Baking Away...

Pie, pie, me-oh-my... Smitten Kitchen's pecan, First Prize Pie's cranberry dream, Joy The Baker's sweet potato pie filling done for Wednesday. And some loaves of "stuffing bread," that I'm recreating with inspiration from a store-bought loaf that Karen introduced me to a couple years ago (but that QFC no longer carries). Bread with stuffing spices. 

I still need to make apple crisp for Joel and pumpkin pie, and some cranberry-orange breakfast rolls for Friday (and as a hostess gift). And, maybe some pretzel rolls if I go crazy. (Oh, who am I kidding? I'm totally making the pretzel rolls...)

Long, lost recipes...

I do not understand the desire to hoard recipes. In my opinion, not sharing a fabulous recipe is just wrong. And, just to prove that their is Karma in such things, I recently recovered three recipes that I'd lost track of over the years. How did I get them back? Well, from the good friend I shared them with of course! Thanks Jamie...

This one is a very tasty salad dressing, and I recently discovered that while Benihana serves it with green onion and carrot on lettuce, the sweet and sourness of this recipe goes amazingly well with strawberries and mandarin oranges!

Oh, and if you're going to go to the trouble of chopping, peeling, and then whizzing this up in your food processor, triple the recipe below (like I do) and make three cups instead of one, then give some away to friends (with the recipe of course!)

Benihana of Tokyo's Sweet & Sour Salad Dressing

1/4 c. chopped onion
1/4 c. peanut oil
2 T. rice vinegar
2 T. water
1 T. chopped ginger
1 T. chopped celery
1 T. soy sauce
1 t. tomato paste
1.5 t. sugar
1 t. lemon juice

Blend all ingredients together with salt and pepper to taste, until smooth. Makes 1 cup.

Now, this is one that I was thinking about a few years ago and wishing I had the recipe again... I'd totally forgotten that I'd put it in Jamie's bridal-shower cookbook that we gave her. Jen and I used to whip up this dough when we (and Jamie) roomed together up at Western in the Cambridge Square Apartments. It's a super-speedy and tasty dough.

Cambridge Square Pizza Crust

1 pkg. yeast
1 c. warm water
2.5 c. flour
2 T. oil
1 t. sugar
1 t. salt

Dissolve yeast in water, stir in remaining ingredients and beat vigorously for about 20 strokes. Let rest for 5 minutes. Top and cook at 450-degrees F.

And, last, but not least... the punch that Jamie served at my bridal shower, and we served at the wedding. And, countless weddings and showers (baby and bridal) ever since. Technically, this one wasn't lost, since I posted it to Allrecipe.com years ago, but still, it was fun to see it and have it here.

Tart & Bubbly Wedding (and Shower) Punch

2 cans frozen cranberry juice (or 1 gallon in bottle)

2 cans frozen pink lemonade
1 large can pineapple juice (or 2 cans frozen pineapple juice - Hawaii's Own)

2 liters ginger ale (and cranberry ginger ale is great too)

In a large punch bowl, mix concentrates and juices. Add ice and slowly pour in the ginger ale.

From Kathy, With Love...

John's mom makes some of the very best food ever, and has many famous treat recipes... luckily, she (and Jamie, who I got these recipes from) are willing to share their recipes! Enjoy!

Kathy's Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Sift together:

2.5 c. flour

1/2 c. cocoa powder

2.5 t. baking powder

1.5 b. baking soda

1 t. salt

1 t. cinnamon

Cream together:

3/4 c. softened butter

2 c. sugar

3 eggs

2 t. vanilla

2 t. orange zest

2 c. shredded zucchini

1/2 c. milk

1 c. chopped nuts

Alternate dry ingredients with milk. Add zucchini last, and fold in nuts (if adding). Bake in a greased and floured bundt or loaf pan/s at 350-degrees F for one hour. Cool in pan for 15 mintues, then turn out on plate.

Drizzle with glaze if desired: 2 c. powdered sugar mixed with 3T. milk and 1 t. vanilla.

