Grandma's Kitchen Table

Modern Baker: Pecan Stickiest Buns

      The fourteenth recipe I made from the Yeast-Risen Breads section of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Pecan Stickiest Buns, on page 108.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

      The ingredient list for the dough:  all-purpose flour, yeast, milk, butter, sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and eggs.   The filling ingredients:  butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans.  The sticky bun mixture:  butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and pecans. 

      The dough comes together easily in the stand mixer, gets a short rise, mixed again, another 1-2 hour rise and then rolled into a rectangle.   The filling is spread all over the top of the rectangle and then the chopped pecans are spread over the top. 

      The dough is rolled and cut into, in my case with a half recipe for an 8x8 pan, eight pieces.  The sticky bun mixture is put into the pan, the rolls placed in the pan cut side up, and the whole thing rises for another hour or so. 

      After baking in the oven for a half hour, cooling in the pan for five minutes, the whole thing is inverted onto a plate (I really need to get an appropriately sized plate to turn it all out properly) to finish cooling.
      Or, in our case, get a bun right away while it is still hot and start pulling it apart and eating it warm and toasty, melty and delicious.  Oh yes, these are a repeat...so very tasty. 

      This concludes this section of the book.  I made 14 of the 15 recipes (the 15th would have been Panettone but I decided not to make that at this time as we already had a Panettone for Christmas, so if I remember to put it in at Easter time, I will make it then).  I have enjoyed this section very much and learned quite a few new techniques while making some things I have never had the chance to make before...all in all, a very satisfactory experience.  We ate a lot of great breads from this section's recipes. 

      After the first of the year, we move to the next section of the book for the next three months: 15 recipes for Savory Tarts & Pies.  You are always welcome to join in the fun and learn new things with us, we'd love to bake with you.

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Friday's Favorite Fare

READING:  My new Christmas gift cookbooks:  Ad Hoc by Thomas Keller, Thirty Minute Pasta by Giuliano Hazan, How Easy is That by Ina Garten   

LISTENING TO:  Billy Joel
SWIMMING NEWS:  Matt's enjoying the high school swim season. He had a great meet today and each senior boy got a blanket with his name on it (photo).  He was happy to get such a nice gift from the team. 

COOKING BYTES:  Need to get better organized in the new year to get all my blog-alongs on track...seems I have fallen behind here at the end of the year. 

FAV NEW FIND:  Hominy...who knew?  None of us had ever had it before the Ellie recipe this week.  Turns out, hominy is quite good.

FAV THING THIS WEEK:  Vacation time with Matt and Mark.

GOING TO:  Celebrate the New Year and enjoy this weekend just moving wherever the wind takes me...Monday will come soon enough and then it's back to school and back to work for everyone here. 

PRAYING FOR:  Safe travel for all those going near and far for the holidays, please join me.

CEiMB: White Turkey Chili

      The recipe chosen this week for CEiMB, using Ellie Krieger's book, So Easy, was White Turkey Chili chosen by Leslie of Lethally Delicious.  Great choice, Leslie, it was excellent!  You can find the recipe on page 189 of the book, on Leslie's site, or here. 

      We are a chili-loving family in cold weather.  I think I could make chili once a week and the guys would be totally happy, never tiring of it.  That said, I was a little nervous making this and calling it "chili" because to them, "chili" is ground beef and red sauce/red beans with a whole lot of chili pepper and chili powder.  Yep, that's "chili" around here. 

      This recipe isn't red at all.  It's made with ground turkey breast, onion, celery, peppers, and hominy...something I have never eaten before and am now asking myself why I haven't...it's good.  This version of chili with cumin, coriander, oregano, cayenne pepper, and salt tastes like chili spice and acts like chili spice, so that all combined with the other ingredients made for one very delightfully delicious bowl of chili. 

      Although it looks very mild and innocent in the photo, it packs a punch!  Guys loved it...raved about it in fact.  Definitely a repeat, soon!  (Oh, and the bowl of chili was supposed to be topped with a dollop of sour cream, but I forgot completely about that at serving time...so we had it without the sour cream.  Since we have some left over (it makes a HUGE pot of chili), we can try it with the sour cream on top then.)

      Next week's assignment is Beef and Mushroom Barley Soup from Ellie's book The Food You Crave, on page 89, chosen by Jennifer of The Rookie Baker.  You can find the CEiMB blogroll here.

Hazan's 30 Minute Pasta: Linguine with a Pink Shrimp Sauce

      A blogging friend of mine, Glennis, with whom I have cooked and baked in various groups these past 2-3 years, decided to cook her way through Giuliano Hazan's Thirty Minute Pasta book, and is putting together a little group called Thirty Minute Thursdays .  

      She is a busy lady, working full time, caring for her husband, and she loves to cook, likes fresh ingredients, and doesn't always have a lot of time. 

      Giuliano Hazan is Marcella Hazan's son, a chef and cookbook author himself, who has the additional credentials of growing up eating at Marcella's table, the Italian cookbook/food maven, and cooking beside her all these years.  Sounded like a fine idea to me. 

      Mark's brother Phil and his wife Mary Ann gave the book to me for Christmas, I spent the next day reading it from cover to cover, and am joining Glennis, hoping to cook from this book once a week for my pasta-loving guys.  Glennis is posting on Thursdays, but I already have CEiMB on Thursdays, so I'm going to sneak it in on Wednesdays, at least that's the plan now.  Feel free to join in, you choose your own recipe each week.

