Goat Cheese and Tomato Bruschetta

This recipe was prepared by Alicia's boyfriend Jim and was one of my favorite dishes. I am not a fan of goat cheese, bit it seemed to work well on this dish and it makes an awesome presenting on a platter. Jim used a wonderful sour dough baguette from Trader Joe's, but a French one will do. The goat cheese he used also came from Trader Joe's and was, I believe, a garlic herb concoction. Use what you like, but if you do go with a plain goat cheese,l rub the bread with garlic after toasting. Since I don't have exact proportions I will write the recipe as I saw Jim prepare it.

Goat Cheese and Tomato Bruschetta

Take 1 baguette and slice about 1/2 an inch or less, brush one side with olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Place under broiler and watch closely so you don't burn the bread. When golden brown remove from oven and spread with goat cheese. Top each piece with sliced tomato and sprinkle with fresh chopped basil. Place on a platter and serve.

Ricotta & Honey Bruschetta

If you want an easy party appetizer or a good pre-dinner treat, this is the recipe. I prepared this recently at my friend Alicia's Oscar party and it was a hit. I came across this recipe at food52.com and was glad I did. There are some slight changes to the original recipe, but I feel that is what makes cooking so fun, being able to adapt a recipe and make it your own.

Ricotta & Honey Bruschetta

1 loaf French baguette
extra-virgin olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, cut in half
2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
Sea salt
Honey
2 lemons
fresh chopped basil

Cut bread into 1/2 inch slices, brush one side with olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Place under broiler, watching carefully, remove when golden brown. Rub bread slices with cut garlic. Smear with ricotta and place on a serving platter. Sprinkle with salt, drizzle with honey and using a microplane, grate lemon zest over the top. Sprinkle with basil and serve.

Rustic Sourdough Bread

I bought a sourdough starter from King Arthur Flour (www.kingarthurflour.com) and have been using it ever since. The recipe makes two good loaves of bread that are dense, but not too heavy with a good crispy crust. I usually end up freezing one loaf by wrapping in foil then placing in a freezer bag. Once thawed and heated it tastes like it was freshly baked. The whole process is actually fun and makes me appreciate baking more.

Rustic Sourdough Bread

1 cup "fed" sourdough starter
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
2 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp instant yeast
5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Combine all ingredients, kneading to form a smooth, soft dough, adding a bit of additional flour if needed. Place dough in greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled, about 90 minutes.
Divide dough in half and shape into two oval loaves (mine were round). Place on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover and let rise till puffy, about 60 minutes. Slash the tops and bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown. remove from oven and cool on a rack.

Beer-Batter Cheese Bread

This is a simple and delicious bread. It's great with chili and slices well for sandwiches. This recipe comes from the December/January 2008 Cook's Country.


Beer-Batter Cheese Bread


8 oz. Gruyere cheese, 4 oz. cubed into 1/4 inch squares and 4 oz. shredded
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp. sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 (12 oz) light-bodied beer, such as Budweiser
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted


Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat to 375 degrees. Grease 9 by 5-inch loaf pan.

Combine cheese, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and pepper in large bowl. Stir in beer and mix until well combined. Pour into loaf pan, spreading batter to corners. Drizzle melted butter evenly over top.

Bake until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Insert toothpick in a couple of places, you may hit a pocket of cheese which will resemble uncooked batter. Cool in pan for 5 minutes., then turn out onto rack to cool. Cool completely before slicing.

Hazelnut Cinnamon Rolls

Here's a simple and yummy cinnamon roll recipe that you will find yourself using over and over. The icing is so good.... The only thing we did not like about the recipe were the toasted hazelnuts. So use them if you want, but they are really good without them. The recipe was adapted from Giada DeLaurentiis.

