Buttermilk Clouds

Buttermilk Banana Nut Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon Pickering ) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 23:55:00 +0000

All my life...all...I have been searching for the perfect Banana Nut Muffin recipe. And last night I found it. Last Saturday I found a little set of clay pots from Southern Living. They are so friggin' cute that I can't stand it. There are 6 of them. And they don't have drainage holes in the bottom. As soon as I saw them, the bananas on my counter popped into my head. And I knew. Yes, I knew. And it so happened that I also had a new recipe to try. So. Here is it. The best Banana Nut Muffin recipe ever. EVER! I think the magic happened with the buttermilk.

Oh. Most of the time my banana bread turned out gooey in the middle. I do believe that these little clay pots cured that problem. The middles were done, the outsides were not burnt and they rose sooooooooo beautifully! Big excitement in our house. Yes sir.

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed bananas (3 medium sized bananas)
4 tablespoons buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1. Grease and flour 1 large loaf pan (9 1/4 X 5 1/4-inch) or whatever combination of pans you’d like. I used a mini loaf pan and a 8 1/2 X 4 1/2 loaf pan. You can also make banana muffins with this recipe, if you wish...which is the option I chose. And I also only sprayed the pots with oil. No flour. Set pans aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs, mashed bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla until the batter is well mixed.
3. Add in the flour, baking powder, salt and soda. Mix until well combined. Divide batter into greased and floured pans and bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
4. Let bread cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Loosen the bread with a knife and carefully remove from pan. Finish cooling on rack. Slice and serve once cooled.

First homecooked dinner in our new house

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon Pickering ) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:24:00 +0000

We finally had a homecooked meal in our new home. Happy happy. Joy joy. And it was not just any old dinner. It was Boeuf Bourguignon ala Julia Child. And just how did this come to pass? Well, it started a few months ago. We went to the afternoon matinee and saw Julie & Julia. Loved it, much to our surprise. So much so that I immediately ordered Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Immediately I wanted to make something out of it. And I wanted to do the Boeuf Bourguignon. But, D said why don't we wait until we get into our new home and make this as a special first meal? So, we waited.

Then, the big day arrived. I had unpacked enough to find my stove, and it was on. Luckily I had the perfect special pot to cook it in! My Pumpkin Pot. In no time at all I had the pot on the stove and the beef browning.

Here is the recipe to make this most wonderful dish.

Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon
Recipe Courtesy of Julia Child

Ingredients
One 6-ounce piece of chunk bacon
3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3 pounds lean stewing beef, cut into 2-inch cubes
1 carrot, sliced
1 onion, sliced
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons flour
3 cups red wine, young and full-bodied (like Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone or Burgundy)
2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups brown beef stock
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cloves mashed garlic
1/2 teaspoon thyme
A crumbled bay leaf
18 to 24 white onions, small
3 1/2 tablespoons butter
Herb bouquet (4 parsley sprigs, one-half bay leaf, one-quarter teaspoon thyme, tied in cheesecloth)
1 pound mushrooms, fresh and quartered

Cooking Directions

Remove bacon rind and cut into lardons (sticks 1/4-inch thick and 1 1/2 inches long). Simmer rind and lardons for 10 minutes in 1 1/2 quarts water. Drain and dry.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Sauté lardons in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a flameproof casserole over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon.

Dry beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Heat fat in casserole until almost smoking. Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and sauté until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the lardons.

In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the excess fat.

Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes.

Toss the meat again and return to oven for 4 minutes (this browns the flour and coves the meat with a light crust).

Remove casserole and turn oven down to 325 degrees.

Stir in wine and 2 to 3 cups stock, just enough so that the meat is barely covered.

Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs and bacon rind. Bring to a simmer on top of the stove.

Cover casserole and set in lower third of oven. Regulate heat so that liquid simmers very slowly for 3 to 4 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.

While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms.

Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons butter with one and one-half tablespoons of the oil until bubbling in a skillet.

Add onions and sauté over moderate heat for about 10 minutes, rolling them so they will brown as evenly as possible. Be careful not to break their skins. You cannot expect them to brown uniformly.

Add 1/2 cup of the stock, salt and pepper to taste and the herb bouquet.

Cover and simmer slowly for 40 to 50 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but hold their shape, and the liquid has evaporated. Remove herb bouquet and set onions aside.

Wipe out skillet and heat remaining oil and butter over high heat. As soon as you see butter has begun to subside, indicating it is hot enough, add mushrooms.

Toss and shake pan for 4 to 5 minutes. As soon as they have begun to brown lightly, remove from heat.

When the meat is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan.

Wash out the casserole and return the beef and lardons to it. Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms on top.

Skim fat off sauce in saucepan. Simmer sauce for a minute or 2, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly.

If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons stock. Taste carefully for seasoning.

Pour sauce over meat and vegetables. Cover and simmer 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times.

Serve in casserole, or arrange stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles or rice, and decorated with parsley.

This dish was a perfect choice to Christen a new kitchen. The aromas spread through out the house...as it should be. Perfect dinner for a cool autumn evening. I felt a little closeness to Julia as I drank my glass of wine and prepared this awesome meal. Thanks, Julia!!

Blackberry Pandowdy

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon Pickering ) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 20:47:00 +0000

Pandowdy — a spoon pie, with fruit on the bottom and a rolled crust on top, which is broken up to allow the juices to come through.

My favorite thing. A pie. Simple. Delicious. This one is called a Pandowdy. Mine is a modified version. I like a bottom crust also. It is completely up to you.

Blackberry Pandowdy
Filling:
2 bags frozen blackberries
1/3 cup flour
1 cup sugar
cream for brushing
sugar for sprinkling

Pie crust (For a double crust pie, I make the 8 or 9 inch One-Crust plus the 8 or 9 inch Two -Crust because I like to work with lots of dough!)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out a little over half of the dough as described in the pie crust recipe and place in the pie plate. Add the flour and sugar to the frozen blackberries. Toss gently to coat. Pour berry mixture over dough in pie plate. Roll the top crust out as described in the pie crust recipe and place over the berries. Crimp the edges to seal. Brush the top with cream (I usually use evaporated milk or plain milk...whatever I have on hand). Sprinkle top with sugar.

Bake until crust is set and beginning brown, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven; gently push some of the crust into the filling using a spoon. Bake until crust is golden brown and crisp and juices are bubbling, 25 to 35 minutes more.

Now, eat and enjoy! Have a second piece. Kidding!!