      Tonight I made Linguine with a Pink Shrimp Sauce, page 100.  Will definitely be making this one again.  And again.  And again.  It was easy, came together in the 30 minute time frame, and was just delicious. 

      Ingredient list:  shrimp (I also used some scallops I had as I didn't have quite the amount of shrimp I needed for the recipe), garlic, olive oil, tomato paste, dry white wine, salt & pepper, linguine, parsley, and cream.  (Also subbed out the parsley for basil as I grabbed the wrong herb and chopped it up before I realized.  Oh, well, herbs can sub in for one another quite often around here.)

      If you like the looks and sounds of it, buy the book as I am a believer in encouraging people to support the authors who put together these fabulous books by buying a copy, so you won't find the recipes posted from this book here.  (Buy it, the recipes are easy, the ingredients are easy to locate, it's not pricey, and there are photos of almost all the recipes.)

Modern Baker: Marbled Chocolate Brioche Loaf

      The thirteenth recipe I made from the Yeast-Risen Breads section of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Marbled Chocolate Brioche Loaf, on pages 97-98.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

      The ingredient list for the dough:  all-purpose flour, yeast, milk, butter, sugar, salt, lemon zest, rum, and eggs.  The chocolate portion of the dough (1/3 of total) also gets all of this added to it:  water, baking soda, cinnamon, bittersweet chocolate, and flour. 

      The recipe calls for this dough to be made in the food processor.  I know it sounds easier that way, but I am here to tell you, I do not like making bread dough in the food processor, it's a real mess to clean up because the dough gums up the center post, both inside and outside of the blade post hole, etc.  I also really like having my hands on the dough...it's fun to feel the dough come together and very relaxing to knead the dough with hands on.  From now on, I'm ignoring the food processor instruction and making it by hand. 

      The dough comes together easily with a couple of short rises.  It is divided into thirds, the chocolate part being sandwiched between the non-chocolate parts and then cut into small chunks which are put into a bowl and turned about a bit before making a rectangle to fit into the bread pan for a 1-2 hour rise.  It rises beautifully, but mine stayed rather flat on the top.  After about a half hour in the oven, you have one very pretty loaf of bread.
      When the bread is sliced, the gorgeous swirl of contrasting colors make a wonderful work of art...yes, a work of art!  My taster loved the flavors in the bread, thought it was just great alone or with a bit of raspberry jam. 

      Would I make this one again?  Maybe...it's sort of a specialty bread with the chocolate and rum and all, so I can see where there would be such an occasion to serve a special treat like this.  It was, despite the frustration with the food processor, fun to make, and come on, who doesn't love a swirl inside the bread making all sorts of creative designs?  It's always exciting to start slicing a bread like this and see what you get on the inside!

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: One-Step Croissants

      The twelfth recipe I made from the Yeast-Risen Breads section of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for One-Step Croissants, on pages 109-111.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

      The ingredient list for the dough:  all-purpose flour, yeast, milk, butter, sugar, salt, and eggs.  Most of the croissant recipes that I have seen are long, complicated, multi-day, multi-stepped ones that leave me thinking, "Maybe someday when I have more time and patience."  This was not the case with this recipe. 

      It went together easily, the dough felt great, it stayed in the frig (1-8 hours) only, and it rolled and handled like a dream.  The taste was good, not fantastically unbelievably crazy wonderful, but nice and tasty.  I made half a recipe so that I could see if this actually works (it does).
       I wanted to make minis so that I could fill them with chicken salad for lunches, so for all that it was great. 

      They did not rise as much as I had hoped, but that could have been my yeast as I was at the bottom of the jar, so maybe I needed to open a new jar for this. I want to try the recipe again for this reason as I feel that I might do better, although these were pretty nice as they were.  The inside was flaky, and for some reason, I did not get a photo of that, sorry.  Definitely a repeat, for chicken salad sandwiches and for just eating with butter and jam for breakfast, etc.

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Cinnamon Raisin Breakfast Ring

      The eleventh recipe I made from the Yeast-Risen Breads section of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Cinnamon Raisin Breakfast Ring, on page 99.  I didn't have any raisins, it was a snowy day, so I opted to stay in and just skip the raisins in the recipe this time.   (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

      The ingredient list for the dough:  all-purpose flour, yeast, milk, butter, sugar, salt, and eggs.  The ingredient list for the filling:  butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, raisins (which I left out this time), and pecans. 

      Basically you make a brioche dough with this, then roll it out like you would for cinnamon rolls, spread on the filling, raisins (if using), and nuts.  After you spread all that around, you roll it up and once it is in a coil, you circle it around and join the ends.  At this point you scissor snip 11 cuts and fan them out a bit, let rise, and then bake.  Wow does this smell wonderful when it is baking!
      The book recommends dusting with powdered sugar, which sounded nice, but I knew the guys would be wanting frosting on it, like a cinnamon roll, so I did that instead.  I was right, they did, and it was delicious.  Definitely a repeat. 

