Bread, Biscuits, and Brownies

Sept. 30th Kinship Meeting

I baked a couple of things for our potluck soup dinner with friends. Julie loves my tomato bread, so I'm glad that I had picked that out of all of the bread recipes I have enjoyed making. (See also: Tomato-Cheddar Bread; Tomato Dinner Rolls.)

The next item was my take on the "7-Up Dinner Rolls" recipe, which has been going around Pinterest lately. Instead of 7-Up (I don't normally have any pop in the house), I just used buttermilk. (See also: Rye Biscuits)

Quick & Easy Biscuits

2 c. Bisquick
1 t. sugar (helps the tops brown in the oven)
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. half & half, mixed with 1 T. dry buttermilk powder (or add 1/2 c. buttermilk if you have it handy)
melted butter for the pan

Preheat oven to 450˚. Mix all ingredients together; turn dough out into buttered 8" square metal pan. Dust with some additional flour, and pat the dough flat; use a buttered bench knife or spatula to score into squares. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until top is lightly browned.

And, finally, I found this recipe in a Hershey's cookbook...of course, I had to tinker with it a little...there are 4 sections (l to r): plain, almonds, chocolate chip, dried cherries. [the chips and cherries kinda sank into the batter during baking]

Hershey's Best Brownies

2 sticks unsalted butter, melted 
2 c. sugar 
2 t. vanilla 
4 eggs 
3/4 c. Hershey's Cocoa 
1 c. flour 
1/2 t. baking powder 
1/2 t. salt 
toppings/additions (optional)

Heat oven to 350˚. Grease 9x13 pan.

Mix sugar, baking powder, salt, and vanilla into melted butter. Add eggs, one at a time, stirring with wooden spoon between additions. Add cocoa; mix well. Stir in flour and mix well. Pour into prepared pan. 

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until brownies are set in the center. Cool on wire rack, if you can wait that long...I usually can't! 

These turned out absolutely fantastic. Very fudgey consistency, and lots of flavor. 

Apple Pie Protein Shake

Apple Pie Protein Shake

1 c. milk
2 scoops ViShape Shake Mix
1/2 c. homemade (no sugar added) applesauce 
+/- 1 t. cinnamon (to your taste)
1 t. Butter Buds
6-8 ice cubes
Mix in blender until smooth. ENJOY!


 

Homemade Applesauce

I bought a bag of apples really cheap at the grocery store, and I knew exactly what their purpose would be－applesauce just like Grandma used to make. 

Homemade Applesauce 

This is so ridiculously easy, it hardly needs a "recipe" to make it. Really, the hardest part is peeling and chopping all the apples. 

So, get a bag of apples...any kind will do. Peel them, core, and chop them. As you are working with each apple, place the slices into a pot with cold water, which will keep them from turning brown. Use enough water to almost cover the slices as they sit in the pan; but, you don't want too much water. 

Throw in some cinnamon sticks, and apple pie spice, if you choose. Add one little dash of salt, but you won't need any sugar. Simmer over medium-low heat until apple pieces break apart easily when you stir them with a spoon. At this point, you can use a potato masher to blend them into a smooth applesauce, but I like mine chunky. Serve warm with cinnamon sugar, and keep the rest stored in the fridge.

Cakes for Julie

Julie is a friend of mine who recently had knee-replacement surgery. She's recovering extremely well, and had invited some friends over for a potluck dinner. These are the cakes I made for Julie. I believe it probably helped with her recovery a great deal! :)

Cakes for Julie

These are actually a combination of a few different recipes, to suit my purpose of delighting Julie. 

Swiss Truffle Cake
Cannoli Poundcake 
and German Chocolate Cake 

 Line a buttered jelly roll pan with parchment; this will make the cake easier to remove from the pan, without damage. Butter the parchment. (only use REAL butter!)

 Use my German Chocolate cake recipe, or cheat and use a Duncan Hines box mix.

 Bake until done in center, and it pulls away from the edges of the pan a little.

