The Man with the Orange Clogs' Empanada
2/21/10: Empanadas and Easy Fruit Salad
Meal details: For the main course I made empanadas with a bacon, chorizo sausage, bell pepper, onion, and cheese filling. But these weren't your typical half moon shaped empanadas, these were of the full scale variety. And for a side dish I made a fruit salad that had pineapple, apple, oranges, bananas, and something a little different: stove-top pudding. Hmm. . . Interesting, huh?
Defining moments: It's kind of funny but this is my first time making stove-top pudding using a mix. :) I only helped stir the pot before! And this is the first time for empanadas.
Recipe sources: The empanada recipe is from Mario Batali, the host of Molto Mario and numerous other cooking shows. He is known for his exceptional knowledge of Italian cooking and of course everyone knows his scooter and orange clogs! You might remember him from the show, Mario Eats Italy. I haven't seen the show in years but that was one of the most interesting (and funny!) cooking related programs I've seen. I chose this recipe because I am part of the Food Network Chef Cooking Challenge that is being hosted by the writer of the I Thank My Mother blog. When I was searching for a Batali recipe I learned that Mario had (or does, not too sure) a show on PBS about his road trip in the great country of Spain. It is called Spain: On the Road Again. Boy, I would like to watch that!
The empanada recipe requires pizza dough and I made my own using a recipe from the 2500 Recipes from Everyday to Extraordinary cookbook. I discovered earlier while making my Le Hog Pizza that this is one great recipe!
The fruit salad recipe came from the October 2006 issue of Home Cooking Magazine. Here is the recipe for those whole are interested:
Easy Fruit Salad
What I learned: I learned what an empanada is. :) Yeah, that's always important. I sort of had a good idea of what it is but I get kind of confuse with all those calzone-type dishes. So what is it exactly? An empanada is a stuffed bread or pastry and comes from the Spanish word empanar, which means to wrap. In Spain, an empanada is usually a large circle that is cut into wedges, but in Portugal and Mexico, the empanadas are made in semi-circular shapes like the one seen here.
Did I learn anything else? None of the recipes I did this week were really foreign to me. I mean, the empanada recipe was very close to the way I prepare my BBQ Chicken Pizza; the only difference was adding another crust on top of the filling. And the fruit salad was really easy to do. So not many new techniques or ingredients this week.
Any modifications? Yes, I made modifications to both recipes. For the empanadas, I didn't roll out the dough in a circle, I just stretched the dough out to the shape of a cookie sheet. And by the way, there is a typo in the recipe. Where it says to roll out into a thin round, they mean a 14" round, not a 1/4 round. Yeah, it kind of confused me a bit! And I also substituted bacon for the pancetta and added a Monterey Jack cheese mix to the filling because my family can't have pizza without the cheese!
And for the fruit salad. I used two Clementine oranges instead of the canned mandarin oranges. And to reach the necessary amount of juice, I added some orange juice from the carton.
How it tasted? Super! Everyone enjoyed the empanadas immensely. The fruit salad was loved by some and was "OK," for others. It mainly was caused by the addition of bananas. Some don't like bananas mixed with other flavors, but for some, like me, they love it that way. So it was a sort of hit and miss recipe for this family.
How about a 2nd time? Yes, I will do both recipes again but will take away the bananas from the salad and just add more apples or oranges.
Meal details: For the main course I made empanadas with a bacon, chorizo sausage, bell pepper, onion, and cheese filling. But these weren't your typical half moon shaped empanadas, these were of the full scale variety. And for a side dish I made a fruit salad that had pineapple, apple, oranges, bananas, and something a little different: stove-top pudding. Hmm. . . Interesting, huh?
Defining moments: It's kind of funny but this is my first time making stove-top pudding using a mix. :) I only helped stir the pot before! And this is the first time for empanadas.
Recipe sources: The empanada recipe is from Mario Batali, the host of Molto Mario and numerous other cooking shows. He is known for his exceptional knowledge of Italian cooking and of course everyone knows his scooter and orange clogs! You might remember him from the show, Mario Eats Italy. I haven't seen the show in years but that was one of the most interesting (and funny!) cooking related programs I've seen. I chose this recipe because I am part of the Food Network Chef Cooking Challenge that is being hosted by the writer of the I Thank My Mother blog. When I was searching for a Batali recipe I learned that Mario had (or does, not too sure) a show on PBS about his road trip in the great country of Spain. It is called Spain: On the Road Again. Boy, I would like to watch that!
The empanada recipe requires pizza dough and I made my own using a recipe from the 2500 Recipes from Everyday to Extraordinary cookbook. I discovered earlier while making my Le Hog Pizza that this is one great recipe!
The fruit salad recipe came from the October 2006 issue of Home Cooking Magazine. Here is the recipe for those whole are interested:
Easy Fruit Salad
- 1 (3 1/2-ounce) package cook-and-serve vanilla pudding
- 1 can pineapple tidbits
- 1 apple chopped
- 1 (11 ounce) can mandarin oranges
- 3 bananas
What I learned: I learned what an empanada is. :) Yeah, that's always important. I sort of had a good idea of what it is but I get kind of confuse with all those calzone-type dishes. So what is it exactly? An empanada is a stuffed bread or pastry and comes from the Spanish word empanar, which means to wrap. In Spain, an empanada is usually a large circle that is cut into wedges, but in Portugal and Mexico, the empanadas are made in semi-circular shapes like the one seen here.
Did I learn anything else? None of the recipes I did this week were really foreign to me. I mean, the empanada recipe was very close to the way I prepare my BBQ Chicken Pizza; the only difference was adding another crust on top of the filling. And the fruit salad was really easy to do. So not many new techniques or ingredients this week.
Any modifications? Yes, I made modifications to both recipes. For the empanadas, I didn't roll out the dough in a circle, I just stretched the dough out to the shape of a cookie sheet. And by the way, there is a typo in the recipe. Where it says to roll out into a thin round, they mean a 14" round, not a 1/4 round. Yeah, it kind of confused me a bit! And I also substituted bacon for the pancetta and added a Monterey Jack cheese mix to the filling because my family can't have pizza without the cheese!