No-Cook Freezer Strawberry Jam

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon Pickering ) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 00:48:00 +0000

What do you do with a flat of really ripe strawberries? Make Strawberry Jam! And, you won't believe this...no cooking involved. Talk about fast and easy. This recipe truly is for those that love to preserve the bounty of the season, but can't find the time.

Here are all the ingredients you need...

No-Cook Freezer Strawberry Jam

4 cups crushed strawberries
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 pouch Ball Fruit Jell Freezer Jam Pectin

1. Measure the sugar and pectin pouch into a bowl. Stir until mixed.
2. Crush the fruit.
3. Combine the crushed fruit with the pectin mixture.
4. Stir 3 minutes.
5. Ladle jam into clean jars leaving 1/2" headspace; apply lids.
6. Let stand until thickened, about 30 minutes.

YIELD: five 8 ounce jars.
REFRIGERATE: up to 3 weeks, or
FREEZE: up to 1 year

And here are a few little items that make it a breeze...

1. Flat bottom stock pot: Wonderful to use as a vessel in which to crush the strawberries. I made a double batch, and this worked perfectly. Large enough to not splash out while doing the crushing.
2. Heavy pastry blender - I started with this when crushing the berries. It preformed more of a slicing/crushing action.
3. Potato masher - I finished up the crushing with this. The pastry blender did a good job of making small pieces, but the masher really pulled it all together. While crushing I kept in mind...how big of a chunk of berry do I want on my toast? Remember, there is no cooking of the strawberries involved, so what you see is what you get in the end.
4. Large ladle - This made it a snap to transfer the crushed berries into the jelly jars.
5. Canning funnel - Just made the work neater...no precious jam running down the sides of my jelly jars.
6. Jelly jars - (pictured with the ingredients) When full of jam, they gleam like jewels. Great for gifts!

In my opinion, the riper the strawberries, the better. This batch is so flavorful. The great thing about this method, other than the obvious ease of preprepartion, is the absolute fresh taste of the jam on your bread. It is unbelievable!!

Because of the method of preparation, this jam lends it self to other applications...like a topping for ice cream, waffles, pancakes, french toast. So versatile!

And, speaking of bread, I have a loaf of Buttermilk Bread in my bread maker right now. I can hardly wait till dinner!!

What are you waiting for?

Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon Pickering ) — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 00:23:00 +0000

This recipe is so terribly good. And it is just as easy. I got the recipe from the book that came with my Zojirushi bread machine. It is an all purpose roll recipe that can be used for dinner rolls and sweet rolls.

Butter-Rich Roll & Bread Dough
1 cup water
1 large egg
4 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. dry milk
1/4 cup butter
3 1/4 cup bread flour
1 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast

Add ingredients in order listed. I use the Basic Dough setting on my bread machine, which kneads the dough and lets it rise. When done rising in the machine, remove the dough. Place on floured surface. I use my pastry frame. Divide dough in half. (At this point you can decide if you want all cinnamon rolls or make the other half into dinner rolls which is what I do.)
For Cinnamon Rolls:
1. Roll half of the dough into a 8 x 9" rectangle.
2. Spread the surface with about 1/4 cup softened butter.
3. Sprinkle surface with 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 tsp. cinnamon and if you like raisins, 1/3 cup raisins
4. Roll dough jelly-roll style and pinch seam to seal
5. Cut in 12 pieces
6.Place in greased muffin tins, or baking sheet 2" apart
7.Cover with wax paper sprayed with oil and place a towel on top
8.Allow to rise in warm place until double in size - about 40 minutes
9.Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes.
10. Drizzle with icing.

If you decide to make the other half into dinner rolls, just divide up the dough into 12 pieces and place in lightly oiled muffin tins. Then follow steps 7, 8, 9.

They don't last long. No matter where you hide them. :-)

Spicy Broiled Shrimp

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon Pickering ) — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 01:49:00 +0000

Oh my, this was so tasty! This luscious little dish is an adaption of Pioneer Woman's Spicy Shrimp. I made it the first time following her recipe. This time I cut back on the amount of oil and butter. (Sorry PW!) In all honesty, I think somewhere in the middle is the road I will travel next time.

Be prepared. It is a mess to eat. I looked like someone shot me with a paint ball when I was done with this meal. But, perhaps I went at it with a little more gusto than the average shrimp omnivore. It comes out from under the broiler, well, broiling hot. The first time we had it I couldn't wait. I dove right in and told my husband that I'm willing to sacrifice my fingerprints to eat this shrimp. It is that good.

Spicy Broiled Shrimp
1 1/2 pounds shrimp, shells on
1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil
3-4 lemons
1/4 - 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1-2 sticks of butter
Tabasco sauce
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper

Rinse and drain shrimp. Place on a cookie sheet. The kind of cookie sheet with a rim. Drizzle olive oil over shrimp. Grind pepper over the shrimp. A lot. When you think that is enough, grind some more. Now be just as generous with the salt. Squeeze the lemon juice over the shrimp. Sprinkle the Worcestershire sauce over all. Add the Tobasco sauce. How much? That totally depends on your heat tolerance. As you can see from the picture, I used quite a bit. But, you shell the shrimp, so all the hotness doesn't make it to the shrimp. Dot the shrimp with butter pats. Broil for about 10 minutes, but keep a close eye on it. As soon as they turn white, they are done. Don't overcook!

A loaf of crusty french bread is just perfect for sopping up the pan juices! OH YUMMMMM!!!

Turkey Pot Pie

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon Pickering ) — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 23:37:00 +0000

What to do with those turkey leftovers? I made a delicious Turkey Pot Pie. The recipe is adapted from an old Bisquick Cookbook recipe.

Turkey Pot Pie
Double pie crust

Turkey Filling:
1 large onion, chopped
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cups chicken broth (or 2 cans)
1 1/2 cup half & half or evaporated milk
3-4 cups chopped cooked turkey
3 peeled and diced potatoes
1 can peas
1 can corn
1-2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Egg Wash:
1 egg
1 tablespoon water

Cook and stir onion in butter in dutch oven until tender. Blend in flour, salt and pepper. Cook over low heat until mixture is bubbly. Stir in chicken broth and milk. Then add chopped turkey and diced potatoes. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Simmer over low heat while preparing the double pie crust (or about 20-30 minutes.) After crust is made, add the corn, peas and Worcestershire sauce.

Place the bottom crust in the pie pan. Pour hot turkey filling in crust. Place top crust over and crimp edges with a fork. Cut a slit in top crust for steam.

Beat the egg and water, then brush over top crust. Bake in 400 degree oven until crust is brown and filling is bubbly, about 1 hour.

