February | 2015 | onedadskitchen

Easy as Pie… well, Cake… Easy Lemon Pound Cake

there are always going to be times where you wish you had some dessert around and you just don’t have anything available. Maybe it is some last-minute visitors stopping by for coffee and you just wish you had something you could put out. Or maybe you are like me and you have a teenager complaining that there are no desserts in the house and they would like something to have as a snack or dessert. At times like this you need to have an arsenal of desserts that you can put together easily, typically in under an hour and without creating a lot of fuss or mess. Sure, cookies are always an option, but for me it means dragging out a lot of ingredients, the mixer, cookie sheets and more and it means a lot of clean-up. Brownies are always a good option too, but maybe you don’t have the chocolate on hand to do them fast. it is at times like this that I often find myself turning to a trusty pound cake recipe I got from America’s Test Kitchen. it is a classic recipe, easy to put together, requires only a few ingredients and minimal clean up and produces a great and versatile dessert.

Easy Lemon Pound Cake

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups sugar

4 eggs, room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons grated lemon zest

2 teaspoons lemon juice

16 tablespoons (2 sticks) butter, melted and hot

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour and 8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inch loaf pan. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl.

Process the sugar, eggs, vanilla, lemon zest and lemon juice together in a food processor until the ingredients are combined, about 10 seconds. With the food processor running, add in the hot melted butter in a steady stream until it is incorporated. Pour the mixture from the food processor into a large bowl.

Sift the flour mixture over the egg mixture in 3 additions, whisking to combine the ingredients after each addition until only a few streaks of flour remain. Continue to whisk the batter gently until almost no lumps remain. Try not to overmix the batter. Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth out the top. Wipe any drops of batter off the sides of the pan and gently tap the pan on the counter to release any air bubbles from the batter. Bake the cake in the oven until a toothpick in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, about 50 to 60 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking process.

Let the cake cool in the loaf pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a small knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan, then flip the cake out onto a wire rack.Turn the cake right side up and allow it to cool completely, up to 2 hours, before serving.

What you end up with in just about an hour is a moist pound cake that is not thick and dense like many can be. The process of adding the hot butter in the food processor allows the ingredients to emulsify quickly before there is a chance of anything curdling that can make the cake dense. if you prefer not to have the lemon you can simply leave the zest and juice out and get a nice, plain pound cake or you can substitute something like orange juice and zest for an orange flavor or use some almond extract and slivered almonds for an almond pound cake. you can then serve this nicely by itself or with some ice cream, serve with berries or other fruit, or even serve it in chunks with some chocolate fondue.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day, have a Happy Valentine’s Day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on February 14, 2015 in Cakes, Cooking, Dessert

Tags: America's Test Kitchen pound cake, americas test kitchen, easy lemon pound cake, lemon pound cake, pound cake recipe

Valentine’s Day – NYT Cooking

13 Feb

Valentine’s Day – NYT Cooking.

Valentine’s Day is tomorrow and if you are still looking for some ideas of what to make for you and your special someone, the New York Times has put together a great list of recipes for your dinner, chocolate, desserts, cocktails and more so that you can have a nice romantic meal right at home. Check it out!

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Posted by MikeG on February 13, 2015 in Appetizers, Beef, Beverages, Cakes, Candy, Cookies, Cooking, Cooking Websites, Dessert, Dinner, Holidays, Lamb, Pasta, Pork, Potatoes, Poultry, Salad, Seafood, Side Dishes

Tags: chocolate desserts, NYT Cooking, NYT Cooking Valentine's Day, romantic dinners for two at home, Valentine's Day cocktails, Valentine's Day dinner ideas.Valentine's Day recipes, Valentine's Day meals

Romantic Dinners for Two | Epicurious.com

12 Feb

Romantic Dinners for Two | Epicurious.com.

With Valentine’s Day this weekend, you might be looking for some ideas to make a nice, romantic meal at home instead of spending time at a noisy restaurant perhaps not getting as a good of a meal as you can make on your own. Epicurious has some great ideas for a romantic dinner for two followed by some nice chocolate dessert ideas as well to cover everything you need. Get yourself a nice bottle of wine and cook at home to enjoy some quiet time with your sweetie. Check it out!