 Cool 10 minutes ONLY, then invert onto a couple of wire racks.

 Carefully peel off the parchment.

 I used a [clean] ruler to cut the layer of cake into 6 equal portions.

One cake was filled with the cannoli cream, and covered in chocolate ganache, and the other cake was simply frosted with a canned chocolate frosting because I didn't know if the coconut frosting from the German Chocolate Cake recipe would be well-received by Julie and the other dinner guests.

Rye Biscuits

 This recipe is an adaptation of the "7-Up Biscuits" recipe that's been going around Pinterest. I didn't have any 7-Up, and wanted to mix in some rye flour so the biscuits would compliment the pork. My little experiment worked out very well, indeed! 

Rye Biscuits

1 3/4 c. Bisquick
1/4 c. rye flour (I use Hodgeson Mill's)
1/2 t. Bakewell Cream
1 t. sugar
2 t. molasses
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. half & half, mixed with 1 T. dry buttermilk powder (or add 1/2 c. buttermilk if you have it handy)

Preheat oven to 450˚. Mix all ingredients together; turn dough out into buttered 8" square metal pan. Dust with some additional rye flour, and pat the dough flat; use a buttered bench knife or spatula to score into squares. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until top is lightly browned.

Last night I had put a small pork roast and some chicken breasts into the crock pot with beans and veggies. Casey woke up early this morning and asked me, "do I smell food?" LOL. He was so happy.

Old World Rye Bread Again

This is a recipe re-make of the Old World Rye bread I've made before. This time, I added a few things to make it a darker rye, but not quite a pumpernickel, because there's no wheat flour in this one. 

Dark Rye Bread

1 1/3 c. warm water

2 T. buttermilk powder

2 T. olive oil

2 T. molasses

2 1/4 c. white flour

1 c. rye flour (I use Hodgson Mills whole grain rye four)

1/3 c. dry instant potato flakes

2 T. KAF black cocoa

1 t. KAF instant espresso

2 T. brown sugar

1 1/4 t. salt

1 pkt. Hodgson Mills active dry yeast

NOTE: to make this in the bread machine, add all ingredients in the order that the manufacturer recommends. Use "dough only" cycle. Then proceed to the shaping and baking instructions below.

By hand instructions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix the yeast packet and warm water with 1/4 cup of white flour; allow it to rest for about 5 to 10 minutes.

2. In a separate bowl, blend the buttermilk powder, olive oil, molasses, and salt.

3. Mix the flours, cocoa, espresso, potato flakes, and brown sugar together; then stir them into the yeast mixture.

4. Add the wet ingredients; knead in bowl to form a dough.

5. Gather dough and turn out onto a floured surface. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes.

6. Allow it to rise, covered, in a warm place for about 60 minutes.

7. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan. Shape into a loaf and place in baking pan. Cover and let rise again for 30 to 45 minutes, or until doubled in size. Slash top of loaf with thin serrated knife, or bread lame. This will keep it from splitting on the side. (I should have done several diagonal slashes on this one!)

8. Heat oven to 400˚.

9. Bake at 400˚ for 30-35 minutes, until loaf sounds hollow when tapped. 

Russian Black Bread

Rusian Black Bread 
(small loaf)

3/4 c. water (warm)

2 T. molasses

1 T. butter, softened

3/4 c. bread flour (or plain unbleached white flour)

2/3 c. wheat flour

2/3 c. rye flour

1 t. black cocoa (from King Arthur Flour)

2 t. instant espresso powder (I use King Arthur Flour's)

1 t. sugar

2 t. salt

1 pkt. quick active dry yeast

1) Blend all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

2) In a separate large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in molasses; then add butter.

3) Pour water mixture into center of dry ingredients and mix to form a dough.

4) Turn out onto a floured board and knead until smooth, about 10 minutes.

5) Put dough in a large bowl that has been prepped with butter (or canola oil), turning to coat the dough so that it won't stick to anything. Cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel, and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 to 45 minutes.

