A Few of My Favorite Foodies!

There comes a time in any blogger's life when she feels as though she needs to give a shout-out to the bloggers who inspire her.


This is one of those times.


I follow a lot of foodies.  A lot.  A whole lot.  I also follow many people who don't focus exclusively on food but whose recipes, photography, and general attitude towards the craft of creating good food inspire me.


Paula at Bell'Alimento is one of those bloggers.  I pester her constantly.  I'm always calling her names like "temptress".  I complain that she's leading me down dark roads, what with her drool-worthy photos of delectable dishes.  As if that wasn't enough, she now has an entire site dedicated to her obsession with Nutella (seriously, don't click on that if you're on a diet).  Paula, I love you, you're a sweetheart, but you're killing me.  Just so ya know.


Another such fantastic blogger is Katie over at This Chick Cooks.  I first noticed Katie when we linked to a lot of the same foodie blog parties - I was always stumbling across her lovely photos, her delicious looking recipes, and was always impressed.  Finally it occured to me that - duh - I should just become a follower of her blog so I could keep up with the craziness - she's a very prolific blogger with lots of awesome looking goodies, and I wouldn't want to miss one.


Then there's Kristan of Confessions of a Cookbook Queen - another blogger I pester.  Not only does she create some of the most outrageous bits of heaven I've ever laid eyes on (not to mention crazy stuff like Angry Birds cupcakes), but she's completely hysterical to boot.  It's much easier for me to not die of jealousy over someone else's talent when they're funny and relatable.  Kristan manages this quite well.


Alissa over at 33 Shades of Green isn't exclusively a food blogger, but I've had the pleasure of linking up with her Tasty Tuesdays blog hop and let me tell you, this girl can cook and photograph up a storm.  She's also a crafty gal, which I envy the heck out of.  Visiting her blog is a delight and an inspiration every single time.


There you have it.  Just a small handful of my favorite food gals.  Who are your favorite bloggers?

Bacon Brussels Sprouts

If there was one vegetable I hated as a kid, it was Brussels sprouts.

Wow.  It's like I just heard dozens of people saying "Duh" at the same time.

Okay.  I know I wasn't alone in this hatred.  Lucky for me, we rarely ate them.  Still, the few times we did have left me scarred for life.  Boiled beyond recognition, puke green in color, bearing a faint odor of...well, stank...they were not exactly favored fare.

And it stayed this way.  Until recently.

It was only recently that I learned that Brussels sprouts don't have to be disgusting.  They don't have to be overcooked to the point of mush.  They can be infused with flavor.  

Bacon flavor.  Yes, friends, I was sold.

I wound up using Paula Deen's Brussels sprouts recipe as a starting point, and made my own alterations as I saw fit.  You know me - I always have to edit a recipe to my own liking.  I didn't see a reason to cook 2 pounds at once since I knew I'd be the only one eating them, and I changed the preparation instructions a bit as well.  For instance I knew, having received advice from some wise bloggers, that allowing the cut sides to sit in the bacon fat and carmelize would be the way to go.  I removed the onions/garlic from the pan prior to adding the sprouts in order to increase the surface area and decrease the chance of dealing with stinky burned garlic.  And it just seemed right to me to leave the sprouts in the pan after the broth evaporated in order to sort of re-brown them. 

1 lb fresh brussels sprouts, ends trimmed and sprouts sliced in half lengthwise

1/4 pound bacon, diced (around 5-6 slices, or more if you're a glutton like me)

2 shallots, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup chicken broth

2 tbs butter

Heat large frying pan over medium high heat.  Add bacon and cook until crisp.  Remove bacon using slotted spoon, leaving rendered fat in pan.  Set bacon aside.

Reduce heat to medium.  Add shallots and garlic and cook for around a minute, stirring frequently to prevent burning.  Remove with slotted spoon and set aside.

