Posts from the ‘Quick Breads,Muffins’ Category

Feb 8

Guest Post- Cherry Chocolate Scones

I was thrilled when Mollie, The Frugal Hausfrau agreed to do a guest post. I am a big fan, she is a wonderfully talented cook, take a look at her creations on her blog, you will see why I am so in love with her recipes. Down home and elegant, budget conscience, approachable, ok I’ll stop now, thank you Mollie for sharing these incredible scones they look so delicious! Take it away Mollie….

When Suzanne said she might like a guest post or two, I was all over it – and knew exactly what I wanted to make. I just had it in my head that Scones with Dried Cherries & Dark Chocolate might cheer her up a bit. They’d be great with coffee or black tea and such a fun treat for a weekend breakfast.

I started out with one recipe and I don’t know if it was the recipe or me, but it was pretty mediocre. Then I tried another and it was too cakey. A scone is a scone is a scone, and cake? That’s just not a scone. A scone should be good, but have a certain sensibility about it.

I remembered that King Arthur had a scone recipe I have been meaning to try. (They mentioned a scone pan, too, that I ordered and I love it and used it – that’s how long it took me to make these scones!) So on to the King Arthur recipe.

The first time I forgot the baking powder. It was like a Shortbread Scone. A Shrone? There might be some possibilities in that idea, lol!

So finally, the final rendition. And I learned a few things along my journey! I used two chocolates because I ran out of the chocolate I was initially using and it the scones were so much better.

You can stick with one kind of chocolate if you’d like, but I’d highly recommend chopping some good chocolate and combining it with Nestle’s Chocolate Chunks or at least with their dark chocolate chips. I was thinking of striping these scones with a little glaze, but they’re just so good as is!

The two chocolates melted and acted differently and it was like a perfect alchemy with the soft and chewy dried cherries. So at long last, here’s the recipe as I made it. Check with King Arthur for all their suggested variations and many tips. This recipe is excellent and Suzanne, I hope you love these!

King Arthur’s Scones

2 3/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour or Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour

1/3 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 cup cold butter

1/2 cup roughly chopped dried cherries

1/2 cup Nestle’s chocolate chunks

3 to 4 ounces good dark chocolate, roughly chunked

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract or the flavoring of your choice

1/2 cup to 2/3 cup half and half (see note)

In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.

Work in the butter just until the mixture is unevenly crumbly; it’s OK for some larger chunks of butter to remain unincorporated.

Stir in the dried cherries and chocolate.

In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla and half and half.

Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until mixture starts to hold together. Dump out and carefully pinch and pull the dough until all is incorporated.

Sprinkle a bit of flour atop a baking sheet.

Divide dough in half and place each half on the baking sheet. Form each into a five to six-inch circle about 3/4’s of an inch high. If using a scone pan, see note, below.

Brush each circle with milk, and sprinkle with coarse white sparkling sugar or cinnamon sugar, if desired.

Using a knife or bench knife that you’ve run under cold water, slice each circle into 6 wedges.

Carefully pull the wedges away from the center to separate them just a bit; there should be about 1/2″ space between them, at their outer edges.

For best texture and highest rise, place the pan of scones in the freezer for 30 minutes, uncovered. Chilling the scones relaxes the gluten in the flour, which makes the scones more tender and allows them to rise higher. It also chills the fat, which will make the scones a bit flakier. While the scones are chilling, preheat the oven to 425°F.

Bake the scones for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they’re golden brown. When you pull one away from the others, it should look baked all the way through; the edge shouldn’t look wet or unbaked.

Remove the scones from the oven, and cool briefly on the pan. Serve warm. They’re delicious as is, but add butter and/or jam, if you like.

When the scones are completely cool, wrap them in plastic and store at room temperature for up to several days. To reheat room-temperature scones, place on a baking sheet, tent lightly with foil, and warm in a preheated 350°F oven for about 10 minutes.

Notes:

Since the scones I baked were baked in January, when the humidity is low and flour is dry, these scones used the full amount of liquid.

If using a scone pan, the full amount of dough will fit into the pan. I found 1/2 cup scoop worked well to distribute the dough in the eight slots. There’s no need to freeze the dough. For these particular scones, I did not brush with butter or sprinkle with sugar.

