Ruhlman’s BLT Contest Entry

August 2, 2009 | by Ben 1

Michael Ruhlman has a contest this summer to make a BLT from scratch, and Sarah and I thought we’d enter it.

This is our one entry for all three categories (photograph, overall preparation and interpretation).

The bread is a sort of mock whole wheat sourdough, or “good yeast gone bad.” Here is the recipe:

2 cups white whole wheat flour 1 cup bread flour 2 t. course salt 2 t. instant yeast 2 T. good olive oil (1 T. in the dough, 1 T. to coat the dough while it rests) about 1 1/4 cups warm water

Knead everything except for 1 T. olive oil for about 10 minutes. I used a Kitchenaid stand mixer. Leave the dough out overnight in warm weather, coated in 1 T. oil, covered loosely, to develop sour flavors. If it’s cold, leave for up to a day or two. Refrigerate dough for up to a few days to further develop flavors. Remove dough from the fridge, shape and let rise for a couple hours (until 1 1/2 times larger), then bake at 375 … continue reading

CLICK: April 2008 (Au Naturel)

April 17, 2008 | by Sarah 3

This is my entry for the CLICK: April 2008 (Au Naturel) photo contest. I first heard of this contest through Maybelle’s Mom. I chose strawberries because these strawberries in particular were great, especially for first of the season berries. I am posting below my two favorites, but I ultimately chose to enter the first one because of the cool pattern and vibrant colors inside the berries.

… continue reading

Lavender Lime Tarts

February 9, 2008 | by Ben 3


I made these for the Small Tarts Have Big Hearts contest at the Mini Pie Revolution blog. I have Karyn and Ann of the Mini Pie Revolution to thank for my ability to enter this contest, as they awarded me the mini tart pans I needed in order to make the tarts.

I consciously made this recipe far simpler than my last entry–it’s about as easy as you can get for making a crust, a filling and a garnish. Ironically, these pies took me much longer to perfect than my previous more complicated ones. I based the filling on a lavender frozen yogurt recipe, which is familiar territory for me. I know very little about baked custards and traditional pies, though, and I had a lot to learn before I was able to come up with a tart with a good filling constency and balanced flavor between the components. I’m still not 100% certain on the baking time needed to set the custard, but … continue reading

Mini Mud Pies with Bruleed Bananas

December 23, 2007 | by Ben 6

I made this recipe as an entry into the Mini Pie Revolution contest. I came up with the ice cream recipe years ago, but I always knew I needed some kind of counterpoint to the intensity of the chocolate, coffee and bourbon flavors. The granola crusts work well for this, as do the bruleed bananas.

Cocoa-Almond Granola Pie Crusts
1 3/4 cups rolled oats3/4 cup slivered almonds1/8 cup unsweetened cocoa powder¼ teaspoon salt¼ cup brown sugar1 ½ TB. white sugar3 TB. honey1 TB. Canola oil¼ teaspoon vanilla3 TB. butter, melted or at room temperature
(1) Preheat oven to 275 degrees.(2) Mix together first six ingredients in a medium bowl and next three ingredients in a small bowl. Combine thoroughly.(3) Spread evenly on a baking sheet and bake for 30–40 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until fragrant.(4) Remove mixture and allow to cool slightly. It should become crunchy.(5) Turn oven up to 325 degrees.(6) Pulse oat mixture with butter into course meal … continue reading