Add sprouts to pan.  Turn all cut side-down so as to allow carmelization.  Cook for several minutes, checking periodically to ensure proper browning without burning.  When sprouts have carmelized, add onions and garlic back to pan and pour chicken broth over top.  Allow broth to cook down completely, leaving pan uncovered, and occasionally move sprouts around to ensure even cooking.  

Once liquid is evaporated, allow sprouts to sit cut side-down again for several minutes in order to encourage further browning.  Add butter, and plenty of salt and pepper.  Stir gently to combine.  Remove from heat and serve with bacon pieces on top.

And that's it, friends.  So simple and yet so good.  The carmelization is marvelous, and I really believe that allowing the cooked sprouts to brown again added another level of flavor.

Plus.  Bacon.  Yeah.  Suffice it to say I sat there and picked at these babies the entire time I was taking pictures of them.  Then I ate them all week long.  And it was amazing.  I think I'll add more shallots next time, or just regular onions.

Make this dish.  I promise you, if you aren't already a Brussels sprouts convert, you will be.  And you'll wonder how you managed to spend so much time away from them.


Were you forced to eat Brussels sprouts as a kid? Do you think you'd enjoy them more if prepared this way?


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Fried Pickles

The funniest things happen when you're on Twitter.

Just the other night I was on there, and somehow the topic of Sonic was brought up and the fact that I've never been to one (no, I haven't.  A moment of silence, please).  And either Shell or Kim brought up the fried pickles they sell.  I think it was Kim.  Shell was too busy taunting me with cherry limeade or whatever it is that I've never drank but which is supposedly the nectar of the gods or something but I'm not bitter or anything.

Jealousy aside, my curiosity was piqued.  Fried pickles, you say?

I knew we had to be together, fried pickles and I.  It was meant to be.

So I started looking through recipes for fried pickles and found one that I liked on AllRecipes.com - or rather, in the comments section (the first comment).  Battering sounded to me like the way to go.  So that's what I did.  Of course I made my own alterations to the ingredient list - don't I always?

They weren't the prettiest things I've ever created but boy were they delicious.  So delicious, in fact, that I ate...almost all of them over the course of the day.  In other news, I never want to see another fried pickle again.  

At least, not until I forget how sick I felt afterwards.

Fried Pickles

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 jar dill pickles (I used 24 oz, you could use more)

1 cup vegetable oil for deep frying (Or more - I made sure I had 2 -3 inches of oil in the pan)

Salt and pepper to taste

Pour oil in pan or fryer.  Heat to 365 degrees F.  (I used my meat thermometer up to 300 degrees, then dropped bits of batter into oil to check how it fried.  Maybe not the most scientific way to go about it, but it worked)

While oil is heating, pour pickles into a strainer and drain liquid.  Lay pickle spears on paper towels and dry as thoroughly as possible.

In a large bowl, combine wet ingredients with flour and spices.  Drop a bit of batter into oil once heated and taste to test spices, adjusting batter as needed.

Dip spears into batter, making sure to coat thoroughly.  Carefully drop into hot oil and fry until golden, making sure to turn over to ensure even frying.  This will only take a few minutes at a time.

Carefully remove fried pickles from oil and drain on paper towels.  Immediately sprinkle with additional salt and pepper, to taste.

 

Next time I'll dredge and fry to instead of battering to see the difference.  I was really satisfied with the way these turned out - as is evidenced by the number I ate.  Sigh.

Have you ever eaten fried pickles? What did you think?

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My Top Ten Kitchen Essentials

Little known fact: I spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

Oh...wait...you knew that? For real? Wow.  There I was, thinking I was all mysterious about how I spend my free time.

For someone who lives in the kitchen, there are bound to be tools which are absolutely essential to ensuring that your finished product is, well, edible.  There are others which are not quite so essential, but they sure do make life easier.  In my little old opinion, here's 10 which I know I couldn't live without.

