Bake 52: Week 13

Not sure how to explain how excited I was when I saw that this week we would be making

CREME BRULLE!

Excited for a few reasons:
First of all, this is my husband's all-time favorite dessert.  Anytime there is a chance to go to a nice restaurant and order this, he takes full advantage.
Secondly, this is something I would never have thought I could actually make (again, this is for ordering at nice restaurants) so I was excited to try it!
Third, I love Creme Brulle!

It was honestly easier than I thought it would be, and my amazing fried, Talesha, let me borrow her kitchen torch to caramelize the sugar.  I know she's a true fried because she let me use it before she had even tried it! I am definitely ordering one of those for myself now!

 

  Each week I am more and more impressed by this cookbook.  It has "test kitchen" in the title, and these recipes truly are tested and perfected!

So my review of this is that it was absolutely delicious!

My husband's review?  He was expecting "homemade tasting Creme Brulle" but was pleasantly surprised at how good this was! He said it is as good as, if not better than, any he has ever eaten!

Yeah!! A success!  I felt so proud of myself all night and am so excited to be able to make this now!  

Visit Jen's blog to see the recipe!

Crispy Coconut Chicken Fingers

I had a really rough "mom" day last week.  All I wanted was 10 minutes of quiet, alone time.  When my hubby came home I put myself in a time-out in my room.  Although it was anything but quiet in my house, I was alone.  I knew that if I didn't do something to keep myself busy, I would have fallen asleep immediately!  So I started flipping through recipe books, which is such a stress reliever for me.  This time proved to be productive, as I planned out dinner for the night.  I made these Chicken Fingers with the Seasoned Potato Bites and it was a huge hit with the whole family!  My 8 year old that hates chicken ate several pieces of this and my 6 year old had 4 servings of the potatoes.  My husband always loves anything like a chicken nugget (one of the things he really misses with the gluten allergy) and this was super easy to make gluten free!

Crispy Coconut Chicken Fingers (Adapted From Our Best Bites)
1 1/2 lbs. chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
2 eggs
1 cup cornstarch
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1 cup gluten-free bread crumbs (you can make these from your bread, buy them at The Good Earth)
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp curry powder
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Chop coconut and mix with bread crumbs and spices.  Place in shallow dish.  Beat the egg and place in another shallow dish, and put the cornstarch in a 3rd dish.  Roll each piece of chicken in the cornstarch, then in the egg, then in the bread crumb mixture until coated.  Place on a cookie sheet lined with sprayed foil. Bake until cooked through, about 20-25 minutes.

Seasoned Potato Bites

Seasoned Potato Bites  (Recipe adapted From Our Best Bites Steak Fries)
10 small red potatoes, washed and cut into bite-sized pieces
2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Toss potatoes in a bowl with the olive oil and spices.  Spray a piece of aluminum foil with non-stick spray and place on cookie sheet.  Spread potatoes out on foil and bake at 400 degrees until tender.  Start checking after 20 minutes.

Easy GF Peanut Butter Cookies

 Luckily Kris really likes peanut butter cookies because they turn out really well without flour! We have a few recipes we use all of the time, but here is one that is just a little bit different that I found on Pinterest.  They were really yummy - I have never added nuts to them and it really made them stand out.

Peanut Butter Cookies (from Kill.The.Gluten)
1 cup peanut butter

3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup crushed peanuts (I had pecans and used them and loved it!)

Stir peanut butter, sugar, egg, baking soda, salt until combined.  Add in chocolate chips and nuts.  Roll into small balls and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 350 for 12-14 minutes.

Cheesy Garlic Bread Swirls

 I was trying to find an easy bread stick recipe last Sunday and when I came across this one I could not pass up giving it a shot!  What is not to love here?  Garlicy...Cheesy...all rolled up like a cinnamon roll.  Heaven.  Seriously one of the best things I've eaten (especially right out of the oven!)

And surprisingly fairly easy to make! 

Cheesy Garlic Swirls (Our Best Bites)
1 Tbs yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water

1 1/2 Tbs sugar

1 tsp salt

3 Tbs vegetable oil

1 egg yolk  (I was out of eggs, so omitted this and it turned out great!)
4-5 1/2 cups flour, divided

1/2 cup real butter

1 1/2 Tbs garlic bread seasoning (recipe below)

1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese

1. Combine the yeast, water, and sugar in large mixing bowl and allow to stand 10 minutes or until bubbly.
2. Add salt, vegetable oil and egg yolk and combine.  Add 3 cups flour and mix well until combined.  Add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough that barely sticks to your finer.  Knead, either by hand or in mixer for another 2-3 minutes.  Cover and allow to rise 1 hour.