Oct 20

66 Comments

All About Pumpkin, Soup And Doughnuts

Recently I ordered 2 cans of pumpkin from my online grocer, I simply added to my cart without looking at the size of the cans, thinking it is the usual small cans of pumpkin puree. What arrived were the big cans, a whole lotta pumpkin and once opened it has to be used. I don’t really like freezing it because it becomes watery. I made 3 mini loaves of pumpkin spice bread, some chickpea pumpkin soup and pumpkin spice donuts and there is still enough leftover for a few pumpkin spice latte’s.

The pumpkin loaves I can practically make with my eyes closed, I use my recipe for banana bread and adapt to pumpkin adding spices. The soup was my own creation and turned out quite well and is super easy to make. Now Doughnuts are another thing entirely. I have only made doughnuts once I think, they were less than stellar so I abandoned making those delicious little fried cakes and opted to buy them (the best doughnuts EVER are in my neighborhood). We had a brief (2 days) of cool weather, back to warmer temps for the rest of the week but the soup on a cool day was just perfect. I used what I had in the pantry and refrigerator, threw everything in my oval roaster and slow cooked for about 6 hours. I didn’t pre soak the chick peas, just threw them in with some vegetable broth, carrot, onion, celery and everything cooked up beautifully. At the end I pureed some of the chickpeas, added pumpkin, Sri Lankan curry powder and some creme fraiche. So easy really, and no recipe required. You can add whatever you like or have on hand. I think that next I will try making yeast doughnuts now that I have cake doughnuts down.

curried pumpkin chickpea soup

Curried Pumpkin Chickpea Soup

2 cups dried chick peas

1 onion quartered

2 stalks celery

1 large or 2 small carrot

8 cups vegetable broth (you can also use water or chicken broth)

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 tsp curry powder (I used Sri Lankan)

Optional 1/2 cup creme fraiche

salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 325 degree’s. Put everything in the pot, put it in the oven and let it cook slow and long. I cooked it for 6 hours. When done, scoop out about 2/3 of the chick peas and a little of the broth along with the celery and onion. Puree in the blender until smooth, add the pumpkin, curry powder and optional creme fraiche. Add back to the pot, cut the carrots into bite size pieces and cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes. Adjust seasoning and if you like at the end add some spinach. I had some that needed to be used and it was nice in the soup.

Pumpkin Spice Doughnuts

Makes 12 doughnuts and holes

Recipe from Good Housekeeping

2 tbs softened butter

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp baking soda

dash of ground nutmeg or about 1/8 tsp

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/3 cup buttermilk

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 cups all purpose flour

vegetable oil for frying

Cream butter until fluffy, it’s only 2 tbs so it won’t be that fluffy. Add the sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Beat until combined scraping sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the pumpkin, buttermilk, egg and egg yolk and vanilla until combined. Using a wooden spoon stir in flour until well combined. Cover bowl and chill for at least 3 hours or over night.

Heat the oil to 365 degrees. On work surface dusted with flour roll out the dough to about 1/2 inch thick. Using doughnut cutter or biscuit cutter cut the doughnuts and place on parchment lined baking sheet. When oil is at the right temperature drop 2 or 3 doughnuts at a time and turn once browned making sure they are evenly brown and cooked through. It takes about 3 – 4 minutest per doughnut. When done place on rack lined with paper bag or paper towels. Prepare some sugar and cinnamon and roll each doughnut while still warm in the sugar mixture. Let cool and enjoy!

Mar 17

79 Comments

Irish Soda Bread, Happy St. Patricks Day

There is a wee bit of Irish in my lineage, my Dad was Italian and my Mom French/Scottish Irish. Every year for St. Patricks Day my Mom made something green, now I love the color green, but with the exception of vegetables I don’t necessarily like to eat food that is colored green unless it is a result of the natural color of the ingredient used in the recipe. It always made me chuckle when we would all sit at the breakfast table to green biscuits or eggs. This recipe is not green but soda bread is Irish by origin. The recipe comes from my friend Cynthia, The Solitary Cook and Boulangere on Food52. I have always been challenged when it comes to biscuits but have overcome that with a great biscuit recipe, I have made soda bread a few times and it is not usually light and fluffy it’s heavy and hard. I noticd this one when it was featured last week and when I saw that it was one of Cynthia’s recipes I knew it had to be good, she is an extraordinary cook, baker and person. The bread has potatoes, beer and yogurt for moistness, which sounded really good to me, as my soda bread tends to be on the dry side. She used celery and scallions in her version but I chose to skip the vegetables and make it plain. I also thought it would be fun to make mini loaves that bake faster and are smaller in size. Cynthia calls her recipe Nouveau Irish Soda Bread it is not your traditional soda bread, I have never seen a recipe that uses potatoes but it works and works really well yielding a flavorful and super moist loaf. It is however exactly what I wanted, light, moist and delicious. The title is linked to the original recipe on Food 52 and I am posting the recipe as I made it.