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Bakery Crumb Buns

      The tenth recipe I made from the Yeast-Risen Breads section of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Bakery Crumb Buns, on page 105. (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

      The ingredient list for the dough:  all-purpose flour, yeast, milk, butter, sugar, salt, cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, and eggs.  The ingredient list for the topping:  almond paste, egg white, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, butter, and flour (optional confectioners sugar for dusting on the top if you like, but I didn't as there was already enough stuff all over the top with the crumb topping). 

      I made half of a recipe, which gave me 6 crumb buns.  We are sort of sweeted-out around here right now with all the holiday baking, food, etc., so six was plenty.
      I had never heard of crumb buns, but they are like a sweet roll with a crumb topping.  Apparently they are big on the east coast. 

      I can say that I probably won't make these again, not because they didn't taste good, because they did, but because they are really messy.  Crumbs everywhere.  The guys have a habit of grabbing anything in snack size and eating it on the run...even getting out the door with these things left a trail of crumbs.  Good, but messy. 

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Merry Christmas!

      Merry Christmas from all of us to all of you!  Hope your day is Merry and Bright...we definitely have the Christmas White taken care of here in Indiana.  We are enjoying the day, hope you are as well.  Holiday cheer to all of you. 

Friday's Favorites Fare

PHOTO:  Yearly photo of Matt and Ali at Angels Sing Concert.  The last one...at the end of the school year they graduate and will return to sing with the alumni for their annual yearly number at this concert, but it won't be the same ever again.  A lot of "lasts" this year.  I'm handling it tolerably well.  Sort of.  Okay, I admit, there were a few tears about this when they finished posing.

READING:  Christmas cards and letters!  While many a joke is made over yearly Christmas letters, I have to say, I absolutely love, love, love them.  All of them.   

LISTENING TO:  Christmas Music
SWIMMING NEWS:  Matt has an unprecedented three days off from swim practice...he is enjoying sleeping in and staying up late, a rare treat for him.  Three WHOLE DAYS...I wonder if he will still know how to swim at the end of it.  (Just kidding around about that part.)

COOKING BYTES:  We are officially desserted-out.  This happens every year actually, where the treats don't look like treats anymore.  It will pass, but I am not sure exactly when.  In the meantime, I am making dessert for tonight for Christmas Eve dinner here. 

FAV NEW FIND:  Matt and I went Christmas shopping on Tuesday and I didn't have one single panic attack about the crowds, the parking, the shopping, the whole business of it all.  It was nice to shop with Matt as he is very organized about it:  make a list, check it all off, don't browse around, get out as quick as possible, enjoy the moments, talk Mom into lunch out.

FAV THING THIS WEEK:  Matt's Angels Sing concerts.  Here's a few links for those interested, those who aren't, just skip over all this part.  Matt is in the back row, center (there are two guys standing there, Matt is the one on the right as you face the screen, there is a short girl to his left).  Ali is in the front row, 7th from the left side.  These links are not to the televised version of the concert but rather just from one of the other parents' video camera, so quality is not excellent, but it is nice enough since you couldn't be there and all for the real deal, which was very very nice indeed.  The Shaws focus on their daughter, of course, but Matt is near enough to her that there is quite a bit of him as well.  He looks good in a tux, doesn't he...that huge chest from swimming does wonders for one's ability to sing and hold notes for a long time!  Here are the links to four songs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzC50B1oasY&feature=related   O Holy Night; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HBqLFCPWPs&feature=related  Celebrate Chanukah; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADEcg5FBWRk&feature=related  Gloria Fanfare; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1oJn8U89Pc&feature=related  Winter Wonderland

GOING TO:  Celebrate Christmas...we host Christmas Eve dinner, Mark's folks host Christmas Day dinner, etc., and there is Midnight Mass in between the two.  I think the shopping is all complete and wrapped, but going to recheck all the lists this morning just to be sure.  It doesn't matter who has been naughty and who has been nice, it's Christmas and everyone gets gifts!! 

PRAYING FOR:  Safe travel for all those going near and far for the holidays, for First Christmases and Last Christmases, for those serving our country who will not get to see Christmas at home with loved ones, please join me.
Photo is of Reyn (Matt's girlfriend), Matt, and Ali at Angels Sing Concert last Saturday night.  Reyn and Ali had been swimming at a meet for two days straight.  Ali was swimming, singing, and taking finals at school.  Matt was only singing and taking finals.  They are all happy to be on break from school.  Singing is on break until after the holidays.  And, they will all three be back in the water for swimming on Monday.  For all they manage to do, our hats are off to all three of them.  It's a pleasure to know them and follow around in their wakes!

CEiMB: Baked Beans with Ham

      The recipe chosen this week for CEiMB, using Ellie Krieger's book, So Easy, was Baked Beans with Ham chosen by Danica of Danica's Daily.  You can find the recipe on pages 179-180 of the book, on Danica's site, or here. 

      Mark loves ham and beans, something he brought with him from his childhood.  My family made them as well, but I never really ate them as they always served them over cornbread and at the time, that was too many ingredients "touching" for my palate.  I would like to say that things have changed considerably, but they have not...I am still more about food not touching too much on a plate or palate. 

      That said, I ate these baked beans and ham of Ellie's and they were good.  I didn't put them on cornbread or anything, but by themselves they are good and have a little bit of a barbecue flavor to them which is different and nice, well, I guess that is because they are a take on baked beans rather than just ham and beans. 

