It's Daring...that I tried to make this strudel

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.



Things this challenge taught me: for goodness sakes, follow the directions! When making the dough, the recipe instructs you to use a table cloth as you roll out the dough. It also encourages you to have quite a large work surface available. I had neither. Seriously, you need the table cloth! This dough gets so, so thin. I had managed to get it pretty thin overall, but a small tear soon turned into a large rip. Then, without the aid of the tablecloth, it's next to impossible to roll the strudel up. But what I did end up with was light, flaky and tasty! And that's all that counts in the end, right? Right.

Preparation time

Total: 2 hours 15 minutes – 3 hours 30 minutes
15-20 min to make dough

30-90 min to let dough rest/to prepare the filling

20-30 min to roll out and stretch dough

10 min to fill and roll dough

30 min to bake

30 min to cool

Apple strudel

from “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers
2 tablespoons (30 ml) golden rum

3 tablespoons (45 ml) raisins

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (80 g) sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick / 115 g) unsalted butter, melted, divided

1 1/2 cups (350 ml) fresh bread crumbsstrudel dough (recipe below)

1/2 cup (120 ml, about 60 g) coarsely chopped walnuts

2 pounds (900 g) tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into ¼ inch-thick slices (use apples that hold their shape during baking)

1. Mix the rum and raisins in a bowl. Mix the cinnamon and sugar in another bowl.
2. Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the breadcrumbs and cook whilst stirring until golden and toasted. This will take about 3 minutes. Let it cool completely.
3. Put the rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a large baking sheet with baking paper (parchment paper). Make the strudel dough as described below. Spread about 3 tablespoons of the remaining melted butter over the dough using your hands (a bristle brush could tear the dough, you could use a special feather pastry brush instead of your hands). Sprinkle the buttered dough with the bread crumbs. Spread the walnuts about 3 inches (8 cm) from the short edge of the dough in a 6-inch-(15cm)-wide strip. Mix the apples with the raisins (including the rum), and the cinnamon sugar. Spread the mixture over the walnuts.
4. Fold the short end of the dough onto the filling. Lift the tablecloth at the short end of the dough so that the strudel rolls onto itself. Transfer the strudel to the prepared baking sheet by lifting it. Curve it into a horseshoe to fit. Tuck the ends under the strudel. Brush the top with the remaining melted butter.
5. Bake the strudel for about 30 minutes or until it is deep golden brown. Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Use a serrated knife and serve either warm or at room temperature. It is best on the day it is baked.

Strudel dough

from “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers
1 1/3 cups (200 g) unbleached flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

7 tablespoons (105 ml) water, plus more if needed

2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough

1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar

1. Combine the flour and salt in a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix the water, oil and vinegar in a measuring cup. Add the water/oil mixture to the flour with the mixer on low speed. You will get a soft dough. Make sure it is not too dry, add a little more water if necessary.Take the dough out of the mixer. Change to the dough hook. Put the dough ball back in the mixer. Let the dough knead on medium until you get a soft dough ball with a somewhat rough surface.
2. Take the dough out of the mixer and continue kneading by hand on an unfloured work surface. Knead for about 2 minutes. Pick up the dough and throw it down hard onto your working surface occasionally.Shape the dough into a ball and transfer it to a plate. Oil the top of the dough ball lightly. Cover the ball tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to stand for 30-90 minutes (longer is better).
3. It would be best if you have a work area that you can walk around on all sides like a 36 inch (90 cm) round table or a work surface of 23 x 38 inches (60 x 100 cm). Cover your working area with table cloth, dust it with flour and rub it into the fabric. Put your dough ball in the middle and roll it out as much as you can.Pick the dough up by holding it by an edge. This way the weight of the dough and gravity can help stretching it as it hangs. Using the back of your hands to gently stretch and pull the dough. You can use your forearms to support it.
4. The dough will become too large to hold. Put it on your work surface. Leave the thicker edge of the dough to hang over the edge of the table. Place your hands underneath the dough and stretch and pull the dough thinner using the backs of your hands. Stretch and pull the dough until it's about 2 feet (60 cm) wide and 3 feet (90 cm) long, it will be tissue-thin by this time. Cut away the thick dough around the edges with scissors. The dough is now ready to be filled.

A Taste of Spring

Hi...it's me! Yes, it's been quite a long time since my last post. Life has gotten endlessly busy, especially with all of this wedding planning to do! But I still had time this weekend to create some fabulous spring cupcakes to display these great cupcake toppers from Etsy's Goose Grease. Love them!

If you're looking for a great way to welcome in spring (if it ever actually arrives!)...make these. You will not be sorry. Especially if you have a huge sweet tooth...these will most definitely hit the spot!

Cherry Vanilla Cupcakes
Adapted from Cupcake Bakeshop
22-24 regular cupcakes
350 degree oven
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
A handful of chopped maraschino cherries
1-2 tablespoons of liquid from the maraschino cherries jar

Beat butter on high until soft, about 30 seconds. Add sugar. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time, beat for 30 seconds between each. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Add to mixer bowl. Add the milk, extracts, chopped cherries and maraschino cherry liquid (add it until you get the desired taste, depending on how much cherry flavor you want). Mix to combine.
Scoop into cupcake papers about half to two-thirds full (depending on whether you want flat or domed cupcakes).
Bake for 22-25 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.
Note: These cupcakes tend to rise quite a bit and will overflow if you put too much batter in the cupcake paper. Keep it under two-thirds full. They also tend to pull away from the papers as they cool. It should be minimal if the cupcakes were baked enough and shouldn’t be an issue.

Cherry Frosting*
Adapted from Bon Apetit
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons almond extract
2-3 teaspoonds liquid from the maraschino cherry jar (add to taste)

Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in another medium bowl until smooth. Beat in the liquids. Spread frosting over cupcakes.