Hazelnut Cinnamon Rolls

4 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/3 cup hazelnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
3 Tbsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1 (1 pound) loaf frozen white bread dough, thawed
3/4 cup powdered sugar
3 Tbsp. mascarpone cheese
1 Tbsp. buttermilk

Brush 1 tablespoon of melted butter over the bottom and sides of an 8 by 8 baking dish. cinnamon, and cloves in small bowl. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to a 12 by 9-inch rectangle. brush 1 tablespoon of butter over dough. sprinkle with nut mixture, leaving a 1/2 inch border along top and bottom sides. Starting at 1 long side, roll up like a jelly roll, forming a log. Pinch seam to seal. Cut into 9 equal pieces. Arrange, cut side down in baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm, draft free area for 45 minutes.
Position rack in center of oven and heat to 325 degrees.
Bake the rolls uncovered for 25 minutes, until the tops are golden brown. Meanwhile, whisk powdered sugar, mascarpone and buttermilk in small bowl until smooth and creamy.
Brush remaining butter on tops of cinnamon rolls and drizzle with icing. Serve warm.

Arugula and Fava-Bean Crostini

This is another recipe that we prepared in Phoenix. it's a light and fresh meal starter and is simple to prepare. The recipe calls for fresh fava beans, which we could not find. We did, however, find some precooked ones at Trader Joe's. The recipe says that you can substitute frozen edamame for the favas. We tried this, this past weekend and the flavor was not as good.

Arugula and Fava-Bean Crostini

1 cup shelled fresh fava beans or shelled fresh or frozen edamame
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided plus additional for drizzling
1 1/2 cups packed baby arugula, divided
3 Tbsp. grated Pecorino Toscano
1/4 tsp. grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 baguette
1 garlic clove, halved crosswise

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook fava beans (ours were pre-cooked) in boiling water, uncovered, 3 to 4 minutes. Gently peel off skins ( if using edamame do not peel).
Pulse fava beans in processor until coarsely chopped, then transfer 1/2 of mixture to a large bowl. Add 1/4 cup oil, 1/2 cup arugula, cheese, lemon juice and zest, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/8 tsp. pepper to remaining beans in processor and puree until smooth. Add to bowl. Coarsely chop remaining arugula and gently fold into fava mixture.
Cut 16 diagonal slices (1/3 inch thick) from baguette and put onto 4 sided sheet pan. Brush with remaining tablespoon of oil. Bake until pale golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Rub with cut side of garlic.
Spoon bean mixture onto bread and drizzle with olive oil.

French Baguette

I had a request for a good French baguette recipe and since I've never made one I looked on the Martha Stewart website for one. I have put the link here. I have not personally made this recipe, but it looks like a good one to me.
http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.fc77a0dbc44dd1611e3bf410b5900aa0/?vgnextoid=4cb1d187432a6110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default&rsc=header_1&autonomy_kw=french+baguette

Three-Cheese Bread

A few weeks back, I decided I wanted fresh baked bread with my dinner. I always love the process of baking bread, it just never seems to work out the way that I would like for it too. This recipe comes from The Panera Bread Cookbook and was simple to make. The loaf turned out beautifully and I was excited to try it out. When I sliced into the loaf it seemed a little dense and has a cake like crumb. The flavor was good, but the consistency was nothing to write home about. I guess I will continue my search for the best recipe. This recipe makes 2 loaves.

Three-Cheese Bread

Starter:
1 cup warm water (95-105 F)
2 tsp. fresh yeast
1 cup all-purpose flour
Dough:
3/4 cup warm water (95-105 F)
3 Tbsp. honey
4 tsp. fresh yeast
1/4 cup + 1 tsp. vegetable shortening
4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. salt
1/2 cup 1/2-inch cubes Romano cheese
1/2 cup 1/2-inch cubes Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup 1/2-inch cubes Asiago cheese

For the starter, combine water and yeast in medium bowl. Stir to dissolve yeast. Add flour and stir until completely incorporated. Cover with a cloth and and set in warm place for 30 minutes.
For the dough, combine water, honey and yeast in bowl of a stand mixer. Stir to dissolve yeast. Add shortening, flour, salt, cheeses and starter. Mix on low until dough is fully developed. Remove from mixing bowl.
Divide into 2 pieces. Roll each piece of dough int smooth ball. Place on counter and cover with a warm, damp cloth and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Form the dough into loaves, cover with warm, damp cloth and proof at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Score the loaves with a sharp knife, spray with water and bake for 30 minutes. until crusts are golden brown.
Remove from oven and place on cooling rack for 30 minutes.

