Fallen Souffle

It’s been a crazy week since we got back from Utah, we had a great trip with no broken bones and lots of great food and then we came back to pollen. Lots and lots of pollen. I was sick all last week, and finally had to go to the doctor on Friday. I am feeling much better now, which is good since we had a busy weekend! We had Easter dinner at Evan’s parents house with his brother, sister, neice, nephews, dogs etc. I made a lemon cake and a challah (see below).

However what we were most excited about was the fact that Lent was over which meant Evan could have a biscuit and I could eat potatoes again. Evan bought me a large fry which I doused in ketchup and some fry sauce we got in Utah. “The Easter Bunny” left some Bacon Cheddar Biscuits on Evan’s nightstand on Easter morning. The biscuits were kinda like the Red Lobster biscuits, but so much better with the addition of some cooked bacon. They took no time to make and did not involve rolling out, which is always nice! We will have to make them again one night for dinner

Bacon Cheddar Biscuits
2 cups biscuit baking mix
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
4 slices bacon, chopped, fried and drained
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon garlic powder
pinch salt

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Grease a cookie sheet, or line with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, combine baking mix, Cheddar cheese, and garlic powder. Stir in milk. Fold in fried bacon. Drop batter by heaping tablespoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheet,makes about 8 biscuits.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, mix melted butter, 1 teaspoon garlic powder and pinch of salt. Bake for 5 more minutes, or until lightly browned on the bottom.

This is the Easter Egg Challah I made for Easter dinner, a recipe I got from Nic at Baking Bites. It was a HUGE hit and I will definitely make this again, sans eggs

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This dinner was intended for the first round of Iron Chef Morrisville but the event has been postponed as Cory’s wife has been in labor all week with their second son. So I thought I would post this anyways because it is a great thing to make on the weekend, especially on a chilly weekend like we are expecting in North Carolina.

This is not a hard thing to prepare, it does take some time to bake depending on the size of your cut of beef but it is so worth it! The leftovers make the BEST sandwiches, just make some garlic bread on really good Tuscan bread and slap some thin slices and you are set to go. Best lunch ever!

I paired this with some roasted brussel sprouts (roasted potatoes for Evan, I gave up potatoes for Lent) and some great beer batter bread, which is even easier to put together. This would be a great meal for company because it is super easy to prepare and all cooks at the same temperature!

Perfect Roast Beef

3 pounds beef eye of round roast or bottom round roast
2 T. olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). If roast is untied, tie at 3 inch intervals with cotton twine. Place roast in pan, and season with salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Add more or less seasonings to taste.

2. Roast in oven for 60 minutes (20 minutes per pound). Remove from oven, cover loosely with foil, and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes.

Notes

Regardless of the size of your roast, always cook at 375 degrees, for 20 minutes per pound.

Onion and Fontina Beer Batter Bread

1 T. olive oil
1 cup diced onion
3 cups all purpose flour
3 T. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1 cup shredded fontina cheese
1 (12 ounce) bottle beer, such as amber ale
cooking spray
4 T. melted butter, divided

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9 or 10 inch loaf pan with cooking spray. I would also try making these in muffin tins.

2. In a small skillet, heat oil over medium heat and saute onions for about 6 minutes until golden. Allow to cool to room temperature.

3. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Make a well in the center of the mixture and add cooled onions, cheese and beer. Stir until just combined, it will be a little stiff.

4. Spread into greased pan and drizzle with 2 T. of melted butter. Bake for 35 minutes; brush with remaining butter and bake an additional 20 minutes until the top is golden and the center is set. Cool 5 minutes in the pan, remove and allow to continue cooling on wire rack.

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My sister came in town this weekend to learn to cook. She has taken an interest in cooking this summer which is exciting for my Mom and I because that’s one more person that can help with Thanksgiving dinner! She is a vegetarian so I was trying to find easy recipes for her that she can whip up in between classes that also fit her new lifestyle. She mentioned wanting to learn to bake bread so I gave her a crash course while she was here. I wanted to show her something easy that would demonstrate the basics as well as something that she could use regularly. So I honed in on a french bread recipe. I wouldn’t call this a baguette because I tend to think that has a crisper crust, this is more along the lines of the softer crust you get at the grocery store, but better tasting!

