Challah

I don't believe I've ever made Challah before, but decided to give it a try this year, to go with our Easter dinner.  I was very happy with this yeasty, puffy marvel, braided, brushed with egg wash, then sprinkled with poppy seeds.   Though maybe I used a few too many poppy seeds.
Or perhaps my sprinkling technique just needs a little work.
I used this recipe from the Urban Homemaker, which I saw originally in the New Harvest Homestead newsletter.
Any one else have any Easter dinner success stories to report?

Panettone

Sadly, I must report this lovely, lovely loaf as a fail.
The pinches of dough I snuck before baking were fantastic.  It contains two sticks of butter -- I KNOW! -- why wouldn't it be fantastic?
But the finished product, I am sorry to have to report, did this when sliced:

I think that's at least four crumbles it broke into.
And it kind of tasted like pie crust.
Turns out there is such a thing as too much butter.
Making this Italian Christmas bread was an excuse, truth be told, to play with this:

Which just looked so intriguing at the grocery store.  And which I still have a vat of.
But not to worry. 

The quest for delectable panettone carries forth.  I shall not give up the fight.  Soldier on.

Anyone out there ever made panettone?  Results?  Please share.

Best Biscuits Ever

Serious yumminess has been coming out of my oven lately.
Yes, that would be my new oven.  (Protagonist sighs happily here.)
These may be the finest biscuits I've ever made.  And no wonder -- they contain cream.  HEAVY cream.  (Protagonist adjusts her slightly ill-fitting waistband here.)
This recipe came from a Martha Stewart magazine.  I was going to just link to it from here, but the various instructions I found online were slightly different from the directions in the printed magazine, and I have a few changes/comments of my own.  So I think for clarity's sake I shall just type it in here, adding my own comments as we go.
Ready?  Begin.
BEST BAKING POWDER BISCUITS EVER
(By the way, I divided this recipe in half.  Using my 2 1/4-inch cookie cutter, it still made 11 biscuits)
4 c. flour, plus more for work surface
2 T. baking powder
2 t. sugar (next time I will double this amount)
1 t. coarse salt
1 c. (2 sticks) cold butter, cut into pieces (Martha uses unsalted; I like salted)
2 c. heavy cream (the reason I cut the recipe in half -- I had just a small carton of cream)

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  In large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.  Cut the butter into small pieces and drop into flour mixture.  Using tips of fingers, rub butter into flour mixture until butter is dispersed and texture resembles large breadcrumbs. 

Add the cream and stir until dough just comes together.  (Martha says dough will be sticky but mine was quite dry.  I kneaded it in the bowl just a bit to get it to come to a ball.  I suppose another option would be to add a tad more cream [or milk, if you're out of cream] but what I did worked fine.) 

Transfer to a lightly floured surface (I use my large cutting board), pat to 1-inch thickness, and use a round cookie cutter to cut out your happy little biscuits.  Place an inch or two apart on cookie sheet that's covered with parchment paper and bake about 20 minutes, until lightly browned.

Yeah.  Like the "light butter" is really gonna help.
NOTE: I baked these on the second to highest rack, but after consulting my wonderful baking reference book Baking Illustrated by the editors of Cook's Illustrated, next time I would bake these on the middle rack instead. 

Maple Nut Muffins

These maple nut muffins are not exactly low-cal, but they are tasty.  It must be all that butter.  I do love butter. 
The recipe came from Country magazine, and here's the link:  Morning Maple Muffins.  The only change I made was to use low-fat plain yogurt instead of the sour cream; my yield was 12 muffins instead of 16.
Any good cooking going on at your house?

Blackberry Scones

I love scones and all things scone-y.  These blackberry scones are not only unique but they are absolutely delicious.  Ground up oatmeal gives them a slight texture that's very nice; the blackberry jelly goodness, once baked, reminds me of Pop Tart filling.  They are just the right amount of sweet.

Ok,  now I'm gushing. 

Give these a try, especially if you, like me, still have a  stash of last year's berries in various guises -- jellies, jams, etc.  I used  some berry syrup I made last week that thickened up more than expected.  It was absolutely perfect.

Ok, no more gushing.

The recipe comes from a very fun book for people who love to read and love to eat:  Read It and Eat:  A Month-by-Month Guide to Scintillating Book Club Selections and Mouthwatering Menus, by Sarah Gardner.  I've also made her Vintage Junk Food Dark Chocolate Cake, and can highly recommend that recipe, as well.

Onto the scones.