And for the fruit salad. I used two Clementine oranges instead of the canned mandarin oranges. And to reach the necessary amount of juice, I added some orange juice from the carton.
How it tasted? Super! Everyone enjoyed the empanadas immensely. The fruit salad was loved by some and was "OK," for others. It mainly was caused by the addition of bananas. Some don't like bananas mixed with other flavors, but for some, like me, they love it that way. So it was a sort of hit and miss recipe for this family.
How about a 2nd time? Yes, I will do both recipes again but will take away the bananas from the salad and just add more apples or oranges.
Oliver's "Twist" on Apple Pie
2/14/10: Cheesy Stuffed Meatballs and Appleberry Pie
Meal details: For the main course I made meatballs stuffed with mozzarella cheese to be served on top of spaghetti. And for dessert I made two apple pies, one with blueberries and orange added.
Defining moments: First time for me to make meatballs, an apple pie with additional fruit, and an apple pie made with frozen apples. Frozen apples? Learn more about me freezing Gravenstein apples here.
Recipe sources: The meatball recipe came from the cookbook, Ciao Italia - Five Ingredient Favorites by Mary Ann Esposito, the host of the Ciao Italia t.v. show. The appleberry pie recipe came from Jamie Oliver's website. Jamie Oliver is the host of The Naked Chef, Jamie's Kitchen, and Jamie at Home on the Food Network channel. I chose this appleberry pie because I am part of the FNCCC (Food Network Chef Cooking Challenge), being hosted by the writer of the I Thank My Mother blog.
I don't often see Jamie on Food Network now, and I only watched one episode of Jamie at Home. So he is one of the few chefs from Food Network that I haven't watched much!
What I learned: Hmm. . . Let me think. First off, I learned that I should take a shopping cart to the freezer when gathering the ingredients. :) You should have seen the load of freezer containers I brought up for this meal! A package of ground beef, two quarts of spaghetti sauce, three quarts of frozen apples, a quart of blueberries. . . What an armload.
Secondly, I learned that moving the ground beef to the fridge on Friday morning gives just the right amount of thawing time. I had no problem forming the meatballs.
Another thing I learned is that these pies love to spill their juices over during the baking process. I needed to place cookie sheets on the bottom rack to catch the falling juices from the two 'geysers' on the second level. :) And once the collected juices started to steam and later smoke. . . Well, you can guess the rest. Exhaust fan on full blast!
Any modifications? I made one modification to the meatball recipe. Instead of using the recommended ground chuck and sirloin, I used all ground chuck. Sirloin is a bit too expensive so that's why I made the change.
And I also made some changes to the pie recipe. To better explain what I did, here is my ingredient list: (Note: I am including cup equivalents to the gram weights and American lingo to the British lingo.)
For the pastry:
For the filling:
The appleberry pie and Gravenstein pie were both very tasty. The appleberry pie kind of surprised me because the major flavor is orange. I thought the blueberries would be the primary fruit in this pie, but it was that one orange I used! Go figure. I'm not a big orange fan so I was kind of disappointed by this. I'm glad I only used one orange instead of the suggested two, or boy, that would have been a very orange-y pie for sure. Next time I think I will either eliminate the orange altogether or just add orange juice. But for those who do like orange, go for a whole orange here.
The appleberry pie had a good amount of juice on the bottom, but from what I can tell from the recipe's picture, this is normal. It didn't affect the 'mucho' crust at all. The crust for this pie was flaky.
The Gravenstein pie was surprisingly good. The frozen apple slices I used held up well and had a good texture. Initially, I thought this pie would have applesauce for a filling; thank goodness I was wrong. The crust was less flaky than the appleberry pie but was more tender. So the addition of shortening and subtraction of butter did make a difference. Gosh, Alton Brown was right. ;)
How about a 2nd time? Yes, to both recipes. But maybe next time I'll add onions to the meatballs (I love onions, hehe) and omit the orange from the pie.
As you can see, there is a bit of juice on the bottom of the pie.
Meal details: For the main course I made meatballs stuffed with mozzarella cheese to be served on top of spaghetti. And for dessert I made two apple pies, one with blueberries and orange added.
Defining moments: First time for me to make meatballs, an apple pie with additional fruit, and an apple pie made with frozen apples. Frozen apples? Learn more about me freezing Gravenstein apples here.
Recipe sources: The meatball recipe came from the cookbook, Ciao Italia - Five Ingredient Favorites by Mary Ann Esposito, the host of the Ciao Italia t.v. show. The appleberry pie recipe came from Jamie Oliver's website. Jamie Oliver is the host of The Naked Chef, Jamie's Kitchen, and Jamie at Home on the Food Network channel. I chose this appleberry pie because I am part of the FNCCC (Food Network Chef Cooking Challenge), being hosted by the writer of the I Thank My Mother blog.
I don't often see Jamie on Food Network now, and I only watched one episode of Jamie at Home. So he is one of the few chefs from Food Network that I haven't watched much!
What I learned: Hmm. . . Let me think. First off, I learned that I should take a shopping cart to the freezer when gathering the ingredients. :) You should have seen the load of freezer containers I brought up for this meal! A package of ground beef, two quarts of spaghetti sauce, three quarts of frozen apples, a quart of blueberries. . . What an armload.
Secondly, I learned that moving the ground beef to the fridge on Friday morning gives just the right amount of thawing time. I had no problem forming the meatballs.
Another thing I learned is that these pies love to spill their juices over during the baking process. I needed to place cookie sheets on the bottom rack to catch the falling juices from the two 'geysers' on the second level. :) And once the collected juices started to steam and later smoke. . . Well, you can guess the rest. Exhaust fan on full blast!
Any modifications? I made one modification to the meatball recipe. Instead of using the recommended ground chuck and sirloin, I used all ground chuck. Sirloin is a bit too expensive so that's why I made the change.
And I also made some changes to the pie recipe. To better explain what I did, here is my ingredient list: (Note: I am including cup equivalents to the gram weights and American lingo to the British lingo.)
For the pastry:
- 500g plain flour, plus extra for dusting (4 cups All-Purpose flour)
- 100g icing sugar (3/4 cup powdered sugar)
- a pinch of salt
- 250g unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes (2 sticks) -- For the Gravenstein apple pie I made, I used half butter and half shortening. Wanted to try out this ratio because Alton Brown mentioned it on Good Eats last year.
