November 13, 2010 · 7:47 pm

Jaws 2010

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A quick break from Thanksgiving Recipes to bring you Jaws 2010. Three creative young bakers put together this fabulous 3-D Jaws Cake (complete with dismembered Barbie) for a Retro Jaws Party last night.

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An open-mouthed shark (formed out of Rice Krispies Treats) filled with blood-stained teeth (piped white chocolate) all on a sea of Red Velvet Cake. After the cake was completed the girls had a whole new respect for Cake Boss!111210 010-1

A-M-A Bakers hard at work!

111210 013-1 Many thanks to Little J for sacrificing a Barbie for the project!

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November 12, 2010 · 7:34 am

Thanksgiving: White or Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls

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These white rolls are incredibly light and fluffy. Perfect for sopping up gravy, or spreading with cranberry sauce and filling with leftover turkey. The recipe is from one of my favorite food blogs: Our Best Bites. You could also shape them into crescents before baking.

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For a heartier roll: try this recipe for
Whole Wheat Honey Pull-Apart Rolls:

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The whole wheat recipe is a simpler recipe than the white rolls, as it uses instant yeast (which only requires one rise) and there is no need to heat and then cool milk. But as they are made with 100% whole wheat, they are not as light and fluffy. I happen to prefer a hearty roll, but my kids prefer the white ones.

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When making rolls for big gatherings I like to prepare and prebake them a few days ahead. To make and freeze: Bake rolls on a large parchment paper lined baking sheet, leaving a little more space between rolls than if they were in a 9×13”pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until rolls just barely begin to brown. Remove from oven. Cool. Place in Ziploc freezer bags. Freeze.

On serving day: Place frozen rolls on a baking sheet, bake for about 7-10 minutes, or until hot and golden brown. Brush tops with butter.

RECIPES:

White Dinner Rolls

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2 cups whole milk
½ cup + 1 Tbs sugar, divided
1/3 cup (5 1/3 Tbs) butter
2 tsp Kosher salt
2 pkg active dry yeast (or 4 ½ tsp)
2/3 cup warm water
8-9 cups all-purpose flour
3 beaten eggs

Combine milk, ½ cup sugar, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat until butter melts. Remove from heat. Allow to cool to lukewarm.

While the milk mixture is cooling, dissolve the yeast and 1 Tbs sugar in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 3 cups flour and milk mixture. Beat on low for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Add yeast mixture and beat on high for 3 minutes. Add beaten eggs.

Stir in as much remaining flour as needed to make a soft dough. This dough should be very soft–it will be coming away from the sides of the bowl, but it will still stick to your finger when you touch it. Place the bowl in a warm place and cover with a clean towel; allow to rise 1 hour.

Punch down dough. Lightly flour your work surface and turn dough out onto surface. Divide in half.

Spray 2 9×13 glass pans with cooking spray. (You can also use large baking sheets) Shape each half of dough into 12 balls and place in prepared pan. Repeat with remaining dough in the second pan. (Dough can also be formed into crescent rolls by rolling each dough half into a circle and cutting into 12 wedges, then rolling up in crescent shape)

Cover with a clean cloth and allow to rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. When dough has about 15-20 minutes to go, preheat oven to 375°F.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden-brown. When done, remove from oven. Rub a stick of cold butter over the tops of the rolls.

Yield: 24 rolls

Recipe from Our Best Bites

NoEmptyChairs.me

Whole Wheat Honey Rolls

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2 ½ cups warm water
2 eggs
6 Tbs honey
¼ cup olive oil
5 cups whole wheat flour
½ cup wheat gluten
¼ cup dry milk
1 Tbs salt
1 Tbs instant yeast ***
1 – 2 cups additional whole wheat flour

In a large mixing bowl (preferable a stand mixer), add wet ingredients. Add 5 cups flour, gluten, powdered milk, salt and yeast. Mix until well combined. Knead in enough additional flour so that dough just begins to form a ball. Knead for 5-6 minutes. Let dough rest for 10 minutes before shaping rolls.

Shape into balls (or other shape: knots are my favorite). Place in greased pans; brush with oil, cover and let rise until doubled in size. For a shiny roll: brush with slightly beaten egg  just before baking (or brush with butter immediately after removing from oven). Bake at 375°F for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown.