3. Roll the dough into an 18 X 6 inch rectangle on a surface lightly sprayed with nonstick cooking spray or sprinkled with flour.  Mix softened butter and garlic bread seasoning together. Smear garlic butter over the entire surface of the dough and then sprinkle with cheese.

4. Roll up the dough jelly-roll style and then cut into 12 equal slices.  Place each slice in a muffin tin cup that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.  Cover with a clean cloth.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and allow rolls to rise while the oven is heating. 

5. When the oven is ready, bake for 18-22 minutes.  Be sure to keep a close eye on these during the last 10 minutes or so - once you notice the cheese getting brown, place a sheet of aluminum foil over the rolls.  This will keep the cheese from burning.  Although it will get pretty brown on top, the insides will be perfectly melted.

Of course I had to double the recipe but they are pretty filling so one recipe actually would have been enough.

Garlic Bread Seasoning (Our Best Bites)

1/2 cup powdered parmesan cheese

2 tsp kosher salt

2 Tbs garlic powder

2 tsp oregano

2 tsp basil

2 tsp marjoram

2 tsp parsley

Shake ingredients together in an airtight container.  Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.

Bake 52: Week 12

Palmiers!

When I saw this was the pick this week, I had no clue whatsoever we would be making, but quickly opened my book to take a peek.  Cookies.  Without chocolate.  Not sure how I felt about that.

Until I ate one....Mmmmmmm

How could anything with 3 sticks of butter not be good?!?  There were only a few ingredients, but because of the many times of rolling and folding, a perfect, flaky pastry crust was created.  Then rolled in sugar. Again I say Mmmmmm.  Then baked til just crispy.

The dough all ready to cut for cookies.  So pretty and fun!

 I thought I could just eat one.  Didn't happen.  Ate the rest for breakfast the next morning. 
Even better the next day!  

It was so fun to try something new, and something so different!  This was a great recipe! 

  Visit Rebekah's Blog for all the details!

Bake 52: Week 11

The recipe for this week was Ciabatta Bread!

  I am pretty sure that if this baking club voted someone out of the club each week, this would DEFINITELY be my week to get kicked out! (If I had made it this long, that is.)  How unappetizing does this look? Seriously?!? This bread took a really long time.  The thing I liked is that it used just a few, simple ingredients.  But there was a lot of rising time.  It was cooked on a baking stone.  The only one I have is a round pizza stone.  So I cut my loaf in half so that both halves would fit on the stone.  Rather than rising up (for the last rise) it rose out...making a very wide, short loaf.  Halfway through baking you take the parchment paper out from under it and flip the bread over to bake on the other side.  I don't know if it was my stone or what, but it burned the bread on the stone side, making a very unpleasant flavor and smell to the bread.  I did manage to eat most of one piece, and the inside was actually quite good.

 The outside was awful though.  I was feeling pretty good that I could finally make the other bread recipes in this book so far, but this one I totally bombed.  I really believe that it was user error. 
If you want to see how the bread should be, and get the recipe, visit Emily's Blog!

Bake 52: Week 10

This week's pick was LUNCHBOX BROWNIES!

I knew I would love these because I've never met a brownie I didn't like love! This recipe was unlike any I've baked though because it used unsweetened chocolate, so I was a little worried about them being too bitter.  Once again, this book never leads astray because they were fantastic! The recipe had several variations, I chose the frosted ones - the frosting recipe was just chocolate chips (I opted to use milk chocolate rather than semi-sweet) and a little oil.  It was perfect. 2 ingredients - so simple and so delicious!

And have I mentioned how much I love the foil slings? They came out beautifully!

 

 I always feel like I am torturing my poor husband when I bake something that smells as irresistible as brownies!  When I noticed that this recipe only called for 2/3 cups of flour, I decided to try to make them gluten-free.  I did a mixture of rice flour and cornstarch (I normally would have blended rice flour and garbanzo bean flour because I love the way that bakes, but uncooked it makes for a very disgusting batter and I NEEDED some yummy brownie batter that day!).  I also added about 1 tsp. of unflavored gelatin and 1Tbs. of light mayo (this really helps the texture to be less crumbly and more moist).  They turned out perfect! I couldn't even tell that they were gluten-free.  SO delicious! And Kris loved them!

 To get the full recipe, visit LIZ'S BLOG!

Bake 52: Week 9

This week is my turn to host.  I had such a hard time choosing a recipe because so many of them look so good and I wanted to pick them all!  I finally decided on.....

BABKA!