*Please note: you will probably need to double the quantity of frosting if making the full batch of cupcakes per the recipe above. I did not make the full batch of cupcakes and therefore did not need to make additional frosting.

Channeling the Girl Scouts

I absolutely love the Girl Scouts' Thin Mint cookies...the mint flavor is subtle and perfectly combines with the chocolate. With that flavor profile in mind, I scoured the 'net for the perfect mint chocolate cupcake recipe. As this was (yet again!) a last minute project, I had to also find a recipe that did not call for anything wacky that isn't normally in my kitchen (buttermilk, heavy cream, sour cream, etc...we usually just have skim milk and soy milk on hand).

I came across The Repressed Pastry Chef's recipe for Mint Chocolate Cupcakes. I truly questioned the recipe. No eggs? White vinegar? No dairy to speak of?! Hmm. Since I'd made her basic buttercream recipe before and it was absolute perfection, I decided to give this recipe a try.

OH MY GOODNESS. These were amazing! I want to eat them every day. For breakfast. So light and fluffy. Deep dark chocolate color. The mint in the cupcake gave just the lightest minty hint alongside the chocolate. A batter that was so perfectly runny that I could fill the muffin tins with ease. I also used her buttercream frosting recipe (I made a half batch) and added the peppermint extract into the frosting teaspoon by teaspoon to get just the right minty taste.

My only, only kerfluffle when making these cupcakes was that the bowl of batter seemed never ending! After filling my standard-size 12-cup muffin tin, and then my 24-cup mini-muffin tin, I fill two 4-inch mini cake pans, and still had leftover batter! By that point, I just called it quits and (sadly) chucked the rest. So I would definitely made a half or third batch the next time. But hey, what's wrong with a few too many to-die-for cupcakes?!

Mint Chocolate Cupcakes
from The Repressed Pastry Chef

3 cups flour
2/3 cups Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder (or brand of choice)
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups cold water
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon (pepper)mint extract
2 tablespoons white vinegar

Preheat oven to 350F
Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, sugar and salt together.
In a separate bowl whisk together the water, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, mint extract and vinegar.
In a large mixing bowl, combine 1/3 of the dry ingredients with 1/2 of the wet ingredients. After the mixture is thoroughly combined, add half of the remaining dry ingredients with the remaining wet ingredients. Combine thoroughly. Lastly add in the remaining dry ingredients. Once the mixture is thoroughly combined, continue to mix for another 2-3 minutes.
Pour into cupcake liners or for a full cake pour into a 9x13 cake pan prepared with baking spray. Tap the pan against the counter to break any air bubbles that exist.
Bake for 20 minutes (cupcakes) or 25-30 minutes (cake) or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool in pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto wire rack to cool completely.

Buttercream Frosting
adapted from The Repressed Pastry Chef

(1/2 recipe)
1/2 stick salted butter - room temperature
1/2 stick unsalted butter - room temperature
(or just use 1 stick of unsalted butter if that's what you have on hand)
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 tablespoon peppermint extract (start with less, add to taste)
1 pound confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar, 10x)
2-3 tablespoons very cold milk
green food coloring (optional)

Cream the butter and shortening in the bowl of an electric or stand mixer. Add the peppermint extract and combine well. Begin adding in the sugar and mixing thoroughly after each addition. After all of the sugar has been added and mixed thoroughly, begin adding the very cold milk... one tablespoon at a time, combining very well after each addition (mixer on medium-high to high speed) until you reach the desired consistency.

Oh, Brioche

Brioche has been on my "hit list" of must bakes for awhile now. I've surprisingly only had brioche once (made into French toast...fabulous!) but it seems like something that is just a baking staple.

When looking for recipes, I stayed away from all of my bread books thinking they would give me the harder way to make this, they always do. And it does turn out that there are more streamlined ways to make brioche. I was happy to see that La Tartine Gourmande had a very down to earth, dare I say easy, brioche recipe. But for my first time, I wanted the full experience.

I found a recipe through Epicurious that seemed like the real mccoy. Let's see - beat in a lot of butter (check). Let is slow rise in the refrigerator overnight (check). Stir the dough once every 30 minutes for 2 hours while slow rising (check). There seemed to be enough hours of both work and waiting to make this recipe feel authentic enough for me.

The experience was awesome, if you can say that about making bread. This dough was one of the best I've ever worked with, probably because of the butter to flour ratio (my flab would rather not think about this). The dough was silky smooth and yet elastic at the time time. I loved it!

I loved the dough, until I baked it and was able to eat it.

OH MY SWEET GOODNESS. Is it a croissant? Or a loaf of bread? This crazy hybrid butter-fest was so light on the tongue and yet so rich. It was worth every minute of prep, and all three sticks of butter (don't think I'm joking!). Maybe next time I'll go for an easier version if I'm in a time crunch, but the process to make this was too much fun.

Golden Brioche

Recipe from Epicurious

1/3 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)
1/3 cup warm milk (105°F to 115°F)
2 envelopes dry yeast
3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, each stick cut into 4 pieces, room temperature
1 egg, beaten to blend with 1 tablespoon water (for glaze)

Place 1/3 cup warm water, warm milk, and yeast in bowl of standing heavy-duty mixer; stir until yeast dissolves. Fit mixer with dough hook. Add flour and salt to bowl; mix on low speed just until flour is moistened, about 10 seconds. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl.

Beat in 3 eggs on low speed, then add sugar. Increase speed to medium and beat until dough comes together, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low.

Add butter, 1 piece at a time, beating until each piece is almost incorporated before adding next (dough will be soft and batter-like). Increase speed to medium-high and beat until dough pulls away from sides of bowl, about 7 minutes.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature until almost doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Lift up dough around edges and allow dough to fall and deflate in bowl. Cover bowl with plastic and chill until dough stops rising, lifting up dough around edges and allowing dough to fall and deflate in bowl every 30 minutes, about 2 hours total. Cover bowl with plastic; chill dough overnight.

