Brown Butter and Sage Pull-Apart Bread

I saw this recipe from The Pioneer Woman and thought it sounded delicious! It was OKAY. It was very high maintenance for a simple dinner roll - because of that, I didn't think I'd make it again. My husband's comment was "I can feel myself getting fatter with every bite - like a heart attack waiting to happen" For that reason I definitely WON'T make it again!! LOL

Brown Butter and Sage Pull-Apart Bread

Nonstick cooking spray, for the pan
1 stick (8 tablespoons) salted butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons minced fresh sage
1 1/2 cups grated Havarti cheese
12 frozen dinner rolls, thawed

Coat a loaf pan with baking spray.
Add the butter to a skillet over medium heat. Let the butter melt and foam, swirling the pan to keep the butter moving, until browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and 1 tablespoon of the sage, then set aside off heat.

Put the grated Havarti on a plate.

Flatten 1 dinner roll into a 5-inch round with a rolling pin. Brush both sides with the butter mixture, then press the round into the grated cheese, covering both sides. Cut the round in half, stack together and place side by side in the loaf pan. Repeat with the remaining rolls. Top with the remaining butter mixture, cheese and 1 tablespoon sage. Cover and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, 30 to 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Bake until golden and cooked through, 40 to 45 minutes. Best served warm.

Sourdough Bread

My daughter, Maisie and I went to a "how to make sourdough" class a couple months ago and we are obsessed. She's a little more obsessed than I am! It was so fun - I really wish I would've taken all 3 of my daughters with me!

We've made sourdough several times since then and we keep getting our little sheet of paper out to remind us how the steps and the recipe go - so I decided just to type it up so we can see it here for convenience!

FEED: You need to feed your starter a couple of days before making the sourdough. Use the ratio 1:1:1 100 g starter, 100 g warm water, 100 g bread flour.

NIGHT routine before you want delicious bread the next evening.

An hour or so before you want to use your starter, set it out on the counter to bring it to room temperature. You would've fed it recently in the week, so it should be bubbly through the glass on the sides.

Get out your food scale. Place your bowl on top and zero out in grams. Add the first ingredient and zero out each time for precise measurements.

ADD:

100 g of starter

360 g of warm water
Next, mix these ingredients together with a fork until well combined

Add wet to dry
520 g bread flour (approx 3 cups)

2 tsp salt

Mix everything together with your fork until all the loose flour is off the sides of the bowl. It's going to be extremely sticky and not look like very smooth manageable dough. Get your fingers wet and mix just a little bit, but don't overdo it because you're going to get your hands covered in dough. Let it just sit as is for 10 minutes covered.

Come back to it after the 10 minutes with some water on your fingertips and work it into a ball inside the bowl, but only until your hands start to get sticky again, which will only be a few seconds later. Cover it again.

Leave it alone again for another 30 minutes.

When you come back to it, do more of a stretch and fold type of maneuvering with your dough. Cover the bowl & wait another 30 minutes and do another stretch and fold round. This is helping get the air pockets inside & rise higher. I found when I do at least 3 rounds of the above with 30 minutes in between, it rises larger.

So, basically from the time you made the dough until the end of all the stretch and fold rounds, it's been like an hour and a half - 2 hours.

Keep it covered and leave it on the counter overnight for 10 - 12 hours.

MORNING:

Flour the counter and take your dough out of the bowl from rising. Gently shape into a ball and dust your proofing basket with flour. Tighten the shape of the dough and make it into a soft round circle. Place the dough smooth side down into the proofing basket so the seam side that you created when tightening it is facing up.

Cover with your towel and put it in your fridge for up to 8 hours or leave out on the counter if your going to cook between 4-6 hours later.

Once you're ready to bake, take the bread out of the fridge while you are warming up your oven to bring it more to room temperature. Pre heat to 500 degrees.

Once the oven is up to temperature, you need to score the top of your bread. Put a piece of square parchment paper or silicone baking slind over your proofing basket and flip the bread over softly so now your smooth side is up and you can get it ready to put it in the Dutch oven. Go ahead and score it with a razor. Score from the bottom up when doing designs. Your first score needs to be deep.

Place your dough in the Dutch oven with the lid on and then immediately turn the temperature down to 450 degrees. Bake 20 minutes covered.

Now, after it's been covered for 20 minutes, you're going to want to take the lid off and continue baking for about 20 minutes more.

When i take the Dutch oven out of the oven, I immediately take my bread out to cool on a rack.