Kathy's Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 c. butter

1 c. sugar

1 c. brown sugar

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

4 c. flour

1 c. quick oats

1/2 t. salt

1 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

2 c. chocolate chips

Cook at 375-degrees F for about 8 mins. Underbake, as they still cook as they are cooling.

Pumpkin Spice

I made my mother-in-law's pumpkin bread, in mini-muffin form, for Madeline's class last week. They were a huge hit, and her friend Sgian said, "Madeline, these are the best muffins I've ever tasted! Thank you for bringing them!" He's such a little sweetheart.

He has good taste too, because they really do make amazing Pumpkin Spice muffins — moist and flavorful, with an excellent texture. And low fat too. Plus, to me, they taste like home. I imagine that's to be expected after enjoying this recipe during the holidays over the past seventeen years.

So, pick up some pumpkin and get these in the oven!

Amazing Pumpkin Spice Muffins (or Gramma/Lora's Pumpkin Bread)
makes 32 mini muffins, plus 8 regular-sized muffins

1 and 2/3 c. flour
1 and 1/3 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbs. pumpkin pie spice

Mix the dry ingredients and then add:

1 c. pumpkin
1/3 c. oil (I used canola)
1/3 c. water
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs

Beat until combined, then bake in lined (or sprayed) muffin tins at 350-degrees F for about 17-22 minutes, depending on the size of your muffins (mini or standard). Enjoy!

Twist & Shout!

In 6th grade, pretzels were the first recipe we tackled in Mrs. Gill's Home Ec. class. We followed that with scrambled eggs and coffee cake, at which point I was going crazy with boredom. My mom pointed out that to most of the kids in my class these recipes were probably new and exotic... so I soldiered on. Then, something wonderful happened. Ms. Feek took over the class mid-year. She was a former chef from New York and she was fabulous. We started making croissants, bagels, chocolate mousse, roasted duck... whatever we wanted to learn about. She also had us find our own recipes, write up grocery lists, and manage our kitchen team. I learned a lot in that class and took it in 7th and 8th grade as well.

Yesterday, I made pretzels for the first time with the kids, but not with Mrs. Gill's recipe (which I long since lost).

The new recipe I found is from the King Arthur Flour site, and it's lovely. The kids (including Aura and Rowan) scarfed them down, and this will easily be a first solo recipe for the kids when they're older. Good thing too since Home Ec. isn't even offered in junior high anymore... The kids got very creative with shapes yesterday, and Mad ended up with this "snail" that she took in her bento today—filled with cream cheese.

King Arthur Soft Pretzels (16 pretzels)
(adapted from the King Arthur Flour web site)
Dough
About 2 cups warm water
2 pkgs. regular instant yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
5 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

Topping
1 cup warm water
4 tablespoons baking soda
coarse, kosher or pretzel salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Place all of the dough ingredients into a bowl, and beat till well-combined. Knead the dough, by hand or machine, for about 5 minutes, till it's soft, smooth, and quite slack. Oil the dough and place it in a bowl, cover, and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 475°F. Prepare two baking sheets by spraying them with vegetable oil spray, or lining them with parchment paper.Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into 16 equal pieces (about 70g, or 2 1/2 ounces, each). Allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes. While the dough is resting, combine the 1/2 cup warm water and the baking soda, and place it in a shallow bowl. Make sure the baking soda is thoroughly dissolved; if it isn't, it'll make your pretzels splotchy.Roll each piece of dough into a long, thin rope (about 28 to 30 inches long), and twist each rope into a pretzel (or other shape). Dip each pretzel in the baking soda wash (this will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color), and place them on the baking sheets. Sprinkle them lightly with coarse, kosher, or pretzel salt. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Bake the pretzels for 8 to 9 minutes, or until they're golden brown, reversing the baking sheets halfway through.Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter. Keep brushing the butter on until you've used it all up; it may seem like a lot, but it's covering 16 pretzels. Eat the pretzels warm, or reheat them in an oven or microwave.

Heart-y Scones

The kids helped whip up some heart-shaped orange-vanilla scones for Valentine's Day brunch. Along with bacon and fruit, it was a tasty little meal.

The finished product! Mmm...

Ready for the oven...

Mixing...

Erik loves the pastry blender... and the Microplane (he's irritated that I won't let him us the Microplane alone).