This is the best soda bread I’ve had, really good even the next day. I didn’t have fingerling potatoes so I used what I had which was red new potatoes skin on. The potatoes were mashed with good Irish butter (Kerrygold). When at the store I saw some Irish smoked salmon and thought it would be nice with the soda bread and some homemade creme fraiche. Delicious!! I’m currently hosting a lovely couple from England in my air bnb space and they brought some wonderful Whittard tea as a gift. The afternoon tea is fantastic very similar to an Earl Grey tea with a beautiful perfume and flavor. Highly recommend if you can get your hands on some. I thought my good friends at Fiesta Friday #163 might enjoy, so I’m bringing you a wee bit of Irish Soda Bread!!

Nouveau Irish Soda Bread

Recipe by Cynthia, boulangere on Food52

Makes 1 round loaf or 3 smaller individual loaves

4 fingerling or small potatoes cleaned and sliced (enough to yield 1/2 cup mashed potatoes) (I used small red potatoes with the skin on).

2 tbs butter (Kerrygold)

1 tsp fine grained sea salt or kosher salt

Cut potatoes into 1-inch pieces and place in a saucepan with cold water to cover and a teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil, and cook until quite tender, about 15 minutes. Drain using the pan lid to hold back the potatoes, and add butter to the pan. Mash in the pan with a hand masher. Set aside.

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup cake flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp fine grained sea salt or kosher salt

4 oz greek whole milk yogurt, used Fage plain whole milk yogurt

4 oz Irish lager type beer (Didn’t have Irish Lager so I used a local Brooklyn Lager)

1 tbs honey

While potatoes are cooking heat oven to 400 degree’s.
Sift the all purpose flour, cake flour, baking soda and salt into a mixing bowl. Add the potatoes, yogurt, beer and honey to the dry ingredients, stir with a spatula or wooden spoon just to blend. Scatter generously some flour on work surface and dump the dough onto the work surface. Form into a ball being careful not to overwork the dough. When it’s a nice round shape transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet. Using a sharp serated knife cut an X on top of the loaf or loaves.

For one larger loaf bake 40-45 minutes until a deep brown and when tapped it should feel bouncy not soft or wet. For individual loaves bake 25-30 minutes approximately.
Let cool at least 15 minutes before slicing.

Soda bread with smoked salmon, creme fraiche and dill.

Nov 11

63 Comments

Spiced Apple Pecan Loaf And An Auction For Charity

3 mini loaves

You all know about my passion for animals and that I work with rescue and animal related charities. One of the groups I work with is called PugsquadSOS. We recently had an auction to benefit a small animal rescue group in upstate NY and I donated homemade baked goods. One of the items I included in this box of treats is this homemade spiced apple loaf. I used my banana bread recipe and adapted it for apples adding some warm autumnal spices and homemade applesauce. It turned out really well, the bread is not overly sweet, is light and smells wonderful because of the spices. This loaf along with other homemade baked goods is currently up for grabs on Instagram, we are raising money for 2 little dogs that need very expensive life saving surgeries and their families do not have the means to pay for it. If any of you would like to bid on my offering or any of the items on instagram go to @portiathepug_paw_pal_auction.

I am bringing these loaves with me to Fiesta Friday #145, last week I co hosted and this week we will all be voting on the feature recipes.

I would also be remiss if I did not acknowledge our veterans today. Thank you to the men, women and canine corp that sacrificed life and limb so that we may enjoy the freedom and safety that sadly we sometimes take for granted, without their bravery it would be a far different world. Bless our Veterans and take care of them each and every day and not just on Veterans Day.