Butter and flour three 7 1/2x3 1/2x2-inch loaf pans. Divide dough into 3 equal pieces. Cut each dough piece into 4 equal pieces. Roll each into 3 1/2-inch-long log, forming 12 logs total. Arrange 4 logs crosswise in bottom of each prepared loaf pan. Place loaf pans on baking sheet. Cover pans with waxed paper. Let loaves rise at room temperature until dough almost fills pans, about 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Gently brush top of loaves with egg glaze. Bake until loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped, about 30 minutes. Cool in pans on racks 15 minutes.

Turn loaves out onto racks; cool at least 1 hour. (Can be made ahead. Cool completely. Wrap loaves in foil; place in resealable plastic bags and store at room temperature 1 day or freeze up to 1 month. Rewarm room-temperature or thawed loaves wrapped in foil in 350°F oven about 15 minutes, if desired.)

Chocolate Peppermint Pinwheels

Hello baking blog, I've missed you.

It seems like time in the new year has been passing me by and I haven't had time to set foot in the kitchen to get any baking done. Fortunately I have a back log of baking goodness from December, I just...well...have to blog everything!

During the holidays I was watching the Food Network special on holiday cookies, where all of my favorite (and not so favorite) Food Network personalities shared their favorite holiday cookies. Alton Brown (along with Santa!) made these chocolate and peppermint pinwheel cookies, and the process was so simple. Sugar cookie dough. Crushed up candy canes. Peppermint extract. Chocolate. Easy peasy!

Oh Alton Brown, I'm a little disappointed in you (but I still love you!!). Why did you tell me to only refrigerate the dough for 5 minutes before I rolled it?! A sticky, sticky mess. But once I soldiered through it and got everything rolled, the process was a cinch and the cookies were fabulous. I'm definitely putting these on the list for next year - in theory, a cookie easy to make and quick to impress.

Chocolate Peppermint Pinwheels
Recipe from Food Network

1 batch Sugar Cookies, recipe follows
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/2 cup crushed candy canes or peppermint candies

Divide the dough in half and add chocolate and vanilla to 1 half and incorporate with hands. Add egg yolk, peppermint extract, and crushed candy to other half of dough and incorporate with hands.
Cover both with plastic and chill for approximately 5 minutes (note: I would refrigerate longer until dough is firm). Roll out doughs separately to approximately 1/4-inch thickness. Place peppermint dough on top of chocolate and press together around the edges.
Using waxed paper or flexible cutting board underneath, roll dough into log. Wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Remove dough from the refrigerator and cut into 1/2-inch slices. Place cookies 1-inch apart on greased baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat and bake for 12 to 13 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through cooking time.
Remove from oven and let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes, then move to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Sugar Cookie Recipe:
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar 1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon milk
Powdered sugar, for rolling out dough

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Place butter and sugar in large bowl of electric stand mixer and beat until light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl.

On Following Martha...

I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with Martha Stewart. I think I'm probably not alone in this statement - I feel I can safely assume that there are many out there who feel the same. I'd love to just magically be dropped into a world where I have hours to entertain and hand make each and every element at the table, from hand embroidered linens to perfectly lettered table cards. On the flip side, Martha Stewart Weddings is probably the most accessible wedding magazine out there that I've bought (and trust me, I've checked 'em all out!). Every issue is full of great ideas that - shocker - someone like me can actually accomplish!

So, when it comes to Martha, I take her ideas with a grain of salt and keep my expectations low. But when it comes with cookies, I feel like it's pretty easy to judge on the spot what may or may not work out. When it came to Martha's Outrageous Chocolate Cookies, I figured I wouldn't come up against too many obstacles...I mean, they're drop cookies!

Oh Martha, why would you not have me refrigerate the dough? Please tell me, how did you tackle spooning the big gooey mess that was this dough onto your lined cookie sheets?! I don't know about you, but I was simply covered in dough (and ok, I'll admit, not the worst thing in the world, it was delicious!). Unfortunately, the struggle to get the first batch onto the cookie sheet was definitely not worth the trouble. They never puffed up and definitely did not get all crackly in the center (the "high sign" that they were ready to come out of the oven). Hence, I ended up with 6 flat, burnt chocolate cookies.

Seeing the struggle with the first batch I stuck the remaining dough in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes, letting it firm up. The gooey batter was so much easier to manage and the cookies actually baked up correctly - crazy, huh?! They got crackly, shiny, firm around the edges. Absolutely perfect. All-in-all, the cookies ended up great and they were definitely outrageous - outrageously awful if you followed Martha's instructions, and outrageously chocolatey if you follow your instincts! (sorry, Martha)

Martha Stewart's Outrageous Chocolate Cookies
Recipe by Martha Stewart

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chunks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat chopped chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl in 20-second increments, stirring in between, until almost melted; do not overheat.
In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla on high speed until light and fluffy.
Reduce speed to low; beat in melted chocolate. Mix in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks.
Drop heaping tablespoons of dough 2 to 3 inches apart onto baking sheets (or, refrigerate for 15 minutes beforehand, as I did).
Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are shiny and crackly yet soft in centers, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on sheets 10 minutes; with a thin metal spatula, transfer to racks to cool completely.

Brownies to Save the Day

Last weekend I was struggling with the snow, and in turn, Steve was struggling with me. I was bound and determined not to leave the house on Saturday. I was in for the day and night, and that was that. Steve, on the other hand wanted to go out for dinner at one of the great Middle Eastern joints in our neighborhood. Date nights are great and all, but nothing makes me feel less attractive than trudging around in my snow boots with a red nose.

We went back and forth on options, where we could go, what we could pick up as take out, what could be delivered. Finally, I found that I had won the battle of the dinner! Spicy Thai it would be. After almost two hours spent debating, we weren't prepared for all of the hold ups once we had finally decided. However, every Thai place that we wanted to try kindly told us that they "didn't deliver that far west." Hmph. So we called our old stand by that we knew would deliver to us. Which would have been fine...if they had decided to answer their phone!