Pizza Grilling Stone

I have always wanted an outdoor pizza oven and one of these days I will have one. but until then, I have this wonderful pizza grilling stone. Some weeks back, Dan and I were at Crate and Barrel when we came across this. The packaging says that it duplicates the effects of a brick oven and is great for pizzas, quesadilla and more. The stone distributes heat evenly for a perfect, crispy pizza crust.

The stone is dishwasher and microwave safe, but is not intended for stove top use. You can cut the pizza on the stone without worrying about the stone being damaged. I used my own crust, but you can use this with frozen pizza dough, a prepared crust or even a frozen pizza.

Semolina Bread

In the past, my baking abilities have been somewhat questionable. Just this weekend I threw out a batch of cookies that I messed up and my coconut macaroons ended up tasting like amaretto cookies. But for some strange reason, my breads have been coming out perfectly. I made this loaf yesterday. It uses both all-purpose and semolina flours. Semolina is the flour used for making pasta and you can typically find it at the grocery store. This is a fairly simple recipe and will make one oval shaped loaf. If you have a heavy duty stand mixer, you don't even have to worry about the kneading part, you can let the machine do the work for you.

Semolina Bread

Sponge:
1 cup warm tap water (about 110 degrees)
1 tsp. active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Dough:
All the sponge above
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup semolina flour
2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. olive oil

To make the sponge, place warm water in a mixing bowl and stir in yeast. Stir in flour and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Set aside to rise at room temperature until dough doubles, about 1 hour.

For the dough, stir the sponge to deflate and add flour, semolina, salt and oil. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Knead by hand to form a smooth, elastic, slightly sticky dough, about five minutes.

if using a stand mixer, place all the ingredients into bowl of mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix on low to form a smooth, elastic and slightly sticky dough, about 5 minutes.

Transfer dough to an oiled bowl. Turn the dough so all sides are oiled. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Turn the risen dough out of the bowl to a floured work surface. Press the dough with the palms of your hands to deflate. Shape the dough into an oval loaf, tucking the long sides under. Place tucked side down on the baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal and cover with oiled plastic wrap. Allow to rise until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

When the loaf is almost doubled, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Hold a sharp knife at a 30-degree angle to the loaf and use the blade to slash lines on each side of the loaf.

Bake the loaf for 30 to 35 minutes. or until well risen and a dark golden color. Internal temperature should reach 210 degrees. Cool on a wire rack.

Panettones

I love making these wonderful mini panettones! I'm not a fan of fruit cake, but I do like these fruited Italian breads. You can use pretty much any fruit that you like, but I prefer to use candied citron, lemon and orange peel and cherries. This recipe comes from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook with a few differences in my recipe. She uses vanilla and I use Fiori di Sicilia, a citrus vanilla flavoring that I get from http://www.kingarthurflour.com/. The Fiori di Sicilia is also great in sugar cookies and cakes. This year I purchased my candied fruit from the grocery store, but the stuff you get from the King Arthur people is much better. The recipes calls for using 2 panettone molds, I buy the mini wrappers from King Arthur and divide the dough into 12 balls. They are great for dessert or breakfast and make great gifts. When I got my yeast packets out, I only had 1 active dry and I quick rise. I used the quick rise in the first step and it worked out just fine.

