Tomato Bread

We are a little snowed in here in Minnesota. The above pic is my sister who visited from Tenn last week when we got a bit of snow. The piles are at least 3x as high now. We got 17 inches over the weekend and are still digging out. Ish.

So over the weekend we stayed inside, wrapped christmas presents, watched some movies, and generally tried to stay warm.

We have a lot of left overs and freezer items this time of year. One of those things is frozen pesto and tomato sauce.

A good, simple recipe that I made a few months ago was this tomato bread. You just make (or buy) bread dough, cover it with pesto sauce, slice it into strips, roll it up and place ontop of sliced tomatoes. As it bakes the tomatoes roast into the bread.

Turn it over and serve :)

Bubble Bread

Don't they just look like little soliders all lined up for their marching orders? Into the oven with you! :)

I have a new Bread Book I'm trying out with a fresh batch of yeast. It's amazing what good yeast will yeild vs year old-sitting-in-your-cubbard-forever yeast.

This recipe is really easy to make and the individual rounds can be frozen and saved for a later date. I've done some twists that worked out really great too. Just make sure they have enough time to rise if they are frozen!



Bubble Bread

3 - 3 1/2 c flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1.25 oz yeast (1 pkg)
1/4 c warm water
1 c milk
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 egg
2 tbsp Parmesan
1/3 c melted butter
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp thyme

Lightly grease a large bread pan or deep round casserole dish. In a large bowl combine sugar, warm water, and yeast till frothy. Add in 1 c flour and salt. In a small bowl mix milk, oil, cheese, and egg together. Add to yeast / flour mixture.


With mixer or by hand beat on a low speed, 3 min. With wooden spoon stir in remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Cover and let rise in warm place, free from draft, until dough has doubled.


Punch down dough and break off golf ball sized rounds of dough and dip in melted butter mixed with herbs. Place in prepared dish forming layers.


Cover and let rise again until bubbles have risen to almost the top of the dish, about 30 - 45 minutes.


Preheat oven to 400F. Bake 25-30 minutes or until tapping the top sounds hollow. Let cool, serve warm.

Hut Hut!

As any experienced mushroom hunter knows, “Hut Hut!” is the cry of victory yelled through the woods when you find Morel Mushrooms.

This variety of mushroom is one of the most sought after species in the fungi family. And while buying them from the Farmers Market would cost you the current going rate on Rolling Stones tickets, finding them in the wild is oh so much more enjoyable.

Maybe it’s because forced cultivation has not been perfected, maybe it’s just the hunt, but every family of mushroom hunters waits for the spring with anticipation and dreams of garbage bags full of little brown, yellow, or grey honeycombed caps. Each family also has their secrets.




















It might be the time of year: Only when the apple blossoms are in full bloom.
It might be the location: Under a dead Elm tree.
It might be a guarded located: With just the right amount of dew and sunlight.

But whenever or where ever you find your stash it becomes a treasured and defended plot of land. If you’re lucky the secret gets passed down within the family.

In our house growing up, we always had a mushroom season where the five of us would go out and scurry the valley side. My parents still find tons every year. Yes dad, I am jealous, but thanks for the pictures. My mom will clean the extra morels in water and a little salt and then freeze them in water for the winter season. It’s a wonderful treat!

While the classic French preparation puts morels in the same league as Truffles and Caviar, my favorite use is sautéed in butter with salt and pepper, served with a nice steak….

*Pictures by D.Welch*

Wrapped in Flavor

I'm a huge Food Network fan. I Tivo Ace of Cakes and I'll watch Good Eats when ever it's on. The combination of cooking and food science is really interesting to me. So when Alton did a show on wontons I just had to try making my own Potstickers.


There's an Asian market in my home town (I know weird) that happened to have them in the frozen section. I grabbed up a couple packages and brought them back to Minnesota to try out.