My Favorite Non-Essentials:

1) Stand mixer - In how many ways has my stand mixer changed my life? How much time have you got to read this? Seriously, I don't know what I did without my girl (Yes, she's a girl.  Say something, I dare you).  Whether being used to knead dough while I'm doing something else, to mix ultra thick cake batter which I know my hand-held mixer couldn't manage and then whip up the frosting, or to help bring cookie dough together in a flash...my KitchenAid is truly the superstar of my kitchen.  Next to me, of course.

2) Slow cooker - Our slow cooker gets used at least 3 times a week, sometimes as many as 4 or 5.  Like the stand mixer, the slow cooker has changed my life in many happy ways.  There is absolutely nothing like coming home to the smell of a roast or stew which has been cooking all day long.  We've used it to make chicken, meatloaf, pork roast, soup, meatballs.  Most recently, Rob made a jambalaya in there which knocked my socks clear off my feet.  It was fabulous.  Plus it helps keep food warm during parties, which is a huge bonus.

3) Food processor - Where oh where have you been all my life, glorious food processor? I've had mine for just shy of a year and, honestly, I have no idea what I did without it (see a trend here?).  From breaking down tons of veggies and fresh bradcrumbs for a vat of meatballs and sauce to mixing the creamiest deviled egg filling imaginable to making quick work of chopping jars of olives and shredding cheese for olive cheesy bread, I've used this baby a lot over the past 52 weeks or so.  Oh, and most recently I made a killer pasta dough with it.  It's so versatile and a total workhorse.  I love it.

4) Wooden spoons - Wait, what? Not another small appliance? Well, no.  Not all superstar tools have to be plugged in to be amazing.  My wooden spoons have seen me through a lot of cooking projects and, except for the one that broke (RIP old friend), they're going strong.  I have around a half dozen and would happily keep buying more and more...only I don't have enough room for them.  And I think there's a good possibility that Rob would kill me if I cluttered up the kitchen more than I already have.  I'm tempted to move these into the "essential" category - they're just that important to have around, and plastic tools can melt and warp.  But they're not really a 100% must-have.

5) Someone to clean it all up when you're finished - This one needs no explanation.


The Essentials:

1) A Sense of Humor - Please don't take yourself too seriously in the kitchen.  As long as you're abiding by the rules of food safety and not allowing cooking oil to explode into flames, it's all fair game.  Laugh at yourself and your mistakes.  Burned dinner? Sounds like a good excuse to order takeout!

2) A Sense of Calm - BE CALM.  Panic hurts people! Panic hurts appliances! Panic possibly hurts entire kitchens and/or homes! If you're in a panic you're that much likelier to cause an accident, and no one needs that.  Just relax.  It's only cooking.  The food will be done when the food is done.  And again, if you don't succeed there's always pizza.

3) Common Sense - When you read a recipe for the first time, especially if it's not printed in a cookbook (but even if it is), really read it.  Does it make sense to you? Do you think there's a typo? Everyone makes mistakes, even recipe writers.  Just keep an eye out and you may avoid making the same mistake as someone I know who, due to a problem converting a recipe from a website to their iPhone, added 3 cups of soy sauce to a dish instead of 1/3 cup.  Guess what they had for dinner that night...? You can't always trust what's written down.

4) Imagination - Do you think you could make a dish taste better by adding your own little flare? Do you wonder what this ingredient would taste like if you mixed it with that one? Give it a shot! What do you have to lose? Worst case scenario, it doesn't turn out well.  Now, do I suggest experimenting with expensive ingredients? Um, no.  Just be fearless when and where you can.  You never know - you might make magic happen.

5) Knowledge - Do you know what to do in case of a cooking oil fire? Do you know how to avoid cross-contamination? When using your knife to slice or chop, what do you do with the fingers of your inactive hand? Should you use a damp dishtowel to grab a pan out of the oven? You need to know the answers to these sorts of questions - ask someone or use the trusty internet.  Play it safe.

Are there any essentials in YOUR kitchen - the sort of stuff you just can't do without?