Buh-NON-Uh Goodness... Mmm...

I've found the ultimate in banana nut muffins... healthy, delicious, yummy, good-for-you... really! The recipe is from O magazine this month (the only issue I ever buy of O - the summer reading special one...) anyway, there was a recipe from The Tassajara Bread Book for Spiced Banana Walnut muffins that inspired me to make my own version (even healthier). They are utterly divine!
Spiced Banana Pecan Muffins

1/2 stick softened, unsalted butter (1/4 c.)
1/2 c. dark brown sugar
1 c. (3 medium) smashed, ripe bananas
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. unsweetened applesauce
zest from 1 medium orange

1 c. white whole wheat (or whole wheat pastry) flour
4 Tbs. ground flax
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cardamom (finely ground)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/4 c. toasted, chopped pecans

+plus, a handful more nuts to sprinkle on the tops of the muffins before baking

Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Cream butter and sugar, then mix in the rest of the "wet" ingredients.

Mix the dry stuff in a medium bowl, then gradually add it to the wet in your mixer. Scoop into 8-10 standard-sized muffin tins, lined with paper muffin cups (8 generous muffins, or 10 smaller ones).

Nutrition per muffin (8/batch): calories-200, fat-10g, protein-4g, carbs-24g, fiber-4g.

Better Than Store-Bought

I really dislike the store-bought tortillas. Sort of puffy, chewy, doughy, with a weird taste (is it from the plastic bag, or preservatives?)... they're my last resort. The Mexican restaurant near us makes divine tortillas (but very spendy to buy), so I've been wanting to try homemade. And you know what? Quick, easy, delicious! And, Madeline LOVED helping. She helped measure, mix, knead, divide, and roll. Did two all by herself, then I did the other 14 because she needed to go outside to play in the sprinkler.
We didn't have lard, so I used butter, and they came out just dandy. I'll also try dividing the dough into 9 balls next time (instead of 8) to see if I can get them even thinner.

Homemade Flour Tortillas

2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 c. butter, firm (or lard, as the recipe calls for)
3/4 c. water water

Mix the flour, salt and b.p., then add the butter and cut into the flour with a pastry blender (like you would for pie crust or biscuits). Cut in until you have a course-meal texture, then stir in the water to make a soft dough. Knead on a floured board until smooth and elastic, about a couple minutes. Divide into 9 balls (or 8), then let rest for about 15-20 under a damp paper towel. Roll the dough flat and cook on a hot cast-iron griddle (over medium or medium-low heat, but pre-heated). Don't cook them too long or they'll get tough.

It's Autumn!

Homemade French bread, fresh from the oven... Navy Bean soup simmering on the stove, Pumpkin "Boston Cream Pie" (an experiment), and Iced Autumn Sugar Cookies...

Navy Bean Soup

1 (16 ounce) package dried navy beans
6 c. water
3 diced tomatoes (fresh from our garden)
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, pressed
1/4 pound chopped smoked Canadian bacon (or other fave cured ham, bacon, etc.)
1 cube chicken bouillon
2 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbs. dried parsley
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. ground black pepper
3 c. water

Combine beans, water, tomatoes, onion, garlic, ham, bouillon, Worcestershire sauce, parsley, garlic, and bay leaf in a stock pot; bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover, and simmer for two hours.
Add additional water. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for an additional two hours. Discard bay leaf, and serve with warm French bread!

and the cookies...

Delilah's Frosted Cut-Out Sugar Cookies
(adapted slightly from Allrecipes.com -easily the BEST sugar cookie recipe that I've used, and the tastiest!)

3/4 c. shortening
1 c. white sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbs. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

Frosting
1 Tbs. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 c. confectioners' sugar
3 Tbs. milk
2 drops any color food coloring

In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Cover dough, and chill for at least one hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease cookie sheets, or line with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4 inch in thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 1/2 inches apart onto cookie sheets.

Bake for 6 to 8 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove cookies from baking sheets to cool on wire racks. Cool completely before frosting.

