Red Berry Quick Bread

Posted on December 10, 2012 by sparecake

I’ve seen several recipes for granola bread recently, and it sounds pretty tasty. I’m on a Special K Red Berries kick, though, and decided that’d make a good bread addition. I wanted something that doesn’t take all day to make, for a change, so went the quick bread route.

For some reason store brand can do this right, but not Cheerios?

For some reason store brand can do this right, but not Cheerios?

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
  • 1 3/4  cups unbleached white flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups Special K Red Berries cereal

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9X5″ bread pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, stir together the oil and honey.

IMG_4046Add the eggs and yogurt.

IMG_4047Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl, then stir into the wet ingredients.

IMG_4048Fold in the cereal, and pour/spoon into the prepared bread pan.

IMG_4051Bake 25-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan.

IMG_4054I’d forgotten how easily quick breads come together, and that was a pleasant surprise!

IMG_4057I like it sliced thickly, toasted with butter, and maybe/ideally sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Red Berry Quick Bread

  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
  • 1 3/4  cups unbleached white flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups Special K Red Berries cereal

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9X5″ bread pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, stir together the oil and honey, then add the eggs and yogurt. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl, then stir into the wet ingredients. Fold in the cereal, and pour into the prepared bread pan.

Bake 25-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan.

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Scalloped Scallops (and Shrimp)

Posted on December 7, 2012 by sparecake

I wonder…this is probably the first seafood based recipe I’ve posted, in the year and a half or so I’ve been doing this. Huh. Mostly my seafood meals involve tuna from a can, but I can change, and this one is surprisingly flavorful considering how few ingredients go into it, and that half of those are just unflavored dairy.

The recipe I was following was for just scalloped scallops, but we had twice as much shrimp as scallops and I threw it all in and it still worked fine.

I offered that anyone who wanted a vegetable that night was free to pick out some green Skittles from the bowl.

I offered that anyone who wanted a vegetable that night was free to pick out some green Skittles from the bowl.

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups scallops
  • 6 tablespoons butter, divided
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup milk
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 3/4 cup bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 400 and grease a casserole dish.

Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large pan over medium high heat. Add the scallops and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes.

Double batch, lotta shrimp instead of scallops!

Double batch, lotta shrimp instead of scallops!

Sprinkle the flour over the scallops, then pour the milk and cream in. Lower to medium heat and stir until the flour is dissolved and mixed in. Cook until the cream has slightly thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste.

IMG_4024Transfer to a greased baking dish. If you cooked it in a cast iron on the stove you actually could put it in the oven in that, but I wanted it spread out a bit more, so that there would be more surface area for bread crumbs. With an un-doubled recipe that might not be such an issue.

Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons butter and drizzle over the bread crumbs. Stir to combine, then sprinkle over the scallops.

IMG_4025Bake until browned and bubbly at the edges, about 10 minutes.

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Tasty, and super rich so you don’t really need a ton to be full. Which is good, as it’s probably not the most healthy thing ever!

Scalloped Scallops

Adapted from The All New Fannie Farmer Boston Cooking School Cookbook, 10th Edition.

  • 3 cups scallops
  • 6 tablespoons butter, divided
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup milk
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 3/4 cup bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 400 and grease a casserole dish.

Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large pan over medium high heat. Add the scallops and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the scallops, then pour the milk and cream in. Lower to medium heat and stir until the flour is dissolved and mixed in. Cook until the cream has slightly thickened, salt and pepper to taste, then transfer to a greased baking dish.

Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons butter and drizzle over the bread crumbs. Stir to combine, then sprinkle over the scallops.

Bake until browned and bubbly at the edges, about 10 minutes.

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Potato Peasant Bread

Posted on December 5, 2012 by sparecake

If you’re looking for a site with very reliable yeast dough recipes, Bread World is good. It’s run by a yeast company, so they want to be real sure you’ll have good luck and keep buying more yeast. I don’t know if I’ve said this before, but buying yeast in the little packets is a kind of horrible idea. If nothing else, buy the 4 ounce jars they sell next to the packets to save a bit, but way preferably is to go on Amazon, or maybe to Costco or something, and buy it in one or two pound packages for 1/4 the price. Sounds like more yeast than you want, but you can keep a small amount of it in the fridge, ready to use, for up to 6 months, and keep the rest in an air tight jar in the freezer for several years, or until you’ve used it up. So worth it!

