Coconut, butter, and nuts make up this delicious shortbread-like cookie. And they're so easy to make. I made half the batter with chopped macadamia nuts and half with pistachios (salmonella-free ones). After rolling the dough out in a gallon-size zipper-lock bag, I let it rest in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Then, after cutting them out, I put them back in the refrigerator to firm up a bit before baking.

Recipe

Makes 32 cookies

1½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt
Pinch of ground coriander
2/3 cup sugar
Grated zest of 1 lime
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut
½ cup finely chopped macadamia nuts (or pistachios)
You can find the recipe for Coconut Butter Thins in the book Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan or here. To see how the rest of the TWD group fared with this week's recipe, click here and then click on each blogger! Thanks to Jayne from Barefoot Kitchen Witch who chose the recipe for this week.

Tasting Notes
These cookies melt in your mouth at first and then you're left with a bit of a chew from the coconut and nuts. I couldn't decide which version I liked better. The pistachio cookies were slightly chewier, and I love their green flecks. Either way, we'll have crumbs left in the cookie jar.

Recipe for Next Week (April 7)
Banana Cream Pie on pages 342 and 343 chosen by Amy of Sing for Your Supper.

Winner of the Giveaway
Thanks to everyone who left a comment on last week's Tuesdays with Dorie post. Green Valley Pecan Company sent me two ½-pound bags of pecans cultivated near Tucson, Arizona. I'm giving away one of the bags they sent me, and Grace from A Southern Grace was the winner!

Photographing poultry is not easy. Desserts are so much prettier.
Try this:
Click here for images of chicken. Click here for images of dessert.
I rest my case.
This is the last in the series about poultry (next week is frog legs!), and the recipe calls for guinea hen (or guinea fowl). I like my white meat, and this bird is generally dark meat so I had a feeling I wouldn't like this meal.

For this dish, you will have to sauté and set aside many times, which for some reason reminded me of square dancing calls (not that I square dance, but I have watched relatives!).

Circle right.
Bacon, blanch and fry.
Set aside.
Pearl onions, peel and sauté.
Set aside.
Mushrooms, sauté.
Set aside.
Guinea hen, dry, dredge and sauté.
Set aside.
With half the wine, deglaze.
Half Sashay.
Add Bouquet Garni, lardons, pearl onions and mushrooms.
Split Two.
Cover and bake.
Promenade.
Pan drippings, reserve.
California Twirl.
Chestnuts, sauté.
Set aside.
Arrange chestnuts, lardons, pearl onions, mushrooms and guinea hen in casserole and bake.
Couples Circulate.
For the sauce, shallots, sauté.
Rollaway.
With the last of the wine, deglaze.
Dosado to a wave.
Pan drippings, pour in.
Weave the Ring.
Reduce.
Pass thru.
Whisk in butter and serve.
Alamo Style.
Recipe

Serves 6 (picture shows half a recipe)

¾ pound slab bacon, sliced ¼ inch thick
12 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ pound pearl onions, peeled
1 pound oyster mushrooms, trimmed, rinsed, and dried
¾ pound button or quartered large mushrooms, trimmed, rinsed and dried
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 guinea hens, 2 pounds each
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cups red wine
1 Bouquet Garni
¾ pound whole shelled chestnuts
3 shallots, chopped fine
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped

Flour for guinea hens
Unsalted butter, softened, for parchment paper
You can find the recipe for Pintade à la Cévenole (Guinea Hen with Mushrooms and Chestnuts) in the book Le Cordon Bleu at Home. To see how the rest of the Whisk Wednesdays group fared with their recipe, click here (or check out the sidebar) and then click on each blogger!

Tasting Notes
This dish needs whole chestnuts. (Do.not.use.puréed.chestnuts.that.smell.like.cat.food.) I learned this week I'm not a fan of guinea hen and puréed chestnuts. I may try making this dish again using chicken and whole chestnuts (as called for in the recipe).

The sauce is the star of the dish. It's a beurre rouge that is rich, velvety and easy.
Next Class
• Cuisses de Grenouille aux Herbes (Herbed Frog Legs) from Chocolate & Zucchini

. . . . . . . . . .