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Posted by MikeG on February 12, 2015 in Beef, Cooking, Cooking Websites, Dessert, Dinner, Holidays, Lamb, Pasta, Pork, Poultry, Seafood, Vegetables

Tags: cooking Valentine's Dinner at home, Epicurious romantic dinners for two, romantic dinners for two, Valentine's Day dinner ideas

Kicking Some Chicken – Open-Face Buffalo Chicken Sub Sandwiches with Ranch Slaw

11 Feb

Since Sean and I have been on our own for the last couple of weeks while Michelle is away on business, we have been trying to make dinners a little simpler than normal since it is just the 2 of us. This means making a lot of much smaller meals and a few things that we might not make all the time because they may not necessarily be among Michelle’s favorites. I had a bunch of chicken I had purchased recently and was looking for something easy to do with it when I decided to make some chicken sandwiches. At the same time, I have been craving Buffalo chicken ever since the Super Bowl and was looking for a way where I could combine the 2 into a nice sandwich. I came across this particular recipe at Kitchen Daily for an open-face Buffalo chicken sub sandwich with a very simple ranch slaw dressing that makes use of yogurt instead of mayonnaise. It does take a little bit of planning ahead to cook the chicken and then shred it for the sandwiches but it is still quite easy to put together.

Open-Face Buffalo Chicken Sub Sandwiches with Ranch Slaw

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 cup beer, your choice (you can also use an additional cup of chicken broth in place of the beer)

1 1/4 cup Buffalo wing sauce

2 cups very thinly sliced green cabbage

2 ribs celery, julienned

1 medium carrot, julienned (or shaved with a vegetable peeler)

1/4 red onion, very thinly sliced

1/2 cup non-fat Greek yogurt

1/4 teaspoon dried parsley, crushed

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon dried dill weed

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon salt

Grinder or submarine sandwich rolls

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese (optional)

To prepare the chicken, pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels and season both sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper. In a Dutch oven or a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the chicken thighs and cook for about 3 minutes on each side until the chicken is golden brown. Add the chicken broth and the beer and reduce the heat to low. Cover the pan and continue cooking the chicken for one hour.

While the chicken is simmering, begin to prepare the ranch slaw. In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, celery, carrot and red onion. Briefly set the bowl aside. For the ranch dressing, in a small bowl, combine the Greek yogurt, dried parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, dill weed, black pepper and salt. Pour the ranch dressing over the vegetable mixture and toss the vegetables to coat them well. Cover and refrigerate the slaw until you are ready to serve.

After one hour, transfer the chicken thighs to a cutting board and shred them with 2 forks. Discard the cooking liquid. Return the shredded chicken to the Dutch oven and set the pan over low heat. Add the Buffalo wing sauce and stir until the chicken is well coated. Keep the chicken warm. Halve the rolls you are using and place them on a baking sheet. Place the rolls under the broiler for about 2 minutes until they are lightly toasted. You could also use a toaster oven for this step if you prefer.

To assemble the sandwiches, divide the Buffalo chicken among the 4 grinder or sub roll halves. Top each half with plenty of ranch slaw and 2 tablespoons of the blue cheese crumbles, if using. Serve the sandwiches with additional ranch slaw on the side.

You have a lot of choices when it comes to making the sandwiches. You could use the boneless chicken thighs or you can use boneless chicken breasts if you prefer to have white meat or that is what you happen to have on hand that day. You can use any Buffalo wing sauce that you like, but you want to remember that you are using the wing sauce and not just regular hot sauce. Wing sauce is a little bit thicker than traditional hot sauce and does not have the high concentration of heat that just hot sauce has. I know Frank’s makes a good brand of wing sauce and I personally like Sweet Baby Ray’s myself, but you could naturally use any kind that you like. You could even make your own by combining some hot sauce, melted butter and cayenne pepper if you prefer to go that route. I left the blue cheese off the particular sandwiches I was making but they would go well since it is a Buffalo sandwich. As for the slaw, I thought it came out great. The dressing is much thicker than what you would find in a traditional mayonnaise-based coleslaw, which to me really helped to make it great. You get good ranch flavor thanks to all the spices that use and the nice mix of the cabbage, celery, carrot and red onion really helped to make it stand out. This would be a good coleslaw recipe to use for just about any sandwich that you like. I would definitely make these sandwiches again as they came together pretty quickly. Poaching them in the chicken broth and beer not only gave them great flavor but made the much easier to shred and pull apart.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on February 11, 2015 in Cooking, Dinner, Dressings, Lunch, Poultry, Salad, Sandwiches, Side Dishes

