Yeast Type Raised Doughnuts

This last week I experimented with three types of homemade donuts, my poor suffering family casts their votes for favorites and gladly took part in the taste tasting. Head over my blog to read my thoughts on doughnuts.

The third batch I tried, I used a Yeast Type Raised Doughnuts. I don't know there is anything magical about mine (from The king Arthur Flour Comp. 200th Anniversary Cookbook) .

Unlike cake doughnuts which are leavened with baking powder, raised doughnutsare leavened with yeast and have a lighter, spongier texture. These take some time, but the yeast will do a lot of the work for you while you go about other things.

The Sponge
1 cup warm water 1/₂ cup non-fat dry milk
1 tablespoon sugar 1 tablespoon or packet of yeast
1 1/₂ cups Flour
Making the Sponge: Pour the warm water into a mixing bowl. Dissolve in it the sugar, yeast and dry milk. Blend in the whole wheat flour. This makes a sponge which you cover and let work for 15 or 20 minutes, until it is bubbly and expanded.

Doing The Rest

2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour 1/₂ cup sugar
1 egg, well beaten

Making the Dough: After the sponge is bubbling, blend in the butter, sugar,and egg. Add the salt and unbleached flour. This should make a dough just barely firm enough to knead, but don't be afraid to add a bit more flour to make it manageable.

Kneading & Rising: Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead with floured hands for 3 to 4 minutes. Let it rest while you clean and grease your bowl. Knead the dough another 3 to 4 minutes until it's smooth and elastic. Then place it in the bowl turning it to grease the top. Let it rise for 11/₂ to 2 hours, until doubled.

Shaping: Roll dough out until it is about 1/2" thick. Using a doughnut cutter or whatever you have on hand - biscuit cutter or even a drinking glass. Cut the Hole out. If you didn't use a doughnut cutter, use what you have. I used a clean medicine bottle.

In a skillet (I used a small iron skillet) heat enough vegetable oil or shortening to about 375º to partially submerge them. It should cook a doughnut to a golden brown in about 40 seconds. If you get big a skillet, they the doughnuts can cook quickly if the oil is too hot and you won't have time to think.

Gently place the doughnuts into the heated oil. As soon as they come to the surface, or are a light golden brown, use tongs to flip them over so they'll expand evenly without cracking. When they're golden brown, remove them with a slotted spoon or rubber tipped tongs and let them drain on absorbent paper. I used cookie cooling racks with paper towels under them.

Top it off. Which topping you choose, I suggest a shallow bowl for the glazes and only dipping one side of the doughnut, the gooey stuff will drip down the side! If you have little ones, they might enjoy some colorful sprinkles or even chopped nuts on top.

Confectioner's Sugar Glaze
Blend 4 tsp. milk or water with 1 C. powdered sugar in a bowl that would be easy for dipping your donuts in. I added a dash of salt and a hint of vanilla and it seemed to be better.

Powdered Sugar: I have a shaker filled with powdered sugar - simply shake however much you want.

Chocolate: There are many recipes out there, but this is what we finally settled on. I did mine in the microwave - I had too much going on to babysit a pan on the stove.

• 1/3 cup unsalted butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 4-6 tablespoons hot milk
  
• 4 ounces milk chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Chocolate Frosting: Heat butter and chocolate over low heat until chocolate is melted
   If you do this in the microwave, only heat for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in-between
   heating.
   
2. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.
3. Stir in water 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency.

Homemade biscuit donuts

This last week I experimented with three types of homemade donuts, my poor suffering family casts their votes for favorites and gladly took part in the taste tasting. Head over my blog to read my thoughts on doughnuts.

The second batch I tried, I used my favorite homemade biscuit recipe. I don't know there is anything magical about mine (from the Muffin Lady by Linda Fisher) but here it is.

2C. flour 2 Tbsp. sugar 1/4 C. milk
1 Tbsp. baking powder 1/4 tsp. salt
1 stick butter 1 egg

Sift (mix) all dry ingredients. Cut the butter into pieces and add to the dry ingredients. Add the egg. With your hands, dough hook of a mixer, or pastry blender, lightly blend or knead the dough mixture. Gradually add the milk until the mix is moist enough for both the flour and the butter to stick. It might not be mecessary to use all the milk. Take the resulting mix and form by hand into a ball. Cover it with a towel or another bowl and let sit for 30 minutes.

