Seriously Easy French Bread

A great pairing to a delicious soup is an easy homemade french bread.  Oftentimes, bread is intimidating enough to make that we leave it to the bakery, or only search for recipes that can be made in the bread machine or with our mixers dough hook.  FEAR NOT! This is an amazingly simple recipe, and easily adaptable to include nuts, cheeses, herbs or swapping some white flour for wheat.  This recipe also divides easily after the first rise for dinner rolls.  To keep this soft and chewy, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the recipe.

1 cup warm water 110-115 degrees
1 package yeast or 2 1/2 teaspoons (rapid-rise recommended)
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
approximately 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

In a large non reactive bowl, combine water with yeast, sugar and salt. Let sit for five minutes. Stir in flour with wooden spoon until the dough is stiff enough to knead. (Add flour a little at a time.) Knead dough until smooth and elastic–a few minutes. Place enough olive oil in a bowl to coat the dough ball;  cover. Let rise until doubled. Form dough into a French-style loaf and place on parchment lined baking sheet.  Score lightly with a knife 5-6 times.  Place immediately in oven (unpreheated!)–bread will rise as oven heats up. Set oven at 375-degrees. Bake for 30-40 minutes.

This recipe makes one loaf, but can be doubled and tripled easily.

Blue, Black, Straw or Boysen....Berry Scones

A great cup of coffee is always better with a delicious accompaniment.  Cookies, biscotti, doughnuts, bagels, cake.....doesn't really matter, they are all sinfully delicious.  One of our household favorites are homemade scones. 

This recipe is another quick and easy one, and with a light hand, can melt in your mouth.  I love the option of making it with or without streusel topping, but we never have it without a cup of fresh ground Lavazza.

Blackberry Streusel Scones:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup granulated white sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons chilled, unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 cup fresh berries

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup milk or cream

Brushing tops of scones:

Milk or Cream

Streusel Topping:

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and place rack in middle of oven. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Gently fold in the berries (I often use blackberries or blueberries). In a small measuring cup combine the cream, beaten egg and vanilla. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and stir lightly just until the dough comes together. Do not over mix the dough or the scones will be tough.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead the dough gently four or five times and then pat the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches round and about 11/2 inches thick. Cut this circle in half, then cut each half into four pie-shaped wedges (triangles).  Place the scones on the baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with a little cream or milk.

For the Streusel Topping: In a small bowl whisk together the sugar, flour, and cinnamon. With a pastry blender or two knives, cut in the butter until crumbly. Top each scone with a teaspoon or two of the streusel mixture. Cover and refrigerate any leftover streusel mixture.

Bake the scones until nicely browned, about 18 - 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a scone comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly. These are best eaten the day they are made but can be covered and stored for a few days.

Makes 8 scones

From Joyofbaking.com

Gno-Brainer

If you've ever tried packaged gnocchi, and were disappointed, I don't blame you.  The first time I had it, I was on vacation with my boyfriend (now husband) in Duluth.  It was one of the few vegetarian options, and Brad convinced me to give it a shot.  I fell in love with the exquisite puffy pillows of pasta-like deliciousness.  I remember taking my time with each bite.

Until recently, I had only had it one other time.  I bought an Archer Farms vacuum sealed package from the Target shelf about 3 years ago.  It was disgusting.  So gross that I had taken one bite and spit it out (there is very few things I will waste good calories on), taking the disgusting dish off the table.

A few months ago I had made lefse, and had a few cups of leftover riced russets.  I thought I'd give gnocchi a try.  It was amazing, and so simple. 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, scrubbed
• 1 cup (or more) all purpose flour
• 1 large egg yolk, beaten to blend
• 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• Large pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