Tags: Buffalo Chicken, Buffalo chicken sandwich, Buffalo wing sauce, Kitchen Daily, open-face Buffalo chicken sandwich, open-face Buffalo chicken sub sandwiches with ranch slaw, ranch slaw

Serve Up Some Sicilian-Style Thick Crust Pizza

10 Feb

I know yesterday was National Pizza Day, but Monday is always my busiest day with work so I knew I was going to have time to post a new pizza recipe that I had tried out. I have made lots of different pizzas, sometimes with making my own dough and sometimes with store-bought dough and they have all turned out pretty well, though some are always better than others. Not long ago Sean had asked me if I ever thought about trying to make a Sicilian pizza instead of just regular pizza. I hadn’t had Sicilian pizza in quite a long time and had never made it myself before, but I was always willing to try and was waiting for the right recipe to come along to inspire me. Then along came this recipe from Cook’s Illustrated for Sicilian-style thick crust pizza and it seemed just right. I did have to pick up a couple of things I don’t normally have around, namely semolina flour and anchovies, but other than that I had everything else ready to go and gave it a try.

For the Dough:

2 1/4 cups (11 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour

2 cups (12 ounces) semolina flour

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast

1 2/3 cups (13 1/3 ounces) ice water

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 1/4 teaspoons salt

For the Sauce:

1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained

2 teaspoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

3 anchovy fillets, rinsed, patted dry, and minced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

For the Pizza:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (1 cup)

12 ounces whole-milk mozzarella, shredded (3 cups)

For the pizza dough: Using a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix the all-purpose flour, semolina flour, sugar, and yeast on low speed until the ingredients are combined, about 10 seconds. With the machine running, slowly add the ice water and oil until the dough forms and no dry flour remains, about 1 to 2 minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough stand for 10 minutes.

Add the salt to the dough and mix the dough on medium speed until the dough forms a satiny, sticky ball that clears the sides of bowl, about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead it briefly on a lightly floured counter until it is smooth, about 1 minute. Shape the dough into a tight ball and place it in a large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 24 hours or up to 48 hours.

To make the sauce, process the tomatoes, sugar, and salt in a food processor until the mixture is smooth, about 30 seconds. Heat the olive oil and garlic in a medium saucepan set over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is fragrant and just beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste, anchovies, oregano, and pepper flakes and cook until the mixture is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomato mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce measures 2 cups, about 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer the sauce to a bowl, let it cool, and refrigerate the sauce until it is needed.

To make the pizza, one hour before baking the pizza, place a baking stone on the upper-middle rack and heat the oven to 500 degrees. Spray a rimmed baking sheet (including the rim) with vegetable oil spray, then coat the bottom of the pan with oil. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and transfer it to a lightly floured counter. Lightly flour the top of the dough and gently press it into a 12 by 9-inch rectangle. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 18 by 13-inch rectangle. Transfer the dough to a prepared baking sheet, fitting the dough into the corners. Spray the top of the dough with vegetable oil spray and lay a sheet of plastic wrap over the dough. Place a second baking sheet on the dough and let it stand for 1 hour.

Remove the top baking sheet and the plastic wrap. Gently stretch and lift the dough to fill the pan. Using the back of a spoon or ladle, spread the sauce in an even layer over the surface of the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle the Parmesan evenly over the entire surface of the dough to the edges followed by the mozzarella.

