Cranberry Coffee Cake

Pioneer Woman Nantucket Cranberry Pie

About a year ago, before I discovered pinterest, I came across a recipe for cranberry coffee cake while surfing the net and gave it a try for a ladies coffee date at my house.  We all loved it and I made it a couple of times before moving on to something else and it totally went off my radar.  Until I saw fresh cranberries in the grocery store recently.  Now I can't find the same recipe.

I found this one from The Pioneer Woman and tried it today.  Its good but its not quiet what I'm looking for.  But this one is worth a try.  The topping is a lot like a crumble with a delicate almond flavor.  The one I had before was a bit more like coffee cake.

If anyone has a recipe for cranberry cake, pie, or coffee cake please let me know!

FFwD - Chicken Tagine with Sweet Potatoes and Prunes and Soup Catch Up

B having breakfast with GiGi and Thunder:)

I know that's not a picture of Chicken Tagine or Spur of the Moment Soup but I can't resist the impulse to tell you why I missed last week's post.  He was at my house:)  Having our grandson spend a week with us without his parents was heavenly!  For us at least, not so much for his Mom and Dad.

B stayed at Camp GiGi Thunder (I'm GiGi, Gary's Thunder......I know, I know its weird but there's a story) while his parents settled into their new home.  A chance to know B more intimately was not just rewarding it filled our hearts to near bursting.  Being grandparents IS as wonderful as people say!!!  The problem is we miss him so much now.  We are going through serious baby withdrawal pain.

Chicken Tagine with Sweet Potatoes and Prunes

The Chicken Tagine.  It was wonderful.  The chicken was moist and tender.  The prunes and onions almost melt in your mouth.  Sweet potatoes are always a hit with us.  I served it with rice because that's what I had but I would love to try it with couscous.  I might not make the recipe as is often but I will use the technique often.

Spur of the Moment Vegetable Soup

And last week's Spur of the Moment Soup - Loved it too!  I used carrots and potatoes, once again its what I had and it was quick and easy and delicious!  October has been a great month of Dorie recipes!

Visit the French Friday website to see what everyone else did with the recipe.  Now we're on to November's recipes and it looks like another great line up.  Happy Halloween everyone:)

FFwD - Crispy, Crackly Apple-Almond Tart

Crispy, Crackly Apple-Almond Tart

Its not pretty.  I want a dessert to be pretty.  When I bring it to the table I want people to gasp, maybe that's a bit dramatic, but I want the people eager for a taste.  This apple-almond tart looks okay.  It looks like the sturdy older sister of desserts that will be a perfectly adequate dessert but not a fun, flirty younger sister of a dessert that will leave you wanting more!

That being said it probably would have been prettier had I run it under the broiler (as Dorie suggests) to brown the apples up a bit.  I served it with Brown Sugar Bourbon Ice Cream.  The recipe was in my new bon Appétite magazine and I was able to fulfill my goal of cooking at least one recipe from every magazine that comes in the house:)  Gary thought the ice cream was too sweet but I thought it was great and it will probably make an appearance at Thanksgiving to escort the pecan pie!  I might even add toasted pecans!

Aside from appearance this tart is good and very easy to make.  Gary's hoping I'll make it again soon!

I just took at peek at the other French Friday cooks links and it looks like everyone loved it!

FFwD - Hummus

Hummus from Around My French Table



Hummus may not seem very French but Dorie says its become popular and on the menu at many restaurants and in many homes.  If I were composing a book of recipes from 'around my American table' there would be things like ravioli and tacos and posole and other things not necessarily thought of as typical American food.

A friend came over and we shared a bottle of Grgich Hills Cabernet with our hummus.  Its a wine that is out of my typical budget but we split the cost making it fun and affordable for us both.  Grgich Hills was our favorite winery on our Napa tour.

Be sure to check out everyone's results with this easy and delicious recipe at  French Fridays with Dorie!