6) Punch down dough; knead for 3 minutes.

7) Shape into loaf and place in well-buttered loaf pan. Cover and let rise again until doubled, about 45 minutes. Slash top at an angle, several times to allow for expansion, or loaf will split.

8) Preheat oven to 350˚.

9) Place pan on middle rack of oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until loaf sound hollow when tapped. Cool on wire rack.

NOTE: Alternatively, you can mix in bread machine on "dough only" cycle, adding the ingredients in the order suggested by your bread machine manufacturer (e.g. add wet ingredients first, then dry, and the yeast last).

Naan

I have made some changes to the original recipe, but the results were good, and I was happy with the outcome.

Naan (Flat Bread from India)

5 T. water 

5 T. plain yogurt 

2 1/2 c. flour 

1 clove garlic, minced/pressed 

1 t. coriander 

1 t. salt 

2 t. honey 

1 T. melted butter 

1 t. rapid-rise yeast (just one teaspoon; NOT a whole packet)

Mix in bread maker on "dough" cycle. 

Or mix by hand as follows: 

Combine water and yogurt; stir in spices, honey, & butter. In separate bowl, mix flour and yeast with a whisk until well-blended. Stir wet ingredients into flour mixture. Knead into a smooth dough—about 10 minutes. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap. 

Allow dough to stand for 30 minutes. 

Heat oven to 425˚. If using a pizza stone to cook naan, place it in the oven to heat, also. 

Punch down the dough, and divide it into 3 pieces. Set 2 pieces aside, under a piece of plastic wrap which has been sprayed with cooking spray. 

Divide the first piece in half. Shape each piece into a ball, and flatten to about 1/4 inch thickness. Place on baking sheet. Repeat with other remaining pieces of dough. 

Bake 2 at a time on baking sheet or pizza stone, for 4-5 minutes, or until puffed and browned. As they come out of the oven, brush them with melted butter. 

To add color to surface, you can put them under the broiler for about 10 seconds, if you choose. 

Options: 

Before shaping dough, knead in black onion seeds, and/or chopped fresh cilantro.

Raisin Bran Molasses Muffins

Casey asked me to make these again...they are really, really good!

Raisin Bran Molasses Muffins

1 c. wheat bran flakes 

1 1/2 c. wheat flour 

1/2 c. raisins 

1 t. baking powder 

1 t. baking soda 

1/4 t. salt 

1 c. milk 

1/2 c. sour cream 

1/2 c. molasses 

1/2 c. chopped nuts 

2 eggs 

2 T. melted butter 

Heat oven to 400˚.

Combine dry ingredients; then stir in nuts and raisins. In separate bowl, mix wet ingredients well; stir into dry ingredients. Do NOT over-mix the batter. Scoop into lined muffin tin. 

Bake 16-17 minutes. 

Makes 12 muffins. 

Pork Roast in the crockpot

This was not really a planned meal, so when I brought home a "pork butt roast" I just wanted to throw it in the crockpot and not have to spend a lot of time with it. It turned out wonderful!


Pork Roast in the crockpot

1 can baby butter beans, not drained

1 can light kidney beans, not drained

1 c. water

1 pork butt roast (this one was probably about 3 pounds)

1 T. kosher salt

Dry Rub Seasoning for Pork

Put beans in bottom of crockpot; add water. Rub pork with salt, then rub in the seasoning mix. Place pork on beans, and add water to the side of the dish (don't wash the rub off). 

Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours, until your mouth begins to water uncontrollably. Turn setting up to high for about 2 more hours. When it is done, it should just fall apart when poked with a fork. This would make great pulled pork sandwiches.

The beans were also amazingly tasty—sort of like a can of pork'n' beans...which, I guess is what they were! LOL!

















...and I scooped some of the "juice" into a small saucepan and made a gravy to go with it.

Cream-Filled Cake

So, this is the finished product...it turned out delicious, but there were some mishaps along the way. 