Anyways, this particular bread is from Bread World, and was tasty, with a good light but somewhat stiff texture.

IMG_4013

Ingredients:

  • 3 – 3 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 envelopes (or 4 1/2 teaspoons) rapid rise yeast
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 1/2 cups potato water or tap water*
  • 3/4 cup mashed potato**
  • 3 tablespoons butter

*If you make mashed potatoes that day, save 1 1/2 cups of the water the potatoes were boiled in. That’s your potato water.

**To use instant mashed potatoes, combine 1 / 2 cup water and 3 tablespoons milk in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in 1 / 2 cup potato flakes.

In a large bowl, combine 1 cup of the all-purpose flour, the whole wheat flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. In a separate microwave-safe bowl, combine the water, butter, and mashed potato and heat until very warm (120-130 degrees).

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Stir the potato mixture into the flour mixture until your stirring doesn’t turn up any more patches of dry flour, then add 2 cups more all-purpose flour and stir in until very roughly held together.

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Using your mixer’s dough hook or your hands, knead 4-5 minutes (8-10 by hand) until you’ve got a soft smooth dough, adding up to another 1/2 cup all-purpose flour if needed.

IMG_4006

Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Because there’s so much yeast, and it’s warm, this rises a ton in just that 10 minutes.

IMG_4007

Divide the dough in half and roll each half out to an 8X12″ oval on a well-floured surface.

IMG_4009

Hah, “oval.”

Roll each half up tightly from a short end, pinching the ends and seams to seal. Transfer, seam-side-down, to a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet and flatten slightly.

IMG_4011

Someday I will start using a scale, so that my ‘halves’ are even remotely right.

Cover, and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled, about half an hour. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

With a sharp knife, cut three diagonal slits in the top of each, and then sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon flour over them.

IMG_4012

Bake 15-20 minutes, until well browned and hollow sounding when tapped. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

IMG_4014

You can see the swirl from rolling it up a bit, and it makes good sandwich bread. Of course it’s hard to get a chocolate peanut butter fluffernutter wrong!

IMG_4019

I start eating a lot more fluff when the weather gets cold, apparently?

I’ll be submitting this to YeastSpotting!

Potato Peasant Bread

A tiny bit adapted from Bread World.

  • 3 – 3 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 envelopes (or 4 1/2 teaspoons) rapid rise yeast
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 1/2 cups potato water or tap water*
  • 3/4 cup mashed potato**
  • 3 tablespoons butter

*If you make mashed potatoes that day, save 1 1/2 cups of the water the potatoes were boiled in. That’s your potato water.

**To use instant mashed potatoes, combine 1 / 2 cup water and 3 tablespoons milk in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in 1 / 2 cup potato flakes.

In a large bowl, combine 1 cup of the all-purpose flour, the whole wheat flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. In a separate microwave-safe bowl, combine the water, butter, and mashed potato and heat until very warm (120-130 degrees).

Stir the potato mixture into the flour mixture until your stirring doesn’t turn up any more patches of dry flour, then add 2 cups more all-purpose flour and stir in until very roughly held together. Using your mixer’s dough hook or your hands, knead 4-5 minutes (8-10 by hand) until you’ve got a soft smooth dough, adding up to another 1/2 cup all-purpose flour if needed. Cover and let rest 10 minutes.

Divide the dough in half and roll each half out to an 8X12″ oval on a well-floured surface. Roll each half up tightly from a short end, pinching the ends and seams to seal. Transfer, seam-side-down, to a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet and flatten slightly. Cover, and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled, about half an hour. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

With a sharp knife, cut three diagonal slits in the top of each, and then sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon flour over them. Bake 15-20 minutes, until well browned and hollow sounding when tapped. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

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Citrus Sugar Cookies

Posted on December 3, 2012 by sparecake

The blog Sugarcrafter has posted recipes for clementine sugar cookies and lemon sugar cookies. Based on what was in the fridge and cabinet, I made some orange-lemon sugar cookies with Sugarcrafter’s recipe. They’re big, lightly chewy, and great when you get home after somehow spending 5 hours at a Korean restaurant. Seriously, how did that even happen?