22 hour process:
10-12 hours rise
4-5 counter or up to 6-7 in fridge proofing
1 bake
2 hour rest

Cornbread Waffles & Chili

I watched this on Studio 5 and my mouth was absolutely watering. I knew my family would LOVE it!! The Cornbread Waffle recipe is from Alex Daynes - you can see her original recipe and her chili recipe HERE

The first picture is how my son made it - waffle on bottom, chili on top. The second picture is how I made it - chili in a bowl with waffle "chips" on the side.

Cornbread Waffles

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs *1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce 
5 cups (1 per serving) homemade chili**

Preheat waffle iron to medium heat.
In a large bowl combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
Add milk, oil, and applesauce and stir until incorporated, but don’t over-mix. Leave it a little lumpy.
Spray waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray. Pour batter onto hot waffle iron and bake in batches.
Serve with chili over top and garnish with shredded cheese, sour cream, avocado and chopped green onion.

*I substitute applesauce for the eggs because of Jack's egg allergy

**See my AWARD WINNING Runnin' Utes Tailgate Chili HERE

Bread Tips!

I'm back to baking bread more lately. After an almost 20 year break to stay at home full time, I started working again. While I am able to work on days that work around my schedule with what the kids have going on - I love to keep doing extra special things to let the kids and my hubs know how much they are loved - enter homemade bread!

Today I'm making my husband's favorite Sunflower Whole Wheat bread and I was reminded again about a new trick I've been using the last several months.

When I started making bread again, I made a couple of "dud" loaves. So, I thought it must be my yeast - how long does yeast last? When did I buy this yeast?? So I did an experiment. I put some yeast in luke warm (temp'd on my wrist) water and I put some other yeast in hot (warm to my pinky) water. The yeast that was in the hot water activated beautifully! The yeast in the luke warm water barely bubbled. So. I've been using hot water and since I made that small change - all my bread recipes have turned out wonderfully!

We also remodeled our kitchen last spring and my top oven has a "PROOF" setting - so I use that exclusively - I feel like that has made a difference too.

Homemade Artisan Bread

I saw this recipe online and thought it was the perfect recipe to teach my girls how to make bread!! The older 2 have made our beloved Thanksgiving Rolls a few times, but they haven't made regular old bread - and this was the first time making any kind of bread for my youngest. It's a no fail recipe!!

Homemade Artisan Bread

3 cups All Purpose Flour
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Active Dry Yeast
2 cups Water- room temperature water start with 1 1/2 cups then add more

Mix the flour, salt and yeast until combined in a large bowl (the bread doubles)
Add in the water (start with 1 1/2 cups then add more until it isn’t dry, but you don’t want it too wet)
Cover with a plate or silicon wrap or plastic wrap and let sit for 6 to 24 hours (on the kitchen counter)
Then de-gas, by stirring it once to get the air out.
Grease your bread pan with oil or butter (coating with flour helps it to not stick)
Place bread dough in your baking pan and let it rise for an hour covered.
Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes covered (I use another bread pan on top, or you could use tin foil), then 10 minutes uncovered until golden on top *I baked it for 2 minutes longer at the end - it didn't look brown enough.

Different Mix-Ins

Options- Wheat Bread- 2 cups all purpose flour and 1 cup wheat flour (I have made this before with all wheat, I liked it, my kids didn’t as much….it is heavier)
Gluten Free- Use Cup for Cup Flour
Cranberry Bread- Before you add the water mix in- 1/2 cup dried cranberries and 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts
Jalapeño Cheddar Bread- Before you add the water mix in- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese and 1 diced jalapeño *we left just a few seeds attached so it wasn’t too spicy- add more of the seeds if you like it spicy (or I chop up about 1/4 cup of the “Hot & Sweet Jalapeños” from Trader Joe’s that are in a jar)
Nut Bread- Before you add the water mix in- 1/4 cup chopped almonds, 1/4 cup sunflower seeds and 1/4 cup flax seeds
Cinnamon Raisin Bread- Before you add the water mix in- 1/2 cup raisins and 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Everything But The Bagel- Before baking sprinkle evenly over the top of the bread with Everything But The Bagel Seasoning

Homemade French Bread

Homemade French Bread

2 tablespoons dry yeast I prefer SAF brand
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups warm water*
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon (yes tablespoon!) sea or Kosher salt
5 tablespoons Olive oil, Canola or vegetable oil*
6 cups flour (4 cups bread flour and 1 1/2-2 cups All Purpose)

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water.
In a separate large bowl combine warm water*, sugar, salt, oil and 3 cups of the flour. Stir well.

