dessert tonight and they both really liked it. Jr. gave it an 8/10, Mr. Big Momma gave it a 7/10. Although the custard didn’t firm up, it was delicious. The cake portion was spongy and moist.

You can visit http://daringbakersblogroll.blogspot.com/ and see the blog roll of the other Daring Bakers. It is really amazing what some of these talented people can do!!!

P.S. I made the challenge on Saturday. Today is Monday and my custard has STILL not firmed up. Oh well. It was still a blast making this and I couldn’t be more excited about being part of the Daring Bakers!!!

27 comments:

April said...

Your Bostini looks delish!!!

Anonymous said...

Sorry about the Rockies! Nice job on the Bostinis!

Chris said...

Well done on your lovley Bostoni
!

Lis said...

I love the star shape of the cake with the pool of chocolate in the middle.. very cute!

Yeah there was no happiness in this household when they knocked the tribe out.. bastages. Maybe next year!

xoxo

Lis said...

PS - Cream of tartar = tarter sauce.

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

I'm not laughing AT you.. I'm laughing WITH you. ;)

xoxo

Big Momma said...

I know, I know...total idiot. Shocking that I have a masters degree in molecular genetics, isn't it??

Jen Yu said...

Don't feel bad, my custard didn't firm up either. It looks wonderful and sounds like your tasting panel gave it a thumbs up! Good job :)


-jen at use real butter

Julie said...

Oh man, if only we could compile a "Best of the Bostini Challenge" post, tartar sauce would be the headliner. Speaking of which, your title cracked me up, too! Great post, and very cute Bostini!

The Girl Who Doesn't Like Cheese said...

I love the cream of tartar = tartar sauce (but creamy). Oh, that's a classic!!!!

Deborah said...

That made me laugh so hard!! I'm sitting here laughing at my desk and people are looking at me like I am crazy. It would have been interesting to see how it ended up with tartar sauce.... I love the photo, though -it looks like it was a success!!

Anonymous said...

not sure where this belongs either things you didn't know about yourself or what, but you do like Orange Beef

Unknown said...

I must admit that, although I have no problem with the Red Sox winning, I was hoping the Rockies would pull it off. Love your Bostinis. Maybe your custard will turn out better next time...somehow, mine firmed up pretty well.

Henny A. said...

I enjoyed reading your story on the "the making of the bostini cream pie"! very cute how yours turned out. Great job!

Alpineberry Mary said...

Your COT mistake is so cute and endearing. I'm glad you shared that story with us. Great job on your Bostinis.

marias23 said...

I adore your presentation. Your baseball team may have lost but your bostini is a winner ;)

breadchick said...

Great job on your second challenge. Sorry about the Tribe, they are my "other team" and it sucked that I had to watch one of my teams get knocked out (and sitting on Lisa's couch next to her hubs too!!!) Glad to have you with us!!

Big Momma said...

All of my fellow Daring Bakers rock!!! I am so happy that I joined this group.

Have a great week everyone!!

Christine said...

Hilarious post! I've wondered the aisles of the store before looking for stuff, it's not just you!

I love your presentation, it looks very nice!

Rosie said...

Hahahah!

Tarter Sauce!

Too awesome - it is going to enter the annals of food lore now!!

Julius said...

What a very funny title! :)

I love your bostini. They look scrumptious.

~ Julius, The Occasional Baker

Belinda said...

HA! You thought about calling a life line! So funny! Cream of tartar issues aside, you sure did turn out some fabulous looking Bostinis in the end! :-)

Dolores said...

Okay... you and Lis and I need to approach one of these challenges as a team sometime soon. I read your quest for COT and wondered why mom never told me I had a long lost sister...

Helene said...

I am laughing with you and uncommon ingredients that I did not ave access to before I moved the the US and COT was one of them. I decided to use one of the substitutions allowed and used coconut water instead of OJ. Don;t feel bad about the custard, it was supposed to be soft.

Jenny said...

Nice work!

Inne said...

No idea what that title means, but your bostini looks great! And your post is incredibly funny.

Gabi said...

I about fell out of my chair when I read .. tartar sauce! *hoohoo tears streaming*
Beautiful post and I love the heart of the star presentation.
xoxo

Peabody said...

Sorry about your team...but your dessert still shines.