OK, so my limited  knowledge of Babka came from Seinfeld.  You remember the one, The Dinner Party.  Jerry and Elaine want to take a Chocolate Babka to a dinner party to impress the hosts.  They wait in the bakery, realizing they forgot to take a number, and another member attending the same dinner party purchases the last Chocolate Babka.  Jerry suggests getting a Cinnamon Babka instead, but Elaine feels that the Cinnamon Babka is the "lesser Babka" but he argues that anything with cinnamon is the best.  Well after the LONG wait, they finally purchase the Cinnamon Babka, only to find a hair on it! Classic episode! 

 Anyway, I've always been intrigued as to what Babka really was ever since I saw this.  When I found it in the cookbook I just HAD to pick it - then when I looked at the pictures I was really excited! It is the Cinnamon Babka - and if it is true that this is the "lesser babka", then I figure the chocolate one must be made with unicorn tears or something because I don't know how you beat this!

(Though I am going to have to try to make a chocolate one now because... well, I'll admit that anything with chocolate really is better!)

OK - on to the recipe!

Babka - from The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book

(makes two 9" loaves)

*This dough is very dense and sticky and cannot be kneaded in the food processor or by hand - a standing mixer is necessary.  

DOUGH

1 cup sour cream

3 large eggs

1/4 cup cold water

4 tsp. vanilla extract

5-5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar 

1 envelope (2 1/4 tsp.) instant or rapid-rise yeast

1 tsp. salt

16 Tbs. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" pieces and softened

FILLING

1 1/2 cups packed light or dark brown sugar

8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped coarse

1 cup raisins (optional)

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Pinch salt

GLAZE

1 Tbs. granulated sugar

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 large egg

2 Tbs. water

1. For the dough: Whisk the sour cream, eggs, water, and vanilla together in a large liquid measuring cup. Combine 5 cups of the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt in a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook.  With the mixture on low speed, add the sour cream mixture and mix until the dough comes together, about 2 minutes.

 2. Increase the mixer speed to medium low and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. (The dough will be quite sticky)

3. With the mixer on medium-low, slowly add the butter, 1 piece at a time, waiting about 15 seconds between additions.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue to knead the dough on medium-low speed until it forms a very soft ball, about 15 minutes longer.  If after 6 minutes more flour is needed, add the remaining 1/2 cup of flour, 2 Tbs. at a time, until the dough clears the sides of the bowl but sticks to the bottom.

 4. Scrape the dough into a large, lightly oiled bowl, cover with greased plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 10 hours or up to 24 hours.  (Because of the high butter content, the dough will rise only slightly.)

 5. For the Filling:  Mix all of the ingredients together; set aside.  Grease two 9X5" loaf pans, then line with parchment paper.

For toasting nuts, the book recommends the following:  To toast a small amount (under 1 cup) of nuts or seeds, put them in a  dry skillet over medium heat.  Simply shake the skillet occasionally to prevent scorching and toast until they are lightly browned and fragrant, 3-8 minutes. Watch the nuts closely because they can go from golden to burnt very quickly.To toast a large quantity of nuts, spread the nuts in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and toast in a 350 degree oven, shaking the baking sheet every few minutes until the nuts are lightly browned and fragrant, 5-10 minutes.

The filling. I opted out of using raisins.

6. Turn the cold dough onto a lightly floured counter.  Roll the dough into a 24"X18" rectangle, about 1/16" thick, with the long side facing you.  Sprinkle the filling evenly over the dough, leaving a 1/2" border at the far edge.

 7. Loosen the dough from the counter using a bench scraper, then roll the dough into a tight cylinder, brush the border with water and pinch the seam closed.  Lightly dust the roll with flour and gently stretch the log until 24" in length with an even diameter; pat the ends to even them.  Using a serrated knife, slice the roll into 3/4" thick slices (you shoudl have about 32 slices; don't worry if you have a few less.)

These still had to be cut in half one more time, I got too anxious to take a picture

8. Arrange the slices in 2 long rows in each of the prepared loaf pans.  Mist the loaves with vegetable oil spray, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled in size and the dough barely springs back when poked with a knuckle, 2-2 1/4 hours.

9. For the Glaze:  Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 450 degrees.  Mix the sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the egg with the water.  Brush the loaves gently with the egg wash, then sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar.  Place the loaves in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees, and bake until browned, 50-60 minutes, switching and rotating the loaves halfway through baking.  (If the tops of the loaves look like they are getting too dark, tent them loosely with foil.)

10. Cool the breads in the loaf pans for 15 minutes, then remove them from the pans using the parchment and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours, before serving.