      Repeat?  Yes, probably so, and I will still make and serve the cornbread on the side so those who can will and those who don't want to don't.  It's all about compromise, right?  Right.   

      Next week's assignment is White Turkey Chili from Ellie's book So Easy, on page 189, chosen by Leslie of Lethally Delicious.  You can find the CEiMB blogroll here.

CEiMB: Beef Taco Salad with Chunky Tomato Dressing

      The recipe chosen this week for CEiMB, using Ellie Krieger's book, So Easy, was Beef Taco Salad with Chunky Tomato Dressing chosen by Peggy of Pantry Revisited.  You can find the recipe on page 77 of the book or here. 

      What a great Ellie recipe, Peggy, thanks, we all loved it.  Not only did this taste great, it was easy and quick on a busy week night. 

      The meat mixture is just lean ground beef, black beans, garlic, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and water.  The spices flavored the beef and beans nicely, not too spicy, spicy enough.  The dressing for the tomatoes is olive oil, lime juice, salt, and pepper.  The topping is grated cheddar cheese and crumbled baked tortilla chips.  All of this goes on top of a bed of romaine lettuce.  Easy simple, all the food groups nicely represented, definitely a repeat for us.   

      Next week's assignment is Baked Beans with Ham from Ellie's book So Easy, on pages 179-180, chosen by Danica's of Danica's Daily.  You can find the CEiMB blogroll here.

Di's Virtual Cookie Exchange 2010: Candy Cane Peppermint Cookies

       You have all probably participated in an annual Christmas Cookie Exchange somewhere along the line.  Everyone makes scores of one kind of cookie, usually their specialty, and then on a given time and date everyone participating gathers and swaps out cookies so that you get to take home a nice selection of cookies for your Christmas cookie platter and yet you only had to make one kind of cookie.  Fun, and sometimes, a bit taxing this time of year. 

      Enter Di from Di's Kitchen Notebook, one of my online baking buddies who is whipping up tasty treats and breads in her kitchen down in Texas on a daily basis.  Di had an inspiration this year that involved a Virtual Cookie Exchange.  "What is that?" you ask.  Well, I didn't know either, but more than a dozen people jumped on the bandwagon and before you knew it, we had a time, a date, and a cute little badge for our posts designed by Nancy's very talented daughter in Georgia. 

      Let's see, there are people from California, Rhode Island, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Utah, Ohio, Georgia, Texas, North Carolina, Germany, and the Netherlands (and I might have forgotten someone, sorry) so far.  It's a rather inspired group.  Here's how it works:  You make a favorite Christmas cookie (or any kind of cookie actually), you post about it today (Monday), and then you send Di a link to your post in her comment section of her post.  In a few days she will do a round up that includes all the cookies and links and you are free to steal any of them and make them at home in your own kitchens.  (If you have a blog and want to participate, just bake and post a cookie and link it on Di's post...this is not an exclusive group, just anyone at all can participate.  Of course, if 500 people do this, Di will no longer be speaking to me for having to link all those cookies, but I am trusting this won't lead to 500 posts.) 

      Without further ado, here is my submission for the Virtual Cookie Exchange:  Candy Cane Peppermint Cookies.
      Originally this recipe came to me from my good friend, Katie, who has a cookie party each and every Epiphany in their home.  She and her family make thousands of cookies, so many kinds to choose from, and I try to fit in one time to go over and help with the sugar cookie decorating, which is no end of fun as Katie has three daughters, each and every one of them able to be talked into fits of giggles about creative decorating. 

      These peppermint cookies are my favorites of all the cookies she makes and finally one year she gifted me the recipe for my birthday.  Try as I might, I could not make that recipe work...sometimes recipes can be like that, one person can make it excellently, and the next cannot.  So I persisted and played around with the recipe until I could get it to turn out like hers but using slightly different measurements (could be my oven, could be the type of butter or flour I use, who knows), so finally, I have it where I can make them perfectly.  Which may not be a good thing as I am always tempted to eat more than one or two, so it's a good thing Matt is here to make sure that they disappear quickly.
      Here is my version of the recipe in all it's melty, crunchy, chewy, candy cane minty goodness.  Bet you can't eat just one.

Candy Cane Peppermint Cookies
1-1/2 sticks (6 ounces) of unsalted butter, room temperature
I cup powdered sugar (measure, then sift)
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups of sifted flour (measure, then sift)
1 cup uncooked quick cooking oatmeal
1/2 cup finely crushed peppermint candy canes (crush, then measure)
Extra powdered sugar for rolling dough balls in before baking

Cream the butter.  Add the powdered sugar and cream some more.  Add the vanilla and the salt and cream a little more.  Sift the flour into mixture and mix until flour is all absorbed.  Fold in the quick cooking oats and the crushed candy canes.

 
Form into small balls, about the size of a quarter, roll in the powdered sugar, place on an ungreased baking sheet, and flatten slightly.

Bake at 375 degrees for 14-15 minutes (everyone's oven is different, so keep an eye on them to see the timing for your oven, as they can brown quickly).

Let them cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet and then place them on cooling racks to finish cooling. 

Makes about 4 dozen small cookies.

