Easy French Baguettes

I was looking to make French baguettes for our gourmet club invitation. These were very easy (I made them smaller so 4 per batch) and tasted WAY better than store bought. The outside crust was fabulous- crunchy but chewy. Each baguette was perfectly soft in the center too. 

Ingredients

2 Tbs honey

1-2/3 Tbs yeast

1/2 cup warm water

3 1/2 to 4 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp salt

cornmeal or semolina for dusting

Instructions

Combine the honey, yeast and 1/2 cup warm water. Stir to combine and let the mixture stand until the yeast is activated and begins to foam and make a little sponge…about 5 minutes

Mix the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl with a dough hook and slowly add in the yeast mixture. Gradually add an additional 1 cup warm water and mix until the dough comes together into a ball that is not too wet (you may not need all of the water). If the dough is sticky, add a little bit more flour. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, 2 to 6 minutes.

Form the dough into a ball, place it in a lightly-oiled bowl and cover with a dishcloth, so it doesn't dry out. Let rest in a warm environment until doubled in size, 25 to 30 minutes.

Punch down the dough and divide it in half. Shape into 2 baguettes by making a flat rectangle out of your dough, then folding the top and bottom towards the middle, like an envelope, and sealing the seam with your fingers. Keep repeating the folding and sealing, stretching the rectangle lengthwise as you go, until it's about 12 to 14 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. 

Shape each end into a point. Flip seam-side down and place on a sheet pan or baguette pan that has been dusted with cornmeal. Score the tops of the loaves, making 3 deep diagonal slits 1/2-inch deep, cover with a dishcloth and let rise in a warm environment until they have doubled in size, 25 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F and position your oven racks with one on the bottom and the other in the middle. Place an oven-safe (non-glass) bowl or pan on the bottom rack.

When your bread has risen for the second time, remove the towel and quickly and simultaneously, slide the sheet tray with the baguettes onto the middle rack while carefully throwing the ice water into the bowl on the bottom rack. The ice water will create a burst of steam that will give you a nice crispy crust. Quickly shut the oven door so no steam escapes. Bake the baguettes until golden brown, about 15 minutes. 

If you have a glass window on your oven, place a towel over it when throwing the ice in, hot glass can shatter if ice touches it.

Makes 2 loafs or 4 baguettes

 

Credit to http://deardarla.com/2015/02/french-baguettes-episode-3-of-the-deardarlabakingchallenge/

Monte Cristo

A new Christmas tradition in the making! For several years we have supplied the Christmas Eve meat (prime rib) which turned into Christmas Day french dips. They were one of my favorites! But, in leau of only a few people actually enjoying the prime rib, last year we opted for a traditional ham on Christmas Eve. That left us in quite the quandry. Besides funeral potatoes, how would we make Christmas Day's linner a delicious feast with ham. In comes the Monte Cristo....
I first experienced a Monte Cristo while eating in the bayou in Disneyland and oh. my. heavens. It was soooooo good! Because of that still relatively vivid memory, I jumped in with both feet first. I looked at a few recipes and decided this one sounded like the most appetizing. Really, what can go wrong with a meat and cheese sandwich BATTERED and DEEP FRIED, sprinkled with SUGAR, and dipped in HOMEMADE JELLY?! There are no words...

Appetizer Monte Cristo for my gourmet dinner. Adorable, right?

MONTE CRISTO

Ingredients

• 6 slices of bread (need a sturdy white like challah or artisan french)
• 6 slices Provolone Cheese
• 6 slices Swiss Cheese
• 6 slices turkey
• 6 slices ham
• 1 Cup flour
• 1 egg
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 Teaspoon salt
• 1 cup of water
• powder sugar for topping
• raspberry jam for dipping (on Christmas we used the leftover homemade cranberry sauce and it was AMAZING!)

Instructions

In a deep fryer, heat oil to 350 degrees 
To assemble sandwich, layer one slice of bread, ham, provolone cheese, turkey, and swiss cheese, and then another slice of bread. Secure all 4 corners of the sandwich with toothpicks.

For the batter, in a bowl beat the egg. Add flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and water and mix until all smooth.Dip sandwich in batter, coating all edges and sides.Carefully fry sandwich until golden brown on each side.Remove from oil and place on a paper towel covered plate to soak up the extra oil. 