Just add what veggies you like or have on hand. Another crust option is a biscuit topping instead of the pie crust. In that case, make the biscuits and place on hot filling, then bake in a 425 degree oven until biscuits are done.

This is what we had for dessert...an apple pie! What else. My husband reminded in the grocery store today, that it is apple season. I took the hint.

Actually, this was just a sneaky way to get a picture of my new Staub Pumpkin Cocotte in the post! The pot was used for the turkey filling, so I guess it is fair game.

My Pumpkin Cocotte

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon Pickering ) — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 15:47:00 +0000

I get unusually excited over kitchen paraphernalia. It is a glitch in my personality. I love the way a perfectly designed kitchen utensil makes a mundane task a joy.

Enter the newest member of my kitchen gang. It is only the most beautiful of all pots imaginable. Calling it a mere pot seems a disservice.

That is why Francis Staub has named it a Cocotte. This is a 5 qt. enameled cast iron dutch oven. Inside is a black matte enamel finish. The lid handle is a brass stem. Each piece was designed by F. Staub and individually cast in a sand mold. Each mold is unique, and destroyed after each use, meaning that every piece is unique.

Cocotte [koh-KOT]
This French word for "casserole" refers to a round or oval casserole with a tight-fitting lid. It can be either individual-size or large and is traditionally made of earthenware. The phrase en cocotte means "cooked in a casserole".

How did it come about that this piece of culinary art is now sitting on my kitchen counter? Serendipity my friend, serendipity.

ser·en·dip·i·ty (sěr'ən-dĭp'ĭ-tē)
n. pl. ser·en·dip·i·ties

1. The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident.
2. The fact or occurrence of such discoveries.
3. An instance of making such a discovery.

OK, I promise, that was my last definition today.

On with the story. Black Friday. My daughter and I braved the cold and the crowds and got right in the mix of it all. We were up bright and early...4AM. In line (yes, in line) at Best Buy by 4:30. This line spanned the entire front of the store, continued down the side, then wrapped around the corner and stretched the length of the back of the store. We got in line somewhere mid-back.

I could tell you all the gory details, but this post is centered on my beautiful Cocotte. By 9AM the Avenues Mall opened, so we, of course, were all about that. We had no direction or purpose in the Mall. We just walked and shopped. This plan of attack eventually led us to Williams-Sonoma.

We entered the store, much like we entered all other stores, full of excitement of the moment. We turned left, as we always do, unless there is a point to being in the store, in which case we go directly to the object of our attention. Upon turning left, we followed the aisle admiring all the beautiful items. I looked to the display on the right. At eye level was the most beautiful enameled cast iron pot I have ever seen. (Cue the heavenly music.) I peeked at it's underbelly to see the price. My jaw dropped, my heart sank and I said louder than I knew "This is too expensive! I'll never get one!!" It was $199.95.

Luckily, I did say it loud, and as luck would have it again, was overheard by a nearby saleswoman. She came immediately up to me and instead of hushing me and shooing me from the store, she told me with a huge smile and much gusto that they are on clearance (those magical words) at the back of the store.

I was excited to hear this, but I thought even on clearance, which normally is 50% off, I wouldn't be able to afford it. Nikki and I continued shopping in our usual fashion, not hurrying to the back. When we finally got to the back, and to the clearance table, there were no pots to be found. Not to my surprise.

We continued on. I don't know who saw the 3 boxes sitting under the coffee machine display bar, but we saw them. Just 3 boxes sitting on the floor beside a couple of bar stools. I glanced down and saw the price: Original price - $199.95 Clearance price - $49.95!! Immediately we pulled a bar stool on each side of the boxes, sat down and grinned liked idiots at each other. Nikki said she wanted to get it for me for Christmas. I almost passed out and fell off my bar stool.

Eventually another saleswoman asked us if we needed assistance. "Yes, they are on sale." "Yes, for $49.95." "Yes, they are the large pumpkin pot." "Yes, we will hold one for you behind the counter while you continue shopping."

Giddy describes me. We were giddy. We shopped for all of 30 seconds and couldn't concentrate, so we gave up the pretense and danced back to the cash register.

Thank you Nikki and Robert, for a most wonderful Christmas present!!!

Time for Turkey Math

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon Pickering ) — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 18:26:00 +0000

This is a serious math, folks, but not yet taught in our educational system. (Do I need to start a movement?) All women and men that orchestrate a holiday dinner need to be fluent in turkey math. Some know it instinctively and use it without being aware of this ability. Others simply flounder and know that something is wrong when they and their hungry family are waiting two hours for the last dish to be brought out of the oven and the mashed potatoes have turned into a chilled mass.

So, what is it exactly? This is a timetable for preparation of a holiday dinner from expected time to eat backwards to the beginning of preparation. The turkey is the cornerstone which we build this timetable.

To do turkey math, a couple of things must be in place.

You need a solid menu...set in stone. Meaning, no "corn or baked squash casserole". It either has to be one or the other or both. No choice at the last minute.
You have to know the weight of your turkey for cooking time.
The time you want to sit down for dinner.

With that information in hand, you are ready to do turkey math. I will demonstrate how it works.

Menu (this happens to be our menu for this year...works out well for me, now my turkey math is taken care of):

Turkey
Dressing
Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Gravy
Butternut Squash Puree
Broccoli and Rice Casserole
Cranberry Sauce
Watergate Salad
Chocolate Pie
Pumpkin Pie

The turkey weighs 14 pounds. It will have to bake @ 325 for 4 hours since it will be stuffed. We want to eat at 5:00. (hmmm...this is starting to sound an awful lot like high school algebra.) A turkey out of the oven should sit awhile to let it rest before carving. This works into my master plan.

Here is the turkey math action plan.

A week before:

Make the menu
Make a shopping list
Grocery shop for your holiday ingredients
Do turkey math

Three days before:

Remove turkey from freezer and place in refrigerator (thawing time: 24 hours per 5 pounds of turkey)

Two days before:

Make and freeze 2 pie crusts

The day before:

Make and refrigerate - Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Make and refrigerate - Butternut Squash Puree
Make and refrigerate - Watergate salad
Peel, chop and saute onions for dressing - refrigerate
Set bread out to dry

The night before:

Put turkey in brine

The day of:

9:00 Make pumpkin pie and bake
9:30 Make chocolate pie and bake
10:00 pies should be out of oven and cooling
10:00-11:00 take a break
11:00 Make dressing
11:30 Stuff turkey
11:45 Put turkey in oven
12:00 Set the table
12:30 Clean up the kitchen
1:00-2:30 have a glass of wine...nap...ponder the meaning of life
2:30 Remove casseroles from refrigerator to come to room temp
3:00 Assemble broccoli and rice casserole
3:45 Remove turkey and keep covered
3:45 Put all the casseroles in oven
4:15 Make gravy
4:30 Carve turkey
4:45 Remove casseroles from oven
4:45-4:59 Put all the yummy food on the table
5:00 Eat!!

