Brioche...BBA Challenge #4

I'm still tagging along with the Bread Bakers Apprentice Challenge. I made #4, brioche, this weekend. Out of all of the breads so far, this one has taken me the longest to get around to for one reason or the other … the holidays, then getting settled back to normal routine, then waiting for the molds to be delivered….

Finally, however, I managed to start and finish the bread with much success. At first, I was really concerned about the dough. It did not seem to want to behave like normal dough or as in the instructions. Mostly, it seems timing was off.

The soaker was to sit for 20 minutes until it fell when the bowl was tapped. After 40 minutes, that never happened. I proceeded on with the bread making regardless. The next day then, the loaves were supposed to proof for 1-1/2 to 2 hours. After nearly 2 hours, the dough seemed cold still and had not budged an inch. I put the loaves on the stove, turned the overhead light on and in another 30 minutes, they had really puffed up and were ready to bake.

I made the Rich Man’s Brioche; all 5 eggs and 4 sticks of butter. Wow! But if I’m going to go through all the effort, I’m going to go all the way. I added it 1/4 stick at a time and the dough just got smoother and stickier as I continued adding more butter. I didn’t find it easy to work with but I managed to get it onto the sheet pan into the refrigerator overnight.

Working with the cold dough wasn’t as difficult as I had imagined. I made 2 medium loaves in molds, 4 petite ones in molds, and a 1-pound loaf for slicing. I gave the medium molded loaves away and the little ones were for ‘taste testing.”

I had never had brioche before and was quite pleased with the taste and texture. It's kind of like a croissant, perhaps a bit more dense and without as many flaky layers. I've tried to make croissants before. I'll stick with brioche - it's easier.

I think I like this treat in the petite size. Dinner rolls for Easter comes to mind. Or for breakfast with cinnamon sugar sprinkled on before baking. They could be easily baked in a large muffin tin or smaller cupcake pan. There is half a loaf left. I’m making a toasted ham and cheese sandwiches with for lunch. Mmmmm......

Next week:  Casatiello....a bread with meat and cheese baked in. After all the sweeter breads I've made, I'm up for something savory. Stay tuned.

It's A Deepa Disha Pizza Pie

Mostly, Fridays are pizza and movie night.  I've been wanting to kick up our standard homemade pizza recipe, so I tried my little hands at making a Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza. I can’t justify living within 50 miles of Chicago and not trying to make one of these delightfully tasty pies. 

Nothing better than the taste of success. So good!! Delicious, filling, satisfying. Another go-to dinner idea. Lou Malnati should taste this one!

Mind you, it’s not all scratch. I’ll get around to that experiment one of these days.

To Make A 9- or 12-inch pie (this was a 9-inch pie):

I used a 9-inch cake pan with 2-inch straight sides (I LOVE Chicago Metallic bakeware).

You can buy a pan specifically for deep dish pizza but this makes just the right size for two to four people.





Ingredients:

1 Tiseo's frozen pizza dough
1/2 pound bulk Italian sausage (same stuff we get at Hungry Hill)
1/2 medium onion sweet onion, cut in strips
8 to 12 ounces mozzarella cheese (slices are preferred but shredded is fine)
About 15 to 20 slices of pepperoni
1-1/4 cups of your favorite pizza sauce. I used Pastorelli Italian Chef Pizza Sauce (8 ounce can mixed with 3 tablespoons tomato sauce).
Canola oil

Thaw dough according to package directions.

Preheat oven to 425º.

Cook sausage with onion until sausage is almost done and onion is soft. Drain. Set side.

Roll out dough in a circle 2 inches larger than pan you will be using. Oil pan very well with canola oil. I prefer canola as it doesn’t leave the aftertaste that olive oil will leave. Place dough in pan, stretching dough up the sides. You may have to work it a bit, but the dough will stay.

Place dough in oven to parbake 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from oven.

Layer about 3/4 of the cheese on the bottom of the crust. Layer sausage/onion mixture, then pepperoni. Pour sauce over and spread out evenly over pie. Top with remaining cheese.

Bake about 25 to 30 minutes until cheese is golden and sauce is bubbly. Remove from oven. Cool about 10 minutes before cutting.

(Pictures lately are looking like crap...I really hate to take any until I get this lighting thing figured out. Flash, no flash. Lights on or off.  Backround. Natural light. So many factors. Not everything is yellow!)

Baked Fusilli with Sausage

Remember I said I put this week’s menu together from randomly leafing through magazines… Talk about random – This is from Working Mother, November 1985. Holy cow! I’m a recipe pack rat.