Spiced Apple Pecan Loaf

Makes 1 standard size loaf or 3 mini loaves

4 oz (1 stick) softened butter

1 cup sugar (preferably organic)

2 eggs at room temperature

1 cups flour

1/2 cup spelt flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp allapice

1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 heaping cup applesauce (I used homemade unsweetened and it was about 1 1/4 cups)

1/2 cup creme fraiche or sour cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped roasted pecans

1 apple peel left on, cored and cut into thin slices

Pre heat oven to 350 degree’s. Butter or grease standard size loaf pan or 3 mini pans.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. While creaming the butter sift or whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda and spices. Add eggs one at a time beating between each addition until eggs are incorporated. Add the flour mixture and beat only until combined. Add the applesauce, creme fraiche and vanilla and beat until combined. Fold in the pecans and scrape into baking pans. Place apple slices and whole pecans on top and bake until golden brown and when tester inserted it comes out clean. This will take close to an hour for a large loaf and about 25 minutes for 3 mini loaves.

Auction items

The winning bid will receive:
1 dozen chocolate chip cookies

1 dozen healthful dog cookies

1 dozen fig/pistachio rugelach

1 dozen ginger spice molassess cookies

1 mini loaf banana bread

1 mini loaf spiced apple pecan bread

Jun 15

110 Comments

Banana Bread

I didn’t want to share this, really who needs another banana bread recipe, there are a zillion out there right? Well, this turned out so good I had to share. I tweaked the recipe I always use which is really good but this bread was outstanding. What did I do, not that much really. Added 1/2 cup spelt flour, increased the banana, added dark chocolate chips and sprinkled some homemade granola on top. The end result is really wonderful. I have to admit it’s the best banana bread I have ever made, that say’s alot because I have made MANY loaves. The recipe makes one standard size but I like to make 3 mini loaves. I had guests arriving to stay in my air bnb room so I left one loaf in the room, kept one for me and gave the other one to friends. Works out perfectly.

Banana Bread

1 stick, 4 oz or 8 tbs unsalted butter- I used Kerrygold- softened at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs at room temperature

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup spelt flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 1/2 large very ripe banana’s (close to 1 1/2 cups) mashed with a fork

1/2 cup full fat sour cream

1 tsp vanilla

dark chocolate chunks or chips you judge how much I didn’t measure, I guesstimate around 1 1/2 cups

enough granola to sprinkle on top

Pre heat oven to 350 degree’s

Butter or spray your loaf pan or pans

Preheat oven to 350

In stand mixer with paddle attachment beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add the eggs one at a time beating after each addition. Whisk together the flours, salt, baking soda and add to the butter/egg mixture beating only until combined. Add the banana, sour cream and vanilla and again beat until combined, remove the bowl and fold in the chocolate. Spoon into loaf pan or pans and bake for large loaf 60-70 minutes, will be golden brown and cake tester inserted in center should come out clean. If making mini loaves, bake 25-35 minutes.

Jan 14

127 Comments

Guest Post And 4 Year Blogging Anniversary

Four years ago today I hit the publish button and posted my first blog post. It was scary and exciting and honestly I had no idea what would come of it. I am so thrilled to still be blogging and very happy to have met all of you amazing and wonderful people and I want to thank you for reading my posts, offering your kindness and support and inspiring me. This post on the anniversary of hitting that publish button is a slight departure from my usual food posts, oh. there is still food involved but I wanted to do something a little different, a bit daring and fun.

I am honored that Teagan Riordan Geneviene has agreed to do a guest post today. I also want to thank my friend at Hocuspocus13 for agreeing to help me with this post, she created a recipe for a very special tea (I made it and its delicious, I read about the flowers/herbs and they are incredibly good for you as well) I think it’s the perfect addition to our meal in the tea room. Thank you, and now I am handing it over to Teagan….

Hello everyone. I’m happy to meet you!

From my first visit to A Pug in the Kitchen, it has ranked at the top of my list of favorite blogs. Interesting commentary, photos, easy to follow instructions, and delicious food — I was hooked. So when Suzanne asked me to do a guest post there was no way I was saying no. Even better, it became more of a collaboration than a guest spot.

