Italian Peasant Bread

Ah, an Italian restaurant.  I remember the first time I had dinner there.  I thought it was the most romantic place - the atmosphere, the music is floats just below the soft conversations, the servers at attentive, and Mama Mia!  The food is delicious! Once we ate on the patio on a cool Fall evening under the stars...  I'm going to a happy place here!   Each time we anticipate the arrival of a fresh baked herbed flat bread as we peruse the menu - searching for new items.  We always have to ask for a second loaf and there is always swatted hands to get the last slice dipped in seasoned olive oil.  It's always a toss up between the  Roasted Chicken Cannelloni or the scrumptious Fettuccine Alfredo, Grilled Chicken Spiedini, or oh, I've got to stop before I beg Honey to drive me through the snow for these delicious meals.  

Peasant Bread and peppered olive oil

 The first time we were there I begged our server to tell me what kind of bread it was and how to make it... Peasant Bread was all they would tell me and thus the quest began. After many trials, I finally found a recipe that gained my family's approval and it has quickly become a favorite on Italian night at our house, so here it is!

Italian Peasant Bread

Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, this bread  flecked with herbs, the smell just tempts you to sink your teeth into it. Its a great bread to tear and dip in flavored olive oils and to serve with your best Italian pasta dishes, or soups. I usually make 2 loaves at a time because it's so flavorful and it goes very quickly.

Servings:  2-4 Yield:  1 loaf
3 hours 2½ hours prep


¾ C. water
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 cups flour
1 tsp.  salt
1 ½ tbsp. sugar
1 ½ tbsp. rosemary
1 tbsp. yeast (active dry yeast)
salt (to garnish)
additional rosemary (to garnish)
 
BREAD MACHINE: Place ingredients, according to manufacturer's directions into your bread machine. (some call for all liquids, or all dry ingredients first, so know your machine) Set machine to"dough cycle" and wait.  (This takes most machines about an hour and a half for a full cycle) Remove from machine when cycle is complete and place on a lightly greased baking sheet.

BY HAND:
  I don’t have a bread machine, so this is how I do it. 

• In a large bowl, mix the water (just a little warm to the touch) with the yeast, and let it set for 5 minutes.  It should foam a little. 
• Add the oil, salt, sugar, and rosemary; mix well.  Gradually add the flour, making sure it is smooth and elastic.  You might have to add just a tad bit more flour to make sure the dough is not sticky. 
• On a well floured surface, kneed the dough until smooth and elastic. 

Place the dough on a baking sheet or stone.  You can flatten it a bit if you want, but it should be in a round mound.  This bread is not a shaped type bread, but rather takes it shape as it bakes and spreads a bit. 

Cover and let rise in a warm place for about an hour or until doubled in size. Brush with a little olive oil, sprinkle with rosemary and salt if desired. (This is the way its done at Macaroni Grill)

When the dough looks like it is almost doubled in size, turn the oven on to preheat (like a mound of raised dough).

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes until crust is golden and crispy. Bread is meant to be a flatter shape and not high rising bread.

I like to cut my bread and then serve with olive oil flavored with fresh ground pepper or my recipe for the Herbed Oil for Dipping Bread below. I like to mix a bunch of this up at a time and keep it in a pint jar by my spices so it will be ready any time I need it. 

Herbed oil for Dipping Bread

1 tsp. ground black pepper (I use fresh ground from a pepper mill)
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried rosemary
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. parsley flakes
1 tsp. granulated garlic
1 tsp. kosher salt

"Secret" Homemade Pizza Sauce

When we first got married, all Honey could talk about was a secret recipe that Mrs. Ruth used to make at Cookson Hills Christian Home for Children, in Kansas, OK.  Now, you're probaby thinking you didn't even know such a place ever existed, but nestled in the western OK hills is a wonderful sleepy little town. Honey's parents were house parents there for many years until 1988.

Well, being the "good" wife I thought I was supposed to be, I made a long distance (before cell phones) and called the only Ruth I knew from Cookson, got her not so secret recipe (she claimed) and had it waiting for him when he got home from work.  Well, he was not impressed.  Come to find out there were TWO Ruths and I called the wrong one.  RATS!  I finally got it out of him, called her.  She was astounded that he loved and remembered it and was happy to give me the Secret Recipe. 