This was actually VERY good. Restaurant quality. Tasty, yummy – will definitely make this one again!

I give credit for a lot of the tastiness in this dish to Hungry Hill Sausage, a local specialty meat store where we buy our sausage.

Ingredients:

4 cups fusilli (corkscrew-shaped pasta)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 green pepper, diced
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound Italian sausage
1 teaspoon oregano
1 can (16 ounces) plum tomatoes
1/2 pound grated mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350º.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain in colander and cool under running water.

Meanwhile, over high heat in medium skillet (I used the cast iron skillet) heat olive oil. Add sausage and saute, breaking up meat as it cooks, about 3 to 4 minutes. Drain. Add pepper, onion, and garlic. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking an additional 5 to 7 minutes. Add tomatoes, stirring well and breaking them up.

Add pasta, tossing to coat pasta with sausage mixture. Turn into  a baking dish (you can skip this step and save washing another dish if you use the cast iron skillet) and cover with cheese.

Place skillet on a sheet pan and bake in 350º oven 30 to 40 mins. until bubbly, heated through, and cheese is starting to turn golden.

Now you wonder, looking at the picture, where oh where is the fusilli? Well, I could not find any at my local store. I didn’t feel like running around all over NW Indiana looking for curly noodles. I needed linguine so I bought 2 boxes. Viola! Fusilli into linguine. Actually, I think penne would be the best choice for this dish.

Oktoberfest in January...Bavarian Comfort Food

My German roots are showing. I have roots all over the place; the quintessential Heinz 57 - some Scottish, Irish, French, German, Native American...

I love German food. There is a restaurant at home, Schmidt's Sausage Haus, that I love to go to. It's in German Village. I love German Village. Spending the day there is #1 on my agenda for next time I go home.

If you're in the mood for a hearty, wonderful Bavarian dinner (great for Sundays), this will satisfy that craving.

German Pork Roast (Bavarian Schweinebraten)


One 2-pound pork roast (I used boneless center cut loin)
1 large (or 2 medium) onions, sliced in thick rings
3 cloves garlic, minced or sliced
2 carrots cut into 2 x 1/2-inch pieces or 1 small bag of baby carrots
1 bottle of dark beer
Vegetable oil
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
Salt and pepper
Coarse ground spicy brown mustard (like Guilden’s)

Preheat oven to 350º.

Sprinkle vegetable oil on bottom of roasting pan. Arrange onions and garlic over that. Add the carrots and beer, and sprinkle caraway seeds over mixture.

Coat entire roast with about 1 to 2 tablespoons of mustard. Season with salt and pepper. Place roast on top of onion-beer mixture. Cover with lid or foil (whichever fits).

Roast in oven, fat side of roast up, for 60 minutes at 350º. Remove cover. Baste roast. Brush with another light layer of mustard. Increase heat to 400º. Roast, uncovered, an additional 45 to 60 minutes, or until meat and carrots are fork tender. Let roast rest 10-15 minutes before slicing. Thicken sauce with cornstarch or serve as jus on the side. Either way, it's heavenly.

Hot German (Potato) Noodle Salad

This is actually a potato salad recipe. We had potatoes last night, so I changed out the potatoes for noodles as a side for this dinner. Tastes just as yummy!

4 cups wide noodles ( or 4 medium potatoes, boiled in skins, if you're making potato salad)
4 slices bacon, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon each, salt and pepper
1 cup water
3 tablespoons white or cider vinegar

Cook noodles according to package directions. (For potato salad, peel and slice potatoes very thin)

Meanwhile, in large skillet (cast iron is great for this), saute bacon slowly until crisp then drain on paper towels. Set aside. Saute onion in bacon drippings in pan until they are just beginning to caramelize. Blend in cornstarch, sugar, celery seed, salt, and pepper. Cook on low heat; mix well. Add water and vinegar. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute.

Carefully stir in noodles (drained) and crumbled bacon bits. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand until ready to serve.

*Amish noodles are fantastic in this dish.

And, I did whip up a batch of Snickerdoodles but 5 minutes into baking, they were smelling burnt. Nicely cracked on the top but the bottoms were burned. I used brand new cookie sheets. Wonder if that was the problem or if the temp was too high - recipe said 400º - maybe a combination of both. After I research a bit, I'll try again tonight.

Chicken with Peppers, Onions and Fill in the ________ : Creating Your Own Recipes

How many recipes can you make from trio of chicken breasts (cut in stirfry strips), peppers (red, green, or multicolored), and onions? I think you could round up several hundred if you searched long enough and far enough. You’re only limited by your imagination.