- 2 large eggs
- a splash of milk
For the filling:
- 10 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and halved, 3 sliced -- I used Calville Blanc variety of apple for the appleberry pie and Gravenstein apples for the 100% apple pie. I didn't prepare the apples like he states here, I sliced all the apples. Why? The apples I chose don't cook down as much as Granny Smith and my family is used to slices.
- juice and zest of 2 oranges -- I used one orange.
- 7 heaped tablespoons caster sugar (granulated sugar) -- I used 5 tablespoons.
- 400g huckleberries or blueberries (2 3/4 cup) -- I used blueberries.
- 1 heaped tablespoon plain flour (All-Purpose flour)
- 1 large egg
- A small handful of demerara sugar -- I didn't use this sugar, never seen it before. I read from an internet source that this sugar is used in sweetening tea and coffee.
The appleberry pie and Gravenstein pie were both very tasty. The appleberry pie kind of surprised me because the major flavor is orange. I thought the blueberries would be the primary fruit in this pie, but it was that one orange I used! Go figure. I'm not a big orange fan so I was kind of disappointed by this. I'm glad I only used one orange instead of the suggested two, or boy, that would have been a very orange-y pie for sure. Next time I think I will either eliminate the orange altogether or just add orange juice. But for those who do like orange, go for a whole orange here.
The appleberry pie had a good amount of juice on the bottom, but from what I can tell from the recipe's picture, this is normal. It didn't affect the 'mucho' crust at all. The crust for this pie was flaky.
The Gravenstein pie was surprisingly good. The frozen apple slices I used held up well and had a good texture. Initially, I thought this pie would have applesauce for a filling; thank goodness I was wrong. The crust was less flaky than the appleberry pie but was more tender. So the addition of shortening and subtraction of butter did make a difference. Gosh, Alton Brown was right. ;)
How about a 2nd time? Yes, to both recipes. But maybe next time I'll add onions to the meatballs (I love onions, hehe) and omit the orange from the pie.
As you can see, there is a bit of juice on the bottom of the pie.
Baking Fish for the First Time
2/7/10: Baked Costa Rican-Style Tilapia with Pineapple, Black Beans, and Rice with French Bread on the Side
Meal details: For the main course I made a baked fish dish that included pineapple, black beans, rice, lemon, orange juice, and more. For a side, I baked two loaves of French bread.
Defining moments: First time for me with cooking fish (I've only eaten it before!), using black beans, and marinating.
Recipe sources: The fish recipe was created by Ingrid Hoffman, the host of Simply Delicioso on Food Network. I chose this fish recipe specifically for the FNCCC (Food Network Chef Cooking Challenge) that is being hosted by the I Blame My Mother blog. And the French bread recipe came from the February/March 2010 issue of Taste of Home magazine. Here is the recipe:
French Loaves
Any modifications? Yes, to both recipes. For the fish recipe, I didn't use cilantro (not available here right now), used bass and bluegill fillets instead of tilapia (the fish were caught by us!), and used lemons in replace of limes. I also baked it for 45 minutes instead of 30; longer baking time could have been caused by thicker fillets--not too sure. I mean, I never saw tilapia before!
For the bread recipe, I added two cups of whole wheat flour to the dough and 1 tablespoon of vital wheat gluten. The whole wheat was added because a) I like the flavor, b) more fiber and nutrients, and c), I want to use it up. The vital wheat gluten isn't really "vital" for this recipe since there is bread flour added too, but I just wanted to make sure since I've never really changed a bread recipe before.
How it tasted? I didn't find one morsel left of either! I couldn't find one complaint anywhere. The fish were moist, tender, and perfectly cooked. The rice, black beans, salsa, pineapple bottom layer was very flavorful and had wonderful texture. The bread rose and baked just fine (no problem caused by my addition of whole wheat), and it had a chewy crumb and a soft crust.
How about a 2nd time? Yes!!!!!! And maybe I'll try using some Northern Pike that my brother caught this winter. Yummy!
Meal details: For the main course I made a baked fish dish that included pineapple, black beans, rice, lemon, orange juice, and more. For a side, I baked two loaves of French bread.
Defining moments: First time for me with cooking fish (I've only eaten it before!), using black beans, and marinating.
Recipe sources: The fish recipe was created by Ingrid Hoffman, the host of Simply Delicioso on Food Network. I chose this fish recipe specifically for the FNCCC (Food Network Chef Cooking Challenge) that is being hosted by the I Blame My Mother blog. And the French bread recipe came from the February/March 2010 issue of Taste of Home magazine. Here is the recipe:
French Loaves
- 2 Tbsp. active dry yeast
- 2 cups warm water (110F to 115F)
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 4 1/2 to 5 cups bread flour
- 1 tsp. cornmeal
- In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the salt, sugar and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
- Turn onto a floured surface; kneed until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
- Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Shape into 12-in.-long loaves.
- Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with cornmeal. With a sharp knife, make four shallow slashes across the top of each loaf. Bake at 450F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
Any modifications? Yes, to both recipes. For the fish recipe, I didn't use cilantro (not available here right now), used bass and bluegill fillets instead of tilapia (the fish were caught by us!), and used lemons in replace of limes. I also baked it for 45 minutes instead of 30; longer baking time could have been caused by thicker fillets--not too sure. I mean, I never saw tilapia before!
For the bread recipe, I added two cups of whole wheat flour to the dough and 1 tablespoon of vital wheat gluten. The whole wheat was added because a) I like the flavor, b) more fiber and nutrients, and c), I want to use it up. The vital wheat gluten isn't really "vital" for this recipe since there is bread flour added too, but I just wanted to make sure since I've never really changed a bread recipe before.
How it tasted? I didn't find one morsel left of either! I couldn't find one complaint anywhere. The fish were moist, tender, and perfectly cooked. The rice, black beans, salsa, pineapple bottom layer was very flavorful and had wonderful texture. The bread rose and baked just fine (no problem caused by my addition of whole wheat), and it had a chewy crumb and a soft crust.
How about a 2nd time? Yes!!!!!! And maybe I'll try using some Northern Pike that my brother caught this winter. Yummy!
