Sally Lunn Bread

December 31, 2013 by

This is a high-rising yeast bread with a hint of spice and a light dusting of confectioners’ sugar.  It originated in Bath, England and was brought across the pond to us. Good thing too, as it is delicious and doesn’t require kneading. It’s perfect as a brunch serving when friends and family come for weekend visits or holidays.

3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 stick unsalted butter (no margarine, please!)
1 packet (2-1/4 tsp.) yeast
1/4 cup very warm water
3 large eggs, beaten well
1 tsp. grated lemon or orange rind
1/2 tsp. ground mace
4 cups flour, sifted
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Place the milk, sugar, salt and butter in a small saucepan and heat to scald the milk; set aside to cool to lukewarm.

Into a large bowl, pour in the very warm water and sprinkle the yeast over; stir until the yeast dissolves then stir in the cooled milk, eggs, lemon rind and mace.

Stir the flour in until well blended, then beat it vigorously with a wooden spoon, scraping down the bowl often as you do this – the dough will become shiny elastic. Cover the bowl with greased plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour.

Grease a large tube pan then punch dough down and spoon into the pan. Cover and let rise again for 1 hour. After 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 350 degrees to get it set.

Remove the plastic and place pan in the oven for about 35-45 minutes or until it is golden – check on it at the 30-minute mark to make sure it doesn’t brown too much. Remove from oven, remove from mold and cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before the sugar. Sprinkle with the sugar and serve.

Filed Under: Breads - Yeasted, Desserts, Frontpage Tagged With: , ,

The Best Perfect Pumpkin Pie Ever

December 28, 2013 by

No, I’m not bragging.  : )

Unbaked pie crust
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
2 large eggs
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. kosher salt

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  Set the pie plate aside. In a large bowl, whisk all the other ingredients together, pour into the pie crust and bake for 15 minutes. Without opening the oven door, reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 40-45 more minutes or until a knife inserted about one inch from the crust comes out clean. Set on a rack to cool. Serve warm or cold.

Filed Under: Autumn & Winter, Frontpage, Holidays & Special Occasions, Pies Tagged With: , , , ,

Marinated Beets

December 26, 2013 by

I’ve got this thing for beets. I really do. Not a lot of my friends or family agree with me, but that’s okay, I get more!

3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup white or rice vinegar
3/4 cup water
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 large onion, sliced thin
2 cans sliced beets, undrained

In a medium-sized pot, combine the first 6 ingredients and bring this to a boil. Reduce the heat. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the beets – juice and all. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Pour this carefully into a non-plastic bowl and cover. Chill at least 8 hours or overnight.

Filed Under: Frontpage, Vegetables

MERRY CHRISTMAS

December 24, 2013 by

nativity [Read more…]

Filed Under: Frontpage, Holidays & Special Occasions

New York Cheesecake

December 21, 2013 by

What separates a New York Cheesecake from all others is the simplicity, height, and firmness of the cake.  You definitely need a cheesecake (spring form) pan for this.  It is decadently simple yet delicious.

Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 Tbsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. softened butter (NOT melted)

Filling:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup flour
Pinch of kosher salt
2 lbs. (4 8oz. blocks) Philadelphia Cream Cheese
6 large eggs
8 oz. sour cream (NOT lite, NOT low-fat)
1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and take out all the ingredients and the pan – set on the counter for 30 minutes while the oven preheats.  This will get the cream cheese, butter, and sour cream to room temperature which is needed for cheesecakes.

Now make the crust by combining the crumbs and sugar in a bowl, then kneading in the butter with your fingers until it is well mixed and crumbly.  Press firmly into the bottom only of your spring form pan; set aside.

Now make the filling:  In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, combine the sugar, flour, and salt.  Now add the cream cheese, a block at a time and mix well.  Add eggs one at a time mixing slowly, but well after adding each.  Blend in the sour cream and vanilla then pour into the pan.  Place in oven and bake for 1 hour.  Turn the oven off but keep the cake in the oven with the door ajar for another hour.  Place on cooling rack, cool completely then place in the fridge for several hours or overnight until serving.

Filed Under: Desserts, Frontpage

Deep-Dish Pizza

December 18, 2013 by

Homemade is always better, so why not try your hand at pizza? A delicious weekend meal.  Make your own crust or buy the frozen dough and follow their directions.

The Crust:
4 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbs. cornmeal
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 pkg. (2 3/4 tsp.) yeast
2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
4 Tbs. melted butter (1/2 stick)
1 cup, plus 2 Tbs. lukewarm water

The Filling:
1 lb. mozzarella cheese, sliced into 9-12 pieces
1 lb. Italian sausages, sliced & cooked (sweet, hot, mixed – your choice)
28 oz. can peeled, plum tomatoes
Heaping Tbsp. minced garlic (from the jar is good)
1 Tbsp. sugar (to offset the acid from the tomatoes)
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 cup grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese
Approximately1-2 Tbsp. more of the extra virgin olive oil

Making the Crust:  Add all dough ingredients to a large bowl and knead until smooth – takes about 5 minutes.  Place in a lightly oiled/buttered bowl, cover, and let rise for about one hour.  While it is rising, lightly oil or spray a pan (if you have a deep dish pizza pan, that’s great, but not everyone does, so make do with what you have) – it needs to have sides at least 2″ high.

