Breads | onedadskitchen

Butter Up Some Cinnamon-Raisin Swirl Breakfast Loaf

For me, many mornings for breakfast are nothing more than a cup of coffee and a piece of fruit, but occasionally I also love to have a piece of toast along with it. It does not matter to me if it is an English muffin, a bagel, a roll or a piece of any kind of bread, I just really like to have a piece of toast, particularly with an egg, for breakfast. Ever since I was a kid I always really enjoyed cinnamon raisin bread as a piece of toast. That warm bread with the warm, plumped up raisins and the hint of cinnamon across the bread just smells great while it is toasting and tastes even better with a little bit of soft butter on it. This made me want to try to make my own cinnamon raisin bread so we could have some for Christmas morning this year after we opened presents. I found this recipe from Williams-Sonoma and it seemed to fit everything perfectly, so I gave it a try.

Cinnamon-Raisin-Swirl Breakfast Loaf

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup sugar

4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature, plus 2 tablespoons melted butter for brushing

1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) quick-rise yeast

3 cups bread flour, or as needed

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 cup raisins

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine 1/2 cup of cold water, the milk, 1/4 cup of the sugar, the 4 tablespoons of room temperature butter and the yeast. Add 2 1/2 cups of the bread flour and the salt. With the mixer on medium-low speed, add enough of the remaining to make a soft dough that does not stick to the bowl. Remove the paddle attachment and fit the stand mixer with the dough hook attachment. Knead the dough on medium-low speed, adding more flour if needed, until the dough is smooth but soft, about 6 to 7 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball.

Lightly butter a large bowl and add the dough and turn to coat it with the butter. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm spot until it doubles in bulk, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.

Lightly butter a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. Punch down the dough and turn it out onto a floured work surface. Dust the top of the dough with flour. Roll out the dough into a 9-inch square. In a small bowl, mix together the cinnamon, the raisins and the remaining 1/4 cup of the sugar. Sprinkle the cinnamon mixture evenly over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border around all sides. Roll up the dough into a log and pinch the seam to seal it. Transfer the dough to the loaf pan, seam side, and lightly press the top of the dough to evenly fill the pan. Loosely cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough stand in a warm spot until the dough rises to the top of the pan, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush the loaf gently with the melted butter. bake the bread until the top of the loaf is golden brown and the bottom, when the loaf is carefully removed from the pan, sounds hollow when rapped on the bottom with your knuckles, about 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer the loaf to a wire rack and allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Invert the loaf onto the rack, then invert it again and let it cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

The bread came out perfectly and let it sit overnight, wrapped, before slicing it on Christmas morning and it sliced perfectly. There was a nice swirl throughout the bread and the bread had great chew and texture with a nice crust. Of course, the true test for me was when it was toasted and it was perfect. I loved the smell of the bread as it was baking in the oven, but it seemed even better in the toaster and made great toast for Christmas morning. I would make this bread any time as it was pretty easy to do and turned out a great loaf.

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 December 26, 2014 in Breads, Breakfast, Cooking

Tags: cinnamon raisin bread, cinnamon raisin bread recipe, cinnamon-raisin-swirl breakfast loaf, raisin bread recipe, williams-sonoma

Christmas Brunch Recipes and Ideas : Food Network

24 Dec

Christmas Brunch Recipes and Ideas : Food Network.

There’s still time to put together some ideas for a great Christmas breakfast or brunch. Food Network gives you some ideas that are easy to put together and look fantastic. I’ll be back after the Christmas holiday with some fun recipes I have tried. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and thanks for following along!

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Posted by MikeG on December 24, 2014 in Biscuits, Breads, Breakfast, Brunch, Cooking, Cooking Websites, Eggs, Fruit, Holidays, Potatoes, Sausage

Tags: Christmas brunch, Christmas brunch ideas, Christmas brunch menu, Christmas brunch recipes, food network, Food Network Christmas brunch ideas

A Fine Feast of Onion Focaccia

19 Dec

I was making chicken Parmesan last week for dinner one night (for which I will be posting the recipe tomorrow) and wanted to make some bread to go alongside of the meal but I wasn’t sure what I really felt like. I didn’t want something that was too labor intensive since I have been pretty busy with work and the holidays and with Michelle traveling a lot recently, so I decided on this recipe I found on Williams-Sonoma for a basic onion focaccia. I have made focaccia from them before and the recipe turned out pretty well and this one seemed just as easy so i thought I would give it a try to see how everything came out.