Pizza Heaven
1/31/10: Le Hog Pizza and Peach and Blueberry Crumble
Meal details: For the main course I made a pizza using homemade pizza dough that was topped with a white sauce, bacon, ham, etc. For dessert, I made a crumble consisting of two of my favorite fruits: peaches and blueberries.
Defining moments: First time making a white sauce (aka cream sauce). I've seen this done many a time on tv and I was very excited to try this one out.
Recipe sources: Both recipes came via the Food Network channel. The pizza recipe is from Guy Fieri, the host of Guy's Big Bite and the crumble is from Ina Garten, the host of Barefoot Contessa--Back to Basics. I chose to do these two recipes in honor of the FNCCC (Food Network Chef Cooking Challenge) that is being hosted by the I Blame My Mother blog. Ina Garten is one of my favorite chefs so I have been looking forward to doing one of her recipes since the beginning of the challenge. The pizza dough recipe came from the basic recipe section of the 2500 Recipes from Everyday to Extraordinary cookbook. I received this cookbook as a birthday gift and it has many delicious sounding recipes in it.
What I learned: I learned a very unique way of baking pizza in the oven. The 2500 Recipe cookbook told me to place my pizza dough on a lightly oiled sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil and stretch it to my desired diameter. I then add the pizza toppings and move the whole pizza--foil and all--to the oven. (I used a cookie sheet to transfer it.) The book says to leave the pizza on the foil for the whole baking time but when it was in the oven for 15 minutes I didn't see any browning action happening on the bottom. So as soon as the pizza was sturdy enough, I moved it to our pizza pans that have large holes on the bottom and I gave them another 15 minutes to bake. The bottom crust was then able to brown. I didn't want to put the pizza on the pizza pan at the beginning of baking because I thought it would seep through the holes. I think the foil and pan technique worked out well.
I also learned how to make a cream sauce which was unexpectedly easy. I was thinking about this sauce all week long and when it was time to make it, I was finished in a matter of 10 minutes. For some reason I was wishing the process took longer!
I didn't learn anything new from doing the crumble. I've done similar preparations in the past.
Any modifications? Yes, I made major modifications to the pizza recipe and a couple to the crumble. The pizza recipe found on the Food Network website is the scaled-down version of a recipe used in a restaurant. The recipe was scaled down drastically and, in my opinion, suffered dramatically. Proportions were way off in some places. This is my revised recipe for two 14" pizzas:
Le Hog, Revised Edition:
White Sauce recipe:
For the peach and blueberry crumble: The original recipe had ramekins in mind and since we don't have those I used a 4 quart casserole dish and tweaked the recipe. This is my ingredient list:
For the fruits:
How about a 2nd time? For sure!
Note: There was enough white sauce to cover both pizzas. I just wanted to make sure half of one pizza was done in the ''traditional'' way just in case someone didn't want to give the new sauce a go.
Meal details: For the main course I made a pizza using homemade pizza dough that was topped with a white sauce, bacon, ham, etc. For dessert, I made a crumble consisting of two of my favorite fruits: peaches and blueberries.
Defining moments: First time making a white sauce (aka cream sauce). I've seen this done many a time on tv and I was very excited to try this one out.
Recipe sources: Both recipes came via the Food Network channel. The pizza recipe is from Guy Fieri, the host of Guy's Big Bite and the crumble is from Ina Garten, the host of Barefoot Contessa--Back to Basics. I chose to do these two recipes in honor of the FNCCC (Food Network Chef Cooking Challenge) that is being hosted by the I Blame My Mother blog. Ina Garten is one of my favorite chefs so I have been looking forward to doing one of her recipes since the beginning of the challenge. The pizza dough recipe came from the basic recipe section of the 2500 Recipes from Everyday to Extraordinary cookbook. I received this cookbook as a birthday gift and it has many delicious sounding recipes in it.
What I learned: I learned a very unique way of baking pizza in the oven. The 2500 Recipe cookbook told me to place my pizza dough on a lightly oiled sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil and stretch it to my desired diameter. I then add the pizza toppings and move the whole pizza--foil and all--to the oven. (I used a cookie sheet to transfer it.) The book says to leave the pizza on the foil for the whole baking time but when it was in the oven for 15 minutes I didn't see any browning action happening on the bottom. So as soon as the pizza was sturdy enough, I moved it to our pizza pans that have large holes on the bottom and I gave them another 15 minutes to bake. The bottom crust was then able to brown. I didn't want to put the pizza on the pizza pan at the beginning of baking because I thought it would seep through the holes. I think the foil and pan technique worked out well.
I also learned how to make a cream sauce which was unexpectedly easy. I was thinking about this sauce all week long and when it was time to make it, I was finished in a matter of 10 minutes. For some reason I was wishing the process took longer!
I didn't learn anything new from doing the crumble. I've done similar preparations in the past.
Any modifications? Yes, I made major modifications to the pizza recipe and a couple to the crumble. The pizza recipe found on the Food Network website is the scaled-down version of a recipe used in a restaurant. The recipe was scaled down drastically and, in my opinion, suffered dramatically. Proportions were way off in some places. This is my revised recipe for two 14" pizzas:
Le Hog, Revised Edition:
- Pizza dough (I used the pizza dough recipe found in this cookbook and doubled it)
- 6 meatballs, broken up
- 1 lb. chopped cooked bacon
- 10 slices of honey ham cold cut slices
- White Sauce (see recipe below)
White Sauce recipe:
- 2 tbsp. butter
- 1 large onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 3/8 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup chicken stock
- 12 oz. whipping cream
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 tbsp. black pepper
For the peach and blueberry crumble: The original recipe had ramekins in mind and since we don't have those I used a 4 quart casserole dish and tweaked the recipe. This is my ingredient list:
For the fruits:
- 1 1/2 quarts of canned peaches, drained (I used the peaches I canned last year, see here to learn more)
- 2 teaspoons dried lemon peel (didn't have any lemons on hand)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3/8 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 quart frozen blueberries
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3/8 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 3/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 sticks cold butter
How about a 2nd time? For sure!
Note: There was enough white sauce to cover both pizzas. I just wanted to make sure half of one pizza was done in the ''traditional'' way just in case someone didn't want to give the new sauce a go.