I think this is a great bread to start with because it requires very little ingredients and doesn’t take all day. Just resist the urge to eat the whole thing when it comes out of the oven!

French Bread
1 cup water
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon water

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water and then stir in sugar. Allow yeast to bloom for about 5 minutes until creamy. In a large bowl, add 2 cups of flour and yeast mixture and stir. Add salt and stir. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and knead in remaining 1/2 cup flour until dough is not longer sticky.

2. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover, and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes, or until doubled in bulk. (I tend to cover the bowl with a towel damped with hot water. I also set it either in the laundry room with the dryer on or near a window so it stays warm enough)Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.

3. Punch down dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll into a 16×12 inch rectangle. Cut dough in half, creating two 8×12 inch rectangles. Roll up each half of dough tightly, beginning at 12 inch side, pounding out any air bubbles as you go. Roll gently back and forth to taper end. Place 3 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. Make deep diagonal slashes across loaves every 2 inches, or make one lengthwise slash on each loaf. Cover, and let rise in a warm place for 30 to 40 minutes, or until doubled in bulk.

4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Mix egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water; brush over tops of loaves.

5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

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Now that the days are getting shorter and everyone is getting busier preparing for the holidays, it is time to pull out the slow cooker. I usually associate this appliance with cooler weather, yet it has been in the 70’s here in NC. I am dedicating this week of entries and recipes to the faithful crockpot.

I am starting with a condiment that reminds me of family trips to Pennsylvania Dutch country. We used to drive almost on a yearly basis to Reading, PA, home of the mecca of outlet shopping and no taxes on clothing. It is every shopper’s dreamland…DisneyWorld for the bargain shopping. We would make the trek for jeans, dance leotards and underwear. After marathon shopping trips we would stop by a restaurant called “Good and Plenty.” It is a family style restaurant with traditional Amish food. You would sit with other families and help yourself to anything on the table. I always remember the sweet, thick apple butter on the warm biscuits. There is nothing better, and would make the 6 hours drive worthwhile.

I had planned to make baked apples for the Thursday Night dinner party, but I opted for the Vanilla Pumpkin Pie, which we all know how that one turned out. So I was left with a bag of Gala apples. I decided to chop them up, throw them in the crock pot with some sugar and cinnamon and see what happened. I had about 10 small apples, 2 cups of sugar and maybe 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. I put it on high for an hour, then reduced it to low for about 12 hours or so. I tried to stir it every once and a while to help break it up. I did this overnight, and I wish I had done it during the day, because a bit of it burned and stuck to the edge. I think I have a super-powered cooker now because I have never had this problem in my older, much cheaper cooker.

Anywho… I was going to process this is pint jars but wasn’t sure if I liked the flavor. I did throw this in the food processor with a bit of vanilla to smooth it out. Once it cooled a bit I slathered it on some fresh bread…and it was just swell. A great start to an “autumn” morning.

So stay tuned for 5 new, slow cooker meals. I have never tried any of these recipes…so it will be an adventure for us all!

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These muffins are the absolute best representation of my husband and I. He is the fun loving, laid back kid that doesn’t mind if there is chocolate, barbecue sauce or any other food left on his face. I, on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, act much older than I am, I worry about everything (including important things like getting enough fiber and making sure the house is disinfected), and I plan everything to the nth detail. We joke that our average age together is 30 (Evan being the 10 year old and myself being the 50 year old) If you had not guessed by now, Evan loves the chocolate chip muffins while I eat the all-bran, colon blow, muffins. The only healthy thing in Evan’s muffins are possibly the milk, while mine are full of wheat flour, All- Bran cereal, bananas and some golden raisins. Take your pick, I like them both though I’m sure Evan wouldn’t touch the healthy ones with a ten foot pole.

