Category: BREADS, BISCUITS & MUFFINS

LUAU BENEDICTS

LUAU BENEDICTS
1 English muffin per person
2 eggs per person
leftover sweet and sour pulled pork
Hollandaise sauce

  • Prepare Hollandaise sauce.
  • Toast English muffins.
  • Poach eggs.
  • Layer together starting with English muffin, pulled pork, poached egg and the hollandaise sauce.
  • Enjoy.

HOLLANDAISE SAUCE
1/2 cup butter
3 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
dash cayenne pepper or hot pepper sauce
2 tablespoons hot water
finely chopped fresh parsley, if desired

•    Heat butter in a heavy saucepan until hot and foamy, but not browned.
•    In a small bowl, whisk or beat egg yolks with lemon juice, salt, and  hot sauce.
•    Gradually beat in butter, then water.
•    Return mixture to saucepan and beat over very low heat until mixture is slightly thickened.
•    Serve immediately or let stand over warm water for up to 30 minutes.
•    If desired, sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley before serving.

Makes about 2/3 cup of hollandaise sauce.

JOHNNY CAKES, A CARRIBEAN STAPLE – TRY A NEW RECIPE DAY

Journey Cakes commonly known as Johnny Cakes are a yeast-less bread that are either baked or fried. In the southern Caribbean they are known as bakes (even when fried).
Today we will make some whole wheat baked Johnny Cakes
You will need:
1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 oz butter (or margarine)
1 1/2 oz vegetable shortening
1 cup ice cold water
  • Sift flour with the baking powder and salt
  • Rub in the fats.
  • Slowly add the water to make a smooth dough (dough will be sticky at this point).
  • Begin to incorporate enough wholewheat flour to make a smooth, dry, but elastic dough.  Knead well.
  • Shape the dough into a bowl and allow to rest for 60 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 400F.
  • After 1 hour, place dough onto floured board.
  • Make 1 large Johnny Cake or 4 or 5 hamburger sized Johnny Cakes.
  • Place dough onto a greased baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.
  • Serve hot.

Dry Ingredients

Prepared dough

Finished product
From the lack of feedback, I think that my previous recipes may have been a bit too ‘exotic’. This is an easier recipe with common ingredients. I posted a fried Johnny Cake recipe over at my blog a little while ago. I do hope you try it either one and let me know what you think.
Bon Appetit!

BUTTERMILK RAISIN BRAN MUFFINS

BUTTERMILK RAISIN BRAN MUFFINS
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoons salt
1 cup golden raisins
1/2 of a 14 ounce box  Raisin Bran (about 2 1/2 cups)
PURE

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  • Spray muffin tin with PURE.
  • Beat together the eggs and sugar.  Beat well.
  • Add oil to egg mixture and blend well.
  • In a large mixing bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.
  • Merge together the wet and dry mixtures until blended well.
  • Fold in raisin bran and golden raisins.  If a bit dry add milk until desired consistency.
  • Fill muffin tins 2/3 full.
  • Bake 15 minutes.

APRICOT PINEAPPLE MONKEY BREAD

APRICOT PINEAPPLE MONKEY BREAD*

BREAD
1 cup scalded milk
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1teaspoon salt
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup rum
1/2 cup minced walnuts
2 packages dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 Jumbo eggs, beaten
4 1/2 – 5 cups flour
TOPPING
20 ounce can crushed pineapple, drained well
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar, super firmly packed
1/2 cup apricot pineapple preserves**
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2+ teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup golden raisins*
1/4 cup rum*