After my regular, real world job, I’m an author of fantasy fiction. My blog is called Teagan’s Books. My current novel in progress is actually book-2 in an urban fantasy series that began with “Atonement, Tennessee.” The title is the name of my fictional town where supernaturals secretly live among the residents of this seemingly quaint town. (Book-2 will be called Atonement in Bloom.) I told Suzanne about a few different settings in the series that would involve food. She picked a locale that was new for book-2, Adelle’s Attic Tearoom.

What I’m sharing with you is more of a snippet than a story. It’s a scene with two minor characters in the novel. I think it’s fun to get to know the characters who only play a small role. I hope you enjoy it.

Adelle’s Teapot — Features from Atonement TN

1924 Good housekeeping 2 girls tea

The inventory notes Annie recorded were part of an ancient list, passed down through the Metatron clan. For the most part, the older theitem, the more power it held. The kind of power varied widely.

The Mirror of Truth and Justice Most Poetic could show one’s true self. The mirror could be playful, cryptic, devilishly mischievous, or brutally honest. It almost seemed to have a mind of its own. In age and in power, that mirror ranked about mid-way on the inventory list. Annie shuddered to think of the havoc she had known the mirror to wreak.

She kept many of the items hidden in plain sight in her antique shop. It had been easy enough to steer Ralda Lawton away from a special quilt. Ralda, the new owner of the Sunhold estate, did not need that star design quilt, but someone else would. However, the brass Bed of Dreams was meant for her. The bed wasn’t strong in power, but it was effective.

ad 5 Oclock Tea Annie looked down at the ancient list. Something glowed through several layers of paper. She knew the glow came from the script identifying a very old item. The glowing writing meant an item awakened. Her hands shook as she leafed through the pages to the very beginning of the catalogued inventory.

The teapot. Annie took a shuddering breath. It was simple and unassuming looking, but the teapot was the oldest item listed in Annie’s inventory notes. It was also arguably the most powerful. Because of its unique properties the teapot had always been kept separate from the other items. Adelle, Annie’s sister was the teapot’s custodian. It was safely tucked away in the attic of the Victorian house that was Adelle’s tearoom and home.

A brew had not been made from that teapot in living memory. But what else could awaken the pot but the alchemy of water, heat, and the right combination of herbs, flowers, and leaves?

“No Adelle,” Annie muttered as she put away the ancient ledger. 1937 Look Shirley Temple Santa tea

Annie ran out of her shop, the door banging shut behind her. Her platinum hair shone in the moonlight. She skidded around the corner and ran down the town square. Annie stumbled to a stop. She gazed at the night sky in open mouthed astonishment.

Above Adelle’s tearoom the sky shimmered in a golden aura. When Annie looked farther up into the sky, she saw an even more astonishing sight. The entire town of Atonement rested unaware beneath five columns of light pillars. The columns of light pulsed through the clouds.

“Adelle,” Annie gasped. “What have you done?”

With a hand to her chest, Annie continued toward her sister’s home. She fell going up the front porch stairs. As she righted herself, Annie saw that the front door stood open. Then she realized that every door and window in the Victorian house was wide open.

“My God, Annie! Are you all right?” Adelle exclaimed as she helped her sister to her feet and guided her inside.

Annie allowed her sister to guide her, gasping for breath and shaking with fright, to the kitchen table. There Adelle poured a cup of tea. Annie turned horrified eyes from the teacup to her sister.

1940s Home Notes Girl tea party “Oh don’t be silly,” Adelle chastised. “It’s not from that teapot.”

Annie took a sip of the tea her sister pressed upon her. She took a bite of cake or scone or some baked treat that would ordinarily have been delicious. However it might as well have been cardboard in her mouth. Without even realizing what she was doing Annie crumbled the rest between her fingers never looking at it. She stared blindly out the kitchen window into the darkness, too stunned to process the thousand thoughts in her mind.

“Why in heaven’s name would you let the teapot awaken?” Annie finally asked.

“It couldn’t be helped. I needed to talk to our grandfather,” Adelle replied.

“That wouldn’t be difficult for you,” Annie said. “Why would you use the teapot for that?”

Her sister’s mouth curved to that self-satisfied, cat-with-a-bowl-of-cream smile that Annie knew all too well.