Onion Focaccia

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

1 1/2 cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees)

1/2 cup olive oil, plus more for brushing

1 1/2 teaspoons table salt

4 to 4 1/4 cups bread flour, plus more as needed

1/2 cup chopped yellow onion

Coarse sea salt for sprinkling

In the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, dissolve the yeast and a pinch of sugar in 1/2 cup of the warm water. Let this stand at room temperature until the mixture is foamy, about 10 minutes. Add the remaining water and sugar, 1/4 cup of the olive oil, the table salt and 1 cup of the bread flour. Beat the mixture at medium speed until it is creamy, about 1 minute. Add 1 cup of the bread flour and beat on medium-low speed for 2 minutes. Stir in the onion and switch the mixture attachment to a dough hook.

On low-speed, beat in the remaining bread flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until a soft dough forms and starts to pull away from the bowl. Knead the dough on low, adding flour 1 tablespoon at a time if the dough sticks, until it is moist, soft and slightly sticky, about 6 minutes. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap and allow it to stand for 20 minutes.

Line a heavy rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and brush the parchment paper with olive oil. Turn the dough out onto the prepared sheet and with oiled fingers press and flatten the dough into an oval about 1 inch thick. Cover the dough loosely with oiled plastic wrap and allow it to rise at room temperature until it has doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

With your fingertips, make deep indentations, about 1 inch apart, all over the surface of the dough. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the dough. Cover the dough again loosely with plastic wrap and let it rise again at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

Place a baking stone on the lowest oven rack and preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Sprinkle the bread lightly with coarse salt. Place the pan on the stone and bake until the bottom of the bread is lightly browned, about 20 to 25 minutes. Serve the bread warm or at room temperature.

The focaccia went perfectly with the chicken and even though it does not seem like a lot of onion in the recipe the onion flavor really comes through in the bread. The dough rises quite a bit so I had a very large focaccia and ended up freezing some so we could have it at a later date. You could easily sprinkle a little cheese on top before you bake it if you wanted to go that route, but I think it turns out perfectly just the way it is and it makes an excellent addition to all kinds of Italian dishes.

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 December 19, 2014 in Breads, Cooking, Side Dishes

Tags: focaccia bread, focaccia recipes, onion focaccia, Williams-Sonoma onion focaccia

12 Buttermilk Recipes for Every Meal from Breakfast to Dessert Slideshow – Bon Appétit

06 Dec

12 Buttermilk Recipes for Every Meal from Breakfast to Dessert Slideshow – Bon Appétit.

I find myself using buttermilk quite often as an ingredient in all types of recipes, from biscuits, breads and cakes to chicken and everything in between. It is pretty versatile and adds some great flavor to all kinds if dishes. Bon Appetit has put together 12 recipes that make use of buttermilk so you can incorporate it into a bunch of different meals. Check it out!

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Posted by MikeG on December 6, 2014 in Biscuits, Breads, Breakfast, Cakes, Cooking, Cooking Websites, Dessert, Dinner

Tags: 12 buttermilk recipes for every meal, bon appetit, Bon Appetit 12 buttermilk recipes, buttermilk recipes, ways to use buttermilk

20 Breads and Rolls for Your Thanksgiving Feast | Serious Eats

16 Nov

20 Breads and Rolls for Your Thanksgiving Feast | Serious Eats.

You have to bread for your Thanksgiving meal, whether it is rolls, biscuits or a nice crunchy loaf of bread you can use to sop up gravy (and for turkey sandwiches late in the evening or the next day!). No matter what type of bread you might want to choose, Serious Eats gives you 20 great options for different kinds of breads you can make for the day. Check it out!