  • Soften the yeast in the warm water.
  • Stir together the sugar and cinnamon and set aside.
  • Soak the raisins in the rum until needed. Drain before adding to the bread.
  • Combine the milk, shortening, sugar and salt. Cool to lukewarm.
  • Add yeast to milk mixture and then the eggs, the raisins and nuts.
  • Add the flour. Mix to a soft dough.
  • Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl. Turn over once, cover with a cheesecloth and let rise until double in size.
  • Punch down and let stand ten minutes.
  • Prepare the topping while the dough is standing.
  • Melt the butter in a saucepan.
  • Add the preserves, brown sugar, cinnamon and almond extract. Cook until smooth and fairly thin.
  • Add the pineapple (and raisins if you’re using refrigerator rolls) and heat through.
  • Roll into many small balls about the size of golf balls.
  • Grease a Bundt cake pan. (I like to use my pineapple upside down cake pan.
  • Arrange a layer of the balls haphazardly in the cake pan.
  • Dribble about half the topping loosely over them.
  • Arrange the other half of the dough balls.
  • Pour remaining sauce over top.
  • Allow to rise until double in size (about 1 1/4-1 1/2 hours)
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes.
  • Enjoy

*You can cheat and use 3 cans of refrigerator biscuits instead if you’re in a hurry. If you still want the raisins you can add them to the topping instead.
**You can use pretty much any flavor you want – I also use raspberry, peach and blackberry depending on my mood. A lot of times I combine the peach and blackberry half and half.

BANANA JUICE the key to perfect BLACKBERRY BANANA BREAD

Did you know that Banana’s have juice? Don’t worry, most people don’t.  But, they do and the juice is the best part of making a moist banana bread.  The key to banana juice is using a banana that is “JUST RIGHT“, one that is heavily speckled, in my opinion, one that is just short of rotting.  I take it one step farther many times and when they are “JUST RIGHT”  remove them from their skins and freeze them in recipe ready proportions.  Freezing them yields the liquid readily without the steps I’m about to tell you about.  I didn’t even know I’d been doing  “JUST RIGHT” for years with the freezing process and then I read an article about how to juice a banana.

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
5 large very ripe bananas
1 cup blackberries
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 medium not so ripe banana, thinly sliced
1/2 cup butter, melted & cooled
2 JUMBO eggs
3/4+ cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon PURE vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 teaspoons crystalline sugar

  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Grease your loaf pan with the butter wrapper or spray with non-stick cooking spray.  Dust with flour.
  • Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large mixing bowl.
  • Place 5 bananas in a microwave safe bowl and cover with a food cover lid with the vents open.
  • Microwave on high for 5 minutes – until the bananas are soft and have released their juice.
  • Transfer bananas to a sieve and allow them to drain over a small saucepan for about 10-15 minutes.
  • Place bananas, raisins and blackberries in a medium mixing bowl.
  • Cook juice over a medium high heat for about 5 minutes until juice is reduced to 1/4 cup.
  • Stir reduced liquid into the banana/blackberry mixture and mash together until well blended.
  • Add butter, eggs, vanilla and brown sugar and mix to a smooth consistency.
  • Pour banana mixture into flour mixture and with a wooden spoon fold together until just combined.
  • Fold in walnuts gently.
  • Pour into prepared loaf pan.
  • Layer banana slices around the edges.
  • Sprinkle with crystalline sugar.
  • Bake 50-60 minutes based on loaf pan size.

Alexis’ Mini Apple Bundt Cakes

Alexis started a new job at a hospital a few weeks ago and is starting to fit in with her coworkers. You know how it is when you start a new job. You start to figure out who you like and those you realize, “Man, he wasn’t just having a bad day….he’s always an a**hole!”

Anyway, the other day she wanted to surprise them by bringing in a breakfast treat. She took the Zucchini Bread recipe from the Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook (10th Ed. 1984) and changed it into something entirely different.

Alexis’ Mini Apple Bundt Cakes
Yields: 4 dozen

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon, fresh grated
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg, fresh grated
1 cup sugar
1 cup fuji apple, peeled and finely grated
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg
1/4 tsp lemon peel

Garnishes: Agave nectar and powdered sugar

Mix the first 6 ingredients together in a mixing bowl. In another bowl, mix the sugar, apple, oil, egg and lemon peel together.