IMG_3996

Ingredients:

  • 2 3/4 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 tsp lemon extract
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 1 teaspoon orange zest
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • extra granulated sugar, for rolling in (1/4 cup or so)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment, then set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar.IMG_3990Add the egg, zests, lemon extract, and orange juice and beat until combined.

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Gradually beat the dry ingredients in until just combined.

IMG_3992

Roll dough into 1″ balls, then roll each ball in the extra sugar.

IMG_3993

Lightly flatten each ball before placing, widely spaced, on the parchment lined pans.

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Bake until just starting to get lightly browned at the edges, 8-12 minutes.

IMG_3995

Let cool several minutes on the pans, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

IMG_3997

If I wasn’t about to go run, I think I’d eat another of these right now!

Citrus Sugar Cookies

Adapted from Sugarcrafter.

  • 2 3/4 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 tsp lemon extract
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 1 teaspoon orange zest
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • extra granulated sugar, for rolling

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment, then set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg, zests, lemon extract, and orange juice and beat until combined. Gradually beat the dry ingredients in until just combined. Roll dough into 1″ balls, then roll each ball in the extra sugar. Lightly flatten each ball before placing, widely spaced, on the parchment lined pans. Bake until just starting to get lightly browned at the edges, 8-12 minutes.

Let cool several minutes on the pans, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Posted in Dessert | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Lunch Lady Rolls

Posted on November 30, 2012 by sparecake

While I do enjoy the name of these rolls, I’ve got to admit they don’t particularly make me think of the school cafe? My memories there are mainly of using the syrup as an amazingly effective glue…

This was the one recipe I made for Thanksgiving that I hadn’t done in the past. We got 12 really delightfully fluffy rolls out of it, and I think maybe all of us ate 2 during the meal!

Toasted with some leftover cranberry salsa.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup warm water
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • 1 envelope active dry yeast
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon milk
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3-1/3 cups all-purpose flour (15 ounces) — If you don’t weigh it, fluff it up very well before measuring.
  • 3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon shortening
  • 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon butter, melted, plus more for brushing

In your stand mixer’s bowl, stir one teaspoon of the sugar and yeast into the warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until foamy.

Beat the egg in a little bowl, then measure out 1 tablespoon and toss it away. Whisk the remaining egg and the milk and salt into the yeast mixture. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour and remaining sugar. Cut in the shortening with a fork or your fingers. Gradually stir the flour mixture into the yeast mixture.

Knead with the dough hook about 3 minutes, or until smooth and elastic.

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise somewhere warm for 1 hour. While you wait, grease two 9″ cake pans.

Pour the melted butter over the risen dough, and knead a further 3 minutes with the dough hook. Turn out onto a well floured surface, and let rest several minutes before patting into a rectangle a little less than 1″ thick.

Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces and tuck the ends of each piece under it, making a rough ball, before putting 6 pieces in each of your greased cake pans.

Those are very tall cake pans, not very flat balls.

Cover and let rise a further 40 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and, if desired, melt another 2-3 tablespoons of butter. Brush the tops of the risen rolls with the butter.

Bake 12-15 minutes, until golden brown. I think mine actually took a bit longer than that? Just go for when they look nicely browned on top

Let cool in a wire rack, or brush with more butter and serve still warm.

As I said, super fluffy, and quite nice! I’ll be submitting these to YeastSpotting.

Lunch Lady Rolls

From Cookie Madness.

  • 1 cup warm water
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • 1 envelope active dry yeast
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon milk
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon shortening
  • 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon butter, melted, plus more for brushing

In your stand mixer’s bowl, stir one teaspoon of the sugar and yeast into the warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until foamy.

Beat the egg in a little bowl, then measure out 1 tablespoon and toss it away. Whisk the remaining egg and the milk and salt into the yeast mixture. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour and remaining sugar. Cut in the shortening with a fork or your fingers. Gradually stir the flour mixture into the yeast mixture. Knead with the dough hook about 3 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise somewhere warm for 1 hour. While you wait, grease two 9″ cake pans.