Redoing Stew
1/24/10: Beef and Butternut Squash Stew with Fluffy Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Meal details: For the main course I made a bright colored stew using round steak and butternut squash. And for a side, I made a special type of mashed potatoes using heavy cream and roasted garlic.
Defining moments: The first thing that pops into my mind is the cut of meat. My Papa, an old hand at choosing cuts of meat, chose a round steak for the stew. The steak was pretty darn big and it is probably the largest piece of meat I ever wielded. But I wielded it, and that is a good thing. Another significant part of this meal for me was the use of sun-dried tomatoes. I never used nor tasted them before. It's always very interesting to try out something new.
Recipe sources: The beef and butternut stew is a recipe from Giada De Laurentiis, the host of Everyday Italian and Giada at Home, both which air on the Food Network Channel. The mashed potato recipe is a George Duran creation. George Duran is the host of Ham on the Street (a show that comes on Food Network sometimes, but I believe it has been canceled), and now is the new host of the Ultimate Cake Challenge on TLC. I chose these two recipes because I am part of the Food Network Chef Cooking Challenge that is being hosted by the I Blame My Mother blog. Learn more about this challenge here.
What I learned: I learned that my Papa has had bad results with stew beef before so I needed a different cut of meat. When he was at the store he chose a round steak which is a lean cut of meat that comes from the thigh of the cow. Since it is lean it needs to be stewed or cooked in some sort of liquid (braising will work here) for a long time to make the meat more tender. So as you can see this cut works will with this technique!
I didn't want to cut the whole piece of meat when it was raw (mainly because we don't have a large cutting board specifically for meat), so I roasted it for about 25 minutes in a 375F oven. I was then able to cut it into 1"cubes with no fuss or mess.
About the mashed potatoes. I learned from Annemarie that beating the potatoes with an electric beater for a few minutes really makes them fluffy, especially with this particular recipe since it has heavy whipping cream.
Any modifications? Yes, I made some to the stew recipe. I used round steak instead of stew beef and I cut them into 1"cubes instead of 2"(easier to chew). I also prepared the meat in a different way and I used one acorn squash instead of butternut.
How it tasted? I am very happy to say that the stew was enjoyed! Stew doesn't have a great reputation around here. The stew had a muted orange color--much different from your typical dark and gloomy broth--and the beef was tender and flavorful. The addition of squash, wine, and tomatoes was the key to making this stew great. The squash was soft and it soaked up all the goodness of the broth and the tomatoes were like little pockets of flavor.
The mashed potatoes was also very good. I kept on the skins so they weren't totally smooth (we like it that way), but the cream really made it fluffy. I roasted the garlic in the oven and added it to the potatoes but I didn't detect much garlic flavor. Roasted garlic is mellow so I'm guessing I needed to use more; maybe 3 heads for 2 times the recipe?
How about a 2nd time? Yes, I would do both recipes again.
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Meal details: For the main course I made a bright colored stew using round steak and butternut squash. And for a side, I made a special type of mashed potatoes using heavy cream and roasted garlic.
Defining moments: The first thing that pops into my mind is the cut of meat. My Papa, an old hand at choosing cuts of meat, chose a round steak for the stew. The steak was pretty darn big and it is probably the largest piece of meat I ever wielded. But I wielded it, and that is a good thing. Another significant part of this meal for me was the use of sun-dried tomatoes. I never used nor tasted them before. It's always very interesting to try out something new.
Recipe sources: The beef and butternut stew is a recipe from Giada De Laurentiis, the host of Everyday Italian and Giada at Home, both which air on the Food Network Channel. The mashed potato recipe is a George Duran creation. George Duran is the host of Ham on the Street (a show that comes on Food Network sometimes, but I believe it has been canceled), and now is the new host of the Ultimate Cake Challenge on TLC. I chose these two recipes because I am part of the Food Network Chef Cooking Challenge that is being hosted by the I Blame My Mother blog. Learn more about this challenge here.
What I learned: I learned that my Papa has had bad results with stew beef before so I needed a different cut of meat. When he was at the store he chose a round steak which is a lean cut of meat that comes from the thigh of the cow. Since it is lean it needs to be stewed or cooked in some sort of liquid (braising will work here) for a long time to make the meat more tender. So as you can see this cut works will with this technique!
I didn't want to cut the whole piece of meat when it was raw (mainly because we don't have a large cutting board specifically for meat), so I roasted it for about 25 minutes in a 375F oven. I was then able to cut it into 1"cubes with no fuss or mess.
About the mashed potatoes. I learned from Annemarie that beating the potatoes with an electric beater for a few minutes really makes them fluffy, especially with this particular recipe since it has heavy whipping cream.
Any modifications? Yes, I made some to the stew recipe. I used round steak instead of stew beef and I cut them into 1"cubes instead of 2"(easier to chew). I also prepared the meat in a different way and I used one acorn squash instead of butternut.
How it tasted? I am very happy to say that the stew was enjoyed! Stew doesn't have a great reputation around here. The stew had a muted orange color--much different from your typical dark and gloomy broth--and the beef was tender and flavorful. The addition of squash, wine, and tomatoes was the key to making this stew great. The squash was soft and it soaked up all the goodness of the broth and the tomatoes were like little pockets of flavor.
The mashed potatoes was also very good. I kept on the skins so they weren't totally smooth (we like it that way), but the cream really made it fluffy. I roasted the garlic in the oven and added it to the potatoes but I didn't detect much garlic flavor. Roasted garlic is mellow so I'm guessing I needed to use more; maybe 3 heads for 2 times the recipe?
How about a 2nd time? Yes, I would do both recipes again.
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Apples Matter -- Canning Homemade Applesauce
1/22/10: Canning Applesauce
During the week, Annemarie made some applesauce meatloaf (applesauce makes the BEST meatloaf, don't you know) and I discovered that we were out of our homemade canned applesauce. Uh oh! So on Friday I was ready to stockpile.