So I made this NEW recipe and I quickly found out it wasn't the crust that he loved, but the sauce!  Gee if I had only known that in the beginning it would have saved me a lot of grief!  I now will make up a HUGE mess of this (almost 3 gallons) and can it so we will have it when we need it.  Guess it's not so much a secret now1

Secret Homemade Pizza Sauce

Combine the following in a sauce pan, until just heated to marry the flavors.  Spoon onto your pizza crust and build a mouth watering pizza that will have your family begging for more! Check this post out to see how I make personal pan pizzas for everyone just the way they like them.

1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 8 oz can tomato paste
1/2 C. water
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1/4 tsp salt

Net

Itallian Spaghetti Sauce

Many years ago, a family from church left for Africa to become missionaries. Before Susan left, we had the privilege of eating with them.  Though we had the most wonderful time with them and their girls, it was the spaghetti sauce that I had to inquire about before we walked out the door that night.  She confessed that got the recipe from some Italian folks they had befriended.  It is a recipe that my family loves and one that I fix and can for my mom for a Christmas present each year.  It is simple, easy, and a fix it and forget it type of sauce... I hope you'll give it a try.


In a crock-pot, I use my stock pot if I'm in a hurry, combine the following and let it simmer on low all day.

3 - 14 oz cans stewed/diced tomatoes
2 - 1 lrg can tomato sauce
2 - sm. cans tomato paste

1/4-1/2 C. Good red wine.  I've always heard that if it's good to drink, then cook with it. Beings that we don't drink, I usually have to rely on a good friend to tell me what I need to get. Someone recently gave me two bottles of Frank Coppola Gold label Red Table Wine, so I used that. I try to get Kahlua around for baking with chocolate (really enhances the flavor)  or whiskey for making BBQ sauce or Jack Daniels Grilling Sauce (like at TGI Fridays).


Brown 1 lb beef and 1 onion.  If I'm canning my sauce, I leave out the beef/turkey. 

Add the above and the following to the crock pot:

• 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper (I go light on this as my family isn't found of the hot stuff)
• 2 tsp. basil
• 1 1/2 tsp. oregano
• 2 Tbsp. crushed garlic
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 tsp. thyme
• 1/2 tsp. Rosemary
• 1-2 Tbsp. sugar. 

My family loves this over the bought canned stuff any day.  Great to use in lasagna as well.  

Enjoy!

Homemade Cleaners

For some time, I have made my own laundry detergent, glass cleaner, and 409 Cleaner.  Do I do it because of chemicals in store bought cleaners?  No, not really.  I do it to simply save money and I wanted to share this with you today. There are lots of different recipes for these out there, this simply is what works for me.


Liquid 409 Cleaner
Mix the following in a spray bottle and shake well.
1/2 tsp. soda wash (Arm & Hammer)
2 tsp. borax
1/2 tsp liquid detergent (I use Dawn)
2 C. hot water (to help the borax to dissolve better)

Soft Scrub
2 C. baking soda
1/2 Castile soap (usually found in the face soap section in our grocery store)
4 tsp. veggie glycerin
4-5 drops of essential oil if you want, but not necessary (lavender is our favorite)

Glass Cleaner 
Option 1
4 fl oz rubbing alcohol
4 oz. ammonia (I've had a gallon of this for years - doesn't take much because it is VERY strong)
3 pt. water

Option 2 w/o ammonia
1/2 C. rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol
1 Tbsp vinegar
2 1/2 C.  water


Toilet Bowl cleaner  (but you can use it to clean sinks, counters, etc)
Mix the following, put in a spray bottle to use

2 Qt.  or 64 oz (1/2 gal) warm water
1/2 C. ammonia
1/4 C. white distilled vinegar
1/4 C. baking soda

Cake Truffles

I heard about these fantastic little delights while visiting in Dallas in a newspaper article and just had to try them and share them with you. I was surprised how easy they are to make and how scrumptious they are!