Panettones

1/3 cup warm water (110 degrees)
2 envelopes active dry yeast
4 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 cup warm milk (110 degrees)
2/3 cup sugar
4 large eggs, plus 3 large egg yolks
1 tsp. Fiori di Sicilia (or pure vanilla extract)
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
1 1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups mixed candied fruit
1 Tbsp. milk

In a medium bowl, sprinkle 1 envelope yeast over warm water. Stir with fork until yeast is dissolved and let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup flour and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk, about 30 minutes.
Pour warm milk into small bowl and sprinkle with remaining yeast packet. Stir with fork to dissolve and let stand until foamy. Meanwhile, whisk together sugar, whole eggs, 2 egg yolks and Fiori di Sicilia. Whisk in milk-yeast mixture.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, salt and remaining 3 1/2 cups flour on low speed until mixture is crumbly. With mixer on low, slowly add egg mixture and beat on medium until smooth. Add the water-yeast mixture; beat on high until dough is sticky and elastic and forms long strands when stretched, 6 to 9 minutes. Beat in fruit. Transfer dough to buttered bow and cover with buttered plastic wrap. Let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.
Generously butter 2 panettone molds; set aside (if using disposable molds, you don't need to butter them). Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface; knead a few times, turning each time, until smooth. Divide dough in half (or into 12 pieces) and knead into balls. Drop balls into molds. Place on rimmed baking sheet; cover loosely with buttered plastic wrap. Let rise in warm place until dough reaches just above the top of the mold, 45 to 60 minutes. preheat oven to 400 with rack set in the lower third.
In small bowl, whisk together remaining yolk and milk. Brush tops of dough with egg wash. Using kitchen shears, cut an X in top of each ball of dough. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven to 350, continue baking, rotating sheet halfway through. Bake until golden brown about 45 minutes ( if baking smaller breads, bake for another 15 to 20 minutes). If tops brown to quickly, tent with aluminum foil. Transfer to wire rack and cool for 15 minutes. Loaves can be wrapped in plastic and kept at room temperature for 3 days.

Tender Focaccia

I made this bread the other night to go with my short ribs and then served it with the chicken soup the following night. It's a good recipe and turned out well for me. I am not the best at baking, I'm more of an "eye it" type of cook, and baking requires such precise measurements and all. This is one area that I plan to work on, because I do love baked goods. The recipe comes from The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion. I topped my focaccia with truffle salt and chopped fresh rosemary.

Tender Focaccia

2 cups boiling water

3 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 cup potato flour or 1/3 cup potato flakes

1/4 cup nonfat dry milk

2 1/2 tsp. instant yeast

1 1/2 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. olive oil, plus 2 to3 Tbsp. to grease pan and dough surface

1/4 to 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, sea salt or Fleur de Sel for topping

Put hot water and 2 cups flour in a large bowl and beat for several minutes to develop a smooth batter. If you have time, add 1/8 tsp. yeast once batter has cooled to lukewarm, and set the sponge aside for several hours or overnight; this helps develop flavor in the finished loaf, as well as the soft interior texture.

Whisk the potato flour with remaining flour, dry milk, yeast and salt. Add this to batter a little at a time, while continuing to beat. Add 2 Tbsp. of olive oil. Beat, with the paddle attachment of a mixer set at medium speed, for 8 to 10 minutes, changing to a dough hook when the dough begins to hold together.

After the dough has become smooth and shiny, put it in an oiled bowl, cover it with a damp towel, and let it rise for 30 minutes. The dough should increase by about one third and be puffy looking. Don't punch it down, but pull the sides of the dough up and over in a folding motion. Do this several times to release some gas, then let the dough rise another 30 minutes.

Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a 12 or 14 inch round pan. Place the dough on the pan, gently stretching it to fit. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes, then stretch it out a little more.

Preheat the oven to 400.

Just before baking, dimple it with your fingers, brush it with a little oil and sprinkle with salt and fresh herbs. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until it's deep brown all over.

Cornmeal, Jalapeno and Fresh Corn Scones

I saw this recipe in my September '07 Cooking Light and thought they looked beautiful. They do turn out nice and the dough was very pliant, but the flavor was pretty much nonexistent. I turned them into pork sandwichs for my son the next day and he said it was pretty much the worst corn bread he had ever eaten. The sandwich was good though, with Dijon mustard and apple jelly to add a little flavor to the bland bread. The bread took more like 32 minutes to bake, so just watch it if you decide to make this one.