Low Fat All-Bran Muffins

1 1/4 cup wheat flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 cups All Bran cereal
1 1/4 cup milk
1 egg (can also use 2 egg whites)
1/2 cup mashed bananas

1. Stir all dry ingredients together, except for cereal.

2. In a large bowl, mix cereal with milk and let stand for 5 minutes to soften. Add mashed bananas and egg(s) and mix well. Add dry ingredients and mix until just moistened. I also added about a 1/2 cup of golden raisins.

3. Scoop batter into lined or greased muffin cups and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes until crispy on top. This recipe makes 12 standard size muffins.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter or margarine melted
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup of chocolate chips (I like using the mini morsels, you can also add more if desired!)

1. In large bowl, combine dry ingredients. In medium bowl, blend all wet ingredients. Add wet mixture to dry mixture and stir until just moistened. Carefully fold in chocolate chips.

2. Spoon batter in lines or greased muffin cups. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 -25 minutes until golden brown. Immediately remove from pan and cool on wire rack. This recipe makes 12 muffins.

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I all of a sudden had one of my weird cravings this week…this time for cranberry orange bread. Now mind you I have never had said bread, but the combination sounds so autumney and cozy. It has gotten down to a whopping 60 degrees during the day in NC and its time to pull out the sweaters, coats and yummy comfort food…I could not be more excited!

I did some research and found a cranberry orange bread for the bread machine, so with a bit of tweaking I have adjusted it for traditional bread making. I think the flavor needs to develop more, I do like it but I know it needs more cranberries, maybe add 1 1/2 cups and I may add a touch more orange zest, maybe even some orange pulp next time. But it is a fun recipe to play around with and it definitely makes the house smell fabulous! Would be great made into toast topped with honey butter.

Cranberry Orange Bread
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup warm water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons honey
3 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon dry milk powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 cup sweetened dried cranberries

1. Combine the yeast in the warm water and then add 1 tablespoon of honey. Let stand 5 minutes until frothy.
2. In a large bowl combine remaining dry ingrediants. Pour in yeast mixture then add oil, OJ, orange zest and remaining honey. Stir to combine, then dump onto floured surface. Add cranberries then knead until smooth. This will be a soft dough. Let rise in warm place until doubled in size about 90 minutes.
3. Place risen dough into a greased loaf pan and let rest 10 minutes while preheating over to 350 degrees.
4. Bake loaf for about 30 minutes until golden brown and hollow when you tap on it. (keep an eye on it, I didn’t pay close enough attention to notice how long my loaf took.)
5. Let cool slightly then enjoy!

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I have been craving pumpkin muffins since I read that Starbucks has pumpkin cream cheese muffins. I try not to visit this establishment too often, as I get myself in trouble with the $3.00 coffee drinks and caloric baked goods. So, as I usually do, I decided to make them myself. I save money, and make alot more friends at work.

I’m always after finding recipes lower in fat and calories, so I don’t feel so bad when I eat 5. I found a recipe on a certain recipe website that had no oil or butter, but instead used applesauce. I have always had luck using applesauce as a replacement for fat when making other quick breads and I thought this would be no exception. Well I was wrong, dead wrong.

What I ended up with was a gummy, dense…brick of pumpkin, some eggs and flour. I really hate when I waste ingredients. Even thought nothing was expensive, I just hate it.

So I ventured over to my favorite bread blog, The Fresh Loaf and sure enough there was a picture of a light and fluffy loaf. I knew Floyd wouldn’t let me down.

So the next night I let my butter soften and prepared for another round of pumpkin bread. I was nervous, as I didn’t want to waste another batch of ingredients. The batter was stiff so I added a bit of unsweetened applesauce to loosen it up. I made a dozen muffins and a small loaf for a swap this month. After only about 5 minutes the muffins had already started to puff up (I guess the two tablespoons of baking powder were super fresh!) After 25 minutes, I ran in to peek at the outcome. After swiftly removing the muffins from the oven, I popped one out and cracked it open to inspect the interior. SUCCESS! Light, fluffy, moist…just perfect. I slathered on some butter and took a bite….my craving has been satisfied.