Running total: $1,161.36 + $22.93 (guinea hen) + $23.72 (other ingredients) = $1,208.01

Butter used so far: 10 pounds, 4 tablespoons

. . . . . . . . . .

I love a good coffee cake, and this blueberry crumb cake doesn't disappoint. First there's the crunch and spice in the topping before hitting the moist crumb of the cake. I decided to bake my "coffee cakes" in little espresso cups. After a quick spritz with cooking spray, I baked them for 25-30 minutes.

On a side note, today marks one year of TWD posts. My first was last March 24th, which was one of my favorites: Caramel-topped Flan. I've learned a lot this past year about baking and community, and I've made many friends through this group. Thanks, Laurie, for starting this amazing baking sensation!

Recipe

Makes 8 servings (8x8 pan)


For the Crumbs:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup sugar
1/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup chopped walnuts (I used pecans)

For the Cake:
1 pint (2 cups) blueberries (preferably fresh, or frozen, not thawed)
2 cups plus 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2/3 cup sugar
grated zest of ½ lemon or ¼ orange
¾ stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
You can find the recipe for Blueberry Crumb Cake in the book Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan or here. To see how the rest of the TWD group fared with this week's recipe, click here and then click on each blogger! Thanks to Sihan from Befuddlement who chose the recipe for this week.

Tasting Notes
Any cake with extra sugar and spice in each bite is a winner with me.

Recipe for Next Week (March 31)
Coconut Butter Thins on pages 145 chosen by Jayne of The Barefoot Kitchen Witch.

Other Crumb Cakes
• Nicole from Baking Bites: New York Crumb Cake
• Peabody from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody: Banana Fosters Crumb Cake
• Rebecca from Ezra Pound Cake: Pear Crumb Cake with Candied Ginger Streusel

Giveaway

Green Valley Pecan Company sent me two ½-pound bags of pecans cultivated near Tucson, Arizona. I used them in this Blueberry Crumb Cake, and they're tasty. I'm giving away one of the bags they sent me. To enter to win, all you need to do is comment on this post. On Sunday, March 29 at noon EST, I’ll randomly select a winner from all the comments that have been submitted. I will email the winner (so make sure you leave your email in the comment) and announce the lucky person in next week's Tuesdays with Dorie post.

The last meal in this series of 5 in 5 is a delicious Sun-dried Tomato Sauce that I put on chicken, but it would be just as good on pasta. There is a wonderful little Italian restaurant in Ottawa called Zola's that inspired me to go hunting for a sun-dried tomato cream sauce recipe. After having their Sun-dried Tomato Mushroom Linguini for dinner one night, I wanted to re-create it at home. One of my favorite recipe sites, Epicurious had a promising recipe for what I was looking for. After a few tweaks, it was similar enough to what I had at Zola's.

I'm making 5 meals in 5 hours to avoid the "What's for dinner" question. I'll post one meal each day, in the order I made them. Here's the plan:

1. Savory Pot Roast
2. Shrimp Curry (or you could substitute chicken)
3. Chicken Stir-Fry (or you could substitute tofu)
4. Lavender and Rosemary Pork Tenderloin
5. Sun-dried Tomato Cream Sauce on Chicken or Pasta

While the Lavender and Rosemary Pork Tenderloin is roasting, you can make the Sun-dried Tomato Cream Sauce for chicken or pasta.

Recipe

adapted from Epicurious

Serves 6

6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1½ pound total)
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 yellow onion, finely diced
¼ cup drained sun-dried tomatoes (packed in oil; ½ ounce), patted dry and coarsely chopped
¾ teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
¼ cup dry white wine
¾ cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1¾ cup heavy cream
¼ cup fresh basil, thinly sliced
To Prepare and Eat Now:
Dry the meat with a paper towel and season with salt and black pepper. Heat oil in a large sauté pan over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Brown chicken on all sides, about 6 minutes total. (Chicken will not be cooked through.) Set aside.

Add garlic, tomatoes, and red pepper flakes to pan and sauté, stirring, until garlic is pale golden, about 1 minute. Add wine and bring to a boil, stirring and scraping up brown bits. Reduce this mixture by half, about 1 minute. Add chicken broth, mustard and soy sauce and bring to a boil, covered.