Add the yeast mixture to the warm water-flour mixture. Mix together with large wooden spoon or paddle attachment.

Add the remaining 3 cups of flour, a cup at a time, mixing well after each addition.
After all of the flour is added and mixed in, let sit in bowl for 10 minutes.

When the dough has risen, stir down with a large spoon. If making in a stand mixer, turn the machine on low for a few seconds until the dough is deflated, and push dough to bottom part of bowl with a spatula.

Repeat 5 times, every ten minutes, for a total of 60 minutes of rising and then punching (or pushing) down.

Divide the dough in half. Roll each half of dough in a 9×12 rectangle on a floured surface.

Roll the dough up like a jelly roll (long way). Place the dough on a greased baking pan (jelly roll pan), with the seam side down. Both loaves will fit on one pan.

Score the bread across the top 3 or 4 times, and brush with beaten egg (if using).

Let rise for 20-30 minutes in warm place.

Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes in lower half of oven, until golden brown. Or you may bake at 350-375 convection for 18-20 minutes until golden.

Herbed Focaccia Bread

I made this and it was FANTASTIC!!! The only thing I'll do differently next time is make double! The loaf this made went in one sitting at the dinner table!

This Easy Herbed Focaccia Bread such a simple bread recipe to make, but the flavor is outstanding! This bread is light and airy, with a yummy olive oil saltiness and those fresh herbs bring the whole loaf to life.

2 c Bread flour, (or all-purpose)
1 tsp Kosher Salt
1 c Water Warm
1 1/8 tsp Instant Yeast
1/2 tsp Granulated Sugar
Olive Oil
1 tsp Rosemary Fresh , chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)*
1 tsp Parsley Fresh, chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)*
1/2 tsp Thyme leaves Fresh , chopped (or 1/4 teaspoon dried)*
Maldon Flaked Sea Salt

In a glass bowl, add the flour and salt. Mix to combine.
In a glass measuring cup, mix the warm water, yeast and sugar. Allow to sit for a minute* and stir into the flour with a wooden spoon until the dough just comes together.
Cover the bowl with tight plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 8 hours or up to overnight.
Remove the bowl from the fridge.
In an 8-inch round cake pan, drizzle oil and place the dough in the center, tucking ends under.
Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise 2 hours.
Heat the oven to 450ºF.
Once risen the dough should fill the pan. Drizzle with additional oil and use your fingers to press holes down to the bottom of the pan but not through the dough.
Sprinkle with herbs and salt.
Place in the oven and turn down to 425ºF and bake 22-24 minutes or until golden.

*Yeast should bubble and foam up within a few minutes to let you know it's activated

Focaccia Bread with Rosemary and Sun Dried Tomatoes

Saw this recipe on Food Network's "The Kitchen" Katie Lee made this and her co-host Jeff Mauro suggested that you could also use store bought pizza dough to make this even faster... so - that is what I did!

My kids and I used the focaccia to make pizza, sandwiches, as toast with an over easy egg on top - YUM! The possibilities are endless!!

Focaccia Bread with Rosemary and Sun Dried Tomatoes
1 1/4-ounce packet active dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
Nonstick cooking spray, for the baking dish
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1/4 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes

2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary 

Flaky sea salt 

For the dough: Fill a small bowl with hot tap water. Let the water sit in the bowl for 2 minutes to warm the bowl, then dump it out. In the warmed bowl, combine the yeast, sugar, 1 tablespoon of the flour and 1/4 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees F). Let stand about 5 minutes. (The mixture will be creamy and slightly bubbly; if it isn't, start over with new yeast.)

In a large bowl, mix together the kosher salt and remaining 2 1/2 cups flour. Make a well in the center and stir in the yeast mixture, olive oil and 3/4 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees F) with a wooden spoon.

Mix until the dough starts to come away from the sides of the bowl (it will be sticky). If the dough looks dry, add an additional 2 tablespoons warm water. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead with floured hands until soft and elastic, about 8 minutes. Form into a ball. (If using a stand mixer, mix on medium speed until soft and elastic, 4 to 7 minutes.)

Brush another large bowl with olive oil. Add the dough and roll to coat with the oil. Tightly cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Stretch the dough into the prepared baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. For the topping: Use your fingertips to dimple the dough. Brush with the oil, top with the sun-dried tomatoes and rosemary and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Remove from the baking dish and allow to cool slightly before slicing into squares. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and more flaky sea salt.