I chose to use a combination of our Jonathan and Northern Spy varieties. We kept them in the cooler since Fall and they are still very crisp and easy to peel! Yay! I also decided to make a few pints of apple butter because, well. . . I just love that stuff. :)
Some Notes for Rebekah: I used the baking and electric beater method for the apples. The oven temperature hovered around 350F and it took about three and a half hours to bake. No problem with that because I didn't have to keep a close eye on them! I used two of the steamer trays (a large and small) and I kept on refilling them as time went on. I used the hot water bath to can and they need 20 minutes in the bath. I filled them up leaving 1/2" headspace. I made about 9 and 1/2 quarts of sauce and about 4 pints of apple butter. All of them sealed. I used the apple butter recipe (one recipe only) found on simplyrecipe.com and I omitted the cloves and lemon and used only 1 cup of sugar.
I tried the apple sauce and I can honestly say that the Jonathan and Northern Spy work wonderfully together. There is never a need to add a teaspoon of sugar when these two come along!
My sister Catherine sent me these pics via email and left a note along with them. It read, "Sweat and tears were put into each and every one of these jars." :) Aw, that's sweet. Usually you will find those two evident during the canning process but because it is January I was glad to have a warm, sauna-like kitchen this time!
During the week, Annemarie made some applesauce meatloaf (applesauce makes the BEST meatloaf, don't you know) and I discovered that we were out of our homemade canned applesauce. Uh oh! So on Friday I was ready to stockpile.
I chose to use a combination of our Jonathan and Northern Spy varieties. We kept them in the cooler since Fall and they are still very crisp and easy to peel! Yay! I also decided to make a few pints of apple butter because, well. . . I just love that stuff. :)
Some Notes for Rebekah: I used the baking and electric beater method for the apples. The oven temperature hovered around 350F and it took about three and a half hours to bake. No problem with that because I didn't have to keep a close eye on them! I used two of the steamer trays (a large and small) and I kept on refilling them as time went on. I used the hot water bath to can and they need 20 minutes in the bath. I filled them up leaving 1/2" headspace. I made about 9 and 1/2 quarts of sauce and about 4 pints of apple butter. All of them sealed. I used the apple butter recipe (one recipe only) found on simplyrecipe.com and I omitted the cloves and lemon and used only 1 cup of sugar.
I tried the apple sauce and I can honestly say that the Jonathan and Northern Spy work wonderfully together. There is never a need to add a teaspoon of sugar when these two come along!
My sister Catherine sent me these pics via email and left a note along with them. It read, "Sweat and tears were put into each and every one of these jars." :) Aw, that's sweet. Usually you will find those two evident during the canning process but because it is January I was glad to have a warm, sauna-like kitchen this time!
The Best Bread on Earth Returns
1/17/10: Day off
This week I took Sunday off because I made my brother's birthday meal the day before. I made him St. Joseph's Day Bread alongside meatballs in homemade tomato sauce just like I did a few weeks ago. It appears that he really liked it! My cheeks are turning red. :)
I have all my recipes and ingredients set for this coming Sunday so wait till next week for a full post!
This week I took Sunday off because I made my brother's birthday meal the day before. I made him St. Joseph's Day Bread alongside meatballs in homemade tomato sauce just like I did a few weeks ago. It appears that he really liked it! My cheeks are turning red. :)
I have all my recipes and ingredients set for this coming Sunday so wait till next week for a full post!
Thinking Outside the Box -- Macaroni and Cheese with a Secret Ingredient
1/10/10: Macaroni and Four Cheeses with Classic Lyonnaise Potatoes
Meal details: For the main course I made a baked macaroni and cheese casserole that contains a surprising secret ingredient. And for a side I made a baked potato dish that has butter and lots of onions.
Defining moments: I've done casseroles before, so nothing was new for me this week.
Recipe sources: Both recipes came from the Food Network website. The mac 'n cheese recipe is a recipe created by Ellie Krieger, the host of Healthy Appetite and the potato dish was created by Emeril Lagasse, the host of Emeril Live and the Essence of Emeril. I specifically chose these two recipes because I am a member of the Food Network Chef Cooking Challenge that is being hosted by the writer of the I Blame My Mother blog. I've been a bit behind in the challenge for awhile, especially now since I've been testing some recipes from my new cookbook, but I'm still chugging along!
What I learned: OK, now to tell you the secret ingredient in the mac 'n cheese. Hope you're sitting down! Ready? The ingredient is. . . Butternut squash. You weren't ready for that, were you? If you're hovering the mouse cursor over the "back" button, hold on! Just scroll down to the "How it tasted?" section of the post; you might be surprised.
Besides learning how to pick out a recipe that scared the pants off my sister, I didn't gather any new techniques or tips from these two recipes. They both are very straightforward recipes and do not require a whole lot of ingredients, so that is probably the reason for it! But I think it is extremely good that I try some easy recipes every so often; if I don't I would go out of my mind. It is like what Ina Garten said on her show, Barefoot Contessa a couple of weeks ago: "I love to cook, but I don't like to spend the whole day cooking." I'm like her.
Any modifications? Yes, I made some changes to the mac 'n cheese recipe. I omitted the ricotta cheese (because some people on the website said that the ricotta made a grainy texture), I just used sharp cheddar cheese, and I used Ritz cracker crumbs instead of bread crumbs (because didn't have plain bread crumbs in the house).
Another modification I made, and this time to both recipes, was the oven time. I left both dishes in the oven for an hour--a whole lot longer than what the recipes say. We like our casseroles and potatoes to be a bit crispy on the edges.
How it tasted? What was more surprising than using our frozen butternut squash in the recipe was that every single member of my family (eight in all) liked the macaroni and cheese! Even some who don't care much for squash in the first place! A lot of them, including me, couldn't really detect the squash flavor. The squash, however, did add something to the dish and that was: texture. It made for a really creamy casserole.
The Lyonnaise Potatoes were alright. I think I should have cooked the onions for a longer time so they would have been sweeter. I don't think it is the best way to prepare potatoes.
How about a 2nd time? I would pull out Ellie's recipe again but I think Emeril's potato recipe will be in my recipe binder for awhile.
My First Cookbook Review : Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day
Cookbook Review: Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: 100 Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients
If you have been reading my blog for awhile you will notice that I like to try out new recipes and I seem to do one (or two) every Sunday afternoon. Trying out new recipes is the essential part of learning how to cook. I mean, if you have several favorite recipes and you repeat them week after week (even if they are some fancy dishes like Bolognese or Coq Au Vin) you will not be moving forward in your culinary skills. New recipes = new skills learned!