Cornmeal, Jalapeno and Fresh Corn Scones

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup cornmeal

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. kosher salt

4 1/2 Tbsp. chilled butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 cup fresh corn kernels (about 1 ear)

2 Tbsp. finely chopped seeded jalapeno pepper

1 cup nonfat buttermilk

Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in corn and pepper. Add buttermilk, stirring just until moist (dough will be slightly sticky).

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead lightly 2 or 3 times with lightly floured hands. Pat dough into a 9-inch circle on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Cut dough into 12 wedges, cutting to, but not through, dough. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire rack.

Rosemary Focaccia

This is a recipe I adapted from How To Bake by Nick Malgieri. I love baked goods, but am so bad at it. This book has some great tips for the baking challenged. I did change the recipe a little. After mixing the yeast mixture and milk mixture with the flour, he has you vigorously beat for 1 minute. There is no way you can incorporate the ingredients in that short amount of time. I topped my focaccia with dried rosemary from my garden, he used fresh rosemary sprigs. I also topped mine with cheese. The bread was a little denser than I would prefer, but overall the taste was great and the bread turned out beautifully. I will show a picture on a later post of a sandwich I made with the leftovers.

Rosemary Focaccia

1 cup warm tap water (about 110 degrees)
2 1/2 tsp (1 envelope) active dry yeast
6 tbsp olive oil
5 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp dried rosemary, divided
1 cup milk
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Measure the water into a bowl and whisk in yeast, then 3 tablespoons olive oil. Measure the flour, 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 tablespoon dried rosemary into a mixing bowl and stir well to combine. Add the yeast mixture and milk to the flour mixture and beat until well combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 1 hour, until doubled in bulk. Spread 1 1/2 teaspoons of the oil on a 11 x 7 jelly roll pan. Turn the dough out onto the pan and pat and press it to fill the pan completely. Dimple the surface with your fingertip at 2 inch intervals to create cavities. Drizzle with remaining olive oil, rosemary and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Let the dough rise for another hour. Place the dough in a heated 450 degree oven on a rack set at lower third of oven. Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown. Half way through baking, lift a side of the focaccia wit a spatula to check if browning to quickly on the bottom. If it is, place another pan under the bread to insulate. Sprinkle with the Parmesan in the last 10 minutes of baking time. Cut the bread into squares so you can make sandwiches with the leftovers.

Corn Bread

The other night, Dan decided to make his great turkey chili. I love his chili because it is so different. I will post that recipe after this one. You have to make really good cornbread to go with chili, so here is my favorite recipe. It's easy to make and tastes great too.

Corn Bread

2 (8.5 oz) boxes corn muffin mix
2 eggs
2/3 cup skim milk
1 cup Colby/Monterrey jack cheese, shredded
1 (11 oz) can Mexicorn, drained

Preheat the oven to 400. Mix the ingredients in a bowl until blended. Pour into a 11x8 glass dish and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, butter the top and place back in oven for another 5 minutes.

Popovers

Another recipe from my New Year's Eve dinner was the Ina Garten's popovers. I watched her holiday show and thought "Hmm, those look easy". Well, they were easy and probably would have been perfect if I followed the instructions to the letter.

First of all , you need a popover pan. I did not have one, but thought I could go to Target on New Year's Eve and buy one. Alas, my favorite store disappointed me because they did not have the desired pan. I then thought,"What the heck, I can use my muffin pan". Wrong! They won't pop over in a muffin pan. The flavor was great, they just looked like muffins. Needless to say, I went to Williams-Sonoma (my other favorite store) the next day and bought one.

Ina says there are 3 secrets to perfect popovers; pan needs to be hot before poring the batter, fill each cup no more than 1/2 full (on the show she said 2/3rds) and do not open the oven door while they are baking.

Ina Garten's Popovers

1 1/2 tbs unsalted butter, melted + butter for greasing pans
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp kosher salt
3 extra large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups milk, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Generously grease pans with softened butter. Place pans in oven for exactly 2 minutes to preheat. Meanwhile, whisk together flour, salt, eggs, milk and melted butter until smooth. The batter will be thin. Fill the pans less than half full and bake exactly 30 minutes.
12 servings.