September Daring Bakers' Challenge - Croissants!

The Daring Bakers go retro this month! Thanks to one of our very talented non-blogging members, Sarah, the Daring Bakers were challenged to make Croissants using a recipe from the Queen of French Cooking, none other than Julia Child!

I was so excited to see this month's challenge. Croissants have been on my baking wish list for some time now. This was the extra shove I needed to actually try them. I love making breads and not to brag but I tend to be pretty good at it. I make all of the crescent rolls each time my church has a dinner. (I currently have 144 in the freezer waiting to be baked for a dinner on Sunday.)

The recipe's steps look very intimidating. While croissants are time consuming, I found the recipe itself to be very simple. I did it over the course of a day. I would like to try it again and spread the steps out over two or three days. I think having the extra rising time at the end would improve the layers.

My only complaint about the recipe was the amount of salt. I suppose that if I were not eating a low-sodium diet (by choice) I would never notice. Since I am not used to much salt however, it was all I could taste. I had hoped to try the recipe again this month with half the salt but never had the time. I will definitely make them again soon. I know I need additional practice. For a first attempt though I was very pleased.

Thank you, Sarah, for a wonderful challenge and for the extra push to get me to actually make them rather than just dream about making them!

Jalapeno Poppers

I have one jalapeno plant this year, but it has produced well. The problem is that my poor jalapeno peppers are not spicy at all. I was determined to use them to make a healthier version of poppers.

I sliced each of the peppers in half (leaving many of the seeds and most of the membrane). In a small bowl I combined cream cheese and shredded cheddar cheese. I stuffed this mixture into the pepper halves.

Next I rolled each stuffed pepper in flour, egg, and finally panko bread crumbs. I then put the tray of completed poppers in the freezer.

To bake I preheated the oven to 425 degrees. I cooked them for 12 minutes, but they would have been better at 16 minutes. Next time I will add more cheddar cheese and hopefully have spicier peppers. Overall I am pleased with this recipe and will use it again.

Beach Trip

At the end of last month my husband and I were able to go to the beach for a couple of days. The weather was lovely. Since school was in session, the beach was practically empty. Here are a few shots from our trip.