***Note: If using instant yeast, the dough only needs to rise once (after being shaped). If you are using regular yeast, allow dough to rise before shaping dough, then rise again in pans before baking.

Yield: about 3 dozen rolls

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**To prebake for serving another day: Bake rolls on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving a little more space between rolls than if they were in a 9×13”pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until rolls just barely begin to brown. Remove from oven. Cool. Place in Ziploc freezer bags. Freeze.

On serving day: Place frozen rolls on a baking sheet, bake for about 7-10 minutes, or until hot and golden brown. Brush tops with butter.

NoEmptyChairs.me

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November 10, 2010 · 1:49 pm

Thanksgiving: Roasted Garlic Stuffing

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When it comes to stuffing, I stand firmly on the “outside of the turkey” argument. I am not a fan of soggy stuffing straight from the bird. Or that you have to overcook your turkey in order to bring the stuffing to a safe temperature.

The problem with this can be: how do you fit everything in the oven that needs to be baked and have it all hot at serving time. Especially when you only have one oven. I am experiencing some serious Dual-Oven-Envy at my house. Especially at holiday times.

Solving the problem of competing oven-needing foods is doable with a little advance preparation. Pies can be cooked the day before. Rolls can be prepared and partially pre-baked (more on this later this week). But what about things that need to be cooked same day?

An appliance that can be used to your advantage here is your Crock Pot. With stuffing, however, I really like the crispy bread edges that you can only get in the oven. So I compromise: early in the day, before I put the turkey in the oven, I bake my stuffing at 400°F for 30 minutes, ensuring perfectly crispy edges. I then transfer the stuffing to my crock pot, set it on the lowest heat possible, and keep it warm in the crock pot while the turkey cooks. If you are not making a huge amount of stuffing, some oval casserole dishes will fit directly into the bottom of a large crock pot. If not, just scoop the stuffing into the crock pot, trying to keep the crisp top edges on the top in the crock pot as well.

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This is a pretty standard bread stuffing recipe, with the addition of roasted garlic and dried cranberries. I love the contrast between the smoky flavor of the roasted garlic and the sweet tang of the cranberries. Need help roasting garlic: click through to How To . . . Roast Garlic. It is pretty simple.

You can also add mushrooms, but I usually leave them out to appease my Mushroom-Hating-Children. Occasionally, however, I will chop them finely in the food processor, and then no one is the wiser.

You can use store-bought bread cubes, or make your own (highly recommended). Cube several different varieties of bread: white, wheat, rye, English muffins, bagels—all those ends that no one wants to eat. Spread in a single layer on large baking pans. If you have the time, and the humidity is not too high, just leave them sitting on the counter for 2-3 days to dry out. Stir them around occasionally. Be careful though: these sandwich ends that no one wanted to eat yesterday become just like candy to little fingers when they are turned into bread cubes. So start with more bread than you think you will need. Also: the bread will shrink as it dries, so start with more fresh bread than the dried cubes called for in the recipe.

If you are short on time, dry them in the oven at a very low heat (200°F max), stirring often. It will take about 1 hour to dry the bread in the oven.

RECIPE:

Roasted Garlic Stuffing

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½ cup butter
2 cups chopped onion
2 cups chopped celery
1 cup sliced or finely chopped mushrooms, optional
1 head of garlic, roasted (about 10 cloves)  <see How To. . . Roast Garlic>
12-13 cups dry bread cubes
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 Tbs fresh sage, finely chopped or 1 tsp dried sage
1 ½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped or 1 tsp dried thyme
½ tsp marjoram
2 cups turkey or chicken broth (additional if needed)
1 cup dried cranberries, optional

Sauté onion, celery and mushrooms in butter. Crush roasted garlic cloves and stir into skillet. Pour vegetables over bread cubes in a large bowl. Mix in seasonings. Stir in enough broth to moisten. Stir in cranberries, if desired. Place in a covered casserole dish and bake at 325°F for 1 hour (or 400°F for 30 minutes).

COOKING TIPS: Stuffing can be prepared the day before and refrigerated overnight. If oven room is a problem, cook stuffing early in the day (before you put the turkey in the oven) for 30 minutes at 400°F. Transfer stuffing to a crock-pot and heat on very low heat until serving time.