CEiMB: Beef Stroganoff with Green Beans and Grainy Mustard

      The recipe chosen this past week for CEiMB, using Ellie Krieger's book, So Easy, was Beef Stroganoff with Green Beans and Grainy Mustard chosen by Liz of The Not So Skinny Kitchen.  You can find the recipe on pages 120-121 of the book, on Liz's post, or here. 

      Another Ellie hit at our house, especially with beef lovers Mark and Matt.  (I really should have photographed Matt's plate with a gigantic portion of this and then the empty plate when he finished to show you just how good he thought this was!) 

      I followed the recipe exactly, except people were hungry, so there was no parsley sprinkled on top...I had to just fill the plates and serve it, no time for fancy stuff. 

      The recipe has easy-to-find ingredients and goes together fairly quickly, especially if you cut, chop, and measure everything before you begin cooking.  Honestly, switching out the sour cream for yogurt was an inspired idea as it was creamy and a little tangy (not exactly like sour cream, but pretty darn close).  

      When I make it again, I will reduce the beef broth from 2 cups to 1 cup and the wine from a half cup to a quarter cup as there was just a little too much liquid, not enough simmering time to evaporate more of it so that the sauce wouldn't be quite so thin.  I ended up straining off about a cup of the sauce before serving it so it wouldn't drown the noodles, and there was still plenty of sauce. 

      We all enjoyed the green beans with mustard, so simple, just toss the steamed green beans in a couple of teaspoons of whole grain mustard and serve, delicious! 

      Next week's assignment is Beef Taco Salad with Chunky Tomato Dressing from Ellie's book So Easy, on page 77, chosen by Peggy of Pantry Revisited.  You can find the CEiMB blogroll here.

Let it Snow

       It's a snowy day here today...three days ago Caitlin and I started a little Lemon Anise Snowflake Bread project, so it seems fitting that the final product is arriving at the same time as all these other snowflakes.  Twitter is a fun thing...I only Twitter with my online baking pals, and on any given day, someone is making something that somebody wants "in" on and away it goes...ingredients flying off the shelves in each of our kitchens. 

      Caitlin is a busy gal, recently getting married, enrolling in a prestigious graduate school, and setting up housekeeping.  She loves to bake, so there is always something going on in her kitchen.  This week she found this bread (click on recipe title to connect to bread recipe) she wanted to make, tweeted about it, mentioning that it had lemon in it, and it took me no time at all to click over and decide this was going to be a happening thing in my kitchen as well.  

      It was just so cute.  I figured it would be fun to learn new techniques, and to be able to form and shape the bread like a snowflake sounded just plain fun.  And, it was! 

      We made the sponge together late Friday afternoon, consoled each other with the lack of active rising with that, and headed into Saturday afternoon ready to mix and shape the final dough.  Finally, this morning, we baked it together...well, sort of, her in her kitchen in North Carolina and me in mine in Indiana and all, but together at the same time.
      The taste?  Well, it is not a sweet bread but it isn't savory either.  It doesn't have the typical crumb that I would expect in a yeast bread, but it didn't "not" have it either, just something a little different.  The flavorings were great (okay, I left out the anise and added almonds...they both start with "A" and I figured lemon almond bread sounded just that much better to me) and after the first bite of not knowing quite what to expect, it kind of grows on you, being lemony and almondy and not too sweet but just a little bit. The powdered sugar on the top (I thought it was a nice touch to make it look a little more like a real snowflake) added just a bit of sweetness. 

      So now you know exactly, right?  No?  Well, I can't describe it any better than that, so you will just need to make it yourself, or ask Caitlin for her take on it all.  Will I make it again?  Well, I might, I just might, it was something a little different, and come on, it's lemony!



Modern Baker: Quick Brioche Braid

      The ninth recipe I made from the Yeast-Risen Breads section of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Quick Brioche Braid, on page 95. I know what you are all thinking...and the answer is "No, I haven't learned how to braid properly," so the photo is the best it gets right now...sort of looks like a dead body all trussed up for burial at sea, doesn't it?  Oh, never you mind, because looks aren't everything, it was absolutely delicious!  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

      The ingredient list for the dough:  all-purpose flour, yeast, milk, butter, sugar, salt, and eggs, all stuff you have hanging around the house on a daily basis, so no special trips anywhere to get anything fancy. 

      Margaret and I were twittering this morning figuring out what to make for the Modern Baker group as we both have several (i.e. 6 more for me) yet to make before we exit this section at the end of the month and move on to the next section.  We decided to make this one on a whim and before long we were tossing together flour and yeast and what all into the food processor.  This was quick, just like the title promises. 

      The dough was made in the food processor and had a couple of short sits, was formed into the braid, left to rise between 1-2 hours, and baked for 32 minutes in my oven, and coincidentally in Margaret's as well.  The egg wash on the top gives it a nice deep golden color and shine.
      Taste?  Oh yeah...that's the best part, this is absolutely hands down my favorite brioche recipe of all that I have made (which I think is six different recipes at the moment, this one the seventh).  This is so soft and buttery, it just melts in your mouth.  Yep, easy to make, melt-in-your-mouth delicious, and definitely a repeat.

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Chocolate Babka Loaf (Bundt)

      The eighth recipe I made from the Yeast-Risen Breads section of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Chocolate Babka Loaf, on pages 100-101.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

      The ingredient list for the dough:  all-purpose flour, yeast, milk, salt, butter, sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla.  The ingredient list for the chocolate filling:  chocolate, sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and pecans. 