Mix the two bowls together just long enough to get them combined. Then walk away and let it sit for 10 minutes (The walk away tip courtesy Alton Brown’s waffle recipe).

Preheat your oven to 350f. Using a greased mini bundt pan (or a cup cake tin), fill each cup a little over half full with the batter.

Bake on the middle rack for 20 minutes or until a toothpick/cake tester comes out clean. Remove to a cooling rack and let rest for 10 minutes.

Drizzle with agave nectar.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

And then try to hide them from your family until they are cooled because they tend to disappear quickly even if you ARE cooking them for SOMEONE ELSE!

If you follow my blog at Nibble Me This, you know I am NOT a sweets kind of guy. I don’t eat much pie or cake. These little beauties were good and I MIGHT have taken one or four before Alexis started packing them up 🙂 But in my defense, you get to pop a whole (mini) bundt cake into your mouth, how could I resist that?

(Side note: If you have a round grill or know someone who does, enter my cast iron grate giveaway on my blog. It should be delivered by Christmas if you win and makes a ‘GRATE’ gift for the griller in your life. It’s over a $100 value and is one of my favorite grill tools.)

Giving Thanks ~ Oatnut Sourdough Herb Dressing

This week I’m sharing a “new” scratch recipe for my Oatnut Sourdough Herb Dressing. My brother has been after me for years to always make it the same way (my late father’s recipe) I always have (tradition) and write it down, so this one is for him and to see if he really does read my blog! LOL! We use this recipe for both Thanksgiving and Christmas and I always make enough to freeze for weekday meals too. It’s a great way to use up stale bread. Sometimes I will collect the stale bread into a wrapper in the freezer until I have enough to make a large batch.


Oatnut Sourdough Herb Dressing
10 slices Brownberry or Oroweat OATNUT bread, cut intobite size chunks
1/2 loaf sourdough French bread, cut into bite size chunks
1 large sweet onion, chopped fine
1 small bunch celery (leaves and all), chopped fine
1/2 bag baby carrots, chopped fine
1 box mushrooms, chopped fine
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 tablespoon white pepper
2 sticks unsalted butter
4 cups hot water
2 tablespoons Better than Bouillon Chicken base
2 tablespoons Buttery Herb & Garlic Mix (I believe McCormick makes it)
4 teaspoons minced garlic, Jar

  • Cut bread into bite sized chunks and spread out in a thin layer over cookie sheets.
  • Bake at 200 degrees for 3-4 hours until pieces are actually hard.
  • Chop all the vegetables.
  • In a large cast iron pan melt 1/4 cup of the butter.
  • Add the onions and saute until translucent. The add the celery and carrots and continue sauteing until crisp tender. Add the garlic last as it will burn first.
  • Whisk together the water, better than bouillon chicken base and all of the seasonings.
  • Add the melted butter.
  • In a large pan toss the bread slices together.
  • Add the sauteed vegetables and toss again.
  • Add the liquid mixture and toss again until well absorbed.
  • Fold entire mixture into at least a 9×13 baking dish.
  • Bake uncovered 1 hour.
  • At this point I use a small portion for our dinner that night and freeze the rest.
  • When it’s time to cook it again, I defrost it, put it back in the same baking dish and bake it again, but this time covered with foil until the last 15 minutes so it doesn’t dry out. We like it crisp on top so I remove the foil the last 15 minutes.

Giving Thanks ~ Oatnut Sourdough Herb Dressing

Hi everyone, Tamy here filling in for Chris today.  My recipe is not from the grill, but I thought it was appropriate for so near Thanksgiving.