Midly worried that the one decent Thai place that doesn't consider us to be inconveniently located might have been shut down (therefore making them not quite as decent as we thought), we were still stuck, now three hours into our predicament and no closer to dinner.

I went and heated up leftovers, abandoning the effort. Steve followed suit and made some oatmeal. Finishing up our sad Saturday night dinner while watching the tacky holiday decorations for sale on QVC, we decided we needed a little pick-me-up.

Baking Bites yet again saves the day with her Peanut Butter Chocolate Brownies. I could have eaten that entire bowl of batter, but I restrained myself and decided to bake it instead. Phenomenal! There's still nothing better to me than peanutbutter and chocolate and these brownies give you the perfect dose of both. And the reassurance that even if Steve and I can't decide on where or what to eat, he's still by my side to gobble down brownies on a Saturday night.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Brownies
Recipe by Baking Bites

1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup all pupose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F and line a 9×9-in square pan with aluminum foil. Lightly grease the foil with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and peanut butter until smooth, then beat in sugar until light and fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla.
In a small bowl, sift together cocoa, flour, salt and baking powder. Mix in to peanut butter mixture at a low speed, stopping when just combined. Stir in chocolate chips and scrape batter into pan, spreading into an even layer.
Bake for 26-29 minutes, until set. Edges should feel slightly firm and the center should not look wet or jiggly.
Cool on a wire rack and lit brownies out with the foil when ready to slice. Makes 16 brownies.

Beginning of the Winter Blues

Oh, Chicago, why are you so cold and pummeling us with rain, sleet, snow and ice?! It's all just too much, especially when it happens all within a 24-hour period! To beat the blues over the weekend, Steve and I teamed up for some good old fashioned comfort food.

He threw a whole lot of things into a pot, let it simmer for a couple of hours, and voila! We had chili. And really good chili to boot. I'm not usually a big chili fan (I have faint memories of being "forced" to eat it as a child, but that's not an uncommon experience for such a picky eater), but it really enjoyed what Steve made. It was warm, hearty and just a little bit spicy.

To excentuate the spice of his chili, I decided to make a jalapeno cheddar cornbread. I just love cornbread - the texture, it's ability to be sweet or spicy or even a little of both. Since I decided to pull this together last minute, I had to really work with what I had in the kitchen. With no creamed corn, buttermilk or sour cream at hand, my choice of recipes was limited.

I kept on coming back to Ina Garten's recipe - practically a million hits when you search for "jalapeno cheddar cornbread." I fought this recipe for as long as possible. As great as the Barefoot Contessa might be, she does love her butter! The recipe called for 2 sticks which seemed so excessive...but then I saw the quantity - enough for a 9 x 13-inch pan. Split it in half, and it was the perfect amount to fill my 9-inch round cake pan and with only 1 stick of butter! And...worth EVERY buttery bite! This is, hands down, the best cornbread I've ever had.

One-Pot Chili
Recipe by Steve

Part 1:
1T extra virgin olive oil
2 medium white onions, chopped
1/2 cup carrots, finely chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
1 chipotle chili in adobo sauce, seeded and minced

Place these ingredients in your pot under very low heat for 5-10 minutes. If the onions start browning, then your heat is too high.

Part 2:
Next, add the following to your pot. The dark chocolate helps give a richness to the chili and counters whatever acidity may be in your tomatoes. The beer helps adds juiciness and a meaty flavor to your protein, which you'll add later. Bring the broth to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Let the mixture simmer for approximately 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3 cups chicken stock
2 28oz cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
6 T chili powder
1 T brown sugar
1 T cumin
2 oz dark chocolate (60%)
8 oz of a dark beer of your choice
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Part 3:
1.5 pounds of protein of your choice (ground beef, ground turkey, ground bison, venison, etc)
4 15oz cans of beans of your choice (kidney, pinto, or black)
1 T chili powder
Salt
Pepper

Next, brown 1.5 pounds of the protein of your choice. We used 93% lean ground turkey this time, but you can also use lean ground beef, sirloin, bison, venison, or any combination of proteins.Lightly season with salt and pepper. Add the browned protein, along with the beans, the additional chili powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Let this mixture simmer on low heat for approximately 1 hour.

After this 1 hour, let the chili sit for approximately 7-10 minutes to cool slightly and thicken. Enjoy!


Ina Garten's Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread
Recipe from Food Network

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups milk
3 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus extra to grease the pan
8 ounces aged extra-sharp Cheddar, grated, divided
1/3 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts, plus extra for garnish, 3 scallions
3 tablespoons seeded and minced fresh jalapeno peppers

Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the milk, eggs, and butter. With a wooden spoon, stir the wet ingredients into the dry until most of the lumps are dissolved. Don't overmix!
Mix in 2 cups of the grated Cheddar, the scallions and jalapenos, and allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking pan.Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and sprinkle with the remaining grated Cheddar and extra chopped scallions.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and cut into large squares. Serve warm or at room temperature.

*Note: I cut the recipe in half to fill a 9-inch round cake pan and also eliminated the scallions because I didn't have any in the kitchen.

Vodka = Great Pie

Who knew that vodka could be useful beyond tasty, intoxicating beverages? I started reading a lot about the Cookies Illustrated recipe from November of 2007 for great, flaky pie crust that used vodka. Vodka?! Really? Now this I had to try.

I really like making pie crust. It's something that I didn't learn growing up but had always wanted to give a try. A couple of years ago I finally decided to give it a go and anticipated ending up with a floury mess of crumbling dough. Instead, I ended up with a great dough that was very easy to work with. My first few pies did suffer from too-thin-crustitis, making it difficult to cut slices. I soon learned that making, perhaps, 1 1/2 times the recipe for a little extra "cushion" was incredibly helpful.