They were so easy! I made a little assembly line and finished the packages off. I froze what I didn't use that night and seriously, 4 months later I defrosted them and they tasted just as good.


Potstickers can be served with Chinese, Thai, Japanese, really any Asian food or any appetizer occasion. And since they are so fast (even frozen) to make it's worth the prep time to put them together before hand.


Alton Brown's Perfect Potstickers

Ingredients

1/2 pound ground pork
1/4 cup finely chopped scallions
2 tablespoons finely chopped red bell pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons ketchup
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
35 to 40 small wonton wrappers
Water, for sealing wontons
3 to 4 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 1/3 cups chicken or beef stock

Directions

Combine the first 11 ingredients in a medium-size mixing bowl (pork through cayenne). Set aside.


To form the dumplings, remove 1 wonton wrapper from the package, covering the others with a damp cloth keeping them damp. Brush the edges of the wrapper lightly with water. Place 1/2 rounded teaspoon of the pork mixture in the center of the wrapper. Fold over, seal edges, and shape as desired - either crimp sides for press with a fork. Set on a sheet pan and cover with a damp cloth. Repeat procedure until all of the filling is gone.


Heat a 12-inch sauté pan over medium heat. Coat bottom with olive oil once hot. Add 8 to 10 potstickers at a time to the pan and cook for 2 minutes, without moving letting the bottoms brown. Once the 2 minutes are up, gently add 1/3 cup chicken stock to the pan, turn the heat down to low, cover, and cook tightly for another 2 minutes, letting steam. Quickly remove the top causing the wontons to crinkle. Repeat until all the wontons are cooked. Serve immediately.

Feliz Año Nuevo!

In preparation for our Mexican vacation we had a New Year's fiesta with friends. Enjoy!

Chicken Enchiladas
1 package large tortillas
1 lb (about 8 breasts) chicken
3 tbsp EVOO
2 tbsp Mexican spice mix (paprika, chili powder, cayenne pepper)
1 can green chilies
1 package cream cheese, room temp
1 cup sour cream
2 cups Jack shredded cheese
1 cup Cheddar shredded cheese
1 can enchilada sauce
Salt & pepper

In a 350 degree oven bake the chicken coated with the olive oil and spice mixture till done. Remove and let cool.

In a large bowl mix sour cream, cheeses, chilies, salt and pepper together till well mixed. Using a fork shred the cooled chicken up into small pieces. Add to the cheese mixture.

Set out a large lasagna pan and coat bottom with non-stick spray and a little of the enchilada sauce. Fill each tortilla with about 3/4 cup of the filling and roll length-wise, folding the ends in. Place in the pan. Repeat till ingredients are used up. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas. Place tin foil over the pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hr or freeze and bake for approximately 2 hrs.

Pecan Tassies

Pecan Tassies are a little family favorite that I have been making as long as I can remember. But I'm pretty sure that's only because I got tricked into it.

These cookies are delishous "mini" pecan pies. They are bit sized and always requested. However they kinda take forever to make...

Once the dough is made you have to press it into the tins. You have to have the 'right' thickness; too thin and the cookies will break with the weight of the filling, too thick and the crust will push all of the filling out. So you just have to practice and take your time. Growing up I got a lot of practice around Christmas. It was always a busy time and somehow I got the job of making these each year. Now with all the practice I can turn them out pretty fast.

The memories of all those years comes back with each tin that gets pressed out and each smell of the baking almond crust and pacan filling. I smile every time I make these... even if they do take an entire night.

Pecan Tassies
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 cup flour

Filling
1 egg, beaten
1/3 c. sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 c. dark corn syrup
1 scant tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 c. chopped pecans

For the tarts cream the sugar and butter together. Add egg and extract, blend well. Stir in flour slowly. Wrap in plastic and let chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Spray Sandbakkelse pastry tins with non-stick spray. Take a small amount of dough and press into bottom and sides of the time with thumbs. The dough must be thin about 1/16 in.