“Which grandfather,” Annie asked, closing her eyes and bracing herself for the answer she already knew was coming.

Adelle pursed her lips then made a reluctant, sardonic grimace. “The one quite a few times removed. Maybe a few hundred times.” 1905 Sunday Mag Tea Woman steam kiss

Annie groaned and dropped her head to the kitchen table, her pale hair falling to cover her face. Forehead against the polished wood, she rocked her head side to side. Finally she looked up at her raven haired sister.

“Tell me this is not happening,” Annie pleaded hoarsely.

“It really couldn’t be helped, Annie. I had to consult Enoch,” Adelle said apologetically.

“What could possibly be that important?” Annie demanded.

The sardonic twist left Adelle’s mouth. She looked into her sister’s eyes, coldly serious.

“Cailleach Bheur,” Adelle said. “Beira the Crone.”

***

As you can see, my odd little imaginary town has its quirks. I hope you enjoyed this little visit to Atonement, Tennessee.

Hugs,

Teagan

Dazzle Tea

DAZZLE TEA- Recipe by Hocuspocus13
2 parts red clover blossoms
2 parts rose hips
1 part chamomile flowers
1 part peppermint leaves

tea by these leaves
herbs and water it weaves
a brew so warm
it would awake a storm
teapot time to be reborn

tea time in Atonement at Adelle’s Attic Tea Room

Dec 31

103 Comments

Happy New Year, Some Favorites And 2015 in review

Taken from Pinterest

I wish each and everyone of you an amazing, healthy, happy, joyous and prosperous 2016. I want to thank you all for being such great friends, for leaving such uplifting and kind comments and for being my source of inspiration. Below is the report compiled by the WordPress helper monkey’s. I don’t really keep track of the stats, but do appreciate the work that WordPress puts into these reports, thank you to the good people at WordPress!! Both 2014 and 2015 were hard years for me, harder than I can even express. The start of a new year brings with it hope and we also reflect on the past year, the good and the bad, the sad and the happy, triumphs and failures. Life can sometimes be like a rollercoaster ride.

Going into my 4th year of blogging in January is quite momentous for me. I can’t believe I am still doing this, have made such great friends and learned so much. Hope you all have a wonderful time on New Years Eve and joyously welcome 2016, peace, love and joy to all. Below are some photo’s I compliled with some of my favorite dishes both sweet and savory.

Savory favorites

Baked, desserts and the epic biscuit!

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 37,000 times in 2015. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 14 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Aug 30

108 Comments

An Epic Biscuit…The Sequel, And Garden Update

On Occasion I make a recipe and it turns out great and the second time I make it, it flops. Since I have sought the perfect biscuit recipe like seeking the Holy Grail for years and having found a great one on try #1, I decided to make them again to see if my results are the same.

Epic Biscuit II

Notice the photo is better, I used a dark background and that makes a huge difference in the photo quality IMHO.

The second go around the biscuits rose but not quite as high, it could be that I patted the dough down a bit thinner than the last time, I did not place them as close together on the sheet pan, or that my buttermilk was not as fresh who knows but they still rose nicely, were tender, fluffy and delicious. I wrapped and froze them for another day.

garden

In July I had my garden re worked to help me with diminishing the weed population and hopefully the mosquitoes too. Happy to report that although I still have some weeds they are about 90% better than before and almost manageable for me to take care of myself. I have only killed 4 or 5 of the plants that were initially planted (may not have been my fault). Also my herbs including the basil are doing really well. I am also very happy that there are less mosquitoes this year as well so I can enjoy my backyard.

two types of basil regular sweet and smal spicy

Jessica planted sunflowers, it is her signature flower and when she initially put them in the ground they were about a foot tall. Now they are over 6 ft tall and look at this beauty.

sunflower

In closing I believe this biscuit recipe is a keeper and will be made over and over again. Since I already gave credit to the author in my last post and there is no way to contact her I am including the recipe in this post.