Since I don't make pies very often, I've never really experimented with different crust recipes. But since the crust is my favorite part, and I happened to have a bottle of vodka in the freezer, I figured I would test run this recipe. And it's fabulous!! So great to work with, incredibly flaky and just slightly sweet without being over the top. I made an orange cranberry apple pie. I really just threw a lot of ingredients in a bowl and went from there, so the orange was a little overpowering. But no matter, I was really making it for the crust!

Foolproof Pie Dough
Cooks Illustrated, November 2007

Makes enough for one 9-inch double-crust pie

2 1/2 cups (12 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon table salt

2 tablespoons sugar

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch slices

1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into small bits

1/4 cup cold vodka

1/4 cup cold water

Process 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about 2 one-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogeneous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour). If you don't like using the food processor simply use your pastry cutter instead. That what I did - I like to get my hands dirty!

Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.

Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into two even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.

Cranberry, Apple & Orange Pie with Oatmeal Streusel
Recipe by Lazy Susin
4 Granny Smith Apples, peeled and sliced
1/4 - 1/2 cup fresh cranberries
Zest of 1/2 of an orange
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, chopped
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup light brown sugar

After your apples are prepped, combine with the cranberries and orange zest. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, granulated sugar and cinnamon. Feel free to add more cinnamon or even nutmeg if you want more of a spice presence.
Mix the dry ingredients with the fruit and make sure the flour gets worked in. Add the fruit mixture to the prepared pie crust in a 9-inch pie plate.
In a medium-sized bowl, add the unsalted butter, brown sugar and oatmeal. Using a pastry cutter, combine the ingredients until it's a crumbly mixture.
Distribute the streusel topping evenly over the pie crust.
Bake in a 425-degree oven for around 40 minutes, or until the apples are soft and slightly bubbling. Bake with the crust covered with foil, removing for the last 15 minutes of baking. Let cool and enjoy!

Back to the Breakfast Basics

Breakfast has just gotten a little crazy these days. Don't get me wrong - I love going out for breakfast, and of course it's fun to see the wild variations of classics - pancakes with oreos and creme anglaise, french toast made with brioche, piled high with some sort of fruit compote and ice cream. It's all very delicious, indulgent and chock full of creativity (and I won't even begin to think about the calories!).

It's kind of nice, though, to get back to the simple breakfasts of your childhood, where your mom wasn't worried about trying to impress you with what she could pile on and into the pancakes, she just wanted you to have a good, hot breakfast.

Steve and I like to make pancakes every once in awhile, made from scratch (no mixes in our house!) and topped with pure maple syrup. Served with sides of scrambled eggs and fruit, this can feel just as indulgent as the sugar laden variations you'll find in the brunch place down the street. This also happens to be the breakfast that Steve made for me the morning he proposed, so it's sentimental and incredibly tasty all at the same time.

Pancakes

recipe from Betty Crocker's Cookbook: Bridal Edition

1 large egg

1 C all-purpose flour

3/4 C milk

1 T granulated sugar

2 T vegetable oil

3 tsp baking powder

butter for greasing the pan/griddle

Whisk the egg, then add in the milk and vegetable oil and whisk. Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and then add to the wet ingredients. Whisk until combined. You may need to add a little more milk depending on how thin you want the batter. Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat or to 375 degrees. Grease the griddle with the butter. Pour about 1/4 of a cup of batter onto the pan for each pancake. When the pancake starts bubbling furiously and looks cooked around the edges, it's ready to be flipped. Cook the other side until golden brown.

Note: to keep your pancakes from getting cold if you're making them one at a time, turn a large bowl upside down over the plate of pancakes. This will keep them nice and toasty until you're ready to dig in!

Check out my review of the Betty Crocker's Cookbook: Bridal Edition on Sazze.com!

Make it a Souffle Sunday

Before Steve and I moved, my bus to and from work would pass by the Blommer Chocolate Company located on Chicago's west side. Most days there would just be an intoxicating smell of chocolate wafting through the air. A great pick-me-up at any time of the day. However, on some days it would be more of a savory, cheesey smell. It always reminded me of a cheese souffle, and of course would make me start craving one.

Souffles are tricky. Not so much because they're hard to make (because they're really not). They just take a lot of planning, because once they're out of the oven, their minutes are numbered before they deflate and lose their dramatic effect. Planning a souffle for a special occasion - as an appetizer or dessert at a dinner party - is not always the best choice. However, whipping up a souffle on a Sunday morning for no other reason than just because you want a souffle? A perfect idea! With the ingredients for a basic cheese souffle being not much more than eggs, cheese, and milk, almost anyone can have on hand what they need for a souffle in a moment's notice.

Some important things to remember if you're planning on making your first souffle. Make sure that you grease the souffle dish well and chill it. This will help ensure your souffle rises easily and doesn't get stuck along the way. Also, make sure that you have all of your ingredients out and as much prepared and mixed ahead of time before you begin. The process moves fast and you almost need to have everything going at once. If you have an extra set of hands available, have him or her get the egg whites and egg yolks going while you start making your based.

And finally, keep the oven door shut until you're ready to take the souffle out of the oven! I mistakenly put my souffle on the top rack of my oven, and with the oven door closed I could not see the top of my souffle, so I had to simply hope that it was rising. I fought the urge to open the oven door to check on it, and when the timer buzzed, I went on faith that it was doon. Thankfully it was perfect, but don't leave yours up to luck!