Parmesan Naan

These are INSANE. So good - so easy - so fast!

I'm serving soup again and I wanted to do something a little "extra" on the side.

I saw the Stonefire brand "Naan dippers" at the store and thought - these would be SO GOOD with shredded parm on them - melted!

So, I laid out all the dippers on to a cookie sheet lined with foil. I used PAM so they wouldn't stick, and laid on the shredded parm. Put them in the oven at 400 degrees for 2 min and 30 sec and woah babe.

I especially love the little crispy bits on parm that land on the foil - they are equally as good! Enjoy some tonight!!

Jalapeno Cheese Bread

Man oh man was this GOOOOOOD!!! I got the recipe from my old fave Ree Drummond - aka the Pioneer Woman.

It sounds like it would be really spicy - but remember green chilis are extremely mild - they just add a kick. I actually don't like olives of any kind - but my husband and all 3 girls do. In the spirit of trying new things - I tried these. The olives just add texture and saltiness. The jalapenos add some spice - but not too much to be off putting - me, my husband and all 4 kids (15, 13, 10, 6) ate it up in no time!

I ONLY made this for dinner. No sides, nada. Our week nights are ridiculously busy and we often eat in 2 shifts. I made half for the first shift before running 1/2 the kids and hubs ate, then made the other half for me and the other 1/2 of the kids when we got home for the night. So we all got a nice hot dinner.

Jalapeno Cheese Bread
8 Tbs butter (one stick) softened - NOT MELTED
1/2 cup mayo (I have a child with an egg allergy so I used Veganaise)
4 oz can diced jalapenos
4 oz can diced green chili's
6 oz jar green olives, drained and finely diced (the green olives I found were stuffed with pimento - the red you see - I figured that was a better bet that buying garlic or blue cheese stuffed).
6 oz shredded cheddar (she suggests white cheddar - but I had regular cheddar on hand)
6 oz shredded pepper jack cheese
2 green onions diced (didn't have these so I skipped them)
1 loaf French bread cut in half lengthwise

Mix all ingredients except bread until well incorporated. Spread on bread. Bake at 325 for 20-25 minutes.

Eggless Zucchini Bread

We planted a garden this year - it has been so fun watching everything grow! I'll post pictures of it soon. We planted a few varieties of squash, zucchini and pumpkins. Lots of herbs and of course tomatoes.

The first to grow were the zucchinis!! Some of them great big! One of my kids is allergic to eggs, so I searched for a recipe that didn't include eggs - found one!

Eggless Zucchini Bread

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups granulated white sugar
2 cups shredded zucchini (peeled or unpeeled)
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp each baking powder, baking soda, and salt
1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice

Combine all ingredients in order in large mixing bowl. (If desired, add in 1-1/2 cups chocolate chips coated with flour to prevent sinking.) Pour into 2 large greased loaf pans. Bake 45 to 50 minutes in 375 degree oven. Cool 10 minutes in pan then remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Utah Scones

Wanna remind your kids what an awesome Mom you are?? Make these babies for dinner. They couldn't be easier - just calls for a little planning.

Utah Scones
20 Rhodes bake n' serve White Dinner Rolls (found in the freezer section)
Canola or vegetable oil
Candy thermometer

Thaw the rolls in a 9x13 baking dish per directions on package.

Heat your oil to between 350 and 400 degrees using your candy thermometer. The minute you touch the dough, it will deflate. Don't panic - it's supposed to. Take a piece of dough and stretch it out a bit. Drop it in the oil and watch it closely. You'll know by the color when they are ready to flip - and when they are done. I do 3 scones at a time in my large ceramic stock pot. Drain on paper towels.

Top with these babies: Honey, butter, honey butter, jam, powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar...

See! I told you they were easy and man was I the hero in the house today:)

Mindi's Sausage Bread

My husbands sister makes this delicious bread every Thanksgiving - either for brunch or as one of the appetizers before dinner. We all LOVE this bread - but since it's just the 5 of us in my house and we wouldn't get to dinner if this was on the table before the turkey was ready, we've decided to promote this delicious baby to be the star at the brunch table on St. Nikklaus Day.
Mindi's Sausage Bread
1 1/2 lbs Jimmy dean Sausage (ground)
2 Rhodes frozen bread dough loaves
Mozzarella cheese
12 slices of provolone cheese
2 t garlic
2 T EVOO
2 T Butter

Leave bread out the night before. Brown sausage and set aside. Saute garlic in butter and EVOO. Roll out bread dough (on a floured surface) into approx 9x13 rectangle. Brush half garlic mix over bread. Add one layer each of sausage, provolone and mozzerella. Roll up. Brush with remaining garlic mix. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Allow to cool slightly and then slice as you would bread. DELISH!