Add chicken to skillet with any juices accumulated on plate and simmer, covered, until cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Set chicken aside and tent with foil. Purée sauce with either an immersion or stand blender until almost smooth. (Use caution when blending hot liquids in a stand blender.) If necessary, add water to thin to desired consistency. (Can be made ahead up to this point and frozen.)

Stir cream and 2 tablespoons basil into sauce in pan and bring just to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve sauce over chicken and garnish with remaining 2 tablespoons basil.

To Freeze:
Freeze sauce (before adding cream) and chicken. Recommended freezing time: 4-6 months.

To Prepare After Freezing:
Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Heat sauce and chicken. Add cream and 2 tablespoons basil to the sauce and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Serve sauce over chicken and garnish with remaining 2 tablespoons basil.

Tips:
To save time, use bottled minced garlic. To save money, mince your own garlic.

. . . . . . . . . .

Cost: $21.16 ($3.53 per serving)

. . . . . . . . . .

Other Ideas for Sun-dried Tomatoes
• Kalyn's Kitchen: Sun-dried Tomato Pesto
• Look and Taste: Making Home Made Sun-dried Tomatoes
• Smitten Kitchen: Sun-dried Tomato Stuffed Mushrooms

Summary of 5 Meals in 5 Hours
Here is a summary of what it cost me (in Canadian) to make these 5 meals:

• Savory Pot Roast: Cost: $11.29 ($1.13 per serving) 10 servings
• Shrimp Curry: Cost: $21.40 ($3.57 per serving) 6 servings
• Chicken Stir-Fry: Cost: $26.64 ($3.33 per serving) 8-10 servings
• Lavender and Rosemary Pork Tenderloin: Cost: $20.75 ($2.59 per serving) 8-10 servings
• Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce on Chicken: Cost: $21.16 ($3.53 per serving) 6 servings

Total: $101.24
Total servings: 38
Average cost per serving: $2.66

Up next is another roast, but this time it's lavender and rosemary-laden pork tenderloin. This recipe comes from a famous Ottawa foodie, Chris Knight, President of Knight Enterprises, and the brainchild behind some hit food television shows, including my all-time favorite: Cook Like a Chef. He's also produced The Great Canadian Food Show, Licensed to Grill, and Junk Brothers.

I asked my Whisk Wednesdays group if they get Cook Like a Chef in the US on the Food Network, and they don't. The Food Network is missing out on the best cooking show ever, hands down. It's a half-hour show featuring one of six Canadian chefs and three to four recipes or techniques per episode. And the set is unique too, showing every move the chef makes with close-ups from the cameras that are in plain view and giving a 360˚ view of what's happening.

You can order the first season of Cook Like a Chef on DVD (available in April 2009) here: Cook Like a Chef: Season 1. (Mine is on order.) You can also buy the cookbook, Cook Like a Chef: Techniques, Tips and Secrets from the Professional Kitchen to Yours, which I own. (I also have the music CD from the show. What can I say? I'm a fan!}

I'm making 5 meals in 5 hours to avoid the "What's for dinner" question. I'll post one meal each day, in the order I made them. Here's the plan:

1. Savory Pot Roast
2. Shrimp Curry (or you could substitute chicken)
3. Chicken Stir-Fry (or you could substitute tofu)
4. Lavender and Rosemary Pork Tenderloin
5. Sun-dried Tomato Cream Sauce on Chicken or Pasta

After making the Chicken Stir-Fry, you can start chopping the ingredients for the Lavender and Rosemary Pork Tenderloin.

Recipe

from Cook Like a Chef: Techniques, Tips and Secrets from the Professional Kitchen to Yours

Serves 8-10 (based on 1 pound of pork serving 4)

2½ pound pork tenderloin
2 sprigs fresh lavender, finely chopped
½ cup fresh rosemary, finely chopped
½ cup white wine
2 teaspoons yellow onion, finely chopped
2 teaspoons roasted or fresh garlic, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Touch of honey
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
To Prepare and Eat Now:
Preheat oven to 375°F.

In a large bowl, mix the lavender, rosemary, onions, garlic and bay leaf.

In a small saucepan, reduce the white wine by half and add it to the lavender mixture.