Place the pizza on the baking stone; reduce the oven temperature to 450 degrees and bake the pizza until the bottom crust is evenly browned and the cheese is bubbly and browned, about 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pizza halfway through the baking process. Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the rim of the pan to loosen the pizza. Transfer the pizza to a cutting board, cut it into squares, and serve.

You do need to plan this one a day or two ahead of time so he dough has a chance to rest properly. The two different flours do make a difference here as you get the thick crust that is more cake-like than chewy like you get with a thin crust. The anchovy adds some great flavor to the pizza sauce and overall the combination of the crust and sauce made this a really perfect pizza and one of the better Sicilian pies I have tried. It is worth the work to put into it if you like this type of pizza and don’t want to spend $20 on one from a pizza place. Unfortunately the pictures I took of the pizza seem to have gotten lost in cyberland somewhere between my phone and computer and I cannot find them anywhere, but if I do find it I will post them here. trust me, it looked really good.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on February 10, 2015 in Cooking, Dinner, Pizza

Tags: Cook's Illustrated Sicilian pizza, pizza, pizza recipe, Sicilian pizza, Sicilian pizza recipe, Sicilian-style thick crust pizza, thick crust pizza

39 Delicious Things You Can Make In A Skillet

09 Feb

39 Delicious Things You Can Make In A Skillet.

Skillet cooking is a great way to make use of that cast-iron skillet or stainless steel skillet and make a whole meal right in one pan on many occasions. Buzz Feed has put together 39 great skillet recipes to cover everything that you like and more to make delicious, easy meals. Check it out!

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Posted by MikeG on February 9, 2015 in Beef, Breakfast, Cooking, Cooking Tips, Cooking Websites, Dinner, Equipment, Leftovers, Lunch, One Pot Meals, Pasta, Pork, Potatoes, Poultry, Rice, Sauce, Sausage, Seafood, Stir Fry, Vegetables

Tags: 39 delicious things you can make in a skillet, 39 skillet recipes, Buzz Feed 39 things to make in a skillet, BuzzFeed, cast iron skillet, one pan meals, recipes you can make in a skillet, skillet recipes

A Heartwarming Winter Meal – Chicken Thigh and Italian Sausage Cacciatore

07 Feb

It doesn’t seem like it could actually get much colder or more miserable around this winter and February has only just begun. We have had enough snow already with more in the forecast for this week to go along with pretty frigid temperatures pretty much every day of the week for the last two weeks. When the weather gets like this, the thoughts of cooking meals, for me at least, turn to things that are warm, rustic and comforting. You want a meal that is going to make you feel warm all over when you eat it. This is the time of year when things like stews and soups are great, and this particular recipe turned out to be somewhat like a stew. I had seen the recipe from Guy Fieri on the Food Network not long ago and it made use of some of the basics around the house to produce a nice chicken thigh and sausage cacciatore so I thought I would give it a try.

Chicken Thigh and Italian Sausage Cacciatore

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound sweet Italian Sausage, cut into large pieces

6 chicken thighs, bone-in and skin-on

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup sliced cremini mushrooms

1 cup frozen pearl onions, thawed

1 cup diced red bell peppers

1 head garlic, roasted

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 cup dry red wine

1 cup chicken stock

1 cup marinara sauce

4 sprigs fresh thyme

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add the olive oil to a large Dutch oven set over medium-high heat and add the sausage pieces, searing them until they are browned all over, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the sausages to a plate and set them aside. Sprinkle the chicken thighs on both sides with salt and pepper, then sear the chicken in the Dutch oven, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Remove the chicken thighs to a plate and set it aside.

Add the mushrooms, pearl onions, red peppers, roasted garlic and the red pepper flakes to the pot and season them with salt and pepper. Saute the mixture until the vegetables are softened and the pearl onions become translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the red wine and bring the mixture to a boil, and then simmer for 5 minutes, deglazing the pan and scraping up any bits on the bottom of the pan.