      The dough comes together very quickly in the mixer.  It is rather a wet, sticky dough, and very soft, so that was fun, not to mention the aroma of all of those ingredients whirling about together. 

      The dough then sits in the refrigerator for 90 minutes, after which time it comes out and is rolled into a rectangle, sprinkled with the chocolate nut filling, rolled like you would roll for making cinnamon rolls, placed into the pan.  You can either put it into loaf pans or a bundt pan.  I figured I would put it in a bundt pan for something different and to encourage eating of such by "on the go" guys who will grab a slice of anything that is made to be eaten on the run to swim practice or work...try as I might, that is just how it goes here in the mornings.  It looks very pretty in a bundt, don't you think?
      I made half a recipe, so this would be a much larger bundt if using the whole recipe amount.  The taste was apparently worthy of praise, you will need to take my taste tester's word for that on all things chocolate, she dropped by to return a book, just in time for a sample.  Fun and easy to make, and definitely a repeat for a special treat.

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Bake! Spinach & Bacon Tart

      The fifth recipe that I made from Bake!  by Nick Malgieri was the Spinach & Bacon Tart, found on page 34. 

       Phyl had the chance to taste this tart when he attended the classes he took with Nick Malgieri in October as this was one of the recipes NM made in the class.  When I saw the photo in the book, I knew the guys would really enjoy eating a slice or two of this, so it was going to be one of the first things I would make. 

      The savory tart dough for this is the best I've made, it went together like a dream, it rolled out like a dream, and it was absolutely gorgeous in the finished tart, tasting wonderful as well.  My new go-to savory tart dough recipe, hands down. 

      Ingredient list for the tart filling:  spinach, bacon, onion, Gruyere cheese, half and half, eggs, salt, pepper, and a tiny bit of nutmeg.
       The combination was delicious, definitely a repeat.  It could not have been easier to make this, definitely recommend giving this one a try.  

       Get the book and Bake! with us, we will even let you choose recipes in rotation with us, yes, we will!

Modern Baker: Kouing Amman: Breton Butter & Sugar Pastry

      The seventh recipe I made from the Yeast-Risen Breads section of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Kouing Amman:  Breton Butter & Sugar Pastry, on pages 102-103.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

      The ingredient list is not long:  all-purpose flour, yeast, water, salt, butter, more butter, and sugar. 

      The recipe is a bit fussy because you are, after all, making pastry.  That said, the fussiness is minimal and if you follow each step closely:  make dough, let sit in frig, roll in sugar, add butter layers, fold, roll in more sugar, sit in frig, bring back out, roll in sugar, fold, sit, put in pan, let rise 2 hours, and bake for an hour.  You end up with a great pastry. 

      It takes a long time to make because there are several "sits" in the refrigerator and a long rise before baking, but those are not times where you are actually engaged in doing anything with it, just waiting, so you can do other things.
      Worth it?  Oh yes, definitely worth it.  I found the whole process enjoyable. The pastry has a crunchy top, crunchy caramel-like sides, and a soft and tender crumb inside that melts in your mouth.  Definitely a repeat, something to make for a special treat.

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Filled Ham and Cheese Focaccia

      The sixth recipe I made from the Yeast-Risen Breads section of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Filled Ham and Cheese Focaccia, on page 119.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

      The ingredient list is not long:  all-purpose flour, salt, yeast, water, olive oil for the dough, then prosciutto (or other ham, so I used just plain old American ham), mozzarella (or some sort of cheese, so I used sharp Cheddar as the guys like that with ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, and black pepper for the filling, and then olive oil and a sprinkle of salt for the topping. 

      The recipe for focaccia is easy, once it is made you fill one side of it with the ham, cheeses, and pepper, fold over the other side onto it, transport it to the pan, spread it with your fingertips until it fills the pan, let it rise for an hour or two, and bake.  Easy. 

      The only thing I would change next time, and there will be a next time as it was very good, is that I would leave off the salt on the top as I thought it was salty enough with the ham and cheeses inside.  My kitchen was a chilly yesterday, so I am thinking that I should have let it rise a bit more before baking, so next time I will do that to get a higher rise.  That said, even with this small rise, it was all very tasty.  
      Definitely a repeat as it is easy to make, makes wonderful ballgame-watching food this time of year and Mark even packed it into his lunch for today, always a sign that something was a hit.  It's like a sandwich...all ready to go with the bread on the outside and the meat and cheese on the inside, extremely portable food!  Would be great for tailgates and picnics.

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Sfincione: Palermo Focaccia

      The fifth recipe I made from the Yeast-Risen Breads section of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Sfincione:  Palermo Focaccia, which is basically focaccia topped with onions, anchovies, tomato puree, cheese, bread crumbs, and olive oil, on page 115.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

      The ingredient list is not long:  all-purpose flour, salt, yeast, water, olive oil for the dough, and onions, tomato puree, olive oil, freshly grated cheese, and bread crumbs for the topping.  I neglected, on purpose, adding on the anchovies because, well, just because we are not anchovy people, no matter what you all say, WE CAN TASTE FISHINESS.  Fishiness on things like pizza is not a plus around here.  Believe me, this was perfectly delicious and wonderful without them.
       I liked the lightness of the focaccia itself, the crunchiness of the toasty bread crumb topping, and the seasonings mixed with the flavor of the ingredients.  I cut the pieces into small triangles as it was just plain fun to eat it that way.  
      Definitely a repeat as it is easy to make, makes wonderful ballgame-watching food all on its own.  