Cheese Souffle
reciped adapted by Lazy Susin from Alton Brown

Butter, room temperature, for greasing the souffle dish
3 T unsalted butter
3 T flour
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp kosher salt
1 1/3 C milk, hot
4 large eggs yolks

6 ounces Cheddar, mild or sharp (whatever you have on hand)
5 egg whites plus 1 T water

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Use room temperature butter to grease an 8-inch souffle mold. Place in refridgerator for about 30 minutes before using.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, dry mustard, garlic powder, and kosher salt. Whisk this mixture into the melted butter. Cook for 2 minutes.
Whisk in the hot milk and turn the heat to high. Once the mixture reaches a boil, remove from the heat.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks to a creamy consistency. Temper the yolks into the milk mixture, constantly whisking. Remove from the heat and add the cheese. Whisk until incorporated.
In a separate bowl, using a mixer, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar until glossy and firm. Add 1/4 of the mixture to the base. Continue to add the whites by thirds, folding very gently.
Pour the mixture into the souffle. Fill the souffle to 1/2-inch from the top.

Bake in the oven for 35 minutes.

Check out my review of my souffle dish on Sazze.com!

Add Some Extra Pep to Your Popcorn

Occasionally in my office, a buzz starts to go from desk to desk because a certain someone in our department has decided to give us a little extra surprise - some to die for rosemary popcorn. This stuff is ridiculously addictive and such a phenomenol pick-me-up when the going gets tough on a Wednesday afternoon.

The best part is that as long as you make sure to have some fresh rosemary in the house (or are savvy enough to have your very own rosemary plant) this is so super simple to throw together - a great for guests at a party or just for you to devour yourself!

Rosemary Popcorn

Freshly popped plain popcorn

A few sprigs of rosemary, finely chopped

1-2 T of unsalted butter

2-3 T of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Sea Salt to Taste

Pop your popcorn as you normally would, either in a popcorn maker or a plain bag of microwave popcorn. I use a West Bend "Stir Crazy" popcorn maker.

In a microwave safe container, combine the unsalted butter, extra virgin olive oil and chopped rosemary. Microwave until butter is melted. During this time, it will allow the rosemary flavor to infuse. Give the mixture a good stir and pour over popcorn, stirring with a big wooden spoon as you good.

Sprinkle with sea salt (or regular table salt), to taste.

Note: You may want to adjust the quantities based on the amount of popcorn you make. This recipe is based on approximately 2/3 C unpopped kernels.

Now, the only question is, what move are you going to watch while eating your gourmet popcorn?!

Check out my review of my West Bend Stir Crazy popcorn maker on Sazze.com!

Can't get enough of the stuff...

We're peanut butter people in our house (creamy, not chunky please, and to be more specific, Whole Foods 365 Creamy Organic Peanutbutter). I can't recall ever fiending for peanut butter sandwiches as a kid, but they're definitely a staple in my life now. Every morning at work I mentally count down until I can allow myself to bust out the sandwich...I usually don't make it past 10am before the sandwich is gone. Yes, I've realized that I have no self control. I even cut it into 3 even pieces in a sad attempt to make the highlight of my lunch for as long as possible.

Since we've also been on an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie kick this year as well, and we'd already tried every other combination with peanutbutter (adding it to the batter, gluttonously smearing it on top of oatmeal chocolate chips fresh outta the oven), we decided to do a little reversal. Oatmeal peanutbutter cookies drizzled with chocolate? Niiice. Compared to their chewier counterparts with the chocolate chips, these were a little bit on the crispier side. Delicious and giving the perfect chocolate-peanutbutter combination, I wish I could exchange a handful of these for my peanutbutter on whole wheat any day of the week.

Peanut-Boatmeal Chocolate Drizzle Cookies

Recipe by Lazy Susin

1 C all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 C butter, room temperature

1/2 C peanut butter

1/2 C white sugar

1/2 C brown sugar

1 large egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 C quick cooking oats

1/2 cup chocolate chips, melted

Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the sugars. Beat in the egg, followed by the the vanilla extract and the peanut butter.
Working by hand, stir in the flour mixture and the oats until just combined and no streaks of flour remain. Use hands to portion out and shape the cookies (somewhere between 1/4 - 1/8 of a cup). Flatten the cookies slightly.

Bake for about 10-12 min. Cookies will be light brown at the edges when done.

Let cool on sheet for 3 or 4 minutes and drizzle with the melted chocolate, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies, depending on the size.

Check out my review of Jiff peanut butter on Sazze.com!

A Katie's Ladies Classic

My formative baking years were spent at a little cafe in my hometown called Katie's Cafe. It was there that I gained a great comfort in the kitchen. Daily tasks included making mass quantities of cookie dough (a double-triple sugar dough recipe included 18 eggs and 18 cups of flour!), cinnamon rolls, scones, herb rolls (enough for the restaurant to use for the day to accompany soups, salads, and sandwiches), all created from scratch and by hand...and I mean literally, by hand. No mixer, just us Katie's ladies armed with spatulas. I quickly learned to multi task, make snap decisions on the go, and not even stop to flinch when a renegade hot tray would sear my arm. It's amazing that part of me, deep down, can actually miss those days...



On the mornings I was the breadmaker, I also had to conserve a portion of my dough to make pepperoni rolls, filled with pepperoni, mozzarella, green peppers and onions, all tightly packaged together. Absolutely delicious and something I can whip up without a second thought. Well...these days I have second thoughts. Pepperoni rolls, if you can believe it, aren't exactly the healthiest options. Since Steve and I make whole wheat pizza almost once a week, why not whole wheat pizza rolls with homemade marinara on the side? Voila! An update on an old favorite to fit with a new lifestyle.

Whole Wheat Pizza Rolls

Recipe by Lazy Susin

1 cup whole wheat flour

1- 2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 package rapid-rise yeast

1 tbsp honey

2 tbsp olive oil

1 cup 100 deg. water

fillings for pizza rolls (we use chicken sausage, part skim mozzarella, green peppers, onions, mushrooms)

Add 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1 cup all purpose flour, salt and sugar to large mixing bowl. Mix together.
Add yeast to warm water, stir with a fork and let yeast proof. Add yeast mixture, honey, and olive oil to dry ingredients. Either mix by hand (with hands or spatula) or using stand mixture with dough hook. If sticky add 1/2-1 cup whole wheat flour as needed. If mixing by hand knead lightly on a floured surface. If using dough hook, dough is ready when it comes away from the side of the mixing bowl.