Sprinkle with powdered sugar, remove toothpicks, and serve with your favorite raspberry jam or other sweet-tart jelly.

*To make mini appetizer Monte Cristos, use a 2-inch cookie cutter and push through the already assembled sandwich. Using a turkey skewer, poke all the way through the center. Dip sandwich in batter until covered. Then place upside-down in fryer (loop side down). The loop prevents the sandwich from falling off while frying.

Inspired by
http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2016/03/disneylands-monte-cristo-sandwich.html#_a5y_p=5400581

Healthy Chicken Gyros

One of my favorite healthy dinners is homemade chicken gyros. It's something about the blend of bright vegetables, tangy tzatziki, herbed chicken, and the bite of red onion and feta. A perfectly balanced entree filled with flavor and yet diet friendly. I created this recipe a few years ago after looking to make homemade gyros. I took 3 different recipes and blended them together to come up with something simple and flavorful. The whole family loves it. Plus, they make a great lunch the next day!

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts, cut into strips
8 Pita bread/pockets

Marinade
¼ cup olive oil
2 T lemon juice
2 T garlic, chopped

1 tsp oregano
½ tsp cumin
 ½ tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt

Tzatziki Sauce 

1 cucumber, peeled
1 cup plain yogurt

1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp white wine vinegar
Salt/pepper
Squeeze of lemon juice
Dash olive oil

Optional Topping: feta cheese, chopped/sliced tomato, slivered red onion, sliced cucumber

In a quart sized storage bag, place the chicken and marinade ingredients. Massage together and let rest for 1-2 hours in refrigerator.

Using a cheese grater, shred cucumber and squeeze out excess liquid. In a small bowl, add drained cucumber, yogurt, garlic, vinegar, and salt and pepper. Stir together. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Once marinated, cook chicken on stovetop, grill pan, or outside on the grill.

When ready to eat, assemble gyro by spreading tzatziki sauce on pita, add chicken and top with optional toppings and more sauce if desired.

Serve with vegetables and hummus, fries, or salad.

Brown Butter Banana Bars

These are sooooooooo good. The frosting is the icing on the cake *pun intended*. This recipe makes a large sheet cake so first I gave some to my family. They all loved it (Good sign!). Then I brought to the Young Women at church (the few who chose these over candy like it). With still half a pan left and knowing my lack of self control, I sent the rest to work with Kevin. He later reported that every. single. person. who ate one of these bars LOVED THEM. There you have it folks. Three different groups of people and loads of approving words. If you have brown bananas and some butter, you must make these. Now. Run. To the kitchen. And make them. Then run. Around the block. 10 times. That's probably about how many calories you just ingested, unless you have more self control than I do.

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cup sugar

1 cup plain greek yogurt

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 eggs

4 ripe bananas, peeled and mashed

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

Brown Butter Frosting:

1/2 cup butter

4 cups powdered sugar

1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3 Tbs milk

Directions:

Heat oven to 375F.  Spray with non-stick spray a 15x10-inch jelly roll pan.  For the bars, in a large mixing bowl, beat together sugar and butter until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time. Add yogurt and blend well.  Add in bananas and vanilla. 

In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add dry ingredients to the wet mixture in mixing bowl. Blend well. Spread batter evenly into pan.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

While bars are baking, heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until boiling. Butter will foam and bubble and then quickly turn brown. Remove from heat immediately to avoid scorching. 

Whisk in powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. Whisk until smooth. Using a spatula, spread the brown butter frosting over the warm bars (the frosting is easier to spread evenly onto the bars while warm). 

Yield: 3 dozen large bars

Inspired by http://lifessimplemeasures.blogspot.com/2012/01/banana-bread-bars-with-brown-butter.html

Withered Witch Punch

A pretty simple but yummy punch with a few extras added to make it perfectly creepy for Halloween!

Half way into the party before adding more dry ice and another ice hand...

Ingredients

1 (6 oz) package lime flavored gelatin
4 cups hot water
1 (46 oz) bottle pineapple juice
2 (12 oz) can frozen pulp free orange juice concentrate
2 cups cold water
1 2-liter ginger ale

Directions

In a medium saucepan dissolve gelatin in hot water. Allow to cool.