BLACKBERRY SCONES

1 1/2 c. oatmeal (uncooked)

1 1/2 c. flour

1/3 c. sugar

1 T. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1/2 c. butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

3/4 c. buttermilk (I just used regular milk with the juice from most of one small lemon squeezed into it.  Let sit for 5 minutes and voila.  Buttermilk substitute.)

3 T. seedless blackberry all-fruit spread (I used thick-ish homemade blackberry syrup)

1 egg, beaten

 

Place parchment paper on baking sheet (or lightly spray it with nonstick cooking spray).  Put oats in blender and blend away until they become pretty fine.  Dump into a large bowl and add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Mix well.  Put the small blobs of butter into the bowl and use a pastry blender to incorporate butter into flour mixture.  Add the buttermilk and stir.  You will probably need to use your (very clean) hands to smush this all together.  Knead it until it comes together.  Pat the dough out on a floured surface until it's a rectangle approximately 10 inches by 8 inches and about 1/2-inch thick.  Cut into 2 1/2-inch squares (12 of them).  With sharp knife, cut a fairly deep "x" into each square (but don't cut all the way through).  Then spoon about 3/4 t. berry spread into each "x," using fingers and spoon to ease it into the crevices.  Brush pastry with the egg wash, transfer to baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 12 - 13 minutes, until golden.  Makes 12.  And they are lovely.

 

A Few of my Favorite Things

Aah, it might be gray and gloomy outside

but this is precisely the kind of day that reminds me again why I love being a homemaker.  Warm and snug in my little house,  I'm enjoying the beginning of the Christmas season.

There are the decorations, including this jewelry tree my beloved grandma Nana churned out one year -- I believe she made about ten of them.  Nana's been gone a few years now, but that just makes the things she made all the sweeter.

There's the Christmas music blaring,

the fire blazing (it IS blazing in there, trust me),

the most wonderful scented candle in the world -- mint chocolate, does it get any better?

the World Vision gift catalog to ponder (let's see, do you think Grandpa would prefer ducks this year, or maybe a goat for the needy?)

And this:  sweet brioche with dried cherries.  Recipe from this book.  Courtesy of my very accommodating bread machine.

SWEET BRIOCHE WITH DRIED CHERRIES

3 eggs

1/2 c. water

1 stick butter

3 1/4 c. flour

1/3 c. plus 2 T. sugar

1 t. salt

1 T. yeast

1/2 c. dried cherries

In bread machine, dump eggs, water, butter, flour, sugar, salt, and yeast.  Start the machine.  Once it beeps (mine does this at about 30 minutes in), it's time to add the dried cherries.

This is lovely fresh from the machine, or made into toast later.

 

No Knead Onion Rolls

I had high hopes for these onion rolls.

Especially as Kahuna has outdone himself this year in the onion growing department.

At the moment, fine onion recipes rank right up there in my estimation with chocolate recipes, wafting around my kitchen ceiling just waiting for inspiration and energy to collide.

Look at these babies.  Beautiful, yes?

I'm happy to report they are every bit as beautiful once baked.  Not to mention oniony and delicious.

And they rose almost as high as my fingers.
I love that in a roll.

The only change I made to these No Knead Onion Rolls, recipe from Real Simple Nov. 2011 issue, was in step one, browning the onions -- mine were plenty brown after just 12 minutes in the skillet, not the 15 - 18 minutes recommended.

So give these a try, especially if you're looking for a great roll recipe and happen to have a few onions on hand.  And if you have any great onion recipes to share?  I'd love to hear about them.

NOTE:  Other highly recommended roll recipes that I will personally stake my apron on:  garlic cheese rolls and mile high rolls.  Because you can never have too many fabulous roll recipes.

Peaches and Cream Muffins

This has been a busy little kitchen lately.

Between playing with peaches

and making muffins for the church flea market

I have had a fruitful July.
Fruitful.  Get it?

These peaches and cream muffins are most definitely a recipe worth passing on.  They come from this At Our Table cookbook, which I mentioned buying last year.  This is only the second recipe I've tried from this book, but it's a winner.  Studded with chunks of fresh peaches and laced with grated orange peel, what puts these over the top is the cube of cream cheese dunked in the middle of each muffin before baking.  When warm, the stuff oozes like fine melted chocolate.  When cool -- well, nothing more to say other than it's mmmm mmmm good.