In a large roasting pan add the browned sausages and the chicken thighs, the sautéed vegetables and the chicken stock and marinara sauce. Tie the thyme and rosemary into a bundle using butcher’s twine or kitchen twine and add it to the pan. Stir all of the ingredients together and transfer the roasting pan to the oven. Cook until the chicken thighs are cooked through and tender and the sauce has thickened, about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove the herb bundle and serve the cacciatore on a large serving platter, garnished with the parsley.

I did make a couple of changes to the recipe as I went along. I removed the skin from the chicken thighs as I thought it would get flabby during the cooking even after searing it and there was already enough fat in the dish from the sausage. I also used a mix of different colored peppers, using red, yellow and orange peppers. Finally I added some grape tomatoes along with the marinara sauce to give the dish a little more flair and fresh flavor. I loved the mix of the chicken and sausage and all of the vegetables together and I served this over rice and it was delicious. I think you could also serve this with pasta, noodles or even a risotto and it would be just as good and the leftovers tasted even better the next day for lunch with the flavors having a chance to meld even more.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on February 7, 2015 in Cooking, Dinner, One Pot Meals, Poultry, Sausage

Tags: chicken thigh and Italian sausage cacciatore, chicken thigh and sausage cacciatore, chicken thighs, food network, Guy Fieri, italian sausage

A Bounty of Bread to Enjoy with My Breadmaker – Homemade Rye Bread

05 Feb

Yesterday I wrote about the breadmaker that I received for Christmas and have been using pretty regularly since then. I have tried a few different recipes, including the basic white bread recipe that Sean and Michelle both use for their lunches and sandwiches. I prefer something a little different from just white bread, so I decided I was going to give the rye bread recipe a try. The one they list in the book for the breadmaker is pretty basic and simple so I decided to go along with that, but I also wanted to combine it with a recipe that I found at King Arthur Flour for a sandwich rye bread. The resulting recipe listed below is really just combination of the two recipes.

Basic Sandwich Rye Bread

1 1/2 cups water

4 1/4 cups bread flour

2/3 cup rye flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 tablespoon caraway seeds (optional)

To use with the Zojirushi breadmaker, measure and combine the ingredients into the baking pan in this order: water, bread flour, rye flour, sugar, salt, Dijon mustard and butter. Make a depression in the middle of the flour and place the yeast in the depression. Make sure the yeast does not touch any of the liquid. If the dry yeast contacts water the results from the breadmaker may not be ideal. Insert the baking pan into the unit and close the lid. To select the desired course, press the SELECT COURSE button to set the arrow to the BASIC WHEAT. Press the start button and allow the breadmaker to proceed through the cycles of preheating, kneading, rising and then baking. If you are using the caraway seeds, when it is time to add the ingredients such is the seeds, the breadmaker will beep for 30 seconds and ADD will flash in the display. Open the lid to the breadmaker and add the appropriate ingredients. Allow the machine to proceed through the baking cycle and carefully remove the baking pan when the machine has indicated that the baking process is complete. Remove the bread from the baking pan and allow it to cool.

Granted, this particular recipe is designed for the specific Zojirushi breadmaker that I am using, but I think it could be adapted to fit with other breadmakers. The breadmaker takes 3 hours and 40 minutes to complete everything for this particular recipe. In the end, the result of the recipe was very tasty. The bread had a nice crust and crunch to it on the outside while the inner layer of the bread was done perfectly. I used this for my sandwiches pretty much all week long and have made it again since that initial recipe because I like the result so much. It certainly does provide a savings considering what the cost of a typical rye bread is here at the local stores. One loaf seem to last for me about 7 to 10 days so I think we certainly got a lot out of it. I did not add the caraway seeds to mine though I do like to have rye bread that way on occasion and I am sure it would taste just fine. I enjoyed the bread with chicken salad and tuna salad but anything you want to use the bread for would be perfect. You could also adapt this recipe to make it without a breadmaker. If you are interested in that particular method, here is the link to the original recipe at King Arthur Flour.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

8 Comments

Posted by MikeG on February 5, 2015 in Breads, Cooking, Lunch, Sandwiches

Tags: homemade basic sandwich rye bread, homemade rye bread, King Arthur Flour, rye bread, rye bread in a Zojirushi, rye bread recipe in a breadmaker, sanwich rye bread recipe, Zojirushi