Good luck, all you little turkey mathematicians!

Chocolate Pie

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon Pickering ) — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 23:54:00 +0000

My daughter is here for a visit, and I told her I would make whatever kind of pie she wanted. She wanted a chocolate pie...much to the joy of my husband. It is an old standby that the family has loved forever. In my opinion, a fruit pie tops a cream pie any day. But, like I said, that is my opinion.

Chocolate Pie

You need a baked pie crust. Dock the crust by poking holes on the bottom and sides with a fork and bake in a 425 degree oven until golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. (I left mine in a little too long, but it was still good.) While the crust is baking, make the filling and meringue.

Chocolate Pudding Filling
(an old word of mouth recipe from Imogene Baldwin)
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk (I use one large can evaporated milk and make up the difference with milk)
2 eggs
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons cocoa
In a saucepan mix the sugar, flour, salt, cocoa and eggs. Gradually stir in the milk over med-high heat, stirring constantly until the pudding becomes thick. Remove from heat and with a whisk, beat in the butter and vanilla until the pudding becomes smooth.

While the pudding is cooking, I make the meringue in my Kitchen Aid Mixer...it almost does it on it's own. But, keep a watchful eye on the pudding. You don't want it to burn. If you can't do both at once, do the meringue after you make the pudding.

Meringue Topping
4 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until foamy. Gradually add sugar a little bit at a time, beating after each addition making sure the sugar dissolves and stiff peaks form. Beat in the vanilla.

Pour the hot pudding in the baked pie crust. Spread the meringue topping over the pudding, creating a seal between the meringue and crust. Bake in a 425 degree oven until the meringue gets golden brown on the tips.

That is about it. Except for enjoying all the smiles and happy faces!

Baked Ziti

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon Pickering ) — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 22:55:00 +0000

I forgot how the conversation at the dinner table went tonight. I think it was something like:

WOW
I really like this!
This may be better than lasagna.
I really like this!
I was scared.
I really like this!

And, it was good! I used a little more mozzarella than the recipe called for (ummm....I used the whole bag which was double of what the recipe said). But, I don't think that is what pushed it over the edge. It would of been wonderful even without all that yummy mozzarella.

This is what you will need to gather:

And this is the recipe. Pretty simple, but simply good.

Baked Ziti
1 pound dry ziti pasta or rigatoni
1 onion, chopped
1 pound lean ground beef
2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced
1 1/2 cups sour cream
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
1.) Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain.
2.) In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef over
medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.
3.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows:
1/2 of the ziti
all the Provolone cheese
sour cream
1/2 sauce mixture
remaining ziti
all the mozzarella cheese
remaining sauce mixture
top with grated Parmesan cheese
4.) Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted

Set this on the table with a loaf of fresh homemade bread and enjoy!

Bread Pudding

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon Pickering ) — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 23:38:00 +0000

I have been a long time fan of The Pioneer Woman Cooks. She does good, down home food. Yummy for your tummy. This bread pudding has been on my list to make.

Finally today was the day. I did make a couple of changes. I had a carton of Half and Half that I wanted to use, so I substituted that for the milk. I didn't have sour dough bread, but half a loaf of french bread. I didn't have pecans. (I didn't think this out very well, did I?) Lastly, I didn't have any whiskey in the house. (Where did it go?) I just added some vanilla to the sauce. I wanted to lick the plate. But, I have problems.

Be prepared. Your eyes will roll back in your head, and the only conversation at the table will be 'yummmm' or 'wow'. Or proposals of marriage.

The Best Bread Pudding

2 eggs
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups milk
2 cups sugar
3 1/2 to 5 cups sourdough bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/3 cup pecans, chopped finely

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat together eggs, butter, vanilla, and milk. Add sugar and mix until sugar is dissoved. Arrange bread cubes tightly in a nine-inch baking dish, keeping the crust facing up around the edges in scattered within the dish. Pour liquid over the bread. Sprinkle pecans all over and bake for 55 to 70 minutes, or until crust is golden brown all over the top.

Whiskey Cream Sauce:

1/2 cup sugar
1 stick butter
1/2 cup cream
1/4 cup Jack Daniels

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Stir constantly over low heat until mixture reaches a low boil. Pour a small amount over the individual servings of bread pudding.

Store leftovers in fridge.
From The Pioneer Woman Cooks!

Mediterranean Ribeye Steaks With Pierogies à la Vodka

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon Pickering ) — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 00:27:00 +0000

I have been wanting to make this one since I had a sample from Publix Apron's. It really was good. Like a meal you would get from a nice restaurant.

Here is what you need to round up to make it happen.

And here is how it all goes together.

Mediterranean Ribeye Steaks

3 cups fresh spinach
1 1/2 pounds boneless beef ribeye steaks
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup pre-diced red onions
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
2 tablespoons sun-dried tomato pesto

1. Chop spinach coarsely and place in microwave-safe bowl. Cover and microwave on HIGH 2–3 minutes or until tender. Drain thoroughly.
2. Preheat large sauté pan on medium 2–3 minutes. Cut steaks into 4 portions; sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Wash hands.
3. Place butter in pan; swirl to coat. Add steaks, using tongs, and onions; cook steaks 5–6 minutes on each side or until internal temperature reaches 145°F for medium-rare. (Use meat thermometer to accurately ensure desired doneness; adjust time as needed.)
4. Meanwhile, stir feta cheese, bread crumbs, and tomato pesto into spinach, mixing thoroughly. During last two minutes of steak cook time, spread 1/4 cup spinach mixture over top of steaks. Carefully turn steaks and spinach mixture over to heat topping; cook 1–2 more minutes until golden and slightly crusty. Gently turn steaks over and serve.
NOTE: This topping may also be browned, using an oven broiler.

Pierogies à la Vodka

1 (16.9-ounce) package frozen potato/Cheddar pierogies
1 cup water
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 cups vodka pasta sauce
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 tablespoon shredded Parmesan cheese

1. Place pierogies, water, and butter in medium saucepan; cover and bring to boil on medium-high. Boil 2–3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Remove lid; boil 1–2 more minutes, stirring often, until most of liquid is absorbed.
3. Gently stir in pasta sauce; reduce heat to medium. Cook 3–4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thoroughly heated and begins to thicken. Stir in pine nuts; sprinkle with cheese before serving.