PEACHES AND CREAM MUFFINS

2 c. flour
1 c. sugar, divided
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
6 T. butter, cut up
1 c. buttermilk (I just use regular milk with about 1 T. of lemon juice added)
3 T. orange juice (since you need orange peel for this recipe anyway, you might as well squeeze it from a fresh orange)
1 T. grated orange peel
1 egg
1 c. peeled, chopped peaches
4 oz. cream cheese, cut into 12 cubes

Streusel Topping:

1/3 c. flour
3 T. sugar
1 T. orange juice
2 T. butter

In medium bowl, combine flour, 3/4 c. sugar, baking powder, and baking soda.  Cut in the 6 T. butter with a pastry blender, until mixture is crumbly.  In small bowl, mix together the buttermilk, orange juice, orange peel, and egg.  Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until moistened.  Add in the peaches.

Line 12 muffin cups with cupcake papers.  Fill each about 3/4 full with batter, until all is used.  Put remaining 1/4 c. sugar in small bowl; dip each little cube of cream cheese in the sugar, then stick it down into the center of the muffin batter in each cup.

In small bowl, mix together streusel topping.  Plop a small spoonful onto each muffin until all is used.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes, until muffins turn a little bit golden.

NOTE:  According to the At Our Table cookbook, you can substitute other fruits for the peaches.

Apricot Almond Oatmeal Bread

I'm not all that impressed by your average everyday loaf of homemade bread -- not that I'm a bread snob, but I've been spoiled by having a bread machine for 15 years, thanks to a generous gift from my generous grandma.  (You can read more about my beautiful grandma here.)

I have grown accustomed to the delights of  bread baking in my very own kitchen -- its yeasty smell that permeates through the house, its soul-satisfying warmth as you cut that first slice and see the butter, cold from the fridge, begin to soften then ooze its way into each little crevice.

It takes a lot these days for a bread to make me sit up and take note.  This dried apricot-studded loaf, humble as it may appear, is just that sort of bread

I'm thinking of the word swoon.

So make yourself a loaf next time you get the chance, toast and butter a slice, nestle up by the fire, if it's chilly, with your homemade happy frappy and your latest library book, and REJOICE!  Life does not get any better.

Happy homemaking.

Note:  The recipe comes from The Bread machine Cookbook II by Donna Rathmell German.  This book not only has gobs of creative bread recipes, but it also includes instructions for small (1-pound), medium (1 1/2-pound), and large (2-pound) loaves.  Kahuna and I have found the small loaves to be the perfect size for the two of us -- just enough for a day or two or three of fresh bread, but not so much that we are overwhelmed with the abundance.  If you have a large family, or will be serving more than three people, I'd recommend doubling this recipe to make the large loaf.  The directions here are for the small one.

APRICOT ALMOND OATMEAL BREAD

2/3 c. milk or water (I used water)
1 1/2 T. vegetable oil (I used Canola)
1 1/2 T. honey
1/2 egg, or 2 T. (this is the first time I'd ever run across 1/2 egg as an ingredient.  I whipped up the egg in a small bowl and measured out 2 T.)
1/3 t. salt
1/3 t. grated lemon peel
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. oatmeal (uncooked)
1 c. bread flour
1 t. yeast

Dump all ingredients in bread machine in order listed and push the magic "on" button.  At the beep, add
1/4 c. diced dried apricots
1/4 c. raisins
2 T.  chopped almonds (I'm thinking next time I may toast these first for added flavor)

That's it!

Sourdough Starter

My first attempt at sourdough starter.  Anyone done this before?  Hints?

Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Muffins

After a week or two of making

roasted vegetables (soggy), 

Kahlua butter (bitter),

and a few other assorted dishes which, let's just say, did not make the castle hit parade in this queenie's opinion, I was oh so happy to stumble upon these chocolatey muffins.  I'm almost positive the recipe came from this book because I found the almost identical recipe here.   But there are a few differences  between the two versions and I made a change or two myself, so for the sake of simplicity I'll type in the recipe the way I made it.  

Never forget:  a chocolate breakfast is a happy breakfast.  Walker.  2012.  You may quote me.

CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE-CHIP MUFFINS

2/3 c. cocoa powder

1 3/4 c. flour

1 c. lightly packed brown sugar

1 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

3/4 t. salt

1 c. chocolate chips  (I may increase this to 1 1/2 c. next time)

2 eggs

1 c. milk

2 t. vanilla

2 t. vinegar

1 stick (8 T. ) butter, melted

(optional:  3/4 t. espresso powder.  I didn't add, but may next time)

In large bowl, mix together cocoa, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, chocolate chips, and espresso powder, if using.  Make a well in the center and dump in eggs, milk, vanilla, vinegar, and melted butter.  Stir just until mixed.  Ladle batter into well-greased muffin cups (mine filled 16 cups).  Bake 10 - 15 minutes at 400 degrees, until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  (Mine took 10 or 11 minutes, but if you fill your muffin cups very full and make fewer muffins, expect them to take a bit longer to cook.)  The book's recipe warns you that these will burn around the edges if you bake them too long, so take a peek toward the end as a safeguard.  Remove from oven and turn out of muffin tin after five or ten minutes.