Yield: this makes a lot! About 15-20 good-sized servings

NoEmptyChairs.me

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November 8, 2010 · 12:58 pm

Thanksgiving: Cranberry Sauce with Orange & Cinnamon

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Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching. Now is the time to start planning your menu. Over the next week, I will share some of our family’s favorites.

We love our cranberry sauce around here, especially on leftover turkey sandwiches the next day. The addition of orange peel and juice, and a hint of cinnamon gives this cranberry sauce a nice tang. The picture above is a Sugar Free version, made with stevia. The recipe below includes instructions for making it with full sugar or a sugar substitute. In the past I have had problems getting a proper gel with sugar substitutes, so I now add a little unflavored gelatin (Knox). I like it sprinkled with toasted finely chopped pecans, but the kids don’t like it as much this way, so I usually leave it plain.

RECIPE:

Cranberry Sauce

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½ cup water
½ cup fresh orange juice (or additional water)
1 cup sugar or sugar substitute (Stevia, erythritol, Splenda) **
1 tsp Knox gelatin (only if using sugar substitute)
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp fresh grated orange peel
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
½ cup toasted pecans, optional

Place water in a medium saucepan. If using a sugar substitute, sprinkle gelatin over water and let stand 5 minutes. Heat to a boil. Stir in orange juice, sugar (or substitute), cinnamon stick, and orange peel. Return to a boil; boil 5 minutes. Stir in cranberries, return to a boil. Boil 5 minutes or until cranberries pop. Remove from heat and remove cinnamon stick. Serve warm or cold with toasted pecans.

**NOTE: Sugar substitutes vary a lot in sweetness, especially stevia. I use Sweet Leaf brand powdered stevia and usually use about ½ teaspoon. Start on the low side; taste cranberry sauce and add more to your taste, if necessary. You can also use part sugar/part sugar substitute.

NoEmptyChairs.me

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November 2, 2010 · 9:52 pm

Not Just for Summer: Open-Faced Sloppy Joes and Baked Beans

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Sloppy Joes with Baked Beans is always sure to please even the pickiest of eaters in my house. Again it is all about the toppings around here: cheese and sliced green onions go perfectly with the simmered savory meat.

I know that baked beans are traditionally a summer barbecue food, but I prefer to make them when it is cold outside and I need to heat the house up with some extended oven baking time. I usually start with canned beans because I am rarely successful in getting good finished texture when cooking this with dried beans.

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Want the convenience of canned beans at the price of dry beans? Can your own with a pressure canner: 1 cup beans + 1 tsp salt in each quart jar. Add hot tap water, leaving 1” headspace. Process in a pressure canner at 15 lb pressure for 60 minutes.

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Some in our family like to eat our Sloppy Joes open-faced. When I don’t have homemade bread on hand, I serve the Sloppy Joes on these thin sandwich breads, toasted:060610 009-1RECIPES:

Sloppy Joes

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2- 2 ½ lb ground beef
1 onion, diced
½ of a red or green bell pepper, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
¼ cup packed fresh parsley, chopped or 1 Tbs dried parsley
1 ½ cups water
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
½ cup ketchup
1 Tbs chili powder
½ Tbs brown sugar (or golden low-carb sweetener)
2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbs red wine vinegar
½–1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp dry mustard
½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
¼ tsp Tabasco sauce
¼ tsp black pepper
Pinch ground cloves

Hamburger buns or Homemade Bread, toasted
Shredded cheese
Sliced green onions or finely chopped red or yellow onions

Brown ground beef in a large skillet until thoroughly cooked; drain fat. Add onion, red or green pepper, garlic, and parsley to the skillet. Cook until onions are translucent.

Add remaining ingredients (except buns and toppings) and simmer, covered, for 15-20 minutes. Uncover and continue to simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until Sloppy Joes are thickened as desired.

Serve over toasted buns (open-faced or full buns) with shredded cheese and onions for toppings.

**NOTE: Use a food processor to chop the onion, peppers, garlic, and parsley if you want fine pieces that are less noticeable to children!