I left out the pine nuts, because I'm not that evolved. Pine nuts seem foreign to me, therefore I don't cook with them. Vodka sauce was a huge step for me!

The other thing is I think I put the onions in the skillet too soon and they got too brown (or black if the truth be told). Plus I think I wouldn't cook the topping part quite as long as stated in the recipe...it seemed to be too brown also. Even with that, the meal turned out awesome!!!

40 Cloves and a Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon Pickering ) — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 22:38:00 +0000

If you haven't figured it out yet, I love kitchen items. One item that I bought before we moved and didn't have an opportunity to use before today is a Tagine or Tajine. I really don't know the correct spelling or how to pronounce it, but I love it just the same. I do know it is of African/Moroccean origin. The premise behind it is slow cooking. And from what I gather, it can be in the oven or on top of the stove. If used on top of the stove, a heat diffuser should be used. I have been researching how to use this ceramic cooker, and I believe that it really is meant to be use stove top. Reason? The cone shape lid allows for condensation to form and keep the foods moist. If used in an oven, I think the lid would become too hot and the moisture would dry up. Just my idea. Anyway, it is meant for slow cooking. I put my dish on for 3 hours on the lowest setting on my glass top stove with wonderful results.

Enough history. On to the recipe. This is one I have heard about for ages and stumbled across a simple recipe from Alton Brown. (My hero.) Today I made it. Yes, it really did have 40 cloves of garlic. And, oh, did it smell good while it was cooking.

40 Cloves and a Chicken

1 whole chicken (broiler/fryer) cut into 8 pieces
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
10 sprigs fresh thyme
40 peeled cloves garlic
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Toss with a 2 tablespoons olive oil and brown on both sides in a wide fry pan or skillet over high heat. Remove from heat, add oil, thyme, and garlic cloves. Cover and bake for 1 1/2 hours.

Remove chicken from the oven, let rest for 5 to 10 minutes, carve, and serve.

*MY CHANGES: I didn't have fresh thyme, so I sprinkled some dry over the chicken. I did have a rosemary plant, so I snipped a couple pieces off and added that to the pot. I didn't use quite as much olive oil as stated in the recipe. I just poured a little over, but didn't measure. One thing I would do differently next time is brown the chicken pieces a little longer. I was trying to get it going and skimped on that step, but it still turned out wonderful!

I made some Buttermilk Bread for one purpose. Read carefully. You don't want to miss this. Use a basting brush to get some of the pan juices on each slice. Nest get a clove of garlic and spread it on like butter. You can spread the pan juices on the bread, broil it so it gets nice and toasty, then spread the garlic. We just couldn't wait for the broiling process and dug in. Oh, mashed potatoes are wonderful with this. Stir a clove of garlic in each helping. You can not believe how mild and almost sweet the garlic becomes with a slow cooking process. Save all your left over garlic for garlic bread, or stir into a salad dressing. Folks, this stuff is some seriously good eating.

Ken's Carrot Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon Pickering ) — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 23:23:00 +0000

I had a request from my husband for carrot cake. So, I thought yeah....I want to try something a little different. When I mentioned to him that I was going to try a new recipe...ahhh...well...it isn't pretty to see a grown man cry. He wanted carrot cake. My carrot cake. Actually not my carrot cake. This recipe was from a friend at work that always brought it in when we had pot lucks at work. Huge hit. Here it is.

Ken's Carrot Cake
2 cups sugar
2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup oil
3 cups grated carrots
4 eggs
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350. Beat eggs and sugar until fluffy. Add remaining ingredients and beat a minute or two. Bake in 3 9" round cake pans; cover bottom of pans with wax paper. for 30 minutes or until done. Let cool in pans on racks for 5 minutes, then remove from pan and completely cool before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting*
1 8 ounce cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
1 box powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Beat all ingredients until light and fluffy.

*I make 1 1/2 times this recipe, or even double it, in order to frost a three layer cake easily.

This cake is every bit as good as it looks! Be ready for a sugar high!!

The rest of the meal was special too. It featured grilled portabella sandwiches and included corn on the cob, fresh purple hull peas, cornbread and fresh tomatoes. Of course, iced sweet tea was served. Is that a summer meal or what?

Strawberry Shortcake Royale

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon Pickering ) — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 00:58:00 +0000

Spring must be in the air because last night we enjoyed strawberry shortcake for dessert. I wanted to make the shortcake, but I wanted a different twist on the old favorite. Not that strawberry shortcake ever needs to be improved...I just wanted to try something new. This was elegant and oh-so-yummy!!

Strawberry Shortcake Royale
1 package instant vanilla pudding
4 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups Bisquick baking mix
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk (can use skim)
2 tablespoons shortening (I used 1 tablespoon)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-Make pudding according to package directions. Cover and chill.
-Sprinkle strawberries with 1 cup sugar and let stand about 1 hour.
-Heat oven to 350 degrees. Blend remaining ingredients in large mixer bowl on low speed 1/2 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Beat 4 minutes on medium speed.
-Pour batter into a greased and floured square pan, 8x8x2".
-Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.Cool slightly and cut into squares. Split squares; spoon sweetened strawberries between layers and over top. Pour pudding mixture over all.
From Betty Crocker's Bisquick Cookbook Chapter Four "Be-My-Guest- Best" with adaptions by annie

I don't know why, but in my search to find a new recipe I pulled out my very old Bisquick cookbooks. Perhaps some of you may recall when Bisquick put a little cookbook in each box of Bisquick. My goal was to get every one of them. I don't know if I accomplished that, but I do have many of them. I was lucky enough to get, somewhere along the line, the notebook that Bisquick put out to corral and store all of those little cookbooks in!

If you are looking for an elegant, easy, low-fat, dessert...look no further. You have stumbled across just that!

Spinach Pie or Spanakopita

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon Pickering ) — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 00:58:00 +0000

I have no claim to being Greek. But, I do lay claim to making a mean Spanakopita! This is a traditional Greek dish which has become a regular on our table. I don't know if mine is a true Greek version. It is close enough for me.

Spinach Pie
2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach
2 large eggs
2 cups cottage cheese
1 cup crumbled feta chese
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon dried dillweed (or 1/2 cup fresh)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Butter cooking spray
1 box frozen Phyllo dough, thawed
Saute onions until tender and golden. Thaw and drain the spinach well. Combine first eight ingredients. Set aside. Unfold phyllo and cover with a slightly damp towel to prevent pastry from drying out. Place 1 sheet of phyllo in a 9 x 13" baking dish. Spray with butter cooking spray. Repeat 8 times. Place the spinach mixture over the phyllo. Place 1 sheet of phyllo over spinach. Spray with butter cooking spray. Repeat 8 times. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven 30-45 minutes or until top is golden brown.