Roll dough out until it is about 1/2" thick. Using a doughnut cutter or whatever you have on hand - biscuit cutter or even a drinking glass. Cut the Hole out. If you didn't use a doughnut cutter, use what you have. I used a clean medicine bottle.

In a skillet (I used a small iron skillet) heat enough vegetable oil or shortening to about 375º to partially submerge them. It should cook a doughnut to a golden brown in about 40 seconds. If you get big a skillet, they the doughnuts can cook quickly if the oil is too hot and you won't have time to think.

Gently place the doughnuts into the heated oil. As soon as they come to the surface, or are a light golden brown, use tongs to flip them over so they'll expand evenly without cracking. When they're golden brown, remove them with a slotted spoon or rubber tipped tongs and let them drain on absorbent paper. I used cookie cooling racks with paper towels under them.







Top it off. Which topping you choose, I suggest a shallow bowl for the glazes and only dipping one side of the doughnut, the gooey stuff will drip down the side! If you have little ones, they might enjoy some colorful sprinkles or even chopped nuts on top.







Confectioner's Sugar Glaze
Blend 4 tsp. milk or water with 1 C. powdered sugar in a bowl that would be easy for dipping your donuts in. I added a dash of salt and a hint of vanilla and it seemed to be better.


Powdered Sugar: I have a shaker filled with powdered sugar - simply shake however much you want.


Chocolate: There are many recipes out there, but this is what we finally settled on. I did mine in the microwave - I had too much going on to babysit a pan on the stove.

• 1/3 cup unsalted butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 4-6 tablespoons hot milk
  
• 4 ounces milk chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Chocolate Frosting: Heat butter and chocolate over low heat until chocolate is melted
   If you do this in the microwave, only heat for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in-between
   heating.
   
2. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.
3. Stir in water 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency.

Bisquick Cake Donuts

This last week I experimented with three types of donuts, my poor suffering family casts their votes for favorites and gladly took part in the taste tasting. Head over my blog to read my thoughts on doughnuts.

The first batch I tried was from a ready made mix - Bisquick:

2 1/4 C. Bisquick (I used the Low-fat type)
2/3 C. milk (I use Buttermilk and make my own by mixing 1 C. milk with 1 Tbsp lemon juice)
2 Tbsp. sugar

								Mix above ingredients and turn onto surface dusted with Bisquick mix or flour. Knead until smooth.

Roll dough out until it is about 1/2" thick. Using a doughnut cutter or whatever you have on hand - biscuit cutter or even a drinking glass. Cut the Hole out. If you didn't use a doughnut cutter, use what you have. I used a clean medicine bottle.

In a skillet (I used a small iron skillet) heat enough vegetable oil or shortening to about 375º to partially submerge them. It should cook a doughnut to a golden brown in about 40 seconds. If you get big a skillet, they the doughnuts can cook quickly if the oil is too hot and you won't have time to think.

Gently place the doughnuts into the heated oil. As soon as they come to the surface, or are a light golden brown, use tongs to flip them over so they'll expand evenly without cracking. When they're golden brown, remove them with a slotted spoon or rubber tipped tongs and let them drain on absorbent paper. I used cookie cooling racks with paper towels under them.



Top it off. Which topping you choose, I suggest a shallow bowl for the glazes and only dipping one side of the doughnut, the gooey stuff will drip down the side! If you have little ones, they might enjoy some colorful sprinkles or even chopped nuts on top.

Confectioner's Sugar Glaze
Blend 4 tsp. milk or water with 1 C. powdered sugar in a bowl that would be easy for dipping your donuts in. I added a dash of salt and a hint of vanilla and it seemed to be better.

Powdered Sugar: I have a shaker filled with powdered sugar - simply shake however much you want.

Chocolate: There are many recipes out there, but this is what we finally settled on. I did mine in the microwave - I had too much going on to babysit a pan on the stove.

• 1/3 cup unsalted butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 4-6 tablespoons hot milk
• 4 ounces milk chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Chocolate Frosting: Heat butter and chocolate over low heat until chocolate is melted
   If you do this in the microwave, only heat for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in-between
   heating.
2. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.
3. Stir in water 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency.

Potato Refrigerator Bread

Yesterday was bread day at our house, as I was baking bread for dinner.  The first was Potato Refrigerator Bread, which my family loves.  I've used a recipe from Bread World for years now and it always seems to work great. It was easy and fairly moist. just the really soft bread that the family loves to put butter and jelly on.