Oatnut Sourdough Herb Dressing
1 loaf sourdough French bread, cut into bite size chunks
1 large sweet onion, chopped fine
1 small bunch celery (leaves and all), chopped fine
1/2 bag baby carrots, chopped fine
1 box mushrooms, chopped fine
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 tablespoon white pepper
2 sticks unsalted butter
4 cups hot water
2 tablespoons Better than Bouillon Chicken base
2 tablespoons Buttery Herb & Garlic Mix (I believe McCormick makes it)
4 cloves garlic, minced

  • Cut bread into bite sized chunks and spread out in a thin layer over cookie sheets.
  • Bake at 200 degrees for 3-4 hours until pieces are actually hard.
  • Chop all the vegetables.
  • In a large cast iron pan melt 1/4 cup of the butter.
  • Add the onions and saute until translucent. The add the celery and carrots and continue sauteing until crisp tender. Add the garlic last as it will burn first.
  • Whisk together the water, better than bouillon chicken base and all of the seasonings.
  • Add the melted butter.
  • In a large pan toss the bread slices together.
  • Add the sauteed vegetables and toss again.
  • Add the liquid mixture and toss again until well absorbed.
  • Fold entire mixture into at least a 9×13 baking dish.
  • Bake uncovered 1 hour.
  • At this point I use a small portion for our dinner that night and freeze the rest.
  • When it’s time to cook it again, I defrost it, put it back in the same baking dish and bake it again, but this time covered with foil until the last 15 minutes so it doesn’t dry out. We like it crisp on top so I remove the foil the last 15 minutes.
You can find me at my home blogs 3 Sides of Crazy. Always Eat On The Good China, on Saturdays at THE Motivation Station on Sundays here at OUR KrAzY kitchen. 

    Honey Wheat Sunflower Dinner Rolls

    Hi everyone!

    This is Alexis from NibbleMeThis. I’m posting for Fire Day Friday this week because Chris is tied up moving one of his out of town offices this week.

    Ya’ll probably know I got my own Big Green Egg a while back and this is one of my favorite rolls I have made on it. I used this recipe for Honey Wheat Sunflower Bread but only made one loaf and it is a wonderful bread recipe.


    But I used the other half of the dough to make dinner rolls. I knew I was going to love it but was surprised how much Chris and the boys liked it because they are “white bread” kind of dudes. The rolls had a bit of sweet to them and the sunflower seed kernels added a nice texture.

    Oh yeah, this was funny. One of our older son’s friends was eating one when I mentioned they had sunflower seeds and he about choked, asking, “Am I supposed to be spitting the shells out?” because he thought the sunflower seeds were in the shells.


    Honey Wheat Sunflower Dinner Rolls
    adapted from Lillian Wittler’s Honey-Wheat Sunflower Bread

    2 cups warm water (120-130f)
    2 3/4 cups bread flour
    2 packages active dry yeast (quarter oz each)
    1 Tbsp white sugar
    2 cups whole wheat flour
    1 cup quick oats
    1/3 cup instant dry buttermilk powder
    1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
    1/4 cup creamed honey (you can use regular but I like creamed better)
    2 tsp salt
    1 cup sunflower kernels (unsalted)
    2 Tbsp agave nectar
    2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

    I use a Thermapen instant read thermometer to make sure my water is the right temp.

    Mix the warm water, 2 cups of the bread flour (not the whole 2 3/4 cups), yeast and sugar in your mixer bowl. Beat for 3 minutes on low (Speed 2 on my Kitchenaide).

    Cover with a tea towel and let it rise until it has doubled. The recipe said 30 minutes but mine took more like an hour.

    Fold in the wheat flour, oats, dry milk, butter, creamed honey, and salt.

    Stir in the sunflower kernels and as much of the remaining bread flour to get a good consistency. I ended up only using maybe 1/2 cup.

    Put on the dough hook and kneaded it until it all held together and pulled cleanly from the sides of the bowl, about 6-8 minutes.

    Take out of the mixing bowl and put it into another greased bowl then turn once. Cover and let rise until doubled, about another 30-45 minutes.

    Punch down and divide into two.

    I shaped one half for the bread loaf plan. The other half I made into equal golf ball sized balls. I put them in a greased, stone ware pie pan and let it rise until doubled again (about 30 minutes).