Cover with a dishtowel in a warm spot and let rise for 45 minutes-hour in a bowl lightly greased with olive oil. (If making up a day ahead of time do not allow dough to rise. Place dough into a well-oiled Ziploc bag and place in fridge, let rise for 1 hour before ready to use.)
Whichever method you are doing, after about an hour of rising time the dough is ready to go.

Roll dough on a lightly floured surface until almost as thin as you can make it without holes forming in the dough. Using a small knife, divide the dough into equal squares.

Place toppings in the center of each square of dough. Gather up all of the edges and gently squeeze them all together to seal the edges. This is an acquired skill - if you gather it too tightly, the roll will burst in the oven and all of the cheese will ooze out. You have to make it tight enough to keep everything in, but not make it overly tight.

Place the rolls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and let rise for 15-20 minutes before placing in a 400 degree oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the rolls are golden brown.

Let cool slightly and enjoy with marinara dipping sauce.

Makes 4-6 pizza rolls, varying by size.

Blueberries & Goodbyes

Tomorrow I'm leaving on for Italy with my family - a wonderful 10-day trip through Venice, the Chianti region of Tuscany and Florence. My mouth is already watering for all of the gelato I will consume, and I'm anxiously awaiting all of the beautiful sites and sounds. I made a whirlwind trip through Rome and Florence when I was in college, so I'm relieved that this time around I will have plenty of time to relax and really enjoy my time there. And did I mention the gelato?

On the downside, Steve will not be joining us on this trip. I know how much he would love to be there (the pictures he would take would be magnificant), and I'm going to miss having my best friend there with me! Hopefully our kitties will be keeping him company so he won't get too lonely.

This weekend I bought a massive container of blueberries for a blueberry lemon coffee cake. Everything went smoothly until I realized that the recipe was written for an 8-inch springform pan. Mine is a 9-inch. "What difference could that inch really make?" I asked myself. Apparently a big difference, because the cake ended up very thin, not puffy and beautiful as I had envisioned. However, what the cake lacked in looks, it made up for in taste. I'm not a big blueberry eater but I definitely shoveled slice after slice of this into my mouth!

I hope everyone has fabulous 4th of July holiday, I can't wait to see all of the red, white and blue bakin'! I'll be scarfing down Italian pastries and hopefully bringing some baking inspiration home with me.

Blueberry Lemon Coffee Cake

Recipe adapted by Lazy Susin from Joy of Baking

Streusel Topping:
1/3 C all purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup (4 T) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Lemon zest

Cake Batter:
1 Call purpose flour
1 large egg
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/3 C milk
2 C fresh blueberries

1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 C (4 T) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 C granulated white sugar

Zest of 1 lemon

1-2 tsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8-inch spring form pan and line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
For streusel topping: In a large bowl, mix together the flour and sugar and lemon zest. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or fork until it resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside while you make the cake batter.
In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of your electric mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream the butter. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Add the flour mixture, alternately with the milk, and beat only until combined. Stir in lemon juice and zest. Spread the batter into the bottom of the prepared pan, smoothing the top with an offset spatula.
Evenly arrange the blueberries on top of the cake batter and then sprinkle with the streusel topping.
Bake for about 45 - 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool slightly.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

Ginger Chewies

I've been using my copy of Elinor Klivans' Big Fat Cookies a lot lately. Other than a past chocolate chip cookie disaster I had with one of her recipes, everything else has been smooth sailing.

About every six weeks I have an all-day meeting at work that I have to arrange lunch for. I always make sure that we don't order dessert and I bring something in. The group in the meeting, however, is on a continual health kick, so they don't go in very much for the sweets...so from the meeting the remaining cookies get parked by the coffee pot, and are gone in an instant.

I'm convinced people are taking handfuls at a time for them to disappear that fast...but with the deliciousness of these Chewy Ginger Cookies, I wouldn't be surprised. They're absolutely perfect in taste and texture. I made mine smaller than Klivans' suggestion of 1/4 C of dough per cookie to get more out of them, and I think they would be fabulous if done in small bite-sized form. This is a recipe that I think will see many repeat performances in my kitchen!

Chewy Ginger Cookies

From Elinor Klivans' Big Fat Cookies

2 ¼ cups unbleached all purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

½ tsp cloves

¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

¼ cup molasses

about ¼ cup granulated sugar
Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and brown sugar until smoothly blended, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing.

Add the egg and molasses and mix until blended and an even light brown color, about 1 minute. On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing until incorporated.
Spread the granulated sugar on a large piece of wax or parchment paper. Roll ¼ cup of dough (more or less depending on size of cookie desired) between the palms of your hands into a 2 inch ball, roll the ball in the sugar and place on one of the prepared baking sheets. Continue making cookies, spacing them 2 inches apart.
Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm, but they are still soft in the center and there are several large cracks on top, about 14 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Makes 9-12 cookies (more if making small cookies than suggested).

Check out my review of Elinor Klivans' Big Fat Cookies on Sazze.com.

When the Farmer's Market Hands You Strawberries...

...make strawberry bread!

Steve and I purchased some excellent strawberries this weekend at the Wicker Park Farmer's Market. Even though we'll end up paying just a little bit more for produce from the farmer's market, we're never disappointed with what we bring home. The asparagus is always fresher and plumper, the berries always bright.

It seems like recently all of the strawberries we've been buying, even from Whole Foods, are really lacking in the taste department. This bunch from the farmer's market packed a lot of punch - great, tart flavors perfect for baking. They really held up well and the great strawberry flavors came right through. If I decided to make this bread again I would definitely taste test my berries beforehand, because if they're lacking in flavor from the get-go, I don't think the bread would be nearly as delicious!