A perfect pumpkin muffin. Check out the recipe here. Thanks for a perfect loaf Floyd!

I took the batch to work and everyone raved about them, even my manager who doesn’t really care for pumpkin devoured one with a grin on his face.

I really need to start a snack cart at work…..

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I love bread. I could never do the Atkins diet, I would be miserable without my carbs. My husband is the same way. Bless his heart he did the low carb thing for 2 months before our wedding, yep he lost weight but he was one cranky bastard. I have never seen him so happy as I did when we were leaving to drive to Virginia for the wedding and we stopped and had french fries and chicken fingers for dinner.

I wish I could remember what possessed me to try and bake bread. My Mom baked a lot but I never remember her making yeast breads form scratch. I guess I have that “try anything once” mentality. I think I was in college when I try to make baguettes, they must have turned out ok, cause I have been addicted to baking bread ever since.

I have been making this recipe for a while now, it is from one of my favorite cookbooks, The All New Good Housekeeping Cookbook and yet is must not be all that new because it has been discontinued (was published in 2001) You can still find it online, used probably but I love it anyways. This is a pretty fail proof focaccia recipe, without reading the directions (what! me not follow directions!) I dumped all of the olive oil in at once not realizing over half was to be saved for the topping. Nonetheless it turned out great. It rises well, is soft on the inside and has a perfect crunchy crust. I love putting kosher salt on top. It makes great sandwiches and paninis, just slice horizontally and stuff with your favorite goodies, I like mine simple with mozzarella and tomatoes.

Rosemary Focaccia
1 1/2 cups warm water (105 -115 degrees)(or run the hot water and just when it is too hot to keep your fingers there, that’s about right)
1 pack of active dry yeast or 2 1/4 teaspoons
1 teaspoon of sugar
5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt (I prefer kosher)
3 1/2 cups bread flour of 3 3/4 cups of all purpose
1 teaspoon of kosher salt for topping
about 1 tablespoon of fresh chopped rosemary

1. In a large bowl, combine the yeast, 1/2 cup of warm water and sugar. Allow the yeast to begin to foam a bit. If after about 5 mins there is no foam you may have killed the yeast or the yeast was old, throw it out and start again. Once you see foam add the remaining 1 cup of warm water, 2 tablespoons of oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and flour. I like to out in about half the flour and mix it to make it smooth then add the rest.

2. Flour your counter and your hands. Turn out the dough and begin to knead. Add a little flour as needed to keep it from sticking too bad to your counter. This is a soft dough so don’t add too much. I prefer to be gentle with this dough unlike some others that I can take my aggression out on. At this point I added in about a heaping tablespoon of chopped fresh rosemary. You can also save it for the topping but I love how the scent and flavor of rosemary permeated the bread.

3. Shape dough in a ball and put in greased bowl (I just spray Pam in my bowl). I like to cover my bowl with a towel that has been rinsed with hot water and squeezed out. I like to think it helps the rising process, so far it has worked for me. Put in a warm place, my favorite is in the laundry area while drying clothes (just remember to cover the dough!) or by a window. Leave for about an hour until it has doubled in size.

4. Lightly oil (or Pam) a jelly roll pan or baking sheet with edges. Punch the dough down (literally… just punch it down) and turn it out onto the pan. Pat is into the pan, no need to make it perfect it will fill out the pan more with rising. Cover with a dish towel or plastic wrap for about 45 minutes. With your fingertips, make deep indentations, about 1 inch apart over the entire surface. This allows room for the oil and toppings to stick to. Drizzle with remaining 3 tablespoons of oil and kosher salt. You can also add more herbs at this step. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for another 45 mins. (I know it’s a lot but it is so worth it!)

5. Preheat over to 450 degrees. Bake focaccia on lowest rack until bottom is crusty and top is lightly browned, about 18 mins.

6. Transfer to wire rack to cool. I can barely get this bread out of the pan before Evan has devoured half of it.

I really need to make it more often, it is such an easy and versatile bread that is a great canvas for so many extra flavorings.

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