Deconstructed Pierogi

I've been craving comfort food lately - had you noticed? I mean, the homemade pasta, the ultra-meaty and rich bolognese, the braised onions to go in my stew.  Yeah.  Comfort city, kids.

And here's another example of the sort of food that makes me wanna curl up under a Snuggie (yeah, I said Snuggie) with a bowl and dive on in.  A really big bowl.

Ever since I was little my mom has made this dish - what's better, it's something her mother made.  I love the idea of carrying on tradition like that.  Until I started making my own pierogi, the ingredients seemed sort of disjointed to me - I mean, who combines macaroni, cottage cheese and sauteed onions? Um, Polish people who make pierogi, that's who.  I had the big revelatory moment while making a batch.  One of my favorite meals, one I ask my mom to make on my birthday, is merely deconstructed pierogi.  And boy, is it comforting.  I could eat it every day.

Seriously.  It's ridiculous.

I added a little touch of my own, by the way.  The crumbled bacon lends a whole new level of texture and flavor.  Of course you don't have to add it - I just happened to have a couple of pieces left over from breakfast the day I made this! 

Deconstructed Pierogi

1/2 pound marcaroni

2 tablespoons butter

1 medium onion, diced

1 cup cottage cheese

1-2 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (optional)

Salt and pepper, to taste

Cook macaroni according to package directions and drain.  Return to pot.

In saute pan, melt butter.  Add diced onions and cook over medium heat until softened and browned.  Add to pot of cooked macaroni, along with cottage cheese, salt and pepper.  Stir well to combine.

Serve with bits of crumbled bacon on top.

Stupid easy, isn't it? But the flavors meld so well - I promise you, you can't go wrong with this.  It grosses my husband out when I eat it, but he just doesn't know what he's missing.

What's your favorite comfort food?

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Julia Child's Brown Braised Onions

To me, nothing says "happy warm times when it's cold and yucky outside" like a nice stew.  Don't you agree?

Well, I guess it doesn't matter if you agree or not.  I mean, I can't imagine that you wouldn't, but that doesn't affect this post.

As I was saying, cold temps = yummy stew.  So I made one over the past weekend.  Boeuf Bourguignon, in fact.  Yeah, I went there.  While there are already onions in that and, well, just about any stew, I like a side of braised onions as well.  Of course they go super well with the stew, but they make a fabulous little side dish with just about anything as far as I'm concerned.  They are sooooo good!

This is my variation of Julia Child's brown braised onion recipe.  Julia uses only 1/2 cup of liquid, allowing it to completely cook down, and adds a cheesecloth bundled herb bouquet.  But I like the additional sauce my variation lends the onions, and I don't often have cheesecloth around to simmer herbs in, so I generally skip it.

Did it take me a while to peel all these onions? Why yes.  It did.  But it was worth it!

2 tbs of butter gets melted in a pan over medium heat, then 2 tbs of oil are added.  The onions go in the pan and are tossed around gently so they can brown.

Then the liquids are added.  I used beef stock and white wine this time, but red wine adds a great flavor (and color!), and of course you could just double the stock and not use wine at all.  The pan is covered and the onions gently simmer in the liquid, on low heat, for 40 minutes.  Then the lid is removed and the rest of the liquid simmers until reduced to a nice syrupy consistency.

Trust me when I say that you will not want to waste a single drop of that rich, flavorful, syrupy sauce.  A little salt, a little pepper, and you're all set.  Sweet onion heaven.

Seriously, it does not get better than this.  It's like candy.  

Now, if you'll excuse me.  I have some leftover braised onions to snack on.

Braised Onions

Around 2 dozen pearl onions, peeled

2 tbs butter

2 tbs oil (I used EVOO in this case)

1/2 cup beef stock

1/2 cup red or white wine (optional - can use 1 cup stock instead)

Salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in large pan over medium heat, then add oil.  Pour in onions and toss gently around pan, allowing them to brown.  Add liquids and allow to simmer on low, covered, for 40 minutes.  Uncover pan and allow liquid to continue reducing until syrupy in consistency.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

What do you like to prepare when it's nasty outside? Soup? Roasts? Stews? What's your favorite?