Strawberry Bread

Recipe adapted by LazySusin

2 1/4 cup pastry flour (all-purpose flour may be substituted)

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 C + 2 T sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 - 1 1/4 cups fresh strawberries, chopped

1 large egg

1/3 cup cooking oil

2/3 cup milk

1 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients together (except for the berries).

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg with a fork. Stir in the cooking oil, milk, water, and extracts. Add the berries to the liquid mixture and add that to the dry mixture.

With a spatula, mix the two together until moistened. Do not over mix.

Scrape the batter into a well-greased 9-inch by 5-inch loaf pan. Spread the batter evenly in the pan.

Sprinkle the top of the loaf with granulated sugar, which will create a subtle sugary crust when baked.

Bake for about an hour to an hour and ten minutes or until done. Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into a crack in the center of the loaf. The toothpick will come out clean when done. Let cool for about 10 minutes before removing from the pan and cooling completely on a wire rack.

Rosemary Flatbread

I was on a carb-a-licious kick over the weekend, which was great because I had taken a long break from making bread. I've been wanting to make a flatbread for awhile, so I'll buy a fresh bunch of rosemary on the weekends....and then it sits in my refrigerator all week. This time, however, I kept myself accountable to my rosemary and actually followed through.

Because I wanted to make the flatbread in time for dinner, and I hadn't planned ahead, I didn't have the opportunity to make a more complex recipe that required starters, multiple rises, etc. So I found a recipe for thyme flatbread online and adapted it to my needs. It wasn't a slam dunk, though. I think I would probably hunt around for a different recipe or further adapt the one I found, but on the upside, I pulled it out of the oven just as Steve finished our shrimp and pasta dinner!

Rosemary Flatbread

Recipe adapted by Lazy Susin

1¼ cups warm water (110 to 115°F.)
1½ tsp granulated sugar
1½ tsp active dry yeast
1½ tsp salt
3½ cups all-purpose flour

1-2 T olive oil

Chopped Rosemary

Kosher Salt

Place water into large bowl. Sprinkle with sugar and yeast. Let stand 5 minutes or until yeast is dissolved. Stir in salt, olive oil and half of chopped rosemary. Gradually add flour, stirring until dough forms.
On a lightly floured surface, knead dough 10 to 12 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place dough in large oiled bowl, cover; let rise in warm place until doubled in size; about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Place oven rack in lowest rack position; heat oven to 450°F. Grease a 15x10x1-inch jelly roll pan.
Gently punch down dough to deflate. Place in pan; using palm of hand press dough to cover bottom of the pan. Cover; let rise about 20 minutes or until risen by half. Brush dough with oil; sprinkle generously with coarse salt and other half of chopped rosemary.
Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until light golden brown.

Easy Crab Dip

We finally had nice weather this weekend (unfortunately the good times didn't last - it's in the 50s today!), so Steve and I decided to make one of our favorite, easy summer treats. This crab dip is quick to make and perfect to have with a bottle of wine in the afternoon. Serve on crackers or, if you really feel like indulging, slice up an Asiago baguette - yum!

Crab Dip

Recipe by LazySusin

Real or Imitation Crabmeat (I prefer imitation)

Veggie Cream Cheese

1 or 2 tsp of milk, more or less as needed

A few drops of Tabsco, to taste

Combine all ingredients, determining quantities based on need. Stir vigorously. Enjoy!

Check this recipe out on The Back Burner

Celebratin' Good Times

This weekend our friends Stacey and Brian hosted a celebratory barbecue for our friend Joe, who recently gradated from UIC. What better way to celebrate Joe's graduation than with Greek Celebration Bread? There are many different versions of this bread from what I've seen, I chose to make the Christopsomos, using raisins and toasted walnuts. The bread was devoured, a good time was had by all at the party, and I was finally able to work from Peter Reinhart's Bread Baker's Apprentice, which Steve gave me for Christmas.

Christopsomos - Greek Celebration Bread
Recipe adapted from the Bread Baker's Apprentice
1 C poolish
1 1/4 C unbleached bread flour
3/4 C water, room temperature
1/8 tsp instant yeast
Dough
3 1/2 unbleached bread flour
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp orange zest
1 tsp almond extract
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 C honey
1/4 C olive oil
3/4 C whole or low-fat milk, lukewarm
1/2 C raisings
1/2 C chopped walnuts, lightly toasted
Glaze
2 T water
2 T sugar
2 T honey
1 tsp lemon or orange extract
1 tsp sesame seeds

Combine ingredients for the poolish until it looks like pancake batter. Let it ferment at room temperature for 3-4 hours and then put into fridge for up to 3 days. Make at least 1 day in advance.
Combine flour, salt, yeast, spices in mixing bowl. Add the poolish, extracts/zest, eggs, honey, olive oil and milk. Stir with spoon or on slow speed with mixer using paddle attachment, until forms ball.
Knead teh dough on the counter or use dough hook at medium speed. Use extra milk or flour as needed to form soft ball. Knead for 10 minutes, adding in raisins and walnuts.
Oil a bowl and place dough in, oiling all sides. Cover and let rise for 90 minutes, or until doubles.
Divide the dough into two pieces, one twice the size of the other. Take the smaller piece and place in a plastic bag and put in fridge. With the large piece, form into a boule. Place on parchment-lined baking pan, mist with with olive oil and lightly cover with place wrap. Let rise for 60-90 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
When loaf has doubled in size, take the smaller piece of dough from the fridge and divide into two pieces. Roll each piece into a 10-inch long rope. Cross the two ropes over the top of the boule. Split the ends of each rope and coil them.
Bake for 20 minutes, rotate the pan 180 degrees and then bake for another 20-25 minutes, until the loaf is golden brown and makes a hollow sound.
To make the glaze, combine the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the honey and extract, turn off the heat. Immediately glaze the loaf after removing from the oven, sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Cool bread on a wrack for at least an hour before serving.
CELEBRATE!

Check out my review of Peter Reinhart's Bread Baker's Apprentice on Sazze.com.