When gelatin is cool, pour into a large punch bowl. Stir in pineapple juice, orange juice concentrates, and 2 cups cold water. Pour in ginger ale just before serving.

For added creepiness, 4-6 hours before the party fill 2 non-latex, non-powdered gloves with water and lay flat in the freezer. Before serving run frozen filled gloves under warm water for 20 seconds. Peel off gloves and place in punch bowl.

Add 2-3 lbs of dry ice to create a bubbly, smoking punch!

Serves 20 people

"I'm mellllltiiiiiing..."

Death by Chocolate Cake

I wanted a deliciously chocolatey rich dessert for Halloween. Enter chocolate overload... It was a TOTAL hit at the party with only 3 small pieces remaining. Everyone raved! The only thing I wish is that there was a better way to present it than leaving it in a casserole dish.

DEATH BY CHOCOLATE CAKE

• 1 Box Duncan Hines Chocolate fudge cake mix
• 1 Box Hershey’s dark chocolate instant pudding mix (3.4 oz)
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk
• ½ cup canola oil
• ½ cup plain nonfat yogurt

For the topping

• 1/2 bottle Hershey's chocolate syrup (24 oz bottle)
• 1 box Hersey’s Special Dark Chocolate instant pudding mix (3.4 oz)
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups heavy whipping Cream
• 1 cup hot chocolate mix (about 6-7 sleeves of instant hot chocolate)
• Additional hot fudge sauce for drizzling
•  1/4 dark chocolate bar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine cake mix and dry pudding mix with eggs, vanilla extract, milk, vegetable oil and yogurt. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
3. Spray a 9x13 baking dish. Pour batter into dish and bake for 30-35 minutes. Check for doneness by testing the center of the cake. Cool for 10 minutes.
4. While the cake is still warm, take the end of a wooden spoon or another round object and poke holes all over the top of your cake.
5. Squeeze syrup all over top of warm cake. Allow it to absorb in the cake until cake is cooled.
6. When the cake has cooled, prepare the pudding layer by mixing a package of instant dark chocolate pudding with 2 cups of cold milk. Pour pudding over cake BEFORE it sets. Place cake in fridge to set a minimum of 15 minutes.
7. Prepare the whipped cream. In mixing bowl, pour in heavy whipping cream and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add hot chocolate mix and increase speed to medium high. Beat until stiff peak form.

Spread whipped cream over the top of cake. Top cake with some chocolate syrup and sprinkle crushed chocolate bar over the top.


Inspiration from http://beyondfrosting.com/2013/12/08/triple-chocolate-poke-cake/

Halloween 2016

Last night was our 2nd Annual Halloween Party! In similar fashion to last year we invited several people from our "new" ward to get to know them better. We had two newbies show up along with people in the "new" ward who moved over with us. Fun to get to know everyone in silly get-ups and feel like a kid again!

While looking at several different Halloween foods online, I decided to attempt to mesh two ideas together. Welcome the...

SHRUNKEN HEAD APPLE CRISP

 8 medium apples, like Jonagold, Fuji, or Gala
1/2 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch ground cloves 
4 tablespoon butter
1 cup water


Preheat oven to 375°F with a rack in the lower-middle position.

Remove the core of the apples using a melon baller. Cut within a half-inch of the bottom of the apple and create a cavity about 1-inch wide. Peel the outside of the apple. If apple doesn't stand on it's own, cut a small about of the bottom bumps off the apple to give it a flat surface to rest on. Cut face in the side of the apple with a small paring knife. Cut about 1/2" deep- no need to carve all the way through.

I learned the hard way to cut in the butter and peel the apples... Learn from my mistakes!

Mix the dry ingredients. Cut in butter until well blended. Fill each apple with mixture, dividing  evenly between each apple. Make sure to pack mixture firmly.

Arrange the apples in a baking dish (9x13 worked well). Pour the water into the bottom of the dish and cover loosely with aluminum foil.

Bake for 20 minutes and remove foil. Continue baking uncovered until the apples are soft and the brown sugar has melted into a syrup approximately 30-40 minutes.

Even peeling them after baking, they still look creepy!

Inspiration from http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-baked-apples-stuffed-with-oatmeal-brown-sugar-75752 and http://www.tryanythingonceculinary.com/shrunken-heads-baked-apple-recipe/