ED: Hot Cross Buns

This was number one of my recipes. I had to start with this one b/c it had, at least in my mind, the highest risk of failing. I have some problems with bread rising. I blame it on my husband. You ask, how can you blame this on your husband? He keeps the house too cold. I turned the oven on first thing Saturday morning and opened the oven door to warm up the kitchen. I was reading my recipe when I decided I needed a different one. This recipe called for fresh yeast, which I couldn't find. The hubs had gone to the store the day before with my detailed list and bought some breadmachine yeast.

This is where I discovered what I have been doing wrong with my yeast baking experiences. I was trying to figure out how many teaspoons of bread machine yeast are in one active dry yeast packet when lo and behold, on the side of the container it says "For Active Dry Yeast: mix xxx teaspoons of bread machine yeast, with xx cup of warm water & 1 tsp sugar" Hum... I had never done this before. So I get it all mixed up, it looks good, then I knock over the cup. HS*&*(%^&! I start over, this time the yeast is sticking to my spoon & not mixing with the water. HS*&*(%^&! One more time, I make the water a little warmer, mixes perfectly, I set over on the kitchen table, as I know I wont be over there anytime soon.
Anyway, back to recipes, I found 2 on food network that I liked so I combined them. I had this one from the Levain Bakery & another one from Betsy Oppenneer (no clue who she is BTW). I liked the spice mixture from the first one, but I liked the raisins in the second one. So I will post my kluged together recipe.
Hot Cross Buns
For The Dough:
1 scant tablespoon or 1 (1/4-ounce) package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
1 1/2 cups warm milk (about 110 degrees)
1/3 cup soft unsalted butter
1/2 cup light brown or raw sugar
2 eggs
Spice Mix (see below)
3 1/2 to 4 1/2 cups unbleached flour
golden Raisins
dark raisins

For The Glaze:
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

For The Icing:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 to 2 tablespoons heavy cream (or milk)


In a large bowl, stir yeast into water to soften (omit this if you are using the bread machine yeast). Add milk, butter, sugar, eggs, spice mix. Add the raisins and stir to combine.
Gradually add flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until the dough begins to pull away from the side of the bowl.Turn dough out onto a floured work surface. Knead, adding flour a little at a time, until you have a smooth, elastic dough. Put dough into an oiled bowl. Turn to coat the entire ball of dough with oil. Cover with a tightly woven towel and let rise until doubled, about one hour.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled work surface and divide into 24 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball and put into two well-seasoned 9 by 12-inch baking pans. Cover with a towel and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.
About 10 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Just before baking, cut a cross into the top of each bun.
Combine the milk and sugar for the glaze and brush lightly over the top of the buns.Bake for 20 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the buns reach 190 degrees. Immediately remove buns from pans and cool on a rack for about 10 minutes.
In a glass measuring cup with a pouring lip, combine the confectioners' sugar with lemon juice and enough heavy cream to reach the consistency of honey. Use to pour into the cross on the top of each bun.

Spice Mix:
1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Mix together all the ingredients.



Let me just say that this process started around 9am and finished around 3pm. My hubs was very thankful they worked b/c I get super pissed off when my baking/cooking fails. Its that red headed leo temper I have. I was/am very proud of these. My grandpa was a baker and I couldn't help but think how proud he must be of me. I am not nearly as fearful of the yeast as I once was.

Easter Dinner

My husband and I choose to host Easter at our house every year. This is year number 3 for us, we skipped out last year as Easter was about 6 days before our wedding and I was not about to cook for 30 people 6 days before our wedding.
I will do these in separate posts so I can tag the recipes & items. Like usual, I didnt take pictures of everything because people think I am absolutely nutso for taking pictures of food. I had to sneak in my pictures before anyone got there.
We love hosting a holiday. I love it because I can cook and entertain. Hubs loves it because we have everyone come to our house as opposed to us traveling to everyone else's. Each year we have an Easter Egg Hunt in our yard. But because we live in a new neighborhood, there is minimal landscaping & trees to hide the eggs. We get creative and use the cars in the driveway. One year we put the candy in the plastic eggs. Easter was later that year, in the middle of April, and of course this Midwest weather, it could be snowing in the morning and 80 degrees in the afternoon. Of course, that year it was 80 and the chocolate melted in the eggs. We had about 6 kids running around with chocolate fingers.

We dye eggs outside, we do the whole nine yards. This year we had about 20 guests which seemed just right. One year we had 40 and it was a little difficult, not unbearable but difficult. It was nice this year to be able to relax and of course watch basketball.

So onto the food/menu, we like to have a theme for our dinner. One year it was all Italian food, one year it was more of the traditional Easter dinner (ham & prime rib) This year, we wanted it to feel like Spring so we went with a BBQ themed menu. I think the Hubs really just wanted to use his smoker.