    When that is happening, I started my Big Green Egg and set it up for baking at 375f but you could do it in your oven.

    Place in your oven or Egg and cook for 20 minutes uncovered. Then cover it with foil and go another 15 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.

    Brush with a 50/50 mix of Agave nectar and melted butter.

    Remove from the grill/oven and cool on a rack.

    This one is tasty and would be a great way to serve something different than the same old dinner roll this Thanksgiving.

    PARMESAN CHEESE BREAD/ROLLS

    PARMESAN CHEESE BREAD
    3 1/4 cups unbleached flour
    1 tablespoon active dry yeast
    2 teaspoons sea salt
    1 1/3 cup warm water
    1/2 cup freshly grated Asiago Parmesan Cheese
    extra-extra virgin olive oil

    • Sift together the four, yeast and salt.
    • Stir in the water until dough forms.
    • Sprinkle with 1/2 the cheese.
    • Transfer to a well floured surface.
    • Knead until soft, elastic and no longer sticky (about 10 minutes). Add flour as necessary to reduce stickiness.
    • Knead the dough until it remains rounded and doesn’t flatten out when left to sit for a few minutes.
    • Arrange into a round.
    • Brush the surface with olive oil.
    • Cover loosely with a tea towel and let rise in a warm place until double in size (about 2 hours).
    • Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
    • Brush a 9 inch round pan with olive oil.
    • Put remaining cheese on a plate.
    • Punch down the dough and knead a few more times with fresh flour.
    • For rolls – divide dough into12 pieces.
    • Roll each piece into a ball.
    • Roll each ball in the cheese and then place in pan with the edges touching. 9 balls around the outside, 3 balls in the center.
    • Cover with a flour sack towel and allow to rise again.
    • Cut a small slash in the top of each ball.
    • Sprinkle with more Parmesan cheese.
    • Bake for 10 minutes and the reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and continue to bake until golden and crispy, about 20-30 minutes more.
    • Serve hot or transfer to a wire rack and cool and then slice.

    3rd ANNUAL NEED TO KNEAD BREAD ROUND-UP HONEY BANANA WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

    Honey Banana Whole Wheat Bread
    1 1/2 pound loaf

    1/2 cup 1% milk, room temperature
    1 tablespoons butter, cut into chunks
    3 tablespoons honey
    1 egg, room temperature
    1/2 teaspoon vanilla
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1 cups whole wheat flour
    1 1/4 cup bread flour
    1 medium banana sliced
    1 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast

    The beauty of bread machines is that they always want the same layering.
    Liquids
    Butter chunks, vanilla, egg &honey
    Flour & Sugar
    Yeast
    The key to any good bread is using quality fresh ingredients.
    Just remember, garbage in is garbage out.
    Let your bread maker do the rest!

    Don’t forget to link up with your recipe!
    Try these too:

    READY, SET, START YOUR OVENS!

    The (3rd Annual) NEED TO KNEAD has moved to OUR KRAZY KITCHEN.
    We all have some favorite family bread recipes tucked away.
    I know that at certain times I have the NEED TO KNEAD, primarily during the holidays or from October through April, those long cold months of winter. The rest of the time my Bread Machine Rules.
    I thought we could all come together and share our daily bread recipes.
    And I mean all breads! White, wheat, banana, braided, etc…  whatever you’re in the mood to share.
    Ironically National bread month is November at the beginning of our holiday baking crunch.

    Just post your recipes anytime until November 15, 2010, go over and link up at OUR KRAZY KITCHEN so that we can all visit you. You can even link to recipes you have previously posted. Add this button to your participating posts and link to this blog. Your blog can be in any language, but a translator on your site will help any who don’t speak the same language.