NoEmptyChairs.me

Baked Beans

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8-12 oz bacon
1 onion, chopped
2 cans (16 oz) white beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans (16 oz) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (16 oz) tomato sauce
½ cup water
2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbs molasses
2 Tbs Dijon mustard
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp liquid hickory smoke flavoring
½ tsp fresh ground pepper
1/8 tsp ground cloves

Chop bacon and cook until almost crisp. Remove bacon from pan; drain grease, leaving 2-3 Tbs drippings in the pan. In the bacon drippings, sauté onion until soft. Combine bacon and onion with remaining ingredients in a 2-quart baking dish. Cover and bake at 300°F for about 3 hours (or 325°F for 2 hours), stirring every 30-45 minutes. Add additional water if the beans begin to stick to the pan.

Or cook in a crock-pot on low for 6-8 hours.

NoEmptyChairs.me

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October 26, 2010 · 1:29 pm

Chicken Stuffed with Green Chilies, Bacon and Cheese

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One of my favorite things about this meal (besides the bacon, cheese and green chilies) is that it is easy to make this into 2 meals. One for now, one to put in the freezer for another day. The bacon, cheese and green chilies filling doesn’t hurt any either.

Stuffed chicken is best made with flattened chicken breasts. Chicken breasts seem to get larger every day, so for this recipe I start with 6 large breasts, cut them in half cross-wise, and then pound them flat, giving me 12 decent portions. If you have small chicken breasts, you can pound them whole.

102210 003-1 To flatten chicken breasts, I use a gallon-sized Ziploc bag. I cut off the top (where it seals), and also cut down one of the sides, so that it is easier to get the chicken in and out. Place one chicken breast in the bag and use the flat side of a meat mallet (or other flat heavy object-like the side of a filled soup can) to pound chicken until it is about 1/4” thick.

The flatter you get the chicken, the more room there will be for filling! And that’s why we are really eating this anyway, right? The chicken is just an excuse for not eating bacon-chili-cheese dip with a spoon for dinner.

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Spread the filling on the flattened chicken breasts and roll, beginning with the smallest end. Secure with toothpicks, if necessary. Dip chicken breasts in beaten egg and then a combination of Parmesan cheese and crushed tortilla chips.

071810 112-1 Place in a greased baking dish and bake for 30-45 minutes, or until cooked through. Cooked chicken will feel firm to the touch, but not hard.

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This recipe makes 12 stuffed chicken rolls. In the above picture, you will notice there are only 5. One lonely cheese-less chicken roll is hiding out in another baking dish.

The other 6  I freeze to eat another day (I actually ended up with 7 because I started with an additional small chicken breast)

TO FREEZE:

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Prepare stuffed chicken breasts. Before cooking, place rolls on a foil or parchment paper lined baking sheet. Place in the freezer for several hours, or until firm. Transfer frozen chicken rolls to a labeled Ziploc bag. Return to the freezer. These can be cooked directly from the freezer; no thawing necessary (cook an additional 15-30 minutes).

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RECIPE:

Chicken Stuffed with Green Chilies, Bacon and Cheese

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6 large boneless-skinless chicken breasts
1 pkg (12-16oz) bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 ½ cups grated cheddar and/or Monterey Jack cheese
1 4 oz. can diced green chilies with juice (do not drain)
¼ cup sour cream
1 egg, beaten
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup crushed tortilla chips

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Spray a baking dish with nonstick spray. Cut chicken breasts in half cross-wise. Place a chicken breast half in a Ziploc bag (don’t seal) and pound until chicken breast is very thin, about ¼-inch. Repeat with remaining breasts.

In a bowl, stir together bacon,  cheddar/Monterey Jack cheese, chilies with juice, and sour cream. Spread about 1-2 Tbs cheese mixture over each chicken breast, avoiding the very edges. Roll up the chicken, starting with smallest end, and secure each chicken breast with 2 toothpicks. Combine Parmesan cheese and tortilla chips in a wide bowl. Dip chicken rolls in beaten egg, and then roll each chicken breast in Parmesan/chips mixture.

Place chicken in baking dish and bake for 30-45 minutes, until the chicken is firm, but not hard, to the touch. Serve with salsa, if desired.

*****NOTE: I usually serve 6 for dinner, and freeze the other six on a parchment paper (or foil) lined baking sheet until frozen. Transfer the frozen stuffed chicken to a Ziploc bag to store in the freezer. Bake directly from freezer at 375°F for about 45-60 mins.

Yield: 12 stuffed chicken breasts

Recipe adapted from Kalyn’s Kitchen

NoEmptyChairs.me

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