Stretch the dough and lay it in the pan, it may shrink back somewhat but stretch to cover bottom and up sides – if you see the oil seeping/oozing out, don’t worry, just ignore it and keep going; cover and let it rest for 10 – 15 minutes.  While it’s resting preheat your oven to 425 degrees, and start making the sauce.  Bake crust for 15 minutes, or until its very lightly browned, remove from oven and set aside.

Making the sauce:  Drain the tomatoes, place in a large bowl, and with your hands carefully squish them – keep hands in the bowl or you’ll be wearing the sauce!  Add the herbs, garlic, and sugar.

Place all the slices of mozzarella on the bottom crust, add the slices of sausages, then add the tomato sauce.  Sprinkle on the grated cheese then drizzle a little bit (like about 1- 2 Tbs.) olive oil onto top.

Bake for about 25-35 minutes, or until filling is bubbly and top is golden brown.  Let rest about 20 minutes.

Filed Under: Breads - Yeasted, Frontpage, Something Different Tagged With: , ,

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

December 14, 2013 by

Long, slow, cooking will guarantee the best results. This is delicious.

4-6 pounds pork shoulder
2 large, white onions, sliced
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground peppper
1-1/2 cups cold water
2 cups (or 18 oz. bottle) BBQ sauce
Another large white onion, diced

Spray your slow cooker with cooking spray and place 1 of the sliced onions in the bottom, add pork, garlic powder, salt, pepper , water and then add the other sliced onion on top (you’ll use the 3rd onion later). Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 5. Drain liquid, coarsley chop up the meat, discard fat, place prk back in slow cooker, add BBQ sauce then the last onion. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 more hours. Serve on large rolls.

Filed Under: Crock Pot / Slow Cooker, Frontpage, Pork

Oven Fried Chicken II

December 11, 2013 by

McCormick Seasonings are really good, and this particular one was a discovery I made while at the butcher’s recently. I modified the instructions a tad from what their packet states.

8 pieces of chicken with the bones and skin
1 McCormick Garlic & Herb Buffalo Wings Seasoning Mix
1/2 cup flour

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. On a large rimmed baking sheet, place a stick of butter, cut into chunks, and place in the oven while it is preheating – remove when the butter has melted – takes about 5-8 minutes.

Place the seasoning packet and the flour in a large paper bag or zip lock bag. Drop chicken pieces in, one at a time, close then shake to coat. Place skin side down on baking sheet. Cook for 45 minutes, turn gently with a spatula, bake 10 minutes more.

Filed Under: Chicken, Frontpage Tagged With: , ,

Greek Style Spaghetti

December 8, 2013 by

This goes together quickly and easily so it works well for me on full work days. Pair it with almost any grilled or roasted meat.

1 pound cooked and drained linguine or fettuccine
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Medium red or yellow onion, peeled & diced
3 Tbsp. minced garlic, or 3 minced garlic cloves
6 oz. jar marinated artichoke hearts
1 small can sliced black olives or 12 Greek-style pitted olives
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese
4 oz. crumbed feta cheese

Cook the pasta according to package directions and set aside in a large bowl. Heat the oil in a large skillet then add onion and garlic to saute for 2 minutes. Drain artichokes reserving juice, cut them in half and set aside. Add reserved juice, olives, Italian seasoning and lemon juice to the pan, mix well and heat for 3 minutes. Add the artichokes and heat through. Combine this with the cooked pasta, add the cheeses, mix well and serve warm or cold.

Filed Under: Frontpage, Macaroni / Pasta

Cinnamon Rolls

December 2, 2013 by

This makes two 9 x 13 pans of fabulous homemade cinnamon rolls. Don’t worry, there’s no kneading involved and they are fun to make with the kids. Plus, a cake mix is incorporated with the flour to help it become sweetened. Traditionally these are made with vanilla cake mix, but try chocolate for another delicious version. Your home will smell so good while these bake!

1 18oz. box Vanilla or French Vanilla cake mix
5 1/2 cups flour
2 pkgs. yeast or 4 1/2 tsp.
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 1/2 cups warmed water
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 stick melted butter

Icing – You may want to double this
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 1/2 tsp. milk
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Place cake mix, flour, yeast, salt and warm water into a large bowl and mix well. Cover and rise for one hour. Lightly grease two 9 x 13 pans. Place the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and have the melted butter ready. Lightly flour a counter top, plop the risen dough onto it, divide in half and roll each half into a large 12 x 18 inch rectangle. Brush each with 1/2 butter and sprinkle each with 1/2 the cinnamon mixture. Starting at long end, roll up like a cigar and then slice into about 16 pieces each, and place in each of the pans. Cover and place in the fridge for 8 hours – overnight is good.

When ready to bake, take pans out of fridge and place on counter top for 30 minutes while you preheat oven to 350 degrees. One at a time, bake the pans for about 30-40 minutes, until goldenish brown. Take out of oven for 5 minutes, then pour and spread icing over each.

While you are waiting for rolls to bake, mix all the icing ingredients in a medium bowl.

Filed Under: Breads - Yeasted, Frontpage
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