This is the cake pan set I was working with. Although it is "non-stick" in nature, you still need to use a cooking spray, and preferably one with flour included. 

Duncan Hines butter-recipe cake mix...mmmmm!!! First batch was chocolate. I was going to make a cream-filled chocolate cake, like a giant Ho-Ho. Unfortunately, the cake stuck to the pan badly, and I was unable to save it. The base cake layer came out in pieces, and I was able to use that. 

So I got out another cake mix, and re-made the cake. I used all the batter to fill the bundt/top part of the pan...since I still had the chocolate base. It rose to the top, and created a crunchy cookie-like rim, which I was going to trim off, but my husband insisted it would give the cake structural integrity, so I left it there. (nobody complained!)  

It looks almost perfect. Baker's Joy, I thank you! 

As the cake was cooling, and then cooling some more in the fridge, I whipped up the "Twinkie" or "Ho-Ho" cream filling. (see recipe below)

Here are some photos taken at the time it was served:

Hostess® Twinkie Filling

2 t. very hot water

1/4 t. salt

2 c. marshmallow creme (7 oz. jar)

1/2 c. shortening/Crisco

1/3 c. powdered sugar

1/2 t. vanilla

1. Combine salt with hot water in small bowl; stir until salt dissolves. Let this mixture cool.

2. Combine marshmallow creme, shortening, powdered sugar, & vanilla in medium bowl; mix well with electric mixer on high speed until fluffy.

3. Add salt solution to filling mixture and combine.

Makes 1 1/2 cups

NOTES:

I think I would use all the cake batter in the top part again, and either fill the base with a Jiffy cake mix, or use a brownie recipe as the base. 

Another idea is to make this with the Tiramisu cake recipe. Yum!

One more note: I'd also get a larger container of marshmallow fluff. This didn't whip up as much as I recall from previous attempts, and it just barely filled the cake. 

BBQ Salmon Meatballs

This is sort of an adaptation from my Salmon Meatloaf recipe.

BBQ Salmon Meatballs

1 can (14.75 oz.) salmon, drained & cleaned 

2 eggs 

2 handfuls of plain breadcrumbs (probably about 1/2 c. or a bit more)

1 t. McCormick Grill Mates Mesquite Seasoning

1/4 t. salt 

1/2 t. parsley flakes 

Mix well; scoop into balls and place on greased baking sheet. Bake at 350˚ for 15 minutes. Serve with BBQ sauce. 

random amusements

Did I ever tell you about the time I threw up in the detergent aisle at the grocery store?

I was five years old and I had stayed home sick from school. Mom must have really needed stuff from the store, and for some reason, she decided to take me with her.

A lot of the time, if she was planning to be gone for less than 10 or 15 minutes, she'd just run out and leave me home by myself. The only time it was a problem was one time she forgot about a small saucepan in which she had been heating up some canned peas. They burned. I cannot even begin to describe the smell. I still hate peas to this very day. [/childhood trauma]

So, yeah, anyways, I'm sick and she drags me to the grocery store. I have no idea how long we'd been there, but we walked down the aisle where all the laundry soap, floor cleaners, Lysol, etc. were shelved. Basically, I just leaned forward and puked. Missed my shoes—I remember that distinctly. She picked me up and carried me out of the store.

That's all I really remember about the incident.

But now I have to hold my breath when I walk down the aisle at the store with the detergents. Smelling that won't make me gag or anything…I just have to get out of there quickly.

That ever happen to you?

Jansson's Temptation

This is the first time I've ever worked with anchovies, and I think they get a bad reputation because people have simply never experienced them as a flavor enhancer, used properly. I decided to make this dish because I'm part Swedish, and because I love Caesar salads. And, I'm not afraid of anchovies!

Jansson's Temptation
(Potato, onion, & anchovy gratin)

2 T. butter (for coating the baking dish)
8 small Yukon gold potatoes
1 tin anchovies, drained and chopped
1/2 large sweet onion
1 c. grated cheese (your choice) *
1/2 c. heavy cream

Heat oven to 400˚ and butter a 8" square –OR- 11 x 7" baking dish.