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Translucent Maple Tuiles

      Thanks to Hindy of Bubie's Little Baker for her Tuesdays with Dorie pick of Translucent Maple Tuiles, found on page 173 of Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours cookbook.  You can also find the recipe on Hindy's site here.  I almost chose this recipe when it was my turn to choose, so I was excited to finally see it arrive on the pick list. 

      The recipe is very easy with only four ingredients:  Butter, Brown Sugar, Maple Syrup, and Flour.  Mix it all up, park in the frig for several hours, and roll into tiny balls before baking in a hot oven. 

      They turn out lacey and crispy (my favorite kind of cookie, nice and crispy).  If you want them to have a bit of a curve to them, you can drape them over a rolling pin when they are warm to shape while they cool. 

      These were just served plain (for me) and with coffee (for Mark).  If I had some fresh berries, I might have put a little whipped cream and a berry or two on each one to fancy them up a bit.  That said, they were just delicious straight up with nothing else whatsoever.  Definitely a repeat sometime soon. 

      Next week:  Amber from Cobbler du Monde has chosen Apple-Coconut Family Cake, found on page 214. TWD blogroll found here.

CSC Short Course Nationals Men's Relay Team

Matt, John, Coach Chris (and fellow relay swimmer), and Harrison at Short Course USA National Swimming in Ohio at OSU this past weekend.

      Since I wasn't able to be at Nationals, I didn't get my usual round of photos.  Harrison's mother send me a few, so thanks to Crystal, here is a great photo of the CSC boys' relay team at Nationals. 

      This is not just your normal every common day boys' relay team as you might have noticed.  The boys only had three qualify for Nationals with the appropriate time cuts needed, and since a relay needs four men, there was going to be no relay team for the CSC boys National team.  "Was" being the operative word. 

      In USA swimming, as long as you are registered with USA swimming, in good standing, and have the appropriate time cuts, you can swim in USA swim meets.  So, Coach Chris rose to the occasion.  (He's 35, incidentally, and I am allowed to say his age as it is on all the psych sheets from the meet, etc. where they list the swimmers and their ages...public knowledge.)  

      Chris trained, and trained, and trained some more, so that he could qualify to be the fourth man on the relay team.  The guys were loving it. 

      Chris qualified and they had their National relay team!  How wonderful is that?  Pretty wonderful.  The guys were so happy that they were going to get to swim relays because Chris made it possible for them to do so. 

      They did great...their times were really good for where they are all at and each one of them contributed in major ways to the whole team.  I think the three boys spent a good deal of time with their mouths open and their jaws dropping at how well Chris did and what a great swimmer he is...a whole new and deeper respect for hard work and dedication was born. 

      One very fun aspect of this particular relay team is that all the other relay teams were composed of four men, each specializing in their particular swims, all of them sprinters as relay teams are usually made up of guys who can sprint fast to the finish.  In the Freestyle Relays, you will have four really fast freestylers.  In the Medley Relays, you have four really fast sprinters in their swims, i.e. backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle because each leg of the Medley Relay is composed of a different stroke.  

      Because we did not have the appropriate qualifiers for Nationals to make up the relay team, we were operating with three freestyler sprinters (Chris, Harrison, Matt) and one distance (non-sprinter) breaststroker (John).  Try to make that work!!  For the Medley Matt swam backstroke, John his breaststroke, Harrison swam the butterfly, and Coach Chris swam the freestyle. 

      They did good...they didn't finish last and they had a great time...who knew?  It's a well-coached team that can even dream of putting that together.

      Congratulations to a great showing at Nationals, guys!  We are all so proud of you and all your talent and hard work.  And, Chris, Thank You for making it all possible.

CEiMB: Tortellini Spinach Soup

      The recipe chosen this week for CEiMB, using Ellie Krieger's book, So Easy, was Tortellini Spinach Soup chosen by Bri of Yoshimi vs. Motherhood.  You can find the recipe on page 90 of the book or here. 

      Another soup, what a deal for me as I love soup and it is officially soup weather here in Indiana.  This one is absolutely delicious and just perfect for a cold snowy day like today.  When we finished having it for lunch, Mark got busy putting together a helping to take to work for lunch tomorrow.  It was that good. 

      Ingredient list is easy:  Onion, garlic, carrot, celery, oregano, thyme, red pepper flakes, tomatoes, chicken broth, spinach, tortellini, and freshly grated Parm Reg cheese. 

      It all comes together, simmers for a bit, and is ready in hardly any time at all.  Healthy, delicious, and quick, for what more could you ask?  Try it, I think you will like it.

      Next week's assignment is Beef Stroganoff with Green Beans and Grainy Mustard from Ellie's book So Easy, on page 120-121, chosen by Liz of The Not So Skinny Kitchen.  You can find the CEiMB blogroll here.

Breakfast of Champions

      Each Sunday morning, after the CBS Sunday Morning news show, I make the guys something we call The Big Sunday Breakfast. 