I really loved this! It was a lot like a yummy cinnamon roll made into a loaf of bread.  It says to wait 2 hours before cutting - not going to happen in my house! I pulled it out of the oven at 11:30 at night.  I let it cool about 15 minutes and took a thick slice out of the middle....YUM!  Seriously I was dying at how good it was!  The filling was all gooey and the bread part so soft!  I will definitely make this again - it's not fast, but a fun and impressing thing to take to, yep, you guessed it, a dinner party!

Chinese Lemon Chicken

 This is one of our new favorite recipes around here so I thought I would post it.

The sauce is more like a gravy with a sweet and lemony flavor - so yummy!

 

Chinese Lemon Chicken:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
 3/4 ts table salt, divided
 1/4 ts freshly ground black pepper
 1/2 cup + 2 T cornstarch
 1 3/4 cup chicken broth
 2 large egg yolks
 2 T canola oil
 3 T packed light brown sugar
 2 tsp ground ginger
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (can use bottled)
 1 tsp grated lemon zest

 1. Pat the chicken breasts (full or cut into strips/pieces) dry and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt and the pepper

2. In a medium bowl, combine 1/2 cup of the cornstarch, 1/4 cup of the chicken broth and the egg yolks. Whisk until the batter is smooth. Dip each chicken piece into the batter, coating thoroughly.

3. Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken until brown and done inside. Remove from the heat and keep warm using foil over your bowl or plate.

Captured the steam too!

4. In the same skillet, stir together the remaining 2 T of cornstarch, remaining 1/4 tsp salt, the brown sugar and ginger. Whisk in the remaining chicken broth. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and comes to a boil. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the lemon juice and zest.

 5. Serve the chicken and sauce over rice

Teriyaki Sauce

I found this recipe for Teriyaki Sauce on Our Best Bites

It is the perfect Teryaki Sauce...good flavor and not too sweet!  Super easy to make too!

My husband loves teriyaki sauce, but I really don't like it from a bottle. It is too strong for me.I made this sauce before knowing what I was even going to do with it... I just wanted to try it.   And I loved it! I decided to stir-fry some chicken in a little olive oil, added some garlic, pineapple, broccoli, and green bell pepper.  Once that was all ready I poured the sauce over and heated through.  We ate it over rice, it was a really yummy meal!  They also suggest using it as a marinade for steak and chicken before grilling.

 Teriyaki Sauce (Our Best Bites)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 Tbs. cornstarch

1 Tbs. cold water

1. Combine sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and black pepper in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

2. While the soy sauce mixture is heating, whisk together cornstarch and cold water.  When the soy sauce mixture comes to a full boil, whisk in cornstarch mixture and stir sauce until thickened and clear.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Bake 52: Week 8

For Week 8 we baked Peanut Butter Cookies

This was a good recipe.  Peanut Butter Cookies are not really my thing - but as far as they go - these were good. They were chewy, liked the texture and flavor.  It called for chunky peanut butter as well as chopped peanuts which really brought out the flavor.  On the other hand, however, my kids devoured these!  So a good treat for them...despite the 2 full sticks of butter the recipe called for (ouch!) they at least got protein as well!  Oh and these cookies were BIG! They don't look like it here, but they were...3T of dough per cookie - it's a lot!

The book gave yet another fabulously useful tip - by dipping a fork in cold water before cross hatching it, it made it really easy and the fork didn't stick to the dough at all. Seriously, have I mentioned that I love their tips?

Check out Jennifer's Blog for the complete recipe!

Bake 52: Week 7

This week the pick was pizza crust and sauce!

After making this pizza dough, all of my other recipes are pretty much garbage. This is a thin, crispy (but chewy) pizza.  SO GOOD!  You cook it at 500 degrees on a hot pizza stone - I didn't realize what a difference this would make!

I tried the whole wheat version, which was half bread flour and half whole wheat flour.  The texture and taste was great - my kids didn't even notice a difference.  And did they like it?  Oh they only requested that I make it again 2 days later!  So this time I used full white bread flour and decided to follow the recipe listed with the dough to make a Stromboli (which I had never made before)

It starts out just like making a pizza

And then you roll it up

And tuck in the ends, bake, and slice!

We also tried making their easy sauce - the name was right on.  Super easy to make and  really good!

 We will definitely be using these recipes a lot in our house!  I will probably just stick with the regular pizza rather than the Stromboli, just because it's a little less work and a little more traditional, but this is for sure a new favorite recipe.  Now I am going to experiment with it to try making it gluten-free!
Go HERE for the full recipe!