The second was Italian Hearth style French bread, using a recipe from my King Arthur Flour Company 200th Anniversary Cookbook that I've had for many years. I actually use King Arthur Flour when I can, as I can now get it from two places locally. It is not enriched and unbleached and I can get the regular or the bread flour, which I use a lot of.  If I cannot get KAFC flour, I will use Hodgson Mill unbleached white flour, which I can find at my local grocer. 

Because I do not have Italian bread or Baguette Pans, I found that I can substitute heavy duty foil triple layered before forming my make-shift baguette pan. A quick call to my Traci to consult with, confirmed she did the same as well.  I continued, and I thought it worked rather well, and the bread still turned out great and the first loaf was consumed in no time!   

 

So even though I don't have the fancy tools, I can still turn out delicious hearth style french bread. I must say, the recipe I use literally takes all day.  I started at  9 a.m. and it was finally ready at 6 p.m.  Please don't let this scare you away from attempting to make traditional Hearth style bread.  It is the whole process of multiple risings that give it the classic French Bread.  I was also busy yesterday teaching the kids, doing laundry, and chasing the baby, so the preparation time could have been much shorter, but it worked out well by the time Honey walked through the door. 

 

 

Homemade Baby Wipes

Homemade baby wipes.  When my kids were little, they tender bottoms broke out when I used store bought wipes, so I made my own using water, baby oil, baby bath, and Bounty Paper Towels.  Now that I am keeping The Princess, I've began making and using them again.  I've even given them as baby gifts to moms that love this sort of thing. I know there are many recipes for this, but this is what we do.  When our kids were little we used cloth diapers and made our own baby wipes. I loved knowing what went into them as Oldest was a little sensitive to the bought ones. In a few weeks, we will start watching a baby for a some friends when she goes back to the classroom, and I'm considering making them again. They last forever! Here is how we made them. Since most parents have these supplies on hand anyway, these are relatively inexpensive to make.

Supplies:

• 1 roll of Bounty paper towels.  I like to use the Big Roll (it's gotta be a really strong paper towel)
• 2 TBSP Baby Wash/Bath (choose a natural wash!)
• 2 TBSP Baby Oil(I've heard some people use olive oil
• 2 Cups water (I like to use warm water, as it mixes easier)
• Container to hold wipes. we use a 10 C. Rubbermaid container with locking lid that we got about 18 years ago. You just need something that has a locking lid

Directions

1. Cut roll of Bounty. I mark the center using a ruler and ink pen, then used my electric knife (or you could use a sharp serrated knife) to cut the roll in half.
2. Place 1/2 roll of paper towels in container.
3. Pour solution over towels.
4. Seal tightly and let set for a few hours or overnight.
5. Open container, remove cardboard center, use from the middle.
6. This will make two large rolls of baby wipes. Save the other 1/2 roll for the next time you need to make wipes.

Yummy White Chicken Chili

Only was so excited.  She had watched Rachael Ray Show Monday morning and saw a recipe they fixed and said it looked so yummy that she wanted to make it for dinner.  Since I was in town, I stopped at our local Aldi store for most of the simple ingredients and then a quick stop at the grocery store for the chicken breast. Almost as soon as we got in the house, she was in the kitchen working on dinner, making the homemade salsa, chopping cilantro, adding ingredients, and finally mixing up cornbread from scratch... I must say that it was a HUGE hit with our family!  We had plenty for our family of five, with a little less than a gallon to put away in the freezer for another day.  Of course we had to have our Fritos and some extra Montery Jack Cheese on the top.  We got so excited about trying it that I forgot to put out the sour cream!  Here it is - give it a try and let me know what your reaction was.

Mandi Forester’s White Chicken Chili

Ingredients

• 1 32-ounce box chicken stock
• 3 cans white beans, left undrained
• 5 cups cooked chicken (rotisserie or boiled)
• 1 16-ounce jar salsa
• 1 8-ounce block pepper jack cheese, grated
• 2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Black or white pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup finely crushed corn chips (optional, if you like your chili thicker)
• Sour cream, for garnish
  
  We added a tbsp of fresh lime juice for a bit more Southwest flavor (because we have a hard time following a recipe "by-the-book")
  

Yields: 6 servings

Preparation

1. Place all ingredients except the corn chips in a crockpot. Cook on high until the cheese is melted.
2. Chili may also be cooked on the stovetop over medium-high heat until cheese is melted.
3. When the chili is ready, add the crushed corn chips, if using, and simmer for 10 minutes to thicken. Garnish with more chips, cheese and/or sour cream and serve. 