Thanksgiving Rolls

I have also posted about my sister Megan's Famous Rolls - which are very similar and also delish - but after making BOTH my and my sisters recipes on 3 separate occasions - the verdict is in and I came out on top (thank you Kenny and Davis families!) I also prefer this recipe b/c it doesn't have eggs in it - and 2 of my kids have egg allergies... I should also tell you that I made 2 dozen (what this recipe yields) they were hot out of the oven as we sat down to dinner and were gone by breakfast the next morning (that's only 2 adults and 3 kids under 7 folks) Thanksgiving Rolls

2 T yeast

3/4 c warm water

2 2/3 c warm water

1/4 c sugar

1 T salt

3 T vegetable oil

7 - 8 c flour

Dissolve yeast in 3/4 c warm water. Add this to the rest of the water in a large bowl. Add the rest of the ingred except flour and mix together. Add flour 1 c at a time and stir until you have to use your hands to mix. Knead dough for about 5-8 minutes, adding a little flour at a time to help dough not to be too sticky. Flour your hands as well as the surface you are working on. Place in bowl and cover with a dish towel, let rise about 1 hour.

Punch down dough and divide in half. With a rolling pin roll out one of the dough balls into a circle about 12" in diameter. Spread dough with melted butter. Cut into 12 pieces. Roll each wedge from the fat end inward. Repeat with other dough ball. Place crescents on cookie sheets, 12 to a sheet. Cover with dish towel and let rise until double (about 1 hour). Bake in preheated oven at 425 degrees for 10 - 15 minutes. Brush with melted butter.

Butternut Squash Soup with Fontina Cheese Crostinis

I got this recipe from Giada De Laurentis on Food Network - yummy!!
Butternut Squash Soup with Fontina Cheese Crostinis
Ingredients
Soup:
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 3/4-inch pieces (about 7 to 8 cups)
6 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1/4 cup chopped fresh sage leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Crostini:
1/2 baguette, sliced diagonally into 1/2-inch thick slices
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage leaves
1 cup (2 ounces) grated fontina cheese
Kosher salt
Directions
In an 8-quart stockpot, add the butter and oil and melt together over medium-high heat. Add the onion and carrot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add the squash and the chicken stock. Bring the mixture to a boil and add the sage. Continue to boil until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Turn off the heat. Using an immersion blender, blend the mixture until smooth and thick. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Keep the soup warm over low heat.

For the crostini: Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Arrange the bread slices on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sage. Sprinkle the cheese on top and season with salt, to taste. Bake until the cheese has melted and the bread is light golden, about 6 to 8 minutes.

To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the cheese crostini.

Cook's Note: The cooked vegetable mixture can also be pureed (after cooling for about 5 minutes) by ladling, in batches, into a food processor or blender and blended until smooth.

Divine Crescent Rolls

I've posted my sister's fav rolls here - they are fab - but I've been making these lately (b/c they are eggless and my kiddos have food allergies) and the response to them is ridiculous - they are in high demand:)
Can't you just SEE the love??

My 7 year old (who is the pickiest eater on the planet and who also has food allergies) was surprised to see that there were only 10 rolls left (I made 24). He asked me what happened to all the rolls. I said "well, we all had one straight out of the oven, then we all had another for dinner and I took some over to the Kenny's" "what? Why did you take some to Kenny's?" "well, because they love these rolls too and we love to share with them" "can you check with me next time? I think we gave them too many."

Divine Crescent Rolls

2 T yeast

3/4 c warm water

2 2/3 c warm water

1/4 c sugar

1 T salt

3 T vegetable oil

7-8 c flour

Dissolve yeast in 3/4 c water. Add the rest of the water and the rest of the ingredients except for the flour and mix together. Add flour one cup at a time and stir until you have to use your hands to mix it. Knead dough until incorporated. Put in bowl and cover with a towel and let rise about 1 hour.

Punch dough down and divide in half. With a rolling pin, roll out one of the dough balls into a circle about 12" in diameter. Spread dough with melted butter (about a 1/2 stick will do ya). Cut into 12 pieces (like a pizza). Roll each wedge from the fat end inward. Repeat with other dough ball. Place crescents on cookie sheets - 12 to a sheet. Cover with towel and let rise until double (30 min - 1 hr) Bake in preheated oven at 425 degrees for 10 minutes or until they are nice and golden brown on top. Brush with melted butter and serve.