Do you like onions? Because I have another onion-heavy recipe coming up soon! It's, well, to die for.

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Using My Noodle, or, Homemade Pasta is Delicious

Several days ago, I told you all about Lidia Bastianich's bolognese recipe.  Her delicious, decadent (can a pasta sauce BE decadent? Uh, yes it can), rich and satisfying bolognese.  It should be against the law but happily, it is not.

I knew that such a special sauce deserved a special accompaniment, aka homemade pasta.  

Would store-bought dried pasta be just as good? Yes.  I am 150% certain that it would (even if I hadn't eaten leftovers with dried pasta I'd still be certain of this).  I just figured at the time that if I was diving in, I might as well go off the deep end.  It's how I roll, in case you didn't already know.

I had tried in the past to make my own pasta but it was never much fun.  As much as I adore the idea of my Kitchenaid pasta attachment...we've never been good friends.  I think this comes from the fact that I can never seem to keep the noodles from sticking together without drenching them with flour as they're being extruded and basically making a big fat floury mess.  I don't know.  It just never worked well for me.

But then. Oh, then.  Santa brought me a shiny pasta machine for Christmas!

Seriously.  No one should ever be as excited about something without diamonds in it as I was about this pasta machine.  Although it is kinda shiny...

Anyway, I figured that if I was making Lidia's bolgonese, I might as well use Lidia's recipe for homemade pasta as well! So I took her recipe for homemade tagliatelle...

3 cups all-purpose flour (plus more as needed)

3 large, cold eggs

3 large, cold egg yolks

3 tbs extra-virgin olive oil

2 tbs ice water (plus more as needed)

...and followed her instructions.  The flour went into my food processor and was pulsed a few times to aerate.  My wet ingredients were then mixed in a separate measuring cup and, with the processor running, I poured them through the feed tube and processed until the dough came together and just about cleared the sides of the bowl.

The dough was a bit too wet, though, so when I emptied it onto my (clean!) counter, I added a bit more flour and kneaded it in for a few minutes until the dough was smooth.

Pretty.  Then the dough was wrapped in plastic and allowed to rest for 30 minutes (a little more, actually - remember I had that sauce taking up all of my attention, too!).  At this point the dough can be left in the fridge for a day or frozen for "a month or more", according to Lidia - just defrost in the fridge and allow to return to room temp before rolling.

And speaking of rolling...I divided the dough into 6 pieces and floured each piece generously before starting the rolling process.

Rolling the dough is my favorite part, and I'm well aware of how dorky I sound when I say that.  

You start with the machine on its highest setting - in this case, level 7.  

Roll the dough through a few times to get it ready to be rolled more thinly.  Then just turn the knob down one number and re-roll.  Repeat this step until you're at your desired thinness.  I usually stop at 3 - I like a little bite to my pasta.  But that's up to you - experiment as you will.

As each sheet is finished rolling I lay it out over a dish towel and allow it to dry a little bit in order to make the cutting process easier.  Now, I have both spaghetti and fettuccine cutters on my machine and in this case I used the fettuccine cutters.  But you could just as easily fold the pasta sheets into thirds or fourths, then cut into strips and shake them out when finished.  Either way, when pasta is cut it's important to toss the noodles with a bit of flour to ensure that they don't stick together.  Just give them a shake to remove excess flour before putting them in your boiling water.

Fresh pasta doesn't require much cooking time - a few minutes should do.  I test frequently to make sure I don't cook it into mush.