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Posted by MikeG on November 16, 2014 in Breads, Cooking, Cooking Websites, Holidays

Tags: 20 breads and rolls for Thanksgiving, bread for Thanksgiving, rolls and biscuits for Thanksgiving, Serious Eats, Thanksgiving bread recipes, Thanksgiving Feast, Thanksgiving meal

Savor the Simple Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

04 Nov

We haven’t really had a lot of cool weather here in my part of New York just yet, though it is starting to get there with some nights down in the thirties. in any event, once the fall rolls around I start to think more about soups, stews and slow cooker meals because they just make you feel warm, make the house smell great and are easy to put together for a one pot meal. I decided I wanted to make something really easy and have a great soup and give some chicken and wild rice soup a try. This is a great options when you have some leftover chicken or a rotisserie chicken and want to do something different with it. There are lots of different types of wild rice that you can get, so you could always get your favorite quick version or get a regular version that takes longer to cook but seems to have better flavor, in my opinion. In either case, this turns out a very tasty soup for the whole family. I used this recipe from Food.com to make my soup when I did it, but the soup as a whole is pretty easy to put together on its own.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

4 cups chicken broth

1 cup peeled and sliced carrots

1/2 cup sliced celery

1/3 cup wild rice, uncooked

1/3 cup sliced leeks (white and light green parts) or green onions

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup half-and-half or milk

1 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken

2 tablespoons dry sherry

1 carrot peeled into thin strips, for garnish (optional)

In a saucepan set over medium heat, mix the chicken broth, sliced carrot, sliced celery, uncooked wild rice, leek or green onions, dried thyme and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce the heat to low. Cover the saucepan and allow the mixture to simmer until the rice is tender, about 45 to 50 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Stir in the flour and then stir in the half-and-half or milk. Cook and stir the mixture until it is bubbly, about 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly add the half-and-half mixture to the rice mixture, stirring constantly to thicken the soup. Stir in the chicken and the dry sherry. Heat the soup and until the chicken is heated through, about 3 to 4 minutes. Divide the soup evenly among soup bowls and if desired, garnish the soup with the carrot peel strips.

This turned out to be a really great soup without a lot of work needed for it. You get great flavor from the wild rice and the stock thickens up nicely when you add the roux to it to make things even better, and the touch of dry sherry at the end really tops things off nicely. I could see adding different vegetables to this if you like, such as some broccoli or sliced mushrooms or really anything that you favor. The soup was even better the next day for lunch and we all really enjoyed the meal. I made some buttermilk biscuits to go along with the soup, but you could make any bread, rolls, biscuits or even just have crackers or a sandwich alongside of it and you have a great meal.

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 November 4, 2014 in Biscuits, Cooking, Dinner, One Pot Meals, Poultry, Rice, Soups & Stews

Tags: chicken and wild rice soup, chicken soup, Food.com, one pot meals, wild rice soup

Living Large with Pat LaFrieda’s Filet Mignon Steak Sandwich

30 Oct

If you know me you know I am a big baseball fan and we go to a lot of Mets games during the season.Of course I enjoy the games and love watching and going to the stadium with Sean and Michelle, but there are also some great opportunities for eating that go on at Citi Field, more than there ever was at Shea Stadium. You can get great pastrami sandwiches, a shrimp po’boy, pizza, burgers, hot dogs, special fries, Shake Shack, Blue Smoke, and the list goes on and on. One of Michelle’s personal favorites is the stand set up by Pat LaFrieda that offers his meatball sliders sandwiches (which are out of this world) and his filet mignon steak sandwich, is unlike any other cheesesteak sandwich you will find. Michelle had been asking me for a while to try to find a recipe and I finally came across one at Food Republic for this phenomenal steak sandwich and we just happened to have a small piece of tenderloin in the freezer that I could use.

Pat LaFrieda’s Filet Mignon Steak Sandwich

4 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil, plus more as needed

2 sweet yellow onions or Spanish onions, thinly sliced (about 3 cups)

6 ounces thinly sliced Monterey Jack cheese

1 cup beef stock

1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic glaze

12 (1 1/2-inch thick) filet mignon medallions (about 1 1/2 pounds total of beef)

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon turbinado sugar or light brown sugar

1 long baguette, cut into 6-inch segments

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the canola oil over medium heat until the oil slides easily in the pan, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the sliced onions and cook, stirring occasionally so the onions do not stick to the pan, until the onions are soft and caramelized, about 20 minutes. Spread the onions out over the surface of the pan. Remove the pan from the heat and lay the Monterey Jack cheese on top of the onions, letting the cheese melt.

To make a jus, in a small saucepan bring the beef stock to a simmer over medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the balsamic glaze. Cover the pan to keep the jus warm.

Season the tenderloin pieces on both sides with the kosher salt and the sugar. in another large skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of the canola oil over high heat. Add half of the filet medallions, or as many as will fit in a single layer in the pan, and sear them until they are caramelized, about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes per side. Cook the remaining filet medallions the same way, adding more canola and letting the oil get hot before adding the meat to the pan.