Put all the ingredients back into the pan and reduce it to the consistency of molasses.

Dry the pork tenderloin with paper towel. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Coat the pork tenderloin with the lavender mixture.

Put the tenderloin in a roasting pan and roast in the oven for 25 minutes, or until still slightly pink in the middle about 155°F-160°F.

To Freeze:
Roast to a temperature just a bit less than done so that when you reheat it, the meat will be perfect. Slice the pork and wrap between layers of wax paper. Recommended freezing time: 2-3 months.

To Prepare After Freezing:
Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Heat and serve.

Tips:
To save time, use bottled minced garlic. To save money, mince your own garlic.

. . . . . . . . . .

Cost: $20.75 ($2.59 per serving)

. . . . . . . . . .

Other Pork Tenderloin Recipes
• Crabby Cook: Dukkah Crusted Pork Tenderloin
• Serious Eats - Tom Valenti's One-Pot Meals: Pork Tenderloin Medallions
• The Perfect Pantry: Pork Tenderloin with Grilled Lavender Peaches

Chicken stir-fry is comfort food for me. I remember eating a lot of stir-fries when I was growing up and watching Wok with Yan on TV (not to be confused with Martin Yan's Yan Can Cook). Stephen Yan's Chinese cooking show was produced in Vancouver, Canada by the CBC from 1980 to 1982. I clearly remember his amazing knife skills and his apron, which always had a pun with the word "wok". Here's a segment of Stephen Yan with David Letterman:


This stir-fry recipe is from one of my favorite restaurants in Ottawa, The Green Door, a vegetarian buffet place where they weigh your plate to determine the price. I always filled up on their tofu stir-fry and was happy when they published it in their cookbook, although I've crossed the vegetarian line and replaced the tofu with chicken.

I'm making 5 meals in 5 hours to avoid the "What's for dinner" question. I'll post one meal each day, in the order I made them. Here's the plan:

1. Savory Pot Roast
2. Shrimp Curry (or you could substitute chicken)
3. Chicken Stir-fry (or you could substitute tofu)
4. Lavender and Rosemary Pork Tenderloin
5. Sun-dried Tomato Cream Sauce on Chicken or Pasta

After making the Shrimp Curry, you can start chopping the ingredients for the Chicken Stir-Fry.

Recipe

adapted from the Green Door restaurant, Ottawa

Serves 8-10

1/3 cup olive oil (I use less, about 2½ tablespoons.)
3½ pounds chicken, diced (or 1 block of firm tofu cubed 3x3x5)
1 cup carrots, thinly sliced
4-5 cups broccoli, cut into florets, stems peeled and cut diagonally
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
1 red pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 green pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

For the Sauce:
½ cup water
¼ cup tamari soy sauce
2 teaspoons fresh grated gingerroot
4 cloves garlic, crushed

For the Glaze:
1 tablespoon cornstarch
¼ cup water
To Prepare and Eat Now:
Mix all sauce ingredients in a jar or bowl and set aside. Dissolve glaze ingredients and set aside.

Heat a wok over medium-high heat and then add the oil. When the oil is hot, sauté chicken until browned and cooked through, about 10-15 minutes. Add carrots and cook, about 3-5 minutes. Add broccoli and cook, about 3-5 minutes.

Pour in the sauce ingredients and cook until broccoli is bright green but still firm. Add remaining vegetables and cook, about 3-5 minutes. Stir the glaze ingredients and pour it in. Stir until thick.

To Freeze:
Undercook the vegetables so that when you re-heat them, they aren't overcooked. Recommended freezing time: 4-6 months.

To Prepare After Freezing:
Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Heat and serve.

Tips:
To save time, use bottled minced garlic and ginger. To save money, mince your own garlic and ginger. To save time, buy a bag of ready-chopped vegetables for a stir-fry.

. . . . . . . . . .

Cost: $26.64 ($3.33 per serving)

. . . . . . . . . .

Other Stir-Fry Recipes
• Ashley from Delish: Spicy Chicken Stir-fry
• Karina from Karina's Kitchen: Chicken Stir-Fry in Peanut Sauce
• Lori from Recipe Girl: Garlic Chicken Stir-Fry