So, in case you didn't already know this: Making fresh pasta takes time.  But anyone who has ever had the chance to eat fresh pasta will tell you, the difference is mind-blowing.  The texture and flavor exists in a world of its own.  Is it as perfectly uniform as store-bought fresh or dried pasta? No.  But that's part of the fun.  Plus there's the knowledge that your finished product contains good, fresh ingredients and isn't concealing any secrets - which of course is the point of all home cooking, right?

Yummy.

Have you ever made fresh pasta by hand? How did it turn out? If not, do you think you'd be interested in trying this yourself?

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Bolognese, Lidia Style

Bolognese.  The very name conjures up all sorts of happy thoughts for me.  For years now I've been making this version, and have been totally happy with it.  It's stupid delicious, after all.  

However, I received a copy of Lidia Bastianich's Lidia Cooks From The Heart of Italy for my birthday and have been dying to cook my way through it ever since.  This bolognese is one of the basic recipes at the back of the book and it looked too good to not try.

There's no denying that the creation of a good, full-bodied bolognese takes time.  Because it does.  It's a real labor of love.  But this recipe makes more than enough for one or even two meals, so you can cook your little heart out one day and have yummy bolognese for another night.  It's perfect for freezer cooking!

The flavors in this sauce are so complex and well-developed.   It's rich and satisfying, and worth every minute of prep and cooking time.

2 lbs ground beef

2 lbs ground pork

2 cups dry white wine

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

6 oz bacon or pancetta

5 garlic cloves

2 medium onions, finely chopped

1 large carrot, shredded

2 large celery stalks, finely chopped

1/2 tsp kosher salt

2 cups red wine

2 tbs tomato paste

2 cups crushed tomatoes

8-10 cups hot vegetable stock or water

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a large bowl, pour 2 cups white wine over ground meats and, using your fingers (or a potato masher, as I did), mix so meat is moistened with wine. Set aside.

In food processor, process bacon or pancetta and garlic into a smooth paste.  Heat olive oil over medium heat and add this paste.  Break apart and allow to cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently, until fat is rendered and paste begins to brown slightly.  Add onions and sweat for several minutes.  Add carrots and celery and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, until vegetables soften and turn a golden color.  

Turn heat up to medium high.  Push vegetables to one side of pot (or pour into a separate bowl, which I did) and add meat to pot, then sprinkle with salt.  Allow meat to brown on bottom, then mix in vegetables.  Liquids will totally cover the meat/vegetables, so allow to cook down for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning and lowering heat if necessary.

Pour in red wine and cook until wine evaporates.  Stir in tomato paste and allow to brown for a few minutes.  Pour in crushed tomatoes, then swish can out with one cup of vegetable stock and pour that in as well.  Simmer until liquid no longer covers meat.  At this point, add vegetable stock in batches - pour in enough to cover meat, around two cups at a time, and simmer until meat is no longer covered.  This entire process will probably take between one and two hours.

So...like I said...a labor of love.  But good golly, is it worth it.  You'll want to dive right in a bathe in this sauce, I promise you.  We decided out of the two bolognese sauces I've made (three, actually, if you count Alton Brown's which I only made one time), Lidia's bolognese is superior.  This is the sauce I'll be making from here on out.  And as frequently as possible.


And for the record...the fettucine in the picture is homemade.  But that's another post...

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Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Cinnamon raisin bread.  Three words which work so beautifully together.  Three words which have comprised my breakfast all this past week.  And a snack as I was writing this post.  Because how can you mess around with pictures of a food you happen to enjoy...highly...without eating said food which you know is just sitting in your freezer, a mere 30 microwaved seconds away from edible bliss? How?

You can't.  That's how.

Anyway, I saw this recipe over at Food.Baby and I knew I had to give it a shot.  You see, cinnamon raisin bread is my favorite bread. of. all. time.  When I was little, it was always such a treat to stay at my aunt's house and eat cinnamon toast in the morning.  It was like some sort of luxury item to my young white bread self.  The love affair continues to this day.