Christ is risen.  He is risen indeed!

Cheese-Oozing Onion Bread

Well I'm not sure I even need to add any words to this; the picture pretty much says it all.  A round of bread sliced almost all the way through, oozing with cheese and diced green onions and poppy seeds.  You pull off cubes of the cheese-soaked bread with your fingers and pop them into your mouth. 

Does it get any better?

No.  It does not.

One word of warning:  The first time I made this, I had no idea how filling it was.  I served it with spaghetti.

We did not need the spaghetti.

The second time, I served with a small fruit salad.

Much better.

This would also be wonderful with a light (think broth-y) soup.

This recipe is officially an appetizer, but if you think cheese fondue, you can call it a main dish and I'd be behind you 100 percent.  Just don't think about calories. 

Tomorrow you can have salad for dinner.  Tonight?  Lick your fingers and enjoy.

 

Go visit Leigh Anne at Your Homebased Mom blog for the recipe and a thorough "Bloomin' Onion Bread" tutorial.  She got the recipe from See Jane in the Kitchen! who got it from The Changeable Table.  You know a recipe's a winner when it keeps getting passed from blog to blog. 

Honey-Whole Wheat Bread

I'm not sure where I got this recipe -- probably from my grandma when she first gifted me with a bread machine many moons ago.  But it's a keeper.  A great everyday loaf to eat with dinner or make into sandwiches.  And warm, with butter oozing into every little crevice?  Mmmmm.
I'm sure I will return to cooking something other than breads and cookies eventually.  What is it about the dark, sometimes dreary winter months that make baking sound like the perfect leisure-time activity?

HONEY-WHOLE WHEAT BREAD
1 egg
1/3 c. water
1 c. milk
1/4 c. honey
1 T. butter
2 t. salt
1 c. whole wheat flour
2 c. bread flour
1 package (2 1/4 t.) yeast

Dump everything into your handy-dandy bread machine in order listed.  Push the magic button and voila.  Four hours later you will be inhaling the delicious aroma of homemade bread and slathering on the butter and thinking you really should cook some carrots pretty soon.

Fabulous Dinner Rolls

Are you looking for an out-of-this-world roll recipe to add to your Thanksgiving menu?  Look no further.

This yeast roll recipe comes courtesy of Meg from Little Bit of Life blog.  She got it from her great-grandmother Lola. 

And I ask you, does anyone make rolls better than a great grandma?

I think not.

I've gotta tell you, I am a staunch believer in my own garlic cheese rolls, a family favorite for a number of years.  Every roll I bake is measured against the venerable GCR.  Very few make the cut.

These?  Well just look at them.  I think, rather than Yeast Rolls, they should be renamed Mile High Rolls.  One roll stretches from chin to eyebrow.  Eating one is like eating buttery air.

This year, for Thanksgiving?  I will make two kinds of rolls.  My garlic cheese rolls (because we want no serious pouty-faces around here).  And these.

They are that good.

Five-Minute Christmas Food Gift

Got my scented candle burning,

my Big Band Christmas CD blasting (this one is outstanding, btw),

the dough for my rolls percolating in the trusty bread machine -- it's a great homemaking day here at the castle.

It seemed like the perfect day to power up my brand new super-duper whizmo blender that Kahuna got me for my birthday.

I think he may have gotten a tad tired of the BANG BANG THWAP of me pulverizing coffee ice cubes with a meat tenderizer for my mocha frappuccinos. 

Which leads me to:  strawberry butter.  Yes indeedy, a five-minute food gift idea that is truly stellar.  So what if you didn't make any homemade jams and jellies this summer?  All you need for this is frozen strawberries, butter, and powdered sugar.  Get a cute little ramekin and add a wooden spreader, and you've got a wonderful, quick Christmas or hostess gift.

STRAWBERRY BUTTER

10-oz. package frozen strawberries

1 c. butter, softened

1 c. powdered sugar

Let strawberries thaw and take butter out of fridge to soften.  Put all ingredients in blender and blend away until mixture is smooth.  Pack in cute little containers.  Makes 2 1/2 c.

Note:  I cut this recipe in half and it blended perfectly.  I also cut the butter into about 10 or 15 pieces before plopping it in the blender.  Recipe came from Better Homes and Gardens Gifts from Your Kitchen.

Have you ever made any special flavored butters?  I would love to hear about it.