First I had my first magazine article published. Thursday morning I sat with my new "just married" coffee cup and enjoyed browsing through the story again.
I have SO many recipes to share with you tonight. Some are quickly making it on to our "favorites...must have like once every other week" list and some on the "didn't quite turn out completely right this time, but we'll try again" list. So here it goes. Hold on. This could get bumpy!
Honey White Bread (LOVED THIS)
Ingredient List: (makes two loaves)
1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees)
2 packages dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 cups warm whole milk (110 degrees)
6 Tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 Tbsp honey
2 extra large egg yolks
5 to 6 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp salt
1 egg white, lightly beaten
Place the water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. If the bowl is cold, be sure the water temperature doesn't drop below 110 degrees. (yes, the temperature DOES matter when baking...this is very important) Add the yeast and sugar; stir and allow to dissolve for 5 minutes. (Yeast mixture should bubble and double in volume...this way you know the yeast is alive. Yes I said alive :)
Add the milk, butter and honey. Mix on medium speed until blended. Add the egg yolks, 3 cups of the flour and the salt. Mix on low speed for about 5 minutes. With the mixer still on low speed, add 2 more cups of flour. Raise the speed to medium and slowly add just enough flour so the dough doesn't stick to the bowl. Add the flour slowly; you can always add, but you can't take it back. Knead on medium speed for about 8 minutes, adding flour if necessary.
Dumb the dough out onto a floured surface and knead by hand for a minute, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Grease a bowl with butter, put the dough in it, then turn it over the top is lightly buttered. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and allow it to rise for an hour, until doubled in volume.
Greast two 9X5-inch loaf pans with butter. Divide the dough in half, roll each half into a loaf shape and place each in the prepared pans. Cover again with the damp towel and allow to rise again for an hour, until doubled in volume.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. When the dough is ready, brush the tops with the egg white and bake for 40-45 minutes until they sound hollow inside when tapped.
Turn them out of the pans and cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.
YUM :) This makes an awesome turkey sandwich!
So the bread was awesome. I'm thinking I'm going to try it with whole wheat flour as well and see how it turns out. Brian and I went swimming over at his mom and dad's Tuesday night. So I cooked dinner there. We bought frozen Orange Roughy filets at Publix so I cooked a healthy lightly floured and seasoned fish with herbed couscous, corn and brussel sprouts. I prefer fresh brussels sprouts sauteed with some pancetta, salt and pepper, but sometimes, when I don't time to go get them, we use Steamfresh veggies. They are still very good and super quick. We would recommend them to anyone who is in the market for a quick tasty side dish for a meat!
Here's what dinner looked liked:
Next up are a few recipes back to back. Beef stew (VERY tasty), Cornmeal-fried onion rings and mixed berry pavlova. All were pretty awesome.
Beef Stew
Ingredient List: Serves 6-8
1/3 cup flour
1 Tbsp parsley
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 lbs boneless beef chuck, cut into 1 to 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 8 oz package baby bella mushrooms, quartered
4 carrots, peeled and diced into 1-inch pieces
1 purple onion, peeled and medium diced
4 Yukon gold potatoes, medium diced
3 Tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp spicy brown mustard
2 26-oz Swanson's Beef STOCK (NOT broth)
1 bay leaf
In a large bowl combine flour, parsley, thyme, 1 tsp black pepper and 1/4 tsp salt. Add beef, a few pieces at a time; stir to coat. Reserve leftover flour mixture.
In a 6-quart Dutch oven (or soup pot of your choosing-but Dutch ovens DO work best!) heat oil over medium high heat. Cook beef in hot oil until browned. Remove from pan. Add onions, carrots, mushrooms and potatoes. Add additional oil if needed. Cook, stirring for 3 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, mustard and remaining flour mixture. Cook for about a minute. Add stock and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Simmer, covered, for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Discard the bay leaf. (No one wants to bite down on that!)
Cornmeal-fried Onion Rings
Ingredient List: serves 4 to 6
2 large Spanish (or 3 yellow onions)
2 cups buttermilk
salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1 quart vegetable oil
Peel the onions, slice them into 1/2 to 3/4-inch thick and separate into rings.
Combine the buttermilk, 1 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper in a medium bowl. Add the onion rings, toss well and allow to marinate or at least 15 minutes. (They can sit for a few hours) In a separate bowl combine flour, cornmeal, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Set aside.
When you're ready to fry, preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking sheet with paper towels.
Heat the oil to 350 degrees in a large pot or Dutch oven. (Use a thermometer to check temperature) Working in batchesm lift some onions out of the buttermilk and dredge them in the flour mixture. Drop into the hot oil and fry for about 2 minutes, until golden brown, turning them once with tongs. DON'T CROWD THEM!! Once fried well, place them on the baking sheet and place in oven to keep warm until all have been fried. Salt lightly and you're ready to eat! These are AWESOME!
Last but definitely not least...dessert.
Well, this didn't turn out exactly as it was supposed to. Not completely sure why not, but there will be an investigation. The meringue is supposed to cook and come out looking like a big round disk and such...well mine looked right, but didn't quite cook all the way...so I gota to figure that out. So we just scraped off the top that WAS cooked and enjoyed our own version of it. The recipe will follow...you should definitely still try it!
Mixed Berry Pavlova
Ingredient List: Serves 6
4 extra large egg whites, at room temperature
pinch of salt
1 cup sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Sweetened Whipped Cream (recipe to follow)
1/2 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/2 pint fresh blueberries
1/2 pint fresh raspberries
Double Raspberry Sauce (recipe to follow)
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a sheet pan. Draw a 9-inch circle on the paper, using a 9-inch plate as a guide, then turn the paper over so the circle is on the reverse side. (that way you don't get pencil or pen in the meringue!)
Place the egg whites and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat the egg whites on high speed until firm, about 1 minute. With the mixer still on high, slowly add the sugar and beat until it makes firm, shiny peaks, about 2 minutes.
Remove the bowl from the mixer, sift the cornstarch onto the beaten egg whites, add the vinegar and vanilla, and fold in lightly with a rubber spatula. Pile the meringue into the middle of the circle on the parchment paper and smooth it within the circle, making a rough disk.
Bake for 1 1/2 hours. Turn off the oven, keep the door closed and allow the meringue to cook completely in the oven, about 1 hour. It will be crisp on the outside and soft inside.
Invery the meringue disk onto a plate and spread the top completely with the whipped cream. Combine the strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries and toss with 1/2 cup of the raspberry sauce, or enough the coat them lightly. Spoon the berries carefully into the middle of the Pavlovem leaving a border of cream and meringue. Serve immediately with large scoops of extra raspberry sauce. :)
Sweetened Whipped Cream
1 cup cold heavy cream
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Whip the cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (you can also use a hand mixer). When it starts to thicken, add the sugar and vanilla and continue to beat until firm. Don't overbeat!
Double Rasberry Sauce
1 cup frozen raspberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup seedless black raspberry jam
Place raspberries, sugar and jam in a saucepot over medium heat. Cook until all is combines and sugar is dissolved. Either use an immersion blender to puree, or place in blender or food processor. Process until smooth. Chill.
I hope you enjoy making and trying ALL of these recipes! They were all a joy for me to try and Brian thought they were a joy to eat. After all, the saying is true..."The way to a man's heart is through his stomach."
Hopefully it won't be so long before the next blog.
All the love from the Meany home to yours.
Goodnight.