The only way I like it any better is with a snowy white vanilla glaze on top, which I first tasted when I visited Amish country with my family...and lemme tell ya, Rob and I are spending a weekend there next month, which means I'm buying and freezing at least two loaves.  And some Shoo Fly Pie, but that's another story.

I made a few alterations to the original recipe, which you can find here.  I held a few optional ingredients back, used soy milk (it worked beautifully!), and altered the amounts of ingredients in the swirl.  The original amounts did not sound like enough to me - in fact, I feel like it could use even more next time!  

To make the dough, warm milk is combined with a pinch of sugar and some yeast, then left to get moist and well-acquainted.  In the meantime, more warm milk is mixed with butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and salt.  The yeast mixture is added, and then flour.  The dough is left to rise for 90 minutes.

Once risen, it was dumped unceremoniously onto my flour-dusted counter.

Rolled out, it was...

...into a rough rectangle.

I said rough.  Don't judge me.

The dough is spread with butter and sprinkled with sugar, cinnamon and raisins.  You can use regular or golden raisins, as long as they've been steamed or soaked til plump, then dried well.

Starting from one of the short ends, roll the dough firmly.

And, if you're me, you'll realize when it's time to tuck the ends under and plop into the greased loaf pan that you rolled the dough into far too large a rectangle.  You'll end up creating a fat worm shape.  And then tell your husband that this is going to be the ugliest bread ever.

Allow it to rise, loosely covered, for 45 minutes.  And be even more certain of the bread's ugliness.

Bake it for 45 minutes, unmold after 5, and you have...THIS!

Not the prettiest shaped bread, for sure...but close enough for jazz, as they say.

It was a real act of will, waiting for this to cool in order to cut into it.  But it was worth every tortured second.  A little bit of buttery goodness on top...and I'm in heaven, folks.  Heaven.

Of course, it's great without the butter as well.  It's just pretty much awesome all over the place.

In order to not have it go stale before I enjoyed every last crumb, I sliced it up and froze the slices on a cookie sheet.  Once they were frozen they were placed in a large ziploc bag, left in a sacred corner of the freezer, and have been enjoyed daily ever since, a slice with morning coffee here, a slice while watching trash TV there.

This may just become a Sunday ritual for me.

Bread:
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 packet) active dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar, plus a pinch
1 1/4 cups whole milk, heated between 110 - 120 degrees F (I used soy!)
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 3/4 to 4 cups all-purpose flour

Cinnamon Swirl:

2 tablespoons white sugar

2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup raisins (dark or golden)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

In a small bowl, combine the yeast, pinch of sugar and 1/4 cup of warm milk.  Cover and allow to moisten (around 3 minutes).

Fit your stand mixer with the paddle attachment.  Combine remaining cup of milk, butter and sugar.  Mix for a minute or so.  Add egg, salt and vanilla.  Mix for another minute.  Add yeast mixture and, you guess it...mix it in.

Turn the mixer off! before adding 2 3/4 cups of flour.  Mix on low until flour is mixed in.  Switch from paddle attachment to dough hook.  Add another cup of flour and mix on medium speed.  If dough does not come together and almost clean the sides of the bowl, add more flour (up to 4 tablesppons, one tablespoon at a time).  Knead at medium speed for 3 minutes, until dough becomes smooth and shiny.

Turn the dough into a large buttered bowl and cover. Put the bowl in a warm place (I always use my oven with the light turned on) and let the dough rise until it is doubled in size, about 90 minutes or so.  

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a rectangle, around 12 x 18 inches.  Spread 3 tbs melted butter all over surface, and sprinkle sugars and raisins on top.  Starting from one of the short ends, roll dough firmly.  Seal the seam and tuck ends underneath.  Place seam side down in a buttered loaf pan, cover loosely and allow to rise for 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Melt one tablespoon of butter and spread over surface of bread.  Bake for 20 minutes, then loosely tent with foil and back 25 minutes more, until golden.  Remove bread from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before unmolding, then allow to cool fully before slicing.


Enjoy!