Melt the butter for the filling in a medium bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Fill the tarts 2/3 full and place the tins on a cookie sheet. Bake 25 minutes at 350 until the edges are slightly brown. Let cool in tins for about minutes. Remove from tins onto a cooling rack.

Can serve warm or cold. Store in a air tight container for up to one week. Can freeze and thaw.

Butternut Squash Ravioli

Easy dough recipe

2 eggs

2 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp olive oil

Squash Filling

1 roasted, deseeded squash

1/2 cup cream or milk

1/4 tsp salt

Mix all ingredients in the dough recipe together. Add water till just combined. Knead slightly until the dough forms a ball. Let sit in a covered bowl 30 minutes. Knead with more flour till non-sticky, let cool in fridge for better rolling.

Half and deseed the butternut (or summer) squash. Cover with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast at 350 degrees in oven for 30-45 minutes or until fork soft. Remove, let cool, scoop out filling to a medium bowl. Add cream and salt. Mix well until creamy.

Using a pasta attachment (or rolling pin) roll out a portion of the dough into a long strip. Take 1/2 spoon fills and stager on 1/2 of the strip, leaving the other half empty for folding over. (Don't fill too much or it will leak out when cooking)

Using the whites from one egg and a little water, mix till frothy. Brush between the filling around edges. Fold dough strip over and press firmly between the filling scoops, removing all air pockets. Using a ravioli cutter (pizza cutter will do fine also) trim off the excess dough. Lay ravioli out on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper (they can be frozen at this time for up to 6 months).

Repeat until dough or filling is used up. Will make about 60 raviolis depending on size and dedication.

To cook heat a large pot of water with salt till boiling. Add pasta. The ravs are cooked when floating on the top. Fresh pasta cooks much faster than store bought, so be prepared to remove quickly (about 3-5 minutes).

Recommended to be served with a Pesto Sauce (also can be frozen nicely).

Spanakopita - The Greek Pie

I come from a German/Irish background, growing up on dishes like Pork Hocks and Sauerkraut or Beef Pie.

Marrying into a Greek/French Canadian family has given me the opportunity to experience a wide range of new flavors and recipes. While butter seems common to both our backgrounds, the end results are very different yet wonderful in their own ways.

My personal greek favorite is Spanakopita, a spinach pie wrapped in buttery flakey phyllo dough and oh so delish!

Spanakopita

3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 lbs (or one bag) fresh spinach, washed, roughly chopped
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 eggs, beaten
12 oz crumbled feta cheese
1 tbsp coriander seeds, ground
1/2 tsp nutmeg
salt and pepper
8 tbsp (one stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 roll phyllo dough, defrosted
1/4 cup chopped oregano

In a large skillet, heat olive oil and saute both kinds of onions and garlic until soft and white. Remove from heat into a large bowl. In the same large skillet add spinach, salt and pepper. Saute the spinach until it is wilted. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. In either cheese cloth or a kitchen towl, squeeze all liquid out from the spinach. Add to onion mixture with lemon juice, coriander, and nutmeg. After the mixture is cooled mix in the eggs and fold in the feta.

Unroll the phyllo dough onto a clean surface, with a damp towl covering the sheets so they do not dry out.

Take one sheet of phyllo and lay out on a dry surface. Brush the long sides with the melted butter. Place a large teaspoon of the filling at the end of the sheet in the middle. Fold the sides over and brush entire strip with more butter.

Sprinkle with oregano. Fold the end with the filling at an angle into a triangle as you would a flag.

Brush the top with butter and place on a nonstick baking tray. Repeat until all the filling is used up. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes or until the triangles are golden and crispy. Can be served hot, warm, or cold.

Note: This dish can be put together like a lasagna and served in squares also.

The triangles can be frozen on the trays and then placed in a freezer bag and stored for up to 6 months. Do not defrost frozen Spanakopita, but cook for 30-40 minutes.