As you can well imagine, when a fresh-off-the-press cookbook filled with new recipes fell into my hands I was very excited. It's called: Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francios. I tried out a few recipes so far and I've decided to give some information about the book here as well as my honest opinion. Hope you have fun reading!
Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: 100 Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients
Details:
- Written by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois
- 336 pages
- Hardcover
- Published by Thomas Dunne Books
- Second book in series. First book is titled: Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking
Jeff Hertzberg, M.D., is a physician with twenty years of experience in health care as a practitioner, consultant, and faculty member at the University of Minnesota Medical School. His interest in baking and preventive health sparked a quest to adapt the techniques of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day for healthier ingredients.
Zoë François, is passionate about food that is real, healthy, and always delicious. She is a pastry chef trained at the Culinary Institute of America. In addition to teaching baking and pastry courses nationally, she consults to the food industry and is the creator of the recipe blog www.zoebakes.com. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and two sons.
Synopsis: Just like their first book, Hertzberg and Francois show their revolutionary way to bake bread. This new method is considerably faster and requires a lot less steps than you would think. Their new method requires no kneading, the dough can last in the refrigerator for up to fourteen days, no yeast proofing, no need to worry about allowing the dough to rest in a draft-free location, no need to monitor the doubling or tripling of dough volume, no need to punch dough down, etc. It is this removal of traditional steps that has given the books its title: five minutes a day.Baking bread easily and fast is only part of this book's mission. The other goal is to make healthy breads. It contains recipes that include various seeds, fruit, vegetables, whole grains, etc. that are either incorporated into the dough or are sprinkled on top. The consumption of the selected ingredients (such as whole wheat flour) contain more vitamins, fiber, and minerals than your typical refined flour breads. And the book also includes recipes for gluten-free breads and pastries.
The Recipes: I tried three recipes so far. The "Master Recipe"(a recipe you use as the base for many different types of bread found in the book), Roasted Garlic Bread, and Four-Leaf Clover Broccoli and Cheddar Buns. Before I looked at the recipes I thought, "How can I really make bread in five minutes a day like the title says?" It is possible, it only takes a person five minutes of handling the dough to make a loaf. Really. The dough, however, needs resting and baking time and for most of the recipes this means three hours of waiting. But that is just idle time; you could do two loads of laundry, answer some emails, and make lunch in that amount of time. And it doesn't have to be three hours, you can make it the night before or even thirteen days beforehand!
The recipes (100 in all) found in this book are traditional and exotic. There is a very diverse lot of recipes here! And they include all sorts of interesting ingredients such as spelt flour (a type of wheat flour), barley, graham, mesquite, quinoa, emmer, pumpkin seeds, millet, and buckwheat.
Opinion of Recipes: The two most important parts of a cookbook is how the recipe is presented and the finished product. The three recipes I've tested so far have made beautiful, crusty bread that I am very proud of. My family of eight liked each loaf that came from the oven! The recipe directions were done in step-by-step format and were easy to follow. I especially liked that the authors repeated instructions again for each recipe. By instructions, I mean for example how to roll the dough in your hands to form a "boule" or ball. It is a good idea to repeat techniques periodically because I don't like flipping through a book to find this certain step when I'm right in the middle of baking! :)
Photos: There are a few full-paged, colored photos in the middle of the book and a few recipes have black and white photos to show the steps to making the bread. I'm a sucker for recipes with photos and if I had it my way, I would have a photo for each bread in this book! But I have to be realistic here. The photos that are included are of good quality but I do wish the black and white demonstration photos were larger.
What I disliked about this book: Too small of demonstration photos.
What I really loved about this book: The helpful website that comes along with the book series, the sprinkle of humor and great storytelling I found, both volume and weight measurements, and the large amount of information they give on the ingredients being used, easy substitutions that can be made, equipment, and tips for those "what happened?" moments.
Sneak Peek: Guess what, I got a recipe from the book to present to you all, courtesy of the publisher. So try it out and see how you like it! And oh yeah, be looking for another cookbook review in the very near future!
Pumpkin Pie Brioche
by Jeff Hertzberg, M.D., and Zoë François,
Authors of Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: 100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients
Makes enough dough for at least two 2-pound loaves. The recipe is easily doubled or halved. Use any leftover dough to make muffins, crescent rolls, or pinwheels.
3 cups white whole wheat flour
4½ cups unbleached all- purpose flour
1½ tablespoons granulated yeast, or 2 packets
1 tablespoon kosher salt (increase or decrease to taste)
2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten1 tablespoon kosher salt (increase or decrease to taste)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
1¼ cups lukewarm water
4 large eggs
½ cup honey4 large eggs
¾ cup neutral-flavored oil, or unsalted butter, melted, or zero trans fat, zero hydrogenated oil margarine, melted
One large pie (or "sugar") pumpkin to yield 1¾ cups pumpkin puree, or use one 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
Egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water) for brushing on the top crust
Raw sugar for sprinkling on top
1. If making your own fresh pumpkin puree: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Split the pumpkin in half, starting at the stem, and place it cut side down on a lightly greased cookie sheet or one lined with a silicone mat. Bake for about 45 minutes. The pumpkin should be very soft all the way through when poked with a knife. Cool slightly before scooping out the seeds.
2. Scoop out the roasted flesh of the pumpkin and puree it in the food processor. Set aside 1¾ cups for the dough and use any leftover in your favorite pumpkin pie recipe.
3. Mixing and storing the dough: Whisk together the flours, yeast, salt, vital wheat gluten, and spices in a 5- quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.
4. Combine the liquid ingredients with the pumpkin puree and mix them with the dry ingredients without kneading, using a spoon, a 14-cup food processor (with dough attachment), or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with paddle). You might need to use wet hands to get the last bit of flour to incorporate if you're not using a machine.
5. The dough will be loose, but it will firm up when chilled. Don't try to use it without chilling for at least 2 hours. You may notice lumps in the dough, but they will disappear in your finished products.
6. Cover (not airtight), and allow the dough to rest at room temperature until it rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.