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Roasted Cauliflower

Cauliflower. That strangest-looking of vegetables.
Seriously. Not pretty. Even with the little green fringe around the edges. Not pretty at all.


But as we all know because we're grownups and grownups know these things...it's not all about looks.
I like cauliflower because it is so adaptable. I have found that it can successfully soak up all kinds of flavors, which is a good thing because otherwise it's kinda...blah.


My absolutely favoritest way to prepare cauliflower is to roast it.

 
Drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper (and your choice of spices...I used garlic powder, but red pepper flakes would probably be super tasty!), roasted in a 375 degree oven for about an hour (making sure to turn it halfway through)...
 

 
Slightly crispy on the outside, soft on the inside.  Deeeeelicious!
 
Roasting veggies = a great way to mix up what you may not have been super eager to include in your meals.  I know that cauliflower isn't typically something I'd reach for right away in the past.
 
Now? Gimme!!!
 
What's your favorite vegetable? Which vegetables (if any) do you like to roast?

Garlicky Grilled Naan

I don't know where naan has been all my life, but I'm glad it finally found its way to me.  I'm determined to make up for lost time now.

Usually, when I buy naan in the store it's...puffy.  Puffier than what I make on my grill pan.  I once baked this and it puffed up like crazy and was very pretty...but I didn't like it nearly as much as I like this.  It's traditionally baked in a tandoori oven, but...my tandoori oven is in the shop (or something).  So the grill pan it is.  But no worries - I would eat my grilled garlicky naan with anything.  Don't like the garlic? Leave it out! Simple!

When grilling, look for bubbles to form on the top of the dough.  This will tell you that the dough is almost ready to be flipped - you'll be able to tell for sure when your tongs can be slid under the bread easily.

Good thing it goes so well with...everything.  Especially chicken tikka masala, which needs a bit of bread to (a) sop up all the delicious sauce and (b) offset the spiciness which hits you in the back of your throat like a sneaky spice ninja.

Plus, the best part: It's super easy to make.  I wouldn't lie to you.

For the dough:

1 1/2 tsps dry yeast

1 cup warm water (around 110 degrees F, no more than 120!)

1 1/2 tsps sugar

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

6 tbsps clarified butter, or ghee (I didn't have any on hand, so I used plain melted)

3 tbsps yogurt (I use Greek)

Garlic Spread:

1/2 stick butter

2 garlic cloves, pressed

In a large bowl (use the stand mixer bowl if you're lucky enough to have one!), pour in the yeast and sugar, then add the warm water.  Cover and allow to sit for 10 minutes - it should be frothy.  If it does not froth, either the yeast is too old and therefore no longer active, or the water you used was not the correct temperature.

In a separate bowl, combine flour and salt.  Set aside.

To the frothy yeast mixture, add the yogurt and butter and mix gently.  Then add the flour/salt.  Using a large spoon (and/or your fingers) or the bread hook of your stand mixture, mix until a soft dough comes together.  Then turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until dough is elastic and smooth (or, again, use your stand mixer).  Form dough into a ball.  Coat the inside of a large bowl with a few drops of vegetable oil or sprays of cooking spray and place the dough inside. Cover and allow to rise in a warm place for 90 minutes.

Once dough is risen, punch down and knead once again for 10 minutes.  Divide dough into 6 balls.

Heat grill pan over medium high heat.  

Roll each ball of dough out on counter into a circle - not too thin, as you don't want it to rip.  Transfer each dough round (oblong?), one at a time, to the hot grill pan.  As soon as tongs can slide underneath, flip dough.

Meanwhile, add garlic to butter and melt in microwave - garlic will become very fragrant and softened.  To keep bread warm, stack on aluminum foil with a generous amount garlic butter brushed in between layers.  Once all bread is grilled, wrap stack in foil and keep in warm oven until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

We were thinking about serving this with pasta - just like garlic bread! What else would you eat with garlicky naan?

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