Zounds Fantazztic! My Review of the Zojirushi Home Bakery Supreme Breadmaker

04 Feb

I am finally getting around to finding some time to blog about some of the things that I got as gifts this past holiday season. I know it might seem a little late for something like that, but one of the things I received is a breadmaker. The breadmaker is something that I have talked about getting for a long time since we do seem to go through quite a bit of bread in this house and I do not know about where you live, but here the price of bread can get quite expensive. Even just for a regular loaf of rye bread it can cost over $3. I came to the conclusion that I could make a good quality bread right at home on my own for less money, but if I had to spend all of the time doing all the work it would really cut into my day and maybe it would not be worth it. That is why the breadmaker seemed like a good investment. I looked around at various models before I finally decided to add to my Amazon wish list the Zojirushi breadmaker. I really like the model that had the ability to make a larger loaf of bread and a more traditional horizontal loaf, unlike other makers that make a vertical loaf with a big hole in where the kneading takes place. That is why I chose the model that I got and here is my quick review of what it has to offer.

The Zojirushi BB-CEC20 model has everything I could hope for in a bread machine. To start off with, it was packed better than most any other small appliance that I have ever come across. There were all kinds of protection for the machine on top, around and on the bottom of the box. The machine is quite heavy itself so I needed to be careful with it when I took it out of the box and decided to place it on the butcher block kitchen cart that we have as its best location. The breadmaker comes with an instructional DVD that takes you through the basics of how to use the machine, all of its parts, how to set it up properly and a couple of the basic recipes. The DVD is pretty short and does not really provide you with that much more information than what you would get out of just reading the operating instructions book that comes with it. The operation instructions cover everything that you would need to know and give you several different recipes that you can use for all kinds of basic breads. It covers everything from white bread, rye bread, whole wheat bread, cinnamon raisin bread and more. It also gives recipes for some basic dough so that you can make pizza dough, pretzels, rolls, croissants or other types of bread that you want to form into different shapes such as baguettes, ciabatta and the like. You could also do some basic pound cake recipes or quick breads like banana bread or zucchini bread. There are even recipes for sourdough starters and a homemade course cycle which allows you to program each of the cycles to adapt better to your particular bread recipes.

Now on to the basics of the machine itself. I really liked how simple it is to put everything together and the baking pan that is inside the machine has a nice nonstick coating on the inside to help you easily remove breads that you have baked or even doughs that have just been kneaded. The machine also comes with a 1 cup measure and a tablespoon/teaspoon for you to use for your measurements. The actual use of the machine could not be much easier than it is. I started off with the first recipe that I tried using the basic white bread recipe that comes in the manual. The basic white bread recipe is also posted right on the side of the machine so you do not always have to have access to the manual if you just wanted to make a simple sandwich bread. All you needed to do was put the ingredients right in, although they do need to be placed in a specific order in order to guarantee proper mixing and rising (water, flour, sugar, salt, dry milk, butter and then yeast in the center of the flour). I then plugged the machine in, and you get your choice of choosing not just what type of course you would like to make, whether it is a basic bread or a quick bread (you can use rapid rise yeast for the quick cycle) but you can also choose what type of crusty want for your bread, choosing light, medium or dark. Once you have selected that it is just a matter of pressing the start button and letting machine do its thing. The basic white bread recipe takes 3 hours and 45 minutes to do all the mixing, kneading, rising and baking. Once the bread is complete the machine beeps to let you know that it is finished. You can just pop open the lid and take the baking pan out, though you want to remember to use oven mitts while you are removing the baking pan as it will be quite hot. Because the baking pan is nonstick you do not have to struggle to try to get the loaf out of the pan. I also like the fact that the kneading paddles are small so it does not leave a giant hole in the bottom of your loaf of bread from where the dough was resting. The kneading paddles are also very sturdy and do a great job throughout the process. The final product was excellent and even though I am not a big fan of plain white bread, I have to admit that the bread came out quite nice and had a really good crunch to it. We have made several loaves of white bread since the Christmas holiday and Sean takes some for a sandwich for lunch just about every day to school. I would definitely recommend this particular breadmaker over the others that you find on the market today. Though the price can be a lot more, with this model costing nearly $250, it is certainly worth the investment and will pay for itself over the long-term if you use it regularly. Zojirushi also has a number of recipes posted right on their website that are not in the manual that you can try out. I have included a couple of pictures of the machine along with a picture of some of the white bread that we made recently. Tomorrow I will post the rye bread recipe that I used to make some tasty rye bread.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