In a small bowl, beat the butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Mix in the milk one tablespoon at a time until a good spreading consistency is reached. Stir in food coloring to desired shade. Decorate cooled cookies, and set on waxed paper to harden.

Gutes Brot

Delicious. Homemade pretzel bread. If you've had the pretzels from the German bakery in Tacoma, or the pretzel bread from Whole Foods... you'll know what I mean. Will post the recipe after I tweak it a bit...

Goin' Bananas

My mom's banana bread recipe is excellent. My earliest memory of these is eating them warm from the oven, slathered in butter, when I was three years old. Just smelling them baking is reassuring and feels like home.

I couldn't find my white recipe binder tonight (shocking because it's huge...), but Mom & Vesa were over (helping with dinner, and playing and cleaning) and Mom of course knew the recipe by heart so scribbled it down on my fridge notepad. Erik, the little monkey, couldn't resist scrambling up to investigate as soon as I moved these from oven to cooling rack. I warned him they were hot — he knows that word well now, but touched one anyway. Sure enough. "Hot Mom-mee!" and here he is signing Hot to me too.

Monkey Muffins (aka Grammy's Banana Bread)

1 stick softened butter
1 -1/2 c. sugar
5 T. sour milk (4 T. milk + 1 T. citrus juice)
2 eggs
3 mashed (very ripe) bananas
1 t. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
(1/2 c. chopped nuts, optional)

Bake in muffin tins for about 17 mins. Makes about 22 muffins.

Bunny Bread

Bunny-shaped Pulla (an Easter-time tradition for us) with orange zest, cinnamon and cardamom added to the dough, and we added a vanilla glaze to the bunnies this year too... it's actually a recipe for Finnish Nisu bread, which is basically the same thing as Pulla, Nisu is just an older word for it (and this recipe ices the sweet bread too).

Madeline is loving playing with dough, and she did agree that it tastes better baked.

A Taste of Ireland

Happy St. Patrick's Day!! We love Ireland. Love it. And, now we could technically fly there at a moments notice with the kids (only took 11 days for them to be official). Crazy thought, right? Is it crazy? Can we take the kids in the pub there? Oh, no. I have the travel bug again. I suppose it has been almost five years...

Anyway, instead of making green stuff today, I whipped up a real taste of Ireland — brown bread. We ate this everywhere there... in seaside pottery cafes near Dingle, in all the B&B's we enjoyed "full Irish Breakfast" at, at the Guinness Brewery... you get the picture. Make this (you get four wee loaves), drink some Guinness (it makes you strong and smart), and enjoy your bread with your stout and some corned beef and cabbage (roasted in more stout) today. Mmm... Happy Day O'Green!!!

Irish Brown Bread

4 c whole wheat flour
1 c bread flour
1/3 c rolled oats
2 heaping tsp wheat germ (this makes it taste like the real stuff!)
1 heaping tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
2 1/2 c buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment. In a large bowl, stir together flours, wheat germ, oats, baking soda and salt. Gently stir in the buttermilk until a soft dough forms. Knead lightly. Divide dough into four and form into round, flat loaves. Cut an 'X' in the top of each loaf and bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes.

Genetic

So, maybe my propensity for "cooking by feel" is genetic. My mom is constantly altering recipes, making them amazingly better, and then having to recall what she changed. And I catch myself doing the same thing all the time. Sometimes because I don't have the "proper" ingredients for a recipe (or more likely, just can't find them in my pantry) and sometimes just because I feel like it. There's a scone recipe in The Cast Iron Skillet Cookbook that I have never made exactly according to the recipe... and they're always great. Anyway, Great Gramma Sartor's "recipe" for corn bread reminded me of this particular trait I share with mom...

Corn Bread

Dehlia Sartor

I don't have a regular recipe for cornbread just do it from scratch. This is what I do. Beat 1 egg, add tsp salt & 1 cup milk then sift 1 1/2 cups cornmeal and 1/4 cup white flour and mix all together. I melt about 1/2 cup margarine and bacon fryings in the pan I take it in and pour that in your cornbread mixture. Mix well & bake between 1/2 & 3/4 hr. in a 350 oven. Wish you were close so I could show you don't know if I make it plain in writing. Good Luck. Mom