Cake balls are made by combining crumbled baked cake with frosting, rolling the mixture into balls, and covering the balls with confectionery coating to give the bite-size desserts a glossy, crisp exterior. VALERIE JARVIE

If you're a coupon clipper, sometimes you can find a coupon from time to time for both the cake mix and frosting...
Ingredients:
1 box cake mix, any flavor (I used Duncan Hines French Vanilla )
1 container of ready to use frosting (16 oz.), any flavor (I used cream cheese frosting)
Chocolate for coating the truffles, any type. It's best to use almond/chocolate bark as it is made specifically for coating candy. (I used just a little more than 1 lb. of white Ghiradelli chocolate and added some shaved Gulf wax. This really helps it to set up quickly and stand up to handling)

Directions:
1. Bake cake as directed on box. Allow to cool completely. I colored mine a beautiful purple because we are making a few hundred of these for a wedding in July, and this is one of their colors.
2. Crumble cake finely, I used my hand mixer.
3. Stir in frosting, at room temperature, until well distributed through cake crumbs. Put this mixture in the fridge for 2 hours. This will help it to set up and make it easier to roll into balls.
4. Shape cake into small balls, about 1" in diameter (I made mine similar to the size of Lindt truffle balls). Place balls on a cookie sheet and chill for 6 hours in the freezer (I did mine overnight). You can free these ahead of time in an airtight container (freezer ziploc bags) until ready to use if you need to make a lot of these.

5. Melt chocolate in the microwave a couple of ounces at a time. I highly suggest using good quality chocolate, and if you can find it, use chocolate bark, which is best for candy coating. The most important thing about melting the chocolate is not to burn it.Make sure your bowls and spoons are dry. Use 50% power in your microwave, and do about 15 seconds at a time, microwaving about 2 ounces at a time in a heat-proof bowl. ** Note that since the cake balls were frozen, they will be very cold and will cause the chocolate to harden very fast. So work quickly as you are dipping and rotating the balls, otherwise the chocolate on your spoons will start to get stiff. I I used a cake tester, but have found that by using 5" long Doll Needles to finely pierce one ball at a time, dip the frozen cake balls into the chocolate to coat, and gently place them on the wax paper to allow to set.  I try to keep a cup of very warm water close by to put the needles in while not using them or in between truffle dipping.  the warmth helps the truffle to slide off more easily.

You'll need to put a dot of coating that you use on the spot where you pierced the truffle ball or the mixture will seep out and look yuck! Try to do this immediately after you dip each ball and the coating is still wet. You have to do this quickly.

If you want to put a design on the top, place some of the coating, in a coordinating color, in a ziploc freezer bag or a icing bag, made specifically for use with icing. You'll need to keep it warm to keep it from getting hard. I left this for last so I could do as many as possible at a time.
6.You can store your Cake Ball Pops in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. Keep in mind if you store them in the fridge, you may have condensation issues when you remove them. Trust me....they will stay fresh for up to about 7 days if you hide them in a nice cool corner of your kitchen.

• Can be kept for up to 6 weeks in the refrigerator

Variety is as large as your imagination, almost any cake and frosting will work. The real thrill is in combining flavors and colors for distinctive results. Jill at Simple Daily Recipes

WHEN IT COMES TO COLORING CHOCOLATE, USE AN OIL BASED FOOD COLORING.
That little 4 pack of food coloring you find in the spice section of your grocer is water based and WILL cause chocolate to seize up. That's not good.
You can easily find oil based food coloring on the baking aisle of major craft stores, online, or specialty food shops. But don't misunderstand me, it's not a "specialty" item. Everybody knows the name Wilton for decorative baking tools, Wilton makes oil based food coloring.

Just so it's very clear, I did not create this recipe. I heard about it while visiting in Dallas, lived through it, photographed it and now, I'm passing it to you. The suggested list of flavors are from the paper, not me.

Devil's food cake with fudge icing and dark chocolate coating.

Yellow Cake with buttercream frosting and orange-colored vanilla coating with green and black accents.

White cake with white frosting mixed with orange and yellow sprinkles and chocolate coating.

German chocolate cake with coconut-pecan icing and milk chocolate or light cocoa flavored coating.

Spice or carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and vanilla coating.

Lemon cake with lemon frosting and vanilla frosting.

Chocolate Cake with vanilla frosting and mint-flavored coating with tinted green.