Pour the melted butter over the risen dough, and knead a further 3 minutes with the dough hook. Turn out onto a well floured surface, and let rest several minutes before patting into a rectangle a little less than 1″ thick. Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces and tuck the ends of each piece under it, making a rough ball, before putting 6 pieces in each of your greased cake pans. Cover and let rise a further 40 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and, if desired, melt another 2-3 tablespoons of butter. Brush the tops of the risen rolls with the butter.

Bake 12-15 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool in a wire rack, or brush with more butter and serve still warm.

Posted in Bread | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Snicker-Chip-Doodles

Posted on November 28, 2012 by sparecake

It’s the end of the month, so once again time for a Daring Baker post! Holiday season is the time for sharing and Peta of Peta Eats is sharing a dozen cookies, some classics and some of her own, from all over the world with us. The general thing this month was to do a holiday cookie, and I saw this one posted recently in a holiday baking roundup at How Sweet It Is, so I figure it fits!

For some reason when I saw this recipe, I wasn’t sure if I thought adding things to snickerdoodles was a good idea. YES. Yes it is! These are pretty fabulous cookies!

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1/3 cup chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup toffee chips
  • 1/4 cup sugar + 1 tablespoon cinnamon for rolling

Cream together the butter and 1 cup sugar, then add the egg and vanilla.

Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon and stir in on low speed.

Add the milk 1 tablespoon at a time, if the dough is crumbly. I didn’t need any, as my dough held together fine. Fold in the chocolate and toffee bits, then cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine the remaining sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl or a pie plate and stir until well mixed. Roll the dough into 1 1/2″ balls, and roll until well coated in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place at least 2″ apart on parchment lined pans.

Bake 8-10 minutes. I think mine might have been a bit bigger than expected, so I gave them an extra few minutes and they were a nice soft texture when they cooled.

Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Next to some Black Friday Bread!

Several of us tried one, and then had to ‘try’ another right away. Delicious!

Snicker-Chip-Doodles

From How Sweet It Is.

  • 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1/3 cup chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup toffee chips
  • 1/4 cup sugar + 1 tablespoon cinnamon for rolling

Cream together the butter and 1 cup sugar, then add the egg and vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon and stir in on low speed.  Add the milk 1 tablespoon at a time, if the dough is crumbly. Fold in the chocolate and toffee bits, then cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine the remaining sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl or a pie plate and stir until well mixed. Roll the dough into 1 1/2″ balls, and roll until well coated in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place at least 2″ apart on parchment lined pans and bake 8-10 minutes.

Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Posted in Dessert | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Black Friday Bread

Posted on November 26, 2012 by sparecake

If you’ve still got some leftover side dishes from Thanksgiving, great! If not, bookmark this one and come back to it after Christmas. (People do eat meals sort of similar to Thanksgiving for Christmas, right? We won’t all be making bread with fried rice and crab rangoon December 26th? (I hate crab rangoon.))

This one is probably for people who are reasonably comfortable making bread already, as there’s some discretion involved. Because everyone’s side dishes are different, you’ll need to judge how wet the dough is and add more liquid or flour accordingly. I used some fairly dry stuffing and some pretty moist cranberry salsa, which, combined with mashed potatoes, balanced out well for a really tasty bread!

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 2 1/2 cups bread flour
  • 2 tablespoons soft butter
  • 1 to 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, to taste
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
  • 2/3 cup lukewarm milk
  • 2 cups leftovers like mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, or anything else reasonably smooshy

In a large bowl, add the warm milk, yeast, and sugar, and let sit while you gather the remaining ingredients. Add the butter, 1 teaspoon salt, and flours.

So far looks normal!

Add your two cups of leftovers.

Stir together and taste a tiny bit to see if it needs a bit more salt. Knead until smooth.

At this point the dough should be tacky, but not super sticky. It should be able to hold its shape. If it’s too moist, add more bread flour 1/4 cup at a time, and if it’s too dry to hold together, add water or more milk 1 tablespoon at a time. Form into a ball and place in a greased bowl. Cover, and let rise until puffy, 60-90 minutes.

Mushrooms from the stuffing and green onion from the cranberry salsa.

Gently deflate, then shape into a log about a foot long. Place on a parchment lined sheet, and cover. Let rise another 60-90 minutes.

Mine didn’t grow a ton in the first rise, but in under an hour it was much puffier in the second rise

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and bake 35-45 minutes, until golden brown (which may be harder to tell if you put strongly colored leftovers in), or is 190 degrees on an instant read thermometer inserted in the middle.

Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely before cutting. With such a moist dough, it can get gummy if you start cutting while it’s still warm.

This is a great bread to make sandwiches with the rest of your leftovers with! I might try it in a bread pan, with a few more minutes baking time, next time. I’ll be submitting this one to YeastSpotting.

Mm, fried mashed potato balls!

Black Friday Bread

From King Arthur Flour.

  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 2 1/2 cups bread flour
  • 2 tablespoons soft butter
  • 1 to 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, to taste
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
  • 2/3 cup lukewarm milk
  • 2 cups leftovers like mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, or anything else reasonably smooshy

In a large bowl, add the warm milk, yeast, and sugar, and let sit while you gather the remaining ingredients. Add the butter, 1 teaspoon salt, flours, and leftovers. Stir together and taste a tiny bit to see if it needs a bit more salt. Knead until smooth and tacky, but not overly sticky. If the dough is too moist, add more bread flour 1/4 cup at a time, and if it’s too dry to hold together, add water or more milk 1 tablespoon at a time. Form into a ball and place in a greased bowl. Cover, and let rise until puffy, 60-90 minutes.

Gently deflate, then shape into a log about a foot long. Place on a parchment lined sheet, and cover. Let rise another 60-90 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and bake 35-45 minutes, until golden brown (which may be harder to tell if you put strongly colored leftovers in), or is 190 degrees on an instant read thermometer inserted in the middle. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely before cutting.

Posted in Bread | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Crunchy Asiago Chicken Nuggets

Posted on November 23, 2012 by sparecake

Alright! Now that you’re turkey-ed out, it’s time for chicken! These chicken nuggets were really tasty, and I was glad to not be frying chicken for a change (so much grease, all over my laptop, the counter, the floor…).

Why yes that is two kinds of potato with the chicken. We don’t really believe in vegetables the way that most families do/should.

Ingredients:

  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • salt and pepper
  • 3 cups low-fat buttermilk
  • 2 cups panko bread crumbs
  • 1 cup seasoned regular bread crumbs (I used Matzoh meal, because it was there)
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated asiago cheese
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 cup dijon mustard (I actually used a whole grain, coarsely ground mustard)
  • 1/4 cup honey

Cut the chicken into 1-to-2-bite sized pieces and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in a large bowl and cover with the buttermilk. Cover, and refrigerate 2-24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil, then put a wire rack over that and spray with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine the bread crumbs, panko, flour, cheese, garlic powder, and paprika. It seems like a huge amount of breading, but I went through a pretty good chunk of it – that’s a lot of little chicken bits you’ve got to coat!

A few at a time, take the chicken pieces from the buttermilk and roll it in the bread crumb mixture until well coated. Place on the wire rack, and repeat with the remaining chicken.

I was worried they weren’t all going to fit on one pan!

Spray lightly with baking spray, the olive oil kind if possible. Bake for 7 minutes, then remove from the oven and flip each piece. Spray again with baking spray, and bake another 7 minutes, or until lightly browned.

While the chicken cooks, whisk together the honey and mustard. Being an expert at classy serving, I just did this in the measuring cup, and left the result in there.

Serve the chicken with the honey mustard sauce, and, y’know, some real healthy vegetables or something.

Peeeerfect.

Crunchy Asiago Chicken Nuggets

From How Sweet It Is.

  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • salt and pepper
  • 3 cups low-fat buttermilk
  • 2 cups panko bread crumbs
  • 1 cup seasoned regular bread crumbs
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated asiago cheese
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 cup dijon mustard

Cut the chicken into 1-to-2-bite sized pieces and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in a large bowl and cover with the buttermilk. Cover, and refrigerate 2-24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil, then put a wire rack over that and spray with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine the bread crumbs, panko, flour, cheese, garlic powder, and paprika. A few at a time, take the chicken pieces from the buttermilk and roll it in the bread crumb mixture until well coated. Place on the wire rack, and repeat with the remaining chicken. Spray lightly with olive oil baking spray. Bake for 7 minutes, then remove from the oven and flip each piece. Spray again with baking spray, and bake another 7 minutes, or until lightly browned.