      TBSB consists of things they do not have time to sit and eat of a week day when breakfast is usually portable food in hand as they head out the door so that they can sleep until the last possible moment before rising, dressing, and hitting the road for work, school, swim practice, etc.  Things like pancakes or waffles or scrambled eggs, with an accompanying side of bacon or sausage, and a variety of juice offerings. 

      Harrison's mother took the above photo this morning at the USA Swimming venue at OSU where the boys were having a bite to eat and waiting for their turn to swim time trials.  Matt (left) and Harrison (right) with their buddies in the box (far left). 

      Breakfast of Champions, or at least a bite to tide them over until more appropriate offerings can be scored...and if Mary is reading this, please note that John is not anywhere near that box and is probably off scoring yogurt and fruit and a bit of granola because he is definitely more trustworthy in the realm of scoring non-junk food than are these two! 

Bake! Tiger Rolls

      The fourth recipe that I made from Bake!  by Nick Malgieri was the Tiger Rolls (also called Dutch Crunch Rolls), found on page 64 (One-Step Bread Dough) and page 69 (Tiger Roll variation).  This was another Twitterbake that Phyl and I had a chance to do this weekend, his recipe choice this time, but seconded by me immediately as the photo of these in the book looked so interesting and unique...not to mention delicious. 

      The One-Step Bread Dough (flour choice is either bread or all-purpose, salt, yeast, water and oil) was easy to mix and made a beautiful dough in no time.  There were several short rests and folds, but all very easy to do.  It had a final rest before forming into rolls. 

      The topping for the rolls (the part that makes them tiger-ish looking) was rather unique and different (yeast, water, sugar, salt, oil, and rice flour).  It was mixed and then spread over the top of the rolls before they rose for an hour.  After doubling, they were baked and cooled on a baking rack.         How did they taste?  Wonderful!  They were soft and lovely inside, just right for supporting some melting butter.  The flavor was delicious, and the tops were fun and crackly with their own distinctive flavor, sort of yeasty with just a tiny bit sweet from the sugar, but not overly much.  We loved them and I will definitely make them again, with or without Phyl.   Aren't they cute??  Phyl thinks the roll looks more like a giraffe than a tiger, and I have to agree.  Whichever way you think, they are such just such fun.

      Get the book and Bake! with us, we will even let you choose recipes in rotation with us, yes, we will!  

Friday's Favorites Fare

READING:  Got a whole load of new things from the library...reading bits and pieces trying to decide where to start.   

LISTENING TO:  Christmas Music
SWIMMING NEWS:  Matt is at USA Swimming Nationals (no, I am not there as I've had the flu since Monday).  They left on Wednesday after school and they return Sunday afternoon.  This is a big deal.  A very big deal for a high school boy.  He could hardly stand it knowing that he was actually going and would be swimming in the same meet, in the same pool, at the same time, as the big names in swimming.  The best swimmers our nation has to offer.  College guys.  Olympians.  Matt Gerth.  Pretty amazing stuff.  He didn't care that he was going to be one of the youngest, and one of the last time-wise, etc., he was just so excited to go and BE THERE and have earned the right to be there with a National time cut.  He's done well.  Gets to bring home a new best time for the 50 Freestyle and swam a 100 Freestyle faster than he swam it at state last year, just a hair over his best time for that swim.  He also had three relays and is having a really great time just being there and running into the friends, fellow swimmers, coaches, etc. he has come to know through the years.  He gets to see his future teammates and coaches (Indiana University) compete and compete alongside them for the first time (although not as part of the team yet, still very fun to be at the same meet), and he gets to see Ryan Lochte in his green shoes up close and personal.  What's not to love about all of that?  We are somewhat proud of him...can you tell?  Good.

COOKING BYTES:  Snowy days like this are perfect for baking and watching the snow falling outside my kitchen window (photo above is just such a view)...no swimming down in that pool anytime soon.  Twitterbakes Saturday and Sunday.

FAV NEW FIND:  Several of my TWD baking pals had the opportunity to go to a book signing in Connecticut and meet Dorie Greenspan in person, have her sign their copies of her new book, Around My French Table, and have a great time wining and dining together.  It happened the same week that all the college swimming signing hoopla was happening around here, so I did not get to join in all the fun out there.  Since I missed all the fun, Nancy found a way to have the fun come to me...she sent me a signed copy with a personal note in it from Dorie for me, and crazy silly that she is, she photo-shopped me into the photo of all of them with Dorie at the signing.  How much fun is all of that???  Almost as much as being there...not quite, but very special nonetheless.  Thanks, Nancy!

FAV THING THIS WEEK:  Well, I know what my not-so-favorite thing was this week:  I had the flu for five days.  I didn't think it was ever going to leave, so I have to say my favorite thing this week is that it has finally left and I am feeling well again.  I recommend you take a pass if it shows up at your place.  My favorite thing this week, is obviously, Matt swimming at USA Nationals for the first time.

GOING TO:  The guys are going to shovel snow and watch sports on tv, I plan to bake/cook, stay inside with a nice warm and cozy fire, watch Big Ten Basketball, watch Livestream of Matt at the USA Swimming Nationals, and do a few things around here that didn't get done when the flu was visiting and overstaying its welcome.

PRAYING FOR:  Two GCHS students battling cancer, Luke and Stuart...please join me.