The more traditional way is to brush melted butter over each sheet of phyllo. I find that using cooking spray is so much easier, and not nearly as oily.

Working with phyllo dough can be tricky. I have gotten fast, and the phyllo dough now comes in a more user friendly size which makes layering so much easier. If you feel that you may take a little time, I recommend covering the phyllo with a large sheet of plastic wrap (a clean trash can liner works well) then placing the damp towel over the bag. This is really an easy meal to prepare, but tastes like you worked all day on it!

A Zojirushi!!! OH MY!

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon Pickering ) — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 01:59:00 +0000

I would just like to thank all the little people that made this possible. To the poor person that obviously lost their mind and let this machine go. (I hope you are seeking help.) To the wonderful pricer at my local Goodwill Store that had a moment of insanity and put a $9 sticker on it. To the woman I ran over to get to the machine. (I hope that swelling goes down.) To all of you...a heart felt thank you!!

Yes, I am a proud owner of a new-to-me Zojirushi #BBCC-V20. I put it to the test today with a loaf of Basic White Buttermilk Bread for Zojirushi. Oddly enough, I've had this recipe for a long time and have made it often in my Breadman. It is an all-time family favorite. I never dreamed that one day I would actually be making it in a Zojirushi!

Basic White Buttermilk Bread for Zojirushi
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons yeast
Measure milk, butter, sugar, salt and flur into baking pan. Sprinkle yeast in center of flour. Insert pan securely into baking unit and close lid. Select BASIC WHITE BREAD setting. Select MEDIUM baking degree setting. Press START. The COMPLETE light will flash when bread is done. Using hotpads, remove pan from unit and pull out kneading paddle. Turn out onto cooling rack and cool before slicing.

As you can see, the pan is oblong. What you can't see is the two paddles at the bottom for kneading. I think that makes all the difference. This machine does it all. I can even program it for different rising times! Or, just let the machine knead the dough, then shape it and bake it in my oven. When it did the kneading, it was quiet, and didn't walk across my counter.

Look how nice the bread rose, and just how darn pretty it is! (I get excited over bread.)

This bread tastes every bit as good as it looks. A beautiful, tender loaf of fresh bread.

Simply heaven.

Will work for pies!

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon Pickering ) — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 21:26:00 +0000

This was a first for me. I bartered a pie for man-power. We had an armoir downstairs that, of course, we wanted upstairs. My husband kept bringing it up and looking at me like "Why don't we move it now?" I kept coming up with excuses...the shower drain is clogged, I have to clean the closet, I think my big toe is broke. The list went on and on. Until one day, it came to me . I asked him to call his friend and let me speak to him. Within the hour, I had a man at the door with bag of apples in hand, ready to move my end of the armoir!!! It was a defining moment in my life. My pies can move mountains!! (Well, at least move large bulky, extremely heavy pieces of furniture.) Not only did said friend move the armoir for me, he also peeled the apples. What a deal.

Barter Pie 2

My husband, always on the lookout for a pie opportunity, wanted his own. He chose a pecan pie. It really turned out great.

Pecan Pie
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp molasses
2 Tbsp melted butter
2 Tbsp flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups pecans
1 pie shell
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Place the pecans in the bottom of the pie shell. Mix the remaining ingredients and pour over pecans. (The pecans will rise to the surface of the pie.)
2. Bake for 45-50 minutes until the filling has set.
3. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

This opens the door for all sorts of bartering. Mowing the lawn. Shoveling the snow. Clean the gutters. I have a million ideas!

Blackberry-Blueberry Crumb Pie

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon Pickering ) — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 21:42:00 +0000

What to do on a snowy Saturday afternoon? I mean beside the obvious cleaning the freezer? Bake a pie, of course! I decided to make a Blackberry-Blueberry Crumb Pie, mainly because in cleaning the freezer I found blackberries, blueberries and a frozen pie crust! This was almost too easy. It nearly baked itself. It will serve as dessert to a dinner of Turkey Tetrazzini (frozen shredded turkey...another freezer find) and homemade buttermilk bread. This dinner will be YUM!

To put the pie together is as easy as...well...pie! Like I said, I had the crust frozen from a previous pie baking. (I always make two crusts and freeze one.) If you aren't lucky enough to have a crust waiting in the freezer, now is the time to make a couple. Follow the simple instructions from this previous post, Pie Crusts 101. Besides the crust, you will need a bag of frozen blackberries, a bag of frozen or a box of fresh blueberries, butter, flour and sugar. (Note, fresh blueberries freeze extremely well, so if you run across a bargain, stock up!)

Blackberry-Blueberry Crumb Pie
1 bag frozen blackberries
1 bag frozen blueberries
~or~
1 pint fresh blueberries
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 pie crust (unbaked)
crumb topping (see below for recipe)
Mix frozen berries with flour and sugar. Pour into pie crust. Top with crumb topping. Bake in preheated oven at 425 degrees for 20 minutes. Reduce oven to 350 and bake another 45-60 minutes.

It really is very simple. And it will be a juicy pie!

Crumb Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup butter
Cut butter into flour and sugar until crumbly. Spoon over your fruit filling and bake as usual.

Here is the pie with the crumb topping ready to pop in the oven.

Now, all that is left to do is get a plate and fork (and maybe a scoop of vanilla ice cream) and enjoy!

Pizza Margherita

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon Pickering ) — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 16:00:00 +0000

Years ago I bought a cooking CD from Williams-Sonoma. This pizza recipe from that CD has become a family favorite. It is far better than any pizza you find eating out. I especially love the simplicity of it.