Meanwhile, without opening them, toast the baguettes so that the outsides, top and bottom, are hot and crispy. Halve the baguettes horizontally, leaving them hinged on one side.

To assemble the sandwiches, lay 3 medallions on the bottom of each baguette. Top the medallions with the onions and cheese, dividing the onions and cheese equally among all of the sandwiches. Drizzle 1/4 cup of the jus on the inside top half of each baguette and serve.

These sandwiches are amazing. The meat is super tender and cooked perfectly and the recipe is so simple but you get fantastic flavor from the onions and the jus. The balsamic glaze is quite simple to make on your own as it is just a mixture of balsamic vinegar and sugar that you warm in a saucepan until a glaze starts to form. The baguettes I used are actually from a recipe I posted recently from Mark Bittman for his not quite whole grain baguettes and they went perfectly with the meat. While Michelle and Sean had onions and cheese on theirs, I left the cheese off of mine and put some roasted red peppers on there instead, which was quite yummy. You could try this with other cuts of steak if you want to make a more inexpensive version and I think it would taste good, but if you have the chance to be decadent and use the filet medallions, go for it.

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 October 30, 2014 in Beef, Breads, Cooking, Dinner, Sandwiches

Tags: Citi Field eats, filet mignon, filet mignon cheesesteak, filet mignon sandwich, filet mignon steak sandwich, Food Republic, Pat LaFrieda, Pat LaFrieda's filet mignon steak sandwich

Make a Mess of These Meatball Sliders

24 Oct

I am always on the lookout for different meatball recipes. It is just one of those meal items that I like to tinker with and I am looking to add new flavors to meatballs to jazz them up a little bit. Whether it is for a simple meal with spaghetti in tomato sauce, as an appetizer for a buffet or party, to have in gravy over rice or noodles or to make a nice sub or sandwich meatballs are one of those things that you can do a lot of things with and make them in wide variety of ways with many different ingredients. I came upon this recipe from Alton Brown for meatball sandwiches on Parmesan parsley biscuits and thought it sounded great, but to me they are perfect meatball sliders for an appetizer, party or dinner. it’s a very easy recipe that gives you some basic meatballs with great tasting biscuits and a nice spaghetti sauce to boot.

Alton Brown’s Meatball Sandwiches (Meatball Sliders)

For the Meatballs:

1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1 pound ground veal
1 egg
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Parmesan Parsley Biscuits, recipe follows
Spaghetti Sauce, recipe follows
Provolone cheese, thinly sliced

For the Parmesan Parsley Biscuits:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 stick chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley or chives
1 cup whole milk, chilled

For the Spaghetti Sauce:
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 (14-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
20 fresh basil leaves, chopped

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

For the meatballs,in a large bowl, combine the beef, pork, veal, egg, onion, parsley, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper and mix all of the ingredients until they are well combined. Scoop the mixture into mini muffin tins or onto a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Bake the meatballs until they are browned and cooked through, about 15 to 20 minutes.

For the Parmesan parsley biscuits:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan, sugar, baking powder, salt, and pepper. Whisk until everything is well blended. Add the butter and combine the mixture with your fingertips until a coarse meal forms. Mix in the parsley. Gradually add the milk, tossing the mixture with a fork until moist clumps form. Add extra milk if the mixture is too dry. Put the dough on a floured work surface, folding 8 to 10 times until it becomes firm. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes under a damp towel. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Using a 2-inch-diameter biscuit ring, cut out the biscuits and put them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle the tops of the biscuits with the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese and bake until the biscuits are puffed and golden, about 15 minutes.

For the spaghetti sauce, in a medium pan set over high heat, saute the onion and the garlic in olive oil until both are softened, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and allow the mixture to simmer until it is slightly reduced and thickened, about 25 minutes. Stir in the fresh basil just before serving.

To build the sliders, slice a biscuit in half and place a meatball on the bottom half of the biscuit. Cover the meatball with as much spaghetti sauce as you like and top each meatball with a slice a provolone cheese. Place the biscuit top on top of the meatball and continue until all of the biscuits are filled.