3 Comments

Posted by MikeG on February 4, 2015 in Breads, Cooking, Cooking Websites, Equipment

Tags: white bread recipe, Zojirushi BB-CEC20 breadmaker, Zojirushi BB-CEC20 review, Zojirushi breadmaker review

It’s No Pretzel From a Shopping Cart, But they are Close – Homemade Pretzel Bites

02 Feb

One of my favorite snacks since I was a kid has always been the hot pretzels we used to get of the streets of New York City or when we went to the ballpark. I can remember going to Shea Stadium and getting a hot pretzel that was made over hot coals in the shopping cart from one of the vendors outside of the stadium. Sure they were a little bit burnt but the smell and the flavor is something that stayed with me and I really enjoyed it. I have made pretzels at home before and while they have not been able to replicate that shopping cart experience, they have been pretty good. With the Super Bowl this past weekend, I was looking for a snack that we could make that would go well with the game and I came across this recipe at King Arthur Flour for a very simple pretzel bite that takes no time at all to put together. I actually did most of the work in my new bread machine, which I will write more about tomorrow and in the coming days with recipes that I have tried in there.

Homemade Pretzel Bites

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast

7/8 to 1 cup warm water

1 cup boiling water

2 tablespoons baking soda

Coarse, kosher or pretzel salt

6 tablespoons butter, melted

To make the dough by hand, or with a mixer: Place the all-purpose flour, salt, sugar, yeast and warm water into a bowl, and beat until the ingredients are well combined. Knead the dough, by hand or machine, for about 5 minutes, until it is soft, smooth, and quite slack. Flour the dough in place it in a bag and allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes.

To make the dough with a bread machine, place the all-purpose flour, salt, sugar, yeast, and warm water into the pan of your bread machine. Program the machine for a basic dough and press Start. Allow the dough to proceed through its kneading cycle (there is no need to allow the dough to rise), then cancel the machine, flour the dough, and give it a rest in a plastic bag, as instructed above, for 30 minutes.

While the dough is resting, prepare the topping. Combine the boiling water and baking soda, stirring until the baking soda is totally or almost totally dissolved. Set the mixture aside to cool until it is lukewarm. Preheat the oven to 400°. Prepare a baking sheet by spraying it with vegetable oil or nonstick cooking spray, or by lining the pan with parchment paper.

Transfer the pretzel dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into 6 equal pieces. Roll the 6 pieces of dough into 12 inch to 15 inch long ropes. Cut each rope crosswise into about 12 pieces. Pour the cooled baking soda solution into a pan large enough to hold the pretzel bite dough pieces. Place the bites into the solution, gently swish them around, and leave them there for about 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the bites to the greased or parchment lined baking sheet, and topped them with pretzel salt, coarse salt or kosher salt. Bake the bites in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until they are golden brown. Remove the bites from the oven, and roll them in melted butter. Place the pretzel bites on a rack to cool slightly. If you are not going to eat them immediately store them in an airtight container until you are ready to serve them.

The process was really easy using the bread machine, but it does not seem like it would be much harder if you did this by hand or with a mixer. The pretzels turned out perfectly with a really nice chew to them and they had that golden crunchy outside that you like to have in a pretzel. You could easily leave off the salt if you did not want them salted or substitute something like cinnamon-sugar or just plain sugar if you prefer to have a sweeter pretzel. The total time did not take that long, only a little bit more than an hour or so, so you can put these together for just about any type of occasion, party, buffet or snack that you might feel like having. I know I will be making them again pretty soon.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day, and enjoy your meal!