8. On baking day, grease a brioche pan or an 8½× 4½-inch nonstick loaf pan. Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 2-pound (cantaloupe-size) piece of dough. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball. Place the ball in the prepared pan and allow to rest, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for 1 hour 45 minutes.
9. Thirty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 350°F, with a rack placed in the center of the oven. If you're not using a stone in the oven, a 5-minute preheat is adequate.
11. Bake near the center of the oven for approximately 45 to 50 minutes. Brioche will not form a hard, crackling crust. The loaf is done when it is medium brown and firm. Smaller or larger loaves will require adjustments in resting and baking time.
12. Remove the brioche from the pan (see page 50) and allow it to cool on a rack before slicing or eating.
The above is an excerpt from the book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: 100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients by Jeff Hertzberg, M.D., and Zoë François. The above excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print. Although this excerpt has been proofread, occasional errors may appear due to the scanning process. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy.
Copyright © 2009 Jeff Hertzberg, M.D., and Zoë François, authors of Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: 100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients
Disclaimer:
This blog is a personal blog created and edited by me, Rebekah. I was given a free copy of Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by FSBAssociates.com, after they asked me if I was interested in posting a review on my blog. I replied with, "Yes, I'm interested," but I vowed to myself that I would not post if I didn't find the book favorable. I was in no way forced to review and the above review contains my honest opinion.
Strawberries in January
1/09/10 : Frozen Strawberries
For my birthday supper, Annemarie baked a pound cake and served our frozen strawberries, our canned peaches, and whipped topping with it. I froze three quarts of strawberries for the first time last year in June so that is how they made it to my plate. So how did they taste? They were fantastic! They had very strong strawberry flavor and their texture held up considerably well. I thought they would turn out to be mushy, so I was very happy to find that they went through the freezing process with flying colors.
I used two methods to freeze them, the sugar pack method and the syrup pack method. We only tried the sugar packed so far so I will have to update this post later once we try out the ones packed with syrup.
For those who are interested in freezing strawberries, here is the recipe I used:
Freezing Strawberries - Sugar Pack Method
(Recipe Found in Ball Blue Book of Preserving, copyright 2005)
Select fully-ripe, firm strawberries with a deep-red color. Discard immature and defective fruit. Wash strawberries; drain. Remove caps. Slice berries lengthwise in halves or thirds. Mix 1 part sugar to 6 parts strawberries. Allow to stand until sugar is dissolved, about 10 minutes. Gently stir. Pack strawberries and syrup into can-or-freeze jars or plastic boxes, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Seal, label and freeze.
Freezing Strawberries - Syrup Pack Method
Prepare a heavy syrup by combing 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water in a saucepan. Cook over low heat until sugar is dissolved.
Wash strawberries, remove caps, and slice strawberries or leave them whole. Pack strawberries into can-or-freeze jars or plastic freezer boxes. Ladle syrup over berries, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Seal, label and freeze.
Linguine Roman Style and Broccoli and Cheddar Buns--Buon Appetito!
1/03/10: Linguine Roman Style and Four-Leaf Clover Broccoli and Cheddar Buns
Meal details: For the main course I made a simple pasta dish that uses ricotta and cheese for the sauce. And I paired the pasta with a whole wheat bun that has broccoli puree added to the dough and sharp cheddar baked on top.
Defining moments: Making a vegetable puree was entirely new to me! I haven't used our blender a whole lot yet so anything done in that machine is a real eye opener to me. :)
Recipe sources: The pasta dish came from a new cookbook that just came out. It is called Ciao Italia, Five Ingredient Favorites and it is written by Mary Ann Esposito, the host of Ciao Italia. The broccoli buns came from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, another newly published book, written by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois.
Note to Rebekah: I did one recipe and had enough dough for 26 buns.
What I learned: I began to realize that even though a recipe (like the broccoli buns here), may sound tedious and require a good amount of steps, I shouldn't be intimidated. When I first looked at the bun recipe I thought they would take a long time to do, especially with all that dough dividing and shaping. But the authors of the book knew from the start that their recipes need to be quick for their readers, and so they made certain that their breads take on simple shapes. These buns are just made up of four small pieces of dough put together by pressing in the center. Really easy to put together and I have to say, they were adorable!
The pasta dish was very easy to do. So easy that I can remember exactly what to do next time, I usually need to go back to a recipe again and again. So I'm thinking that I will start feeling like one of those chefs that can whip up a dish without one glance at a recipe card. A dream come true!
Any modifications? Yes, I made one modification and that was to the pasta recipe. Instead of using pecorino cheese, I used parmesan. Why? Couldn't find the former in the grocery store.
How did it tasted? Both recipes were wonderful. The pasta's flavors were simple and very satisfying. And I love to know that not many dollars went into its creation. The buns were so very good! I was hoping to have the buns look like clovers more but the ridges weren't that pronounced when they came out of the oven. However! Because of the unique way you roll and shape these buns, you can easily tear off one "leaf" at a time when you're eating them. Easy eats!
How about a 2nd time? Yes, I would like to do these two recipes again.
Roasted Garlic Bread to the Rescue
1/01/10: Roasted Garlic Bread
On Friday we were going to have our homemade spaghetti lunch and we wanted some garlic bread to go along with it. Annemarie tried to make an herb bread in the bread machine but it was not cooperating at all that week! So I tried another recipe from The Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day book. I started working on the dough around 8 a.m. and I had the bread all set to enjoy at 11:40 a.m. Now, that is some quick bread making!
What was really interesting about this bread is the use of herb butter. I mixed some dried herbs into soft butter and inserted the butter into the slits I made. I did this when the bread was slightly warm so the butter started to melt and seep into every nook and cranny. Yummy!
On Friday we were going to have our homemade spaghetti lunch and we wanted some garlic bread to go along with it. Annemarie tried to make an herb bread in the bread machine but it was not cooperating at all that week! So I tried another recipe from The Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day book. I started working on the dough around 8 a.m. and I had the bread all set to enjoy at 11:40 a.m. Now, that is some quick bread making!
What was really interesting about this bread is the use of herb butter. I mixed some dried herbs into soft butter and inserted the butter into the slits I made. I did this when the bread was slightly warm so the butter started to melt and seep into every nook and cranny. Yummy!
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