Lucy from Edible Memories made these fantastically beautiful truffles

Moomie's Beautiful Burger Buns

This is a special recipe from Moomie, a great friend on King Arthur Flour's "Baking Circle" message board.  I found this a few years ago in a King Arthur Flour Company catalog and had to try them.  Haven't tried another one since. Our family loves these and they are so easy to make them the specific size you need and get the most delicious buns!


Make these in your bread machine as Moomie does, or by hand as I do. The key to success is to remember that soft rolls require soft dough. It's easy to double, makes a great bun for any type sandwich, and you can even make them into hot dog buns if you want!


Yields 8-10 buns


1 cup warm water (100-105 deg.)
1 Tablespoon instant yeast
1 egg

1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter -- melted 
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (King Arthur's) *

1. In a large bowl, mix yeast and warm water. Let set for 5 minutes. 
2. Add egg and melted butter to yeast mixture; blend well together. (I use a large wire whisk to do this)
3. Mix the sugar and salt, add to the yeast mixture. 
4. Gradually add flour to liquid mixture, one cupful at a time. To tell you the truth, I don't actually know how much flour I use, but just add it until it feels right in my hands (not real helpful I know).
5. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and supple.
6. Put back into bowl and let rise until it has doubled in size. I put a dishtowel over the bowl to keep any drafts off the rising bread. 
7. Once it has doubled in size, dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface.  Divide into 8 pieces.  I shape them into a "bun shape" and place them on a greased cookie sheet. I spray them with Pam or olive oil.   
8. Let them rise about 30-40 minutes or until they are the size you need.  You can cover them with the dish towel again.  If it is a really warm day, you may not need to let them rise the full 30-40 minutes. 
9. Bake in a preheated 375º oven for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.  Cool on wire racks. 
10. You can add a teaspoon of onion powder or 1/2 tsp. dried onion to the dough.  Slice in half.  I love to spread a little butter on mine and either put them on the grill or toast them in a skillet.  

  
An awesome  and easy bun recipe.  Sometimes I add a bit of wheat, but this will make them a tad bit heavier and longer to rise.  I hope you'll give these buns a try!

French Toast

Friday Honey took the kids and some of their friends to Winter Jam in Little Rock.  It's become an expected thing that I cook breakfast for the crew that emerges at odd hours the next morning, so I asked them what they wanted.  This year, my kids requested I fix french toast, bacon, and eggs.  

To start off, I enjoy watching cooking shows, but what I really love to watch or the shows that tell you the how or why behind a certain food.  That's why I love Food Network's Unwrapped, Bobby Flay's Throwdown, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and Alton Brown's Good Eats, where he tells the "origins of ingredients, decodes culinary customs and presents food and equipment trends."  One of my favorite recipes is Brown's simple French Toast.  French toast is one of those simple breakfast dishes that I've eaten since a child and love, so when I saw his show on it, I had to try it.  It ended up being really tasty and I hardly ever have left-overs.

I've use everything from actual french bread, Texas Toast Bread, and Hot dog buns (my kids used to love Hot Dog French toast), but I rarely use regular sandwich bread.   This is not my recipe, but it is one that is tried and true with us and I wanted to share it with you.  I love to set out some diced pecans, powdered sugar, homemade blueberry syrup, real maple syrup, and real butter to pile on the toast, paired with creamy scrambled eggs, smoked bacon, and orange/grape juice and the family goes away full and happy. 

French Toast

Ingredients

• 1 cup half-and-half
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons honey, warmed in microwave for 20 seconds
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 (1/2-inch) slices day-old or stale country loaf, brioche or challah bread
• 4 tablespoons butter

Directions

 He suggested to set the bread out the night before on a pan to let it "stale" just a bit.  

In medium size mixing bowl, whisk together the half-and-half, eggs, honey, and salt. You may do this the night before. When ready to cook, pour custard mixture into a pie pan and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Dip bread into mixture, allow to soak for 30 seconds on each side, and then remove to a cooling rack that is sitting in a sheet pan, and allow to sit for 1 to 2 minutes.

Over medium-low heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a 10-inch nonstick saute pan. Place 2 slices of bread at a time into the pan and cook until golden brown, approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove from pan and place on rack in oven for 5 minutes. Repeat with all 8 slices. Serve immediately with maple syrup, whipped cream or fruit.  

Enjoy!