I have to say I really liked these. While the meatball recipe is very basic, it does taste good and produces a moist meatball that goes well with the sauce. The real star of this one I think is the Parmesan biscuit, which comes out perfectly and goes really nicely with the meatballs as a slider. The biscuit has great flavor and is really easy to make so you can make this to go with other meals besides this one. we even used some to make breakfast sandwiches with some bacon or sausage and egg. Of course the meatballs and sauce can be for anything that you would use meatballs for as well besides just sliders if you want a nice, basic and easy meatball recipe.

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 October 24, 2014 in Appetizers, Beef, Biscuits, Breads, Cooking, Dinner, Pork, Sandwiches, Sauce

Tags: Alton Brown, Alton Brown meatball sandwiches, meatball sandwiches, meatball sliders, meatballs, Parmesan biscuits, Parmesan parsley biscuits, spaghetti sauce

Bake Your Own Bread with This Not Quite Whole Grain Baguette Recipe

21 Oct

The taste you get from homemade bread is so much better than what you buy prepackaged in any grocery store that it makes you wonder why you don’t make your own bread all of the time. For me, I then remember how much time it can make to prepare and make the dough along with the kneading and everything else and I realize I don’t always have enough time to make my own bread even though we love having it. Recently though I came across this recipe at New York Times Cooking from Mark Bittman and it may me realize just how easy some bread recipes can be. This is for a baguette that is a combination of rye or whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour that you can put together quite easily. I was able to start it in the morning, let it rise for a few hours while I worked and then finish it off right before dinner so that it came out perfectly. It is only 4 ingredients, which makes things even better, and all of the kneading can be done in the food processor to save you some time and effort.

Not Quite Whole Grain Baguette Recipe

3/4 cup rye or whole-wheat flour

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for handling

2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons instant yeast

Combine the rye or whole-wheat flour and the all-purpose flour, along with the kosher salt and the yeast, in the bowl of a food processor. With the machine running add water until a ball forms, about 30 seconds. Start with 1 1/2 cups of water. You may need a little bit more or a little bit less. After the water has been added completely, process the dough for an additional 30 to 45 seconds. Place the dough in a large bowl and cover it with plastic wrap and allow it to sit until it has risen, about 2 to 3 hours.

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut the dough into 3 pieces. Form each piece into a rough log, or, as an option, leave the dough as one piece so you can make one large boule, ciabatta-shaped loaf or other shape that you like. Cover the shaped dough with a towel and allow it to rest for about 20 minutes. Shape the logs into long baguettes and, if you wish, support the shape by placing them into baguette pans or a lightly floured piece of canvas (I actually just left mine alone and they seemed fine to me). Preheat the oven to 465 degrees and if you have a pizza or baking stone, leave it in the oven to heat.

After shaping the loaves, they will be ready to bake in about 30 minutes. Slide the loaves onto a pizza peel or into the baguette pans. Slash or cut the top of the loaf with a sharp knife. Bake the loaves, lowering the heat if necessary to prevent the loaves from over-browning, until the loaves reach a temperature of 210 degrees on an instant-read thermometer inserted into the loaf, about 20 to 30 minutes. Cool the loaves on a wire rack before using.

It is a very simple recipe that you can use to have bread any day or time that you like. The loaves turned out great and I decided to shape the dough into just 2 loaves for us. We used one for dinner that night and saved the other for other uses such as sandwiches and with another dinner and it was fantastic. It had a nice crunchy crust and the dough had just the right type of chew to it and the combination of the 2 flours gave it some great flavor. I am making some more today to go with a chicken stew I am making and it should be great..You could always take one and wrap it up and freeze it so you have it on hand when you want a fresh loaf of 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!

2 Comments

Posted by MikeG on October 21, 2014 in Breads, Cooking

Tags: baguette bread recipe, baguette recipe, Mark Bittman baguette recipe, not quite whole grain baguette recipe, not quite whole grain baguettes, NYT Cooking, whole wheat flour

Pumpkinpalooza! 30 Days of Pumpkin Recipes | Williams-Sonoma Taste

11 Oct

Pumpkinpalooza! 30 Days of Pumpkin Recipes | Williams-Sonoma Taste.

It’s fall and the leaves are changing, the weather is getting crisper and Halloween is right around the corner. It also means the pumpkins come to the forefront of everyone’s mind for this time of year and there are some great pumpkin recipes you can try to incorporate pumpkins into your meals. Williams-Sonoma has put together 30 pumpkin recipes so you can try something different with pumpkins each day. Check it out!