 The salsa recipe is from a friend of ours and I posted it the first of this month here, but here it is again.  So good with all fresh ingredients!  

Pam's Salsa
1 29 oz. can stewed tomatoes
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
Season with salt
Add 1 tsp - 1 Tbsp cilantro (fresh is best) to taste.
Dice up 1 jalapeno, de-seed if you don't want it as hot
Garlic - only take a few cloves (or you can add minced garlic if you don't have fresh)
Sugar - a handful or about 2 tbsp. This is to taste as well.

Put into food processor and pulse a few times.

Braised Beef Short Ribs and Root Veggies over Egg Noodles

"I had these recipes that say do this, do that. Who MAKES these rules?"
Emeril Lagasse

First off, I must confess that I LOVE to try new recipes or search for something "better than" the recipe I have. This tends to drive Honey absolutely CRAZY!!! "Why can't you fix it like last time" or "What's wrong with following the recipe" or "I like this one, did you write it down?" About the only thing I do follow the recipe on is when I make bread.

The recipe for today, Braised Beef Short Ribs and Root Veggies over Egg Noodles by Emeril Lagasse, was given to me by a friend, Les, who loves to cook and he's really an awesome griller. He's fun to cook with, always makes life interesting, and has a great heart for others. He prepared the following recipe and brought some for me to try. Of course, since I didn't want to "poison" my family, I ate the bowl of delicious stew at lunch that day. I just had to try it on my family. Youngest and I had fun shopping for the ingredients for this at our local Walmart until it came time to find the wine. He told everyone that looked at him that we were "only getting it for cooking!" I'm hoping that, by Youngest helping me shop for the ingredients, he will not be so hesitant about eating something he's not eaten before. The smell of stew is drifting through the house and soon I'll stir up the cornbread as well. Don't be afraid to put a little "BAM!" in your cooking!

Braised Beef Short Ribs and Root Vegetables over Egg Noodles

Ingredients

• 2 racks beef short ribs (4 to 5 pounds), cut into individual ribs
• 2 tablespoons Essence, recipe follows
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions
• 1 stalk celery, trimmed and chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 cup ruby port (I used Christian Brothers Ruby Port)
  
• 2 cups dry red wine (I used Post Red Table Wine, from a local winery)
  
• 4 cups veal or beef stock *
  
• 1 pound butternut or acorn squash, peeled, fibers removed, and cubed
• 2 parsnips, peeled, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 2 carrots, peeled, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 12 ounces egg noodles, cooked al dente, accompaniment
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions, garnish
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley, garnish

Directions

Season the ribs with the Essence on both sides. In a Dutch oven or large, heavy covered pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat.

Add the ribs in batches to prevent crowding and sear on all sides. Remove with tongs to a plate. Add the onions, celery and carrots to the fat remaining in the pan, and cook, stirring, until soft and starting to caramelize, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic, salt, red pepper, and black pepper, and cook for 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste, bay leaves, rosemary, and thyme, and cook for 2 minutes. Add the Port and red wine, bring to a boil, stirring to deglaze the pan and cook until reduced by 1/2.

Add the ribs and stock and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, cover, and simmer until the meat is tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. (During cooking, make sure that there is at least 1-inch of liquid in the pot; add more stock or water as necessary to cover.) **

Add the root vegetables and cook until they are tender and the meat easily falls from the bones, another 40 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from the heat.

Transfer the ribs and meat to a large bowl and cover to keep warm. Skim any fat from the surface. Bring the sauce to

a boil and cook until thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and discard the bay leaves.

To serve, arrange the egg noodles in the middle of a large platter. Place the ribs on top and spoon the sauce over the meat. Garnish with green onions and parsley and serve immediately.

* Instead of purchasing beef stock, I have used L.B. Jamison's Soup Base or Superior Touch Better Than Bouillon Beef Base at my local grocery store. 1 tsp of base to one cup of water makes an excellent beef stock.

** What I did (okay here is the I didn't follow the recipe part): The meat was not as tender as I wanted, so I ended up putting all of this in a extra large crock-pot that I have. I cooked the veggies in a separate pot with beef broth so I could just add it without draining the seasoned broth. Normally I would handmake the egg noodles, but time has not been my friend this week, so I purchased some at the store. I also added the noodles to the stew - to make it more acceptable to my family.

Essence (Emeril's Creole Seasoning):

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano

1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.

Yield: about 2/3 cup