Pizza Margherita
•For the pizza dough•
1 Tbs. (1 package) active dry yeast
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. lukewarm water (105°F)
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1/2 cup for
working
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
•For the topping•
7 oz. mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
8 fresh plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped,
or canned plum tomatoes, drained and
chopped
1 handful of fresh basil leaves
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
•To make the pizza dough, in a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water and let stand until slightly foamy on top, about 10 minutes.
•In a large bowl, stir together the 2 3/4 cups flour and the salt and form into a mound. Make a well in the center and add the yeast mixture to the well. Using a fork and stirring in a circular motion, gradually pull the flour into the yeast mixture. Continue stirring until a dough forms.
•Lightly flour a work surface with some of the 1/2 cup flour and transfer the dough to it. Using the heel of your hand, knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Form the dough into a ball.
•Brush a large bowl with the olive oil and place the dough in it. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hour
•Preheat an oven to 450°F. If using a baking stone or tiles, place in the oven now.
•Turn the dough out onto a surface dusted with the remaining flour. Punch the dough down and, using your hand, begin to press it out gently into the desired shape. (If you want to make individual pizzas, divide the dough into four equal-size pieces and shape each one.) Place one hand in the center of the dough and, with the other hand, pull, lift and stretch the dough, gradually working your way all around the edge, until it is the desired thickness, about 1/4 inch thick for a crusty pizza base and 1/2 inch thick for a softer one. Flip the dough over from time to time as you work with it. (Or roll out the dough with a rolling pin.) The dough should be slightly thinner in the middle than at the edge. Lift the edge of the pizza to form a slight rim.
•Transfer the dough to a pizza peel or baking sheet, cover with a cotton towel and let rise again until almost doubled in size, about 20 minutes.
•Cover the dough with the cheese and then the tomatoes. Scatter the basil over the top. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle 3 Tbs. of the olive oil over the top. Transfer to the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 400°F and bake until the crust is golden, about 10 minutes more. Drizzle the remaining 1 Tbs. oil over the top and serve immediately. Serves 4.
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Library Series, Pizza, by Lorenza de' Medici (Time-Life Books, 1993).

I have experimented with different pizza pans, stones or whatever. The type of pan that I seem to have the most luck with is the kind with holes. It is a little heavier than most pizza pans. When baking the bottom of the crust does not get soggy and it bakes more evenly.

Occasionally I don't want two pizzas, and try other things with the extra dough. One option is making Sticky Buns with the other half of the dough.

Sticky Buns
Take half of the pizza dough, and after the 2 1/2 hour rise, roll out int a in a big square. Brush with melted butter. Sprinkle with sugar and cinammon. Roll and cut into 16 pieces. Place in a 9x13 inch baking pan that has 1/2 - 1 stick butter cut up, brown sugar and pecans sprinkled on bottom. Let rise again for 20 minutes to 1 hour. Bake at 400° about 20 minutes or until done.

If, by chance, you don't have the time for the 2 1/2 hour rise, this dough recipe will work nicely. As a matter of fact, this is the dough recipe I followed yesterday.

Rapid Rise Pizza Crust
3 1/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pkg. yeast
1 cup water
2 tablespoons oil
•In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Heat water and oil until very warm (120° to 130° F - can be done by placing in microwave for 1 minute). Gradually stir water into dry ingredients. Stir in enough remaining flour to make a stiff dough. Turn out onto floured board. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes. Cover; let rest 10 minutes. Diveide dough in half. Shape each half into a ball. Roll each into a 12-inch circle. Place on 2 baking sheets. Add toppings and bake in preheated 450° oven for 10 minutes; turn down heat to 400° and bake another 10 minutes.

Let the pizza baking begin!!

UPDATE: 02/07/07 - If the dough seems a little too elastic when trying to roll it into circles, don't fight it. Simply cover the dough balls with a towel and let it rest another 10-20 minutes. That usually does the trick!

No-Knead Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon Pickering ) — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 04:04:00 +0000

The lure of the No-Knead Bread has finally gotten to me. As I type, I have a bowl of dough on my kitchen island in the first phase...the long rest of 12 to 18 hours. That is what the recipe recommends, but on blogs across the world, the times have varied.

So far it has been a simple process, only 4 ingredients! I mixed the dough according to the following recipe, but added 1 3/4 teaspoons of salt due to blog peer pressure. It seems the amount in the recipe (1 1/4 teaspoons) just wasn't enough. That is the only modification I made. This is the bread after mixing:

The recipe also recommends a room temperature of 70°. Well, it is winter in Illinois and pretty chilly. As much as I would love it, the temperature in our home is not that high. So, I rigged up a little bread warming station. This consists of a heating pad, a wire rack, four ramekins and a towel.

I thought that the dough would get too warm if the bowl was left directly on top of the heating pad, so I placed a ramekin on each corner of the heating pad and placed the wire rack on them. I then placed the bowl of dough on the wire rack which is suspended over the heating pad and covered the bowl (first with plastic wrap as directed in the recipe) with the towel to keep it warm. Hopefully it will keep the dough at the correct temperature. Here is the dough on the bread warming station with the plastic wrap in place.

Apparently the warming station was a success; this is what my dough looked like after the 20 hour rise:

I scraped/poured the dough onto a floured board to get ready for the 15 minute rise:

Then the dough was folded a couple of times, with the help of my metal dough scraper, and ended up looking like this:

After that I covered it with a plastic wrap and let it rest for 15 minutes. Using the metal dough scraper, I transferred it to a floured parchment paper and covered it with a floured towel and let on my warming station (with a board this time on the rack) for 2 hours.

The pan was a dilemma for me. (I had 18 hours to ~~obsess~~ think it over.) I didn't have the pan used in the video. (But, oh, do I wish!) A side note: I do have a smaller oval 2 quart one made by 'Well Equipped Kitchen' that I found out will work perfectly for half a recipe!!!! JOY JOY. I didn't even think about it, but read this post by Rose Levy Beranbaum Baby Bread--A Great New Technique. I will be trying that one next time. Does anyone else love 'Well Equipped Kitchen' products? I can only find them at TJ Maxx, but they are awesome! Anyway, back to my dilemma. I needed a pan for my full size recipe. I decided on my clay baker. Just for good measure, I put the clay baker on my pizza stone in the oven.

I was a little concerned because of the indentation on the bottom of the pot, but I went ahead. As it turns out, it worked wonderfully!

No-Knead Bread
Originally published by Mark Bittman in the New York Times
Additions by annie noted with an asterisk
Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery
Time: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours rising
Yields one 1 1/2 pound loaf

3 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour (more for dusting) (I used bread flour)
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast *
1 1/4 teaspoons salt **
1 5/8 cups water ***

*Instant yeast is also known as Rapid Rise, Bread Machine, SAF, QuickRise, Instant Active Dry, and Gourmet Perfect Rise (I don't know what I used. Pitiful, I know, but I have a huge container of yeast in my freezer that is not in it's original yeast bag. I do know that it was purchased at Sam's. Whatever it is, I used 1/4 tsp.)
**or 1 3/4 tsp salt
***or 1 1/2 cups water (the debate goes on) 1 5/8 cups was in the NYT recipe

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water (or 1 1/2 cups water), and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) or parchment paper with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

The bread is now out of the oven and cooling on a wire rack. It is true...it crackles!! It sings the bread song! And it is beautiful. By far the prettiest loaf I have ever made. I'm waiting for it to cool before I slice it. That is the hardest part about the whole thing.