Southern Buttermilk Biscuits

From Food.com Author P4

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the board ( if you can get White Lily flour, your biscuits will be even better)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder ( use one without aluminum)
1 teaspoon kosher salt or 1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, very cold
1 cup buttermilk
( approx)1/2 cup sugar ( for topping) NOTE I did not put sugar on mine

Preheat your oven to 450°F.
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, or in the bowl of a food processor.
Cut the butter into chunks and cut into the flour until it resembles course meal.
If using a food processor, just pulse a few times until this consistency is achieved.
Add the buttermilk and mix JUST until combined.
If it appears on the dry side, add a bit more buttermilk. It should be very wet.
Turn the dough out onto a floured board.
Gently, gently PAT (do NOT roll with a rolling pin) the dough out until it’s about 1/2″ thick. Fold the dough about 5 times, gently press the dough down to a 1 inch thick.
Use a round cutter to cut into rounds.
You can gently knead the scraps together and make a few more, but they will not be anywhere near as good as the first ones.
Place the biscuits on a cookie sheet- if you like soft sides, put them touching each other.
If you like”crusty” sides, put them about 1 inch apart- these will not rise as high as the biscuits put close together.

Dec 31

62 Comments

Nonna’s Piadina And A Breakfast Pizza

Piadina

This recipe is from the wonderful and talented Liz Larkin (aka mrslarkin, aka the scone lady of Pound Ridge NY) on Food52. It is her Nonna’s recipe for Piadina and was entered in the latest contest on Food52 for your best Family Recipes part 2. It was nominated for a Community Pick and is a contender to be a finalist. I signed up to test the recipe. It’s a wonderful recipe, the dough is easy to make and handles beautifully. It tastes similar to a biscuit but has the appearance of flat bread. You get the flavor of a biscuit without another biscuit making failure which works for me since I am biscuit challenged. Win win!!! You can use this delicious bread in many different ways, I made a breakfast pizza, use whatever you like as a topping it’s delicious.

Soft and delicious

Serves 6 (recipe can be multiplied)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
3 heaping tablespoons shortening or leaf lard
3/4 cups warm water
1/4 cup warm milk
Fillings of your choice like Prosciutto, ham, mozzarella, fritatta, salad, Nutella, pretty much anything you want
Place flour in a mound on pastry board or counter. Sprinkle on salt and baking powder, and mix together with your fingers.
Make a well in the center. Drop in the shortening and rub it together with the flour using your fingertips. Lumps are okay! And it will still be pretty floury.
Make a well again and pour in water and milk. Mix with fingers until dough comes together. Add a little more warm water or flour, if needed. You want a soft dough – not at all sticky. Knead for a couple minutes, and roll into a log shape.
Alternatively, all the mixing can be done in a large bowl. I like to use a fork to mix everything together.
Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces, using a scale if you have one. With one hand, gently roll each piece on the board/counter into a ball. Mom says to use your thumb and nudge the dough ball under with each turn. Set each ball to the side on a sprinkling of flour and let rest for 5 minutes.
Heat griddle to medium. Slightly flatten a ball and roll out dough to about 9 inches in diameter. Gently lift and place on hot griddle, scoring the piadina all over with the tines of a fork. If bubbles appear, quickly pierce those suckers with the fork. Cook each side for a few minutes or until each side develops some lightly browned spots. Remove to a clean dish cloth. Repeat with each ball, and stack each cooked piadina over one another. Loosely cover with a dish towel. When done, cut piadine into quarters and enjoy with your favorite sandwich fixings.
Piadina freezes well. Reheat on a griddle over low heat, or wrapped in damp paper towels in the microwave.

Breakfast Pizza

For The Pizza:

serves 2

1 pint cherry tomatoes cut in half

1 shallot chopped

salt and pepper to taste

4 eggs

cheese of your choice grated – I used Toma Piemontese a mild Italian cheese that melts beautifully(but is semi soft and a bit hard to grate) and is from the Piedmont region of Italy.

Parmigiana grated

Olive oil

Heat oven to 375 degree’s, place tomatoes and shallot on sheet pan and coat with olive oil, sprinkle salt and pepper and roast in the oven until the tomatoes are soft and caramelized and shallot is softened approximately 30 minutes. Remove from oven and reduce oven temp to warm or 170-200 degree’s. Place tomatoes in heat proof bowl, cover with foil and place in the warm oven, wrap the piadina in a towel and place in oven also to stay warm. Heat some olive oil in a skillet and fry the eggs sunny side up over easy your choice I recommend a soft yolk. Remove piadina and tomatoes from the oven,brush the bread with some olive oil and spread tomato on the bread, add the grated cheese and a sprinkling of parmigiana. Turn the oven to broil and place in the oven just so the cheese melts, top with the eggs. Enjoy! You can top with arugula tossed with olive oil or some flat leaf parsley for a bit of green if you like.