In a medium saucepan, place the potatoes and cover with cold salted water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, uncovered, until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain.
Using a ricer, rice the potatoes onto a parchment-lined baking sheet in an even layer (don’t pile the riced potatoes into mounds). Set aside to cool.
Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl and, using a rubber spatula, gently mix in the flour, yolks, salt, nutmeg, and pepper until just combined and a soft dough is formed. Don’t over mix the dough or the gnocchi will be unpleasantly dense.
On a well-floured work surface, turn out the potato dough, and divide into 6 equal parts. With the palms of both hands gently roll each part into a “rope” 3/4-inch in diameter. Using a sharp knife cut each “rope” on an angle into 3/4-inch-long pieces.
Transfer to a lightly floured baking sheet pan. Store in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours before cooking.
When ready to serve, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add half the gnocchi to the boiling water and cook for 1 1/2 minutes or until they rise to the top. (Take care not to overcook the gnocchi or they can disintegrate during cooking.) Using a slotted spoon or strainer, transfer the gnocchi to the bowl with your favorite pasta sauce, good olive oil, pesto or cream sauce and gently toss. Repeat with the remaining gnocchi. If the sauce seems too “tight”, add some of the cooking water a tablespoon at time until a saucy consistency is reached. Season with pepper to taste. Divide among warm bowls and serve immediately.

Veg California Roll

I can't say that I have ever tasted real sushi, but when it comes to seaweed and vegetables rolled together with rice?  I love it. 

For this recipe, I did a lot of research.  I don't have a rice cooker, so I found a good recipe for sushi rice, which is a short grain rice that becomes slightly sticky when cooked.  I got this recipe from cookingcute.com.  Scroll to the bottom for the how to video. 

Enjoy!

Perfect Sushi Rice

 Making sushi rice is just a matter of adding seasoning to a perfectly cooked batch of short-grain rice.  I like to use Tamaki Gold, but there are plenty of good brands out there (e.g., Nishiki, Cal-rose, etc.).  The only thing you cannot do, if you want to make onigiri and sushi that don't fall apart, is use any sort of instant, microwave, or converted rice, etc.  Uncle Ben is not Japanese.

There are three key things to remember when making sushi rice: (1) rinse the rice; (2) allow the rice to steam in the pot before opening the lid; and (3) cover the rice with a damp towel until you're ready to use it.

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Rinse the rice.  Rice grains usually are coated with some sort of talc or cereal starch that should be removed before cooking.  I measure out the rice into a bowl, fill the bowl with enough water to cover the rice by an inch or so, then swish the grains with my hand until the water is nice and cloudy.  You also can do this in the rice pot, but it is not generally recommended by the manufacturer. I then pour off the water and repeat at least once more.  (Three rinses is more than enough.  Ignore any rice bag instructions that tell you to rinse until the water runs clear.)

Some folks will tell you to drain the rice in a sieve for anywhere from 1/2 hour to an hour.  I have never drained my rice, and it still has turned out nicely, so I consider this step optional.

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Stovetop Method.  Place the rice and water in a 1:1 ratio in a heavy pot or Dutch oven.  If you are using kombu (optional), add a 2"-long piece for every 2 cups of rice (you should first wipe the kombu  lightly with a paper towel and cut little ridges into the side of the leaf to release the flavor).  Bring the rice to a boil, then reduce to the lowest heat setting to maintain a simmer (and remove the kombu if you are using it).  Once you hit the simmer point, put the lid on the pot and don't take it off until the end.  Cook the rice for 15 minutes, then remove the pot from the heat and let it sit undisturbed for another 10 minutes.  Remove the lid and fluff the rice with a rice paddle.

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Season the Rice.  While the rice is cooking, combine 4 tbsp rice vinegar, 2 tbsp mirin, 3 tbsp sugar, and 2 tsp salt in a non-reactive saucepan.  Heat and stir the mixture until the sugar is dissolved, but do not allow the mixture to boil.  Allow the mixture to cool - this makes enough for 2 cups uncooked rice.  (If you're in a pinch for time, there are commercially available sushi vinegar mixes sold in bottles.)

Once the rice is finished cooking and steaming, turn it out into a large non-reactive bowl (use a wooden hangiri if you have one - I use a ceramic mixing bowl or a glass Pyrex dish).  Sprinkle some of the vinegar mixture evenly over the rice.  With cutting motions, use your rice paddle to mix and fold the vinegar into the rice (the cutting motion prevents the rice from getting smashed), occasionally turning the rice over to coat it evenly and allow it to cool at the same rate.  If possible, use an electric fan (or a fanning friend/significant other) to cool the rice and remove moisture as you mix the vinegar in - this will give the rice a lovely sheen.  Add more of the vinegar mixture as needed.  The rice should have a sweetly acidic bite to it.

The sushi rice should be covered with a damp cloth until you are ready to use it.  It is best eaten on the same day it is made as refrigeration will make the rice hard.  


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q19Uez7lh18

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