Just looking at the loaf, I think I may have overdone the sprinkling of flour on the parchment paper and the towel that covered the bread. I was a little apprehensive about the dough sticking to all surfaces after reading about others' experiences. I didn't experience the overly wet dough. Mine was soft, very soft, but with floured hands I was able to maneuver it to the hot pan in the oven.

A couple of pointers. I used a little rubber pot scraper to remove the dough from the bowl after the first long rest. (Am I the only woman in the world to get a pot scraper for Christmas? I really want to know.) I used a metal dough scraper (I have a scraper for every occasion it seems) to fold it over on itself for the 15 minute rest.

I also used the metal dough scraper after the 15 minute rest to get the dough up off the floured resting board.

I will be making this bread over and over again! So easy. And I forgot to mention the most important part...it tastes like bread heaven! Look at that crumb! The big holes! The soft inside! The crisp chewy crust! And if you noticed the jar of home-made jelly (blackberry compliments from my Mom!) in the first picture? A perfect topping for a perfect bread.

Here are the links to the New York Times article and follow up article:

New York Times Video: No-Knead Bread

THE MINIMALIST; No Kneading, but Some Fine-Tuning

Winter Squash Gratin

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon Pickering ) — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 01:16:00 +0000

I made this tonight for the first time. Looking for something different and healthy to do with squash. It was a perfect savory dish on a cold rainy winter's night. A great accompaniment for a roast pork loin. But, you have my apologies for the picture because it is not a good one. When the casserole came out of the oven, it was beautiful! A sight to behold. Warm and golden. But, I forgot to take a picture...and we started to eat dinner. When I realized I forgot to take a picture, it was already half way gone. So, this is just a little corner of what was left.

Winter Squash Gratin
Nonstick cooking spray
2 Tbls olive oil
2 cups thinly sliced onion
3 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbls minced)
1 Tbls chopped fresh sage or 1 tsp dried sage
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme or 3/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 lbs butternut squash-peeled, halved, seeded and sliced 1/4" thick
1 1/2 cups soft whole wheat bread crumbs (2 slices)
1 Tbls parsley
3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, part-skim, shredded
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Coat a 9x13 casserole with cooking spray; set aside.
2. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook about 6 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally Remove from heat. Stir in sage, thyme, salt and pepper.
3. Place half of the squash slices in the baking dish. Sprinkle with the onion mixture and half of the bread crumbs. Top with remaining squash slices. Cover with foil, bake 45 minutes or until squash is nearly tender.
4. Meanwhile, combine the remaining bread crumbs, the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, and the parsley. Mix well.
5. Remove foil from baking dish; sprinkle squash with mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, and bread crumb mixture. Bake, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes more or until crumbs are golden brown and squash is tender. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
From The Sonoma Diet Recipes

Tomorrow I'm looking forward to a tasty lunch of a pork loin sandwich on whole wheat bread with horseradish sauce and a helping of left-over Winter Squash Gratin!

Banana Pineapple Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon Pickering ) — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 19:49:00 +0000

I made this banana bread for my brand new son-in-law, Robert! He married my daughter, Nikki, on New Year's Eve in our home. Very special wedding. But, sadly, he is leaving today to go back to Bermuda. Nikki has to stay behind until all paper work is finished. So, to ease the pain, I packed two loaves for him.

This recipe is a bit unusual. It is made with buttermilk, bananas and pineapple. It makes a great bread!

Banana Pineapple Bread
1 (8oz) can crushed pineapple with juice
3 bananas, mashed
3 eggs
3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
sprinkle of allspice
Using my KitchenAid mixer*:
Place oil and sugar in mixer bowl. Attach the flat beater. Turn to Speed 6 and beat about 1 minute. Stop and scrape bowl. Continue on speed 6 about 1 minute longer. Add eggs. Turn to Speed 4 and beat 30 seconds. Stop and scrape bowl, Add buttermilk and vanilla, turn to Speed 6 and beat 1 1/2 minutes more.
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Combine the bananas and pineapple in another bowl. To the large mixer bowl add 1/2 of the flour mixture and 1/2 of the banana/pineapple mixture. Using Stir speed, mix about 30 seconds. Add the remaining four and banana/pineapple mixture and beat for another 30 seconds.
Pour into loaf pans (greased on the bottom) and bake at 350° for about 1 1/2 hours. Cool 5 minutes then remove from pan and cool on wire rack.
*Instructions for hand mixing:
Blend ingredients in large bowl until completely moistened. Pour into pans and bake as directed above.

Robert use to take a bunch of bananas to his mother's house and he said by some miracle they would turn into bread and muffins! Since his mother is no longer with us, perhaps I can continue the miracle.

Bean Soup Mix in a Jar

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon Pickering ) — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 19:13:00 +0000

This is a gift from my friend at work who turned out to be my Secret Santa...much to my surprise! I received a beautiful basket filled with homemade items. One of the items in the basket was this Bean Soup Mix in a Jar.

Bean Soup Mix in a Jar
2 cups dry black beans
2 cups dry Great Northern beans (or any small white bean)
2 cups dry red kidney beans
2 cups dry pinto beans
2 cups dry green split peas
In four 1-pint canning jars, layer beans in order given, dividing evenly between jars. For seasoning packets, use four individual small sandwich bags, or four 6-inch squares of plastic wrap or foil.
Into EACH seasoning packet (you'll need FOUR times this amount TOTAL for all four jars of soup mix), place:
3 teaspoons beef (or vegetable) bouillon
3 tablespoons dried chives (chopped)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried savory
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
To Prepare Soup:
3 hours before serving, rinse beans with cold, running water. Remove stones or shriveled beans. In a Dutch oven or stock- pot, bring beans and 9 cups water to boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 1 hour. Drain and rinse beans. Place beans, 5 cups of water, and seasoning packet contents into pot. Heat to boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer gently for 1 1/2 hours until beans are tender. Stir occasionally. Add one 16-oz. can stewed tomatoes with liquid (break up tomatoes). Heat to boiling. Reduce to low, and cook 15 minutes more. Discard bay leaf.
Each jar of soup mix will make approximately 6 - 8 generous servings.

I can hardly wait to make it! I think New Year's Day will be just perfect.
PS/The other items were two cute bottles of Kahlua and a bottle of vanilla. They both deserve their own post!