Chop onion and saute until lightly browned. Set aside.

Microwave potatoes for about 5-7 minutes, until tender. Cut out any bad spots, and slice. (I left the skins on, but you can peel them, if you want.)

Place potato slices in an even layer in buttered dish. Sprinkle with half of the browned onions, then add chopped anchovies as evenly as you can. Top with half of the cheese. Repeat layers. Slowly pour cream over the top, evenly around pan.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until edges are bubbly and a little browned.


NOTES: It was difficult to work with the chopped anchovies; I think next time, I will throw them in the food processor with the cream, and pour that on in layers, to help distribute the salty anchovy taste.

*I used a blend of Swiss, smoked gouda, colby, and mozzarella...that's what I had in the fridge.

This is my interpretation of the dish; it is a smaller casserole, and I pre-cooked the potatoes to cut down the baking time. You can look up the name to find more classical versions, if you are curious. Apparently, it is a traditional Swedish dish.

Tiramisu Layer Cake

I have made this twice, within a week of each other, so there's an accurate comparison of the different methods. I think I'd stick with less whipping cream blended into the mascarpone, because it just set better the first time.

Tiramisu Layer Cake

CAKE:
1 pkg. Duncan Hines White Cake mix
3 egg whites
2 T. melted butter
1 c. milk (or half & half)
1/3 c. water
1/2 c. sour cream
1 t. vanilla
PLUS: 2 oz. freshly brewed espresso (drizzled on top after baking) mixed with 1/4 c. sugar

FILLING:
2 containers (8 oz. ea.) mascarpone cheese
1 to 1 1/2 c. heavy whipping cream *(see note below)
2/3 c. powdered sugar

PLUS: cocoa powder for dusting the top

Preheat oven to 325˚. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.

Combine cake mix, egg whites, milk, water, and butter in large mixing bowl. Beat at low speed with electric mixer until moistened. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Divide batter between two 9" round cake pans. Tap pans to release any air bubbles which may be trapped in batter, and shake side-to-side to even batter out.

Bake at 325˚ for 25-30 minutes or until center seems set. Test with sharp knife inserted into center—it should come out with no batter on it.

Cool cakes thoroughly on wire rack.

Make the espresso; stir in sugar. Allow to cool thoroughly, or put in fridge to chill.

With mixer, blend mascarpone with powdered sugar; mix well. Add in whipping cream 1/2 cup at a time, beat well with each addition. Whip until thick and smooth. Do not over-beat or it'll turn to butter.

Place one cake layer on serving platter. Use a fork to poke holes in the top of the cake, making sure to get the edges of the top surface—this will force the drizzled coffee to sink into the cake, rather than running down the sides. Hopefully. Using a small ladle or serving spoon, drizzle the espresso slowly over the top of the cake. Try to evenly distribute it, and do not over-soak the cake.

Carefully spread about 2/3 of the mascarpone mixture over the bottom cake layer. You're not coating the sides, just the top surface. Make a thick layer. Place the second cake layer on top, and repeat the espresso soaking on that layer, too. You may end up with some leftover espresso. Just use your best judgment on how wet the cake is getting. If it is too soggy, it may fall apart.

Top the cake with the remaining 1/3 of the mascarpone mixture. Sift cocoa on top. Keep in the fridge until serving. Refrigerate leftovers.


You'll need a thin-bladed knife to cut this—a thicker blade will mangle it, just like when it sticks in a cheesecake as you cut. I used my tomato knife, and it worked fantastically.

* NOTE: I used 1 c. on the first cake, and that seemed to work out better. Although, the extra 1/2 c. of whipping cream gave me more volume on the second cake. May switch to 3 containers of mascarpone for my next attempt.

More notes for myself: I think I'm going to try making this in 2 square cake pans next time, just to switch it up a little. Might slice better...?