Some of my favorite combos are...

~ with teriyaki sauce over rice
~ with tomato sauce over spaghetti and sprinkled with parmesan cheese
~ with barbecue sauce and macaroni & cheese
~ with teriyaki sauce and pineapple over thin spaghetti or ramen noodles
~ with a wine-butter sauce and mushrooms over herbed wide noodles
~ with taco seasoning and Spanish rice

Shall I continue?

The point is, creating recipes can begin with something this simple and just using your imagination with sauces and switching out ingredients. Change out the chicken for pork or beef and you have something else entirely. Use ground turkey. Your options are endless. Be tastefully creative !!

Smoky Chicken Breast & Veggies

~From Penzeys Spices Catalog (2007)

1-1/2 pounds small new potatoes
1 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 2 x 1/2-inch strips (I used 2 chicken breasts)
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon Smoked Spanish Paprika
1 teaspoon Lemon Pepper Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon thyme, divided
1 medium red onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 orange bell pepper, sliced

Potato Dressing:
2 teaspoons Country French Vinaigrette Salad Dressing Base
1 tablespoon water
1/3 cup olive oil
2 to 3 tablespoons balsamic or red wine vinegar

Directions:
** Wash and slice the potatoes into 1/4-inch rounds. Place in pan of boiling water; boil 6 to 8 minutes until fork tender. Drain. Let dry in a medium bowl. Mix Country French Dressing Base with water; let stand a few minutes; whisk with oil and vinegar. Coat potatoes with dressing. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

** I totally skipped /changed the above step. First, I (gasp) didn’t use Penzeys brand spices and therefore, did not have their Country French Dressing Base on hand.

Rather, I simply sliced the potatoes and layered them up in a casserole dish, drizzled with a bit of olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper, tossed to coat well, covered them with foil, and put them in a 350-degree oven for about 40 minutes, removing foil halfway through.

To make the Chicken:

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in large, heavy skillet. When oil is hot, add chicken. Season with half the Smoked Spanish Paprika, half Lemon Pepper Seasoning, and half the Thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is done (nicely browned on all sides). Remove from pan.

While the chicken is cooking, slice onion and peppers into strips. Add the other tablespoon of oil to the pan if necessary. Add onions and cook about 2 minutes, stirring. Add bell peppers and season with the rest of the spices. Cook another 3 to 5 minutes until everything is crisp-tender. Stir the chicken back in, heat through. Remove to plates and serve with the potatoes.

Okay, here’s the Review:

It makes a pretty plate: Red and orange pepper strips always make for an eye-pleasing plate. The paprika stained chicken, flecks of black pepper, and slightly caramelized onion just add to the appeal of this dish.

However...My first thought on reading the recipe was Spanish Paprika AND Lemon Pepper – Both ?? Really ??

It just doesn’t seem like lemon and paprika play well together but, who am I to say? I don’t think I likely have an exceptionally sophisticated palate (caviar = YUCK) so … well, I thought I would try it.

I was right. They don’t play well together, at least not on my taste buds. One or the other would have been wonderful.

I LOVE smoky and/or sweet Spanish Paprika. It’s really perfect on chicken and I use it ... a lot.

I also love lemon pepper seasoning, and it’s perfectly scrumptious on chicken, too, but I think it’s a better seasoning for fish.

So, although it passed for dinner, this particular recipe won't be included in my menu repertoire again. I would, however, make it with just one or the other, not both, of the seasonings.

Apple-Cherry Pan Crumble ... or raiding the fridge

I had some apples left over from the holiday baking, just sitting out there on the counter. And a small baggie with dried cherries. They looked so lonely. Hmmm...I also had a few cups of brown sugar and some butter I should use up. Dessert for tonight !!

Apple-Cherry Pan Crumble

Filling:
4 medium apples (recommend Granny Smith or Fuji); peeled, cored, and sliced into 1/2-inch thick slices
1/4 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons cinnamon
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 tablespoon cornstarch (mixed with a little cold water to make a slurry)

Topping:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup oats
1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350º F.

In medium cast iron skillet, add apples, cherries, water, cinnamon, brown sugar, and butter. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat slightly and cook till apples are just tender (can stick a fork in easily). Add cornstarch slurry to thicken liquid.

Meanwhile, make topping. In medium bowl, mix topping ingredients well. Mixture should be crumbly.

Place topping over apples in skillet.

Place skillet on lined baking sheet. Place in 350-degree oven for 30 minutes.

Cool. Top with whipped cream or ice cream.

(Sorry no pictures this time - still fussing with lighting)