    Bread History According to National Bread Month:

    ..”It was only after the Pilgrims came to America that baking bread in private homes became the norm. Our ancient forbearers baked bread in communal ovens. These ovens were built on the out skirts of villages, near water due to the extreme fire hazards of the early brick ovens. Later in Europe, after the Romans taught the indigenous peoples about bread making, bread was still baked in large ovens. Except these ovens were not communal ovens they were owned, as was the mill, by the local lord. This made families dependant on the lord for their daily bread. By the Middle Ages baking guilds controlled who and how bread were baked and sold. These organizations limited the number of bakers and bakeries in each village and that meant even impoverished peasants had to purchase bread.
    When the first colonists came to North America they demanded the right to be in control of their daily bread. Households at last could bake bread at home. Even commoners were in control of their daily bread….”

    Resource LinkCelebrate National Bread Month with crusty water rolls: recipe

    Bread is one of the oldest prepared foods, dating back to the Neolithic era. The first breads produced were probably cooked versions of a grain-paste, made from ground cereal grains and water, and may have been developed by accidental cooking or deliberate experimentation with water and grain flour. Descendants of these early breads are still commonly made from various grains worldwide, including the Mexican tortilla, Indian chapatis, rotis and naans, Scottish oatcake, North American johnnycake, Middle Eastern Pita bread (Kmaj in Arabic and Pitot in Hebrew) and Ethiopian injera. The basic flat breads of this type also formed a staple in the diet of many early civilizations with the Sumerians eating a type of barley flat cake, and the 12th century BC Egyptians being able to purchase a flat bread called ta from stalls in the village streets. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread

    Have you heard about the Need to Knead Bread Roundup?  The need to knead bread round-up is almost here. I thought maybe it was time to share with you some food for thought (Pun intended) with a few great resource sites for baking.
     General Tips to remember:
    • Baking in a high place, a dry place or in a place that can have sudden changes in barometric pressure. All these factors can alter how yeast breads knead, rise and bake.
    • To determine if your yeast is still active, dissolve 1 tsp. sugar in 1/2 cup lukewarm water in a see-through measuring cup. Sprinkle 1 tbsp. yeast slowly over the water. Stir and let stand for 10 minutes. At the end of this time, the yeast should have foamed up to reach the 1 cup mark. Yeast that does not reach this mark in 10 minutes will not produce a good loaf and should be discarded.
    • Water can replace milk. The texture will change a little, but the bread will still be very tasty and good to eat.
    • White sugar, brown sugar, honey and molasses can be interchanged equally in bread dough. The sugar in bread dough supplies the tiny yeast plants with instant food and gets them off to a fast start. Artificial sweeteners are not recommended for yeast breads because they cannot be used by the yeast as natural sweeteners can.
    • Fats can be replaced with applesauce or prune puree. The texture of the bread will be more dense. A general rule of thumb is to substitute 1 1/2 tablespoons of applesauce/prune puree for every 3 tablespoons of fat.
    • Salt is added to yeast breads not only for flavor but also to keep the yeast fermentation in the bread dough under control. Too little salt will allow the yeast to push the dough so high that it may even collapse. Too much salt will keep the dough from rising enough.
    In preparation for the upcoming National Bread Month in November and for our driving desires and “NEED TO KNEAD” as well as the upcoming Holidays let’s all join in together on October 31st, 2010 to November 15, 2010 and round-up all of our delicious bread recipes to look back on when we need to bake fantastic bread. I know many of mine were handed down by my grandma.
    ~ We are looking for all sorts of breads: quick breads, savory breads, sweet ones, yeast breads, no-knead breads, 5-minute breads, vintage or gluten-free breads, etc, etc, etc!

    ~ Help us promote this bread roundup by putting the above banner in your sidebars and posting about the 3rd Annual Need to Kneed Roundup on your own blogs.

    ~ We would love it if you would join us, and we would love it if you would help us spread the word by putting this button in your sidebars or even writing a short post about the roundup. Post your links from October 31, 2010 to November 15, 2010 for all your bread recipes.

    ~ Have fun blog hopping through the bread recipes, make new friends, find new family-favorite recipes, comment, enjoy the process of community-building.