Make sure you share these with friends - they'll be your friends forever!

*My son loves to eat them warmed in the micro for 10 seconds then spread with butter and cinnamon sugar.

My daughter loves them warmed and spread with her fav jelly

I just love them with butter - warmed or not - they are that stinkin' good.

Asiago Toasts

Asiago Toasts
1/3 cup Best Foods Mayonnaise Dressing with Extra Virgin Olive Oil*
1 cup shredded Asiago or Parmesan-Reggiano cheese
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh oregano leaves or 1 tsp. dried oregano leaves, crushed (optional)
1 Tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley (optional)
1/2 French baguette, cut into 18 slices
Combine all ingredients except baguette in small bowl.
Arrange baguette slices in a single layer on baking sheet; spread cheese mixture on baguette. Broil until the cheese is melted and golden, about 3 minutes.

*I didn't have that particular mayo - so I lightly drizzled the slices of bread w/EVOO and then used regular mayo for the spread - t's good...

Navajo Tacos/Navajo Fry Bread

I overheard someone in the grocery store talking about having a Navajo Taco for lunch and I just HAD to have one too. Making the Navajo Fry Bread is so much easier than I thought it would be - and soooo delicious.
Here is a plain piece of Navajo Fry Bread...
My girls helped me roll them out into 8" circles (see easy!)

and here is the final product... super delicioso!

Navajo Fry Bread
4-5 cups flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
2 cups water

Mix dry ingredients. Stir in water and milk. Knead dough until incorporated. Cover and let rest 15 minutes.
Heat 1" vegetable oil in a deep skillet to 350 degrees (I use a candy thermometer).
Split dough into 6 pieces and roll them out until they are about 8” big. In the hot oil, quickly brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels.

Top with ground beef, shredded chicken, refried beans, pinto beans, black beans, corn, grated cheeses, salsa, lettuce, green onion, sour cream - whatever!

Goat Cheese With Figs

Yeah. Uh hu. I was at Costco last week and they were having their annual 'cheese tasting'. Since I love cheese so much that my middle name should be "Fromage" I had to taste all of them.

They were all good - but when I looked at the last cheese in front of me I thought figs?? Do I even like figs? Have I ever eaten a fig??

They had this goat cheese on a slice of LaBrea Rosemary Olive Oil bread. I thought - what the heck? If I don't like it - I'll just have another sample of a cheese I do like to counter act it.
I took a bite and fell in love. I am always extremely concious about samples. If my kids are with me, I let them have samples and I just try a small bite of theirs so that we aren't hogging all the samples. But once this delicious combination reached my pallet - all logic went out the window.

I went back SEVEN times!!!! Luckily for me there was always a big crowd so I could just do a quick drive by without being noticed - but SEVEN times? I was crazed with cheese desire.

On my last drive by, I heard one of the sample ladies say that they weren't going to restock these cheeses until the next tasting. I quickly grabbed 3 logs.

Of course, over the last week - I have eaten an entire log to my own (cheese) head - but I put the other two in the garage fridge to save for a party. And when that day comes - I will be the most loved person in all the land - this cheese is that good.

If your Costco isn't selling these little babies - you can find them HERE .

Challah Bread

My friend and I were talking about bread and eggs. My kids are allergic to eggs and I was telling her that most of my bread recipes don't call for eggs. Then she said "oh... but there is nothing like Challah Bread" and she went on and on about it.

I had never had Challah bread and was intrigued enough to make it myself. I found the recipe online - but I tweaked it so much that the original recipe is barely there.

It turned out so delish!! I took a loaf over to my friend - she called me a few minutes later to praise my work:)
Challah Bread
3 T yeast
4 eggs
2 c warm water
½ c sugar
1 T salt
½ c vegetable oil
6 - 7 c flour

Add water, yeast, salt and sugar in a bowl. Cover and let it proof for 5-10 minutes. It will be foamy and bubbly. Add oil, eggs and half of the flour. Mix to combine, then add the rest of the flour. Mix. Knead until soft and elastic. Cover and let rise at 1 hour. Separate into 3 large pieces. Divide each piece into three more pieces. Roll into snakes and braid together. Let rise for about 1-2 hours or until almost double in size.

Brush with egg wash (1 egg + 1 T water) over bread. Sprinkle with poppy seeds or sesame seeds.
Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until nice and golden on top.
Makes 3 loaves