Piadina Pizza

Dec 18

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Mini Loaves, Banana And Fruitcake- Christmas/Holiday Gift Box

fruit cake

I love including a mini loaf in my gift box of cookies. I always do banana, sometimes I do pear or apple or fig. This year I made banana which is always good and yesterday I got an email from Pure Wow Recipes. The name of it was The Best Damn Fruitcake Ever. Hmmmm I thought, thats a lofty claim, the dreaded fruitcake that most really hate, can this be the exception that I have been looking for. I decided to give it a try. How can you go wrong with delicious dried assorted fruits, nuts and booze. I bought the fruit. was out of bourbon so I used cognac to soak the fruit, ran out of almonds so I used walnuts along with the hazelnuts and pistachio’s. I must say it tastes absolutely nothing like the dreaded fruitcake, it is a loaf like banana bread or any fruit based bread really and is really good. If I make this again, I will make a few changes. They have you soak the fruit for 10 minutes in 1/2 cup of bourbon (cognac) I would soak the fruit longer even over night in more booze. The other change I would make is baking temperature. They say 350 degree’s I would bake at 325 degree’s. I found it got done much quicker (actually a bit overdone) than they said, of course to be fair I doubled the recipe baked 4 mini loaves and 1 larger loaf in a pan that wasn’t quite full enough. If I had left the larger loaf in the oven for 2 hours it would have burnt. All in all I think this is a really nice fruit cake and is a recipe I would play around with and tweak, it has serious potential.

Ingredients

Makes one 9 inch loaf or 3 mini loaves

from Pure Wow Recipes

½ cup dried apricots, chopped

½ cup dried cranberries

½ cup dried cherries

½ cup golden raisins

1 cup bourbon

½ cup pistachios, chopped

½ cup hazelnuts, chopped

½ cup pecans, chopped

½ cup sliced almonds

12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup light brown sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoons orange zest

Pinch of cinnamon

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Turbinado sugar, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease a loaf pan with nonstick spray.

2. Prepare the fruit: In a medium-size heat-safe bowl, toss the apricots with the cranberries, cherries and raisins. In a small pot, bring the bourbon to a simmer. Pour it over the fruit and let sit for 10 minutes. NOTE: I soaked my fruit overnight and because I did that I didn’t bring the bourbon/cognac to a simmer on the stove.

3. Drain the fruit, reserving the bourbon. Transfer the fruit to another medium bowl and toss with the pistachios, hazelnuts, pecans and almonds. Set aside.

4. Make the batter: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping the side of the bowl well after each addition.

5. Beat in the vanilla extract, orange zest and cinnamon. Add the flour and baking powder; mix just until combined.

6. Bake the cake: Add the fruit-and-nut mixture to the batter and mix to combine. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface. Garnish with a sprinkle of turbinado sugar, then bake until golden and cooked through, 2 to 2½ hours. NOTE: I made 3 mini loaves which took approximately 45 minutes to bake. I tested with a bamboo skewer starting at 30 minutes in the oven.

7. While the cake is baking, bring the reserved bourbon to a simmer and reduce to about ¼ cup. Pour the reduced bourbon over the warm cake as soon as it comes out of the oven. Let the cake cool completely before slicing and serving. The uncut cake will keep for up to two weeks in an airtight container. NOTE: I did not cook the bourbon/cognac but spooned some on the cake when it came out of the oven, let it cool then spooned on a little more and wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in a air tight tin. Every few days I spooned more syrup on the cake and re wrapped and let it age in the tin. It is good after about a week to eat but it can sit longer.

not your average fruitcake

Banana Bread:

Makes one 9 inch loaf or 3 mini loaves

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature, plus more for pan
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 heaping cup mashed very ripe bananas (the recipe calls for 1 cup, I pile it high)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan; set aside. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, and beat to incorporate.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture, and mix until just combined. Add bananas, sour cream, and vanilla; mix to combine. Stir in nuts, and pour into prepared pan.
Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Let rest in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool.