TWD: Irish Soda Bread

Keeping up with the baking group is the challenge but I have done two in a row. This Tuesday's was Irish Soda Bread. What better time to attempt this challenge than on St Paddy's Day. The kids had all come home for a beer tasting dinner Friday night. Sierra Nevada Beer was the brewery and was a fun evening had by all.

The next day being St. Patrick's day we planned a corned beef and cabbage dinner. What better time to try Irish Soda Bread. Jessica took on the corned beef and cabbage. The corned beef cooked in crock pots all day. The cabbage she grilled and then steamed with a little Guinness.

I pulled out the simple ingredients for the bread. Flour, buttermilk, baking soda and salt. I had a little helper, Wyatt and another helper that distracted the little helper!

The thing I worried most was doing too much. Stirring till it comes together begs the question, what does that actually mean??? I did the bare minimum than plopped the dough onto the counter for a little knead.

As you can see from the pictures it isn't exactly that smooth dough look that I thought it should have but again I didn't want to do to much.

Miracle of miracles it came out great. I did not add the currants I bought because I wanted it simple for the dinner. It tasted great with the corned beef and cabbage. The timing was perfect because it was hot for dinner. Everyone loved it. The grandson ate two buttered pieces happily. I will never know if it were to get hard sitting because there was none left!!

This was the simplest bread to bake. I can seeing doing this again and am exited to try some of the combinations I have seen on other blogs - sweet and savory.

TWD : Rugelach

I missed the last TWD which was Chocolate Truffle Tartlets. It would of been lovely to try (and eat) but instead I celebrated my birthday. There were plenty of goodies; macarons, chocolate bars,browned butter with salt cookies and a Miette Chocolate cake. I needed time to recover!
This TWD assignment was Rugelach. I have heard of them but never had one. Never actually seen one. The adventure was on. One thing I have learned with this recipe is that reading the whole recipe first is a must. If I had waited till Tuesday I would have dough to show.

The dough seem to come together okay. I thought all the butter and cream cheese would make the dough delicious to nibble but no. Salt was an after thought (remember read and read again) I patted them into rectangles, put in frig and called it day one. My Romba / Bear did floor clean up for me.

Day two, I read the recipe and realized again that I should of paid more attention to the recipe. I would not of had to buy apple butter (because googling in the grocery store I learned that was the closest item that came to lekvar). After reading again I realized I had what I needed to make lekvar. I also learned that I had Amaretto it just wasn't labeled as such. I rolled the dough out and with the help of a tape measure came close to 14 x 10 rectangle. Hopefully at the end of all this it will be SO much easier. Filled some of the dough with apricot lekvar and some with mini chocolate chips. Back into the frig end of day 2.

Day three, time for the egg wash and cinnamon/sugar/nut bath! After a 22 minute bake in the oven they came out looking just like the picture. Oh what a relief. I sat down with a cup of tea and plowed through four in no time at all. I don't know if they taste like they should but they did taste good and with a cup of tea a bit of heaven.

Pumpkin Pancakes

We usually make pancakes on Sunday mornings and this weekend I chose to do some pumpkin pancakes to change it up a bit. They were AMAZING!! Wyatt loved them too so we will definitely be making them again.

Here is the recipe:

2 cups of your favorite pancake mix
3 tbs brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 cup milk
1 cup canned pumpkin puree (omit the pumpkin pie spice & vanilla if you use pumpkin pie puree as it is already flavored)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbs vegetable oil (plus some additional for griddle)

Combine wet ingredients then add your dry ingredients and cook on your griddle or flat pan.


Super easy and super yummy!
Enjoy!

Burgundy Mushrooms

Tuesday came and went but no tartlets. A trip to Las Vegas, a birthday party for my Mother, babysitting my Niece Maddy, and then my birthday all conspired to have me ditch the tartlets for Tuesdays with Dorie. It was a lovely birthday and the gifts were spectacular - chocolate fudge bars, specialty macaroons, browned butter sugar cookies and a cake from Miette. These all filled my need for sweets. The tartlets will have to wait.
Instead here is a recipe from the Pioneer Woman herself that fills the house with the best smells and goes great with steak! The recipe calls for 9 hours of cooking.....I rushed it into 3 hours.

Burgundy Mushrooms
4 pounds white button mushrooms
1/2 pound butter
1-1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 liter Burgundy wine
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 c. boiling water
4 chicken bouillon cutes
4 beef bouillon cubes
1 tsp dill seed
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt (optional)
Clean mushroom and throw into large stockpot.
Add all the remaing ingredients except the salt. Stir to combine
Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat
Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered for 6 hours!!!!
Remove the lid, then continue cooking, uncovered, for 3 hours
Add sake ti taste at the end if desired. The mushrooms will be dark in color (burgundy). They can sit in the pan until ready to serve. Serve straight from the pot or spoon the mushrooms and cooking liquid into a serving bowl.
Have crusty bread nearby to soak up the deliciousness (burgundy flavored butter)

The recipe states that it serves 8 - 10 but we did 20 people. It should be noted there were no leftovers.

TDWD: White Bread

I joined the group Tuesdays with Dorie. We are baking our way through Baking with Julia. First Tuesday to bake is here and the first recipe was White Bread. Funny thing was that I had all the ingredients together before and had read the recipe through several times. One of the times I left it on the last page of the recipe. Absent-mindly on my Tuesday to bake I looked at the ingredient list and was shocked to see I had forgot some ingredients..... I ran to the store searched every where for malt extract. I even called Kim (sister-in-law and resident professional baker) to find out where I could find the malt extract. Got the extract and a few other items get home and realized then that I had looked at the ingredient list for Whole Wheat Bread on the next page!!!
Once I got settled down and knew I had had everything I needed I began. I remember making bread one other time and it being a MAJOR undertaking so I was a little concerned.

The yeast got bubbly and creamy just like the recipe said. My poor old Kitchen-Aid wondered what the heck was on his nose. Even though I have had the mixer for 20+ years it was the inaugural run for the bread hook.
I was excited when the recipe called for use of a rolling pin, if necessary, to roll out the bread because I have a beautiful rolling pin. A Great Uncle from West Virginia use to make them. He made one for me and it is beautiful.

The bread rose beautifully on the first rise. My new oven said that you can let bread rise in its warm setting but I worry. The thoughts of melted plastic wrap in my new oven was too much. Especially since the day before I had christened the range with a cup of buttermilk. I divided the dough and formed the bread. The second rise put the loaves up to the two to four inch rise above the pan. Everything the recipe said would happen!! At this point I am feeling like a bread baker. In the oven they went and the house started to smell incredible.
When the loaves came out I saw that I had succeeded in baking white bread. This was something I could do! After cutting into the bread and smearing some butter on a slice it dawned on me that I had better learn to be a gym instructor too because if all the other recipes succeed like this I will be doing a lot of gym time!!! Like it was noted in the recipe this bread makes the most delicious grilled cheese sandwiches. To get this recipe try picking up Baking with Julia or head to this blog: http://slush.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/twd-baking-with-julia-white-loaves/
Hopefully at the end of this book I will be much better at baking, writing/blogging, picture taking and keeping my weight in check!

Juevos Ranchero Jenn style

This is my favorite breakfast. I make it on Sunday night and eat it for the rest of the week...

Quinoa- cooked as directed
1 can black, beans drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained and rinsed
1/4 c mild or hot salsa
salt & pepper to taste
crispy corn tortillas
Eggs cooked over easy/medium

Mix first 5 ingredients together, set aside. Cook eggs over easy or medium.
Layer crispy corn tortilla then quinoa mix and topped with egg. Get crazy and add fresh diced avocado if you have any!

Mediterranean Quinoa

1 box quinoa- cooked as directed
1 jar marinated artichoke hearts
1 tsp capers
1/4 small jar kalamata olives- diced
1/2 red bell pepper chopped
1/2 green bell pepper chopped
1 cucumber- seeded and chopped (use a spoon to scoop out the seeds in the middle)
1/4 c feta cheese
juice of 2-4 lemons plus some zest
salt & pepper to taste, but remember capers and olives are salty!

Mix all together and serve cold with grilled chicken for a light and delicious dinner.

Tilapia Tacos

1 lb fresh tilapia
juice from one lemon & some zest
1/2 jalapeno finely diced
1/4 bunch cilantro
2 tbl olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients together and coat the fish before you grill it. cook 6 minutes each side... or until firm

4-6 flour tortillas

1 bag shredded cabbage
1 jalapeno finely diced
1 can black beans drained and rinsed
4 lemons- juiced
salt & pepper to taste
1 dollop greek yogurt
rest of cilantro bunch rough chopped
1/2 onion finely chopped
Mix all ingredients together.

This makes a light, delicious and fresh taco- you can also add super thin julienned apple for more crunch and sweetness.

Enjoy! (And yes I, the none fish eater- ate it! I flaked the fish and mixed it into the cabbage and ate it with tortilla chips the next day too!)

If you are not watching what you eat- marinate the tilapia in 1/4 cup greek yogurt, with lime juice, jalapeno, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes... dip that in panko flakes (creates a crust/batter) and fry up in 6-8 TBL olive oil... make sure to cook fully on each side before flipped to get a good browned crust.

Tuesday with Dorie

There is a web site called Tuesdays with Dorie. It is a group that bakes through a cook book of Dorie Greenspan. Twice a month you must bake a recipe chosen from a specific cookbook. This time a round the cookbook is "Cooking with Julia". There are rules and one is that you must write about your experience and how it went making the recipe but not print the recipe. They want others to buy the book also.
I have this new kitchen and I thought this might be a fun way to learn how to use my new oven and learn some new skills. I have watched from the side lines long enough. I am jumping in going to give it a try. Wish me luck. I will be using this blog spot as my blog of choice. Hopefully this will not be a great start and a fizzle.
Wish me luck!

Dreaming

traditional kitchen design by boston interior designer Marie Newton, Closets Redefined

Morning crepes

2 large eggs
1 c milk
1/3 c water
1 cup all purpose flour (preferably bleached)
2 Tbl sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbl melted butter plus 2-3 teaspoons for coating the pan

In blender or food processor blend all ingredients (minus butter for pan) until smooth. Let sit covered in fridge for at least 1 hour (longer if you can)

Gently stir batter if separated. Heat a 6-7" non-stick crepe pan over medium high heat until hot. Wipe pan gently with butter coating the surface. Pour in 2-3 Tbl of batter and tilt/roll the pan to distribute batter into a thin circle. Cook until almost dry on top and lightly brown on edges- about 1 minute. Loosen edges with a spatula and flip over. Cook other side for about 15-30 seconds until lightly browned. Repeat with remaining batter.

You can have these for breakfast with fresh fruit or as a dessert with ice cream or other sweet filling...

You can slip into ziplock and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze up to 2 months.

Summers bounty... Nectarine Sorbet

We found a great farm stand that sells lugs of peaches and fresh fruit for $5 per box and so I have had to go through mounds of recipes to use up all the yummy fruit we bought. This great nectarine sorbet was one of our favorites...

6 ripe nectarines (about 2 lbs)
2/3 c. water
3/4 c suga
1 tsp Kirsch (or substitute equal amount of cherry syrup from canned cherries) or 1/4 tsp fresh lemon juice

Slice nectarines in half and remove pits. Cut un-peeled nectarines into small chunks and cook them with the water in a medium non-reactive sauce pan, covered. stir occasionally, about 10 minutes. Add more water if necessary during cooking process.

Remove from heat and stir in sugar until dissolved. Let cool to room temperature. Once cool- blend in food processor or blender until smooth. Stir in Kirsch or lemon juice.

Chill mixture thoroughly, then freeze in ice cream maker according to directions.