While the chicken cooks, whisk together the honey and mustard, and serve the resulting honey mustard sauce with the chicken.

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Whole Wheat Bread with Wheat Germ and Rye

Posted on November 21, 2012 by sparecake

Looking through the ridiculous collection of flours and wheat products in the kitchen the other day, I decided to look for a bread recipe to use up some of the ingredients we only had a little bit left of. This bread worked perfectly, and is really tasty – we went through the first loaf in a day.

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/3 cups warm water
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/4 cup rye flour
  • 1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
  • 3 cups whole wheat flour
  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the water, yeast, honey, melted butter, and salt, and stir with a rubber spatula.

Mix in the rye flour, wheat germ, and 1 cup each whole wheat and white flours.

Using the dough hook, mix in the remaining flours on lo speed until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. After adding so much flour, I expected this dough to be much more dry than it was.

Knead just enough to be sure the dough is evenly soft and smooth, then transfer to a greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free area until doubled, about an hour.

Gently punch down the dough and divide into two equal pieces. Lightly press each piece into a rectangle about an inch thick and the height of your bread pans. Roll each rectangle into a log, and place seam-side down into greased 9X5″ bread pans. Cover, and let rise until almost doubled, 20-30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, then bake the risen loaves until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center reads 205 degrees, or the bread sounds hollow when turned from the pan and tapped on the bottom. Turn both loaves immediately out of the pans and let cool completely on a wire rack.

The rye and wheat germ give this bread an interesting taste, without it being a gross “healthy” taste.

I’ll be submitting this recipe to YeastSpotting.

Whole Wheat Bread with Wheat Germ and Rye

From The Best Recipe by the editors of Cook’s Illustrated.

  • 2 1/3 cups warm water
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/4 cup rye flour
  • 1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
  • 3 cups whole wheat flour
  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the water, yeast, honey, melted butter, and salt, and stir with a rubber spatula. Mix in the rye flour, wheat germ, and 1 cup each whole wheat and white flours.

Using the dough hook, mix in the remaining flours on lo speed until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. After adding so much flour, I expected this dough to be much more dry than it was. Knead just enough to be sure the dough is evenly soft and smooth, then transfer to a greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free area until doubled, about an hour.

Gently punch down the dough and divide into two equal pieces. Lightly press each piece into a rectangle about an inch thick and the height of your bread pans. Roll each rectangle into a log, and place seam-side down into greased 9X5″ bread pans. Cover, and let rise until almost doubled, 20-30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, then bake the risen loaves until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center reads 205 degrees, or the bread sounds hollow when turned from the pan and tapped on the bottom. Turn both loaves immediately out of the pans and let cool completely on a wire rack.

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Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies

Posted on November 19, 2012 by sparecake

This weekend was the last Granite State Wheelmen ride for the season (for the Salem group anyway), and we finished off the ride with a pizza party. I brought these cookies, and at least one person said she’ll be making them soon! They’re pretty delicious, and taste reasonably close to Thin Mints (although with a different texture).

I originally found the recipe looking for a dessert to help use up some bread flour, so…that is the kind of flour they call for. They also use Andes Mint baking bits, which I just learned are made by Tootsie Roll Industries. Weird.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups bread flour
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 12 ounces Andes Crème de Menthe Baking Chips (one bag is 10 ounces, so be sure to get two)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.

Cream the butter, shortening, and sugars.

Beat in the egg, then the vanilla and second yolk.

Add the dry goods and beat on low until just incorporated. Add the Andes bits and continue mixing on low until evenly mixed in.

Scoop dough by rounded teaspoons and roll into balls. Place balls on ungreased baking sheets.

Cook until the edges look set, though the middles might not yet, about 10 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

I got about 4 dozen cookies out of the recipe, which is good because everyone keeps eating them!

Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies

  • 2 cups bread flour
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 12 ounces Andes Crème de Menthe Baking Chips

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.

Cream the butter, shortening, and sugars. Beat in the egg, then the vanilla and second yolk. Add the dry goods and beat on low until just incorporated. Add the Andes bits and continue mixing on low until evenly mixed in.

Scoop dough by rounded teaspoons and roll into balls. Place balls on ungreased baking sheets and cook until the edges look set, about 10 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Posted in Dessert | Tagged , , | 2 Comments