Appetizers
hot cross buns
veggie tray
deviled eggs
cheese balls
fruit tart
Side Dishes
green bean casserole
corn casserole
scalloped potatoes
baked beans
Main Course
smoked brisket
honeybaked ham
smoked turkey
Desserts
carrot cake
bunny cake
angel food cake w/berries
fudgey oatmeal bars
Drinks
Peach bellini
beer
iced tea
lemonade
coffee & hot tea
sodas

The hubs ended up throwing some pork ribs on the smoker too. My mom brought some shrimp cocktail. We just had tons of food (not surprising) Everything was delicious. I tried a crockpot recipe for the potatoes and it was B-A-D. I'll just stick with my normal oven for this kind of stuff.

Helping Others

My girlfriends and I decided to put our cooking skills to use last night. We volunteered to make dinner for the Ronald McDonald house. We picked this date about a month ago, I had realized it was right after Easter, but whatever, I like to cook right? Anyway, we made SOOOOO much stuff. We were supposed to cook for approximately 30 people,we saw maybe 15 people at the house, so to say we overcooked would be quite an understatement. We cooked for probably 50+ people. I made 30 creamy chicken enchiladas, my friend made 30 cheese enchiladas, we had 5lbs of chicken taco meat, about 5 lbs of beef taco meat, a giant tray of mexican rice & like 10 cans of refried beans. Not to mention, soft taco shells, hard taco shells, queso dip, salsa & dip. Oh and I made margarita cupcakes. Dinner would not be complete without dessert!
And let me tell you, I was not pleased to be cooking or baking on Monday night. When I post our Easter Dinner you will understand why. I have been cooking since Friday. I am taking the week off. It going to be all Sandra Lee/Rachel Ray week with the leftovers.
Here is the spread:

The margarita cupcakes:

The frosting wasn't coming out of the bag looking pretty so we just spread it with a knife. This was my first attempt at buttercream frosting and I dont know why I have ever bought frosting before. This tasted a TON better than store bought stuff and was super easy to make.

We decided to make this a monthly or bi-monthly event. Our next date is in May and we were thinking of doing a deli theme. I am sure we will make enough to serve 75-100 people for that dinner. We even tossed around the idea that we should start our own catering business, we could do rehearsal dinners, birthdays, etc...

I am such a sucker...

For magazine pictures/covers. I swear that Cooking Light gets me every time! Remember the bourbon pecan tart? Well this month CL had these chocolate mint bars on the front & I knew I had to make them. I had to make them for St. Patty's day b/c they were green and looked like an Andes Mint. I also had to make them b/c when my husband is out of town, all I do is cook & bake. Keeps me occupied. My co-workers love it too.

So yes, I made the chocolat mint bars from the latest CL magazine and they were delicious. They were really easy to make as well and provided just the right amount of green for the festive holiday upon us. I will say, right out of the fridge they are a little hard to bit into. Maybe let them sit out for about 10 minutes to soften before you serve them.

Chocolate Mint Bars
Ingredients
Bottom layer:
1 cup all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup egg substitute
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, beaten
1 (16-ounce) can chocolate syrup
Cooking spray

Mint layer:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons fat-free milk
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
2 drops green food coloring

Glaze:
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons butter

Preparation
1.Preheat oven to 350°.
2.To prepare bottom layer, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and salt; stir with a whisk. Combine granulated sugar, egg substitute, 1/4 cup melted butter, 2 tablespoons water, vanilla, eggs, and chocolate syrup in a medium bowl; stir until smooth. Add flour mixture to chocolate mixture, stirring until blended. Pour batter into a 13 x 9–inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 23 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out almost clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

3.To prepare mint layer, combine powdered sugar, 1/4 cup melted butter, and next 3 ingredients (through food coloring) in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer until smooth. Spread mint mixture over cooled cake.

4.To prepare the glaze, combine the chocolate chips and 3 tablespoons butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at HIGH 1 minute or until melted, stirring after 30 seconds. Let stand 2 minutes. Spread chocolate mixture evenly over top. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Cut into 20 pieces.

I took the advice of adding a little dark chocolate to the glaze to give it a more "grown up taste". I think it was a great choice, otherwise it might have been too sweet!

Nervous for Nemmie's Recipe

My friend Nemmie has one of the most amazing blogs I read. Castsugar.blogspot.com is her website and if you haven't visited, you must put it on your list. I am always scared/nervous to make one of her recipes b/c they all look amazing when she photographs them & posts.
I had a pork tenderloin in the fridge that had to be cooked ASAP. I didn't want to roast it, b/c I knew I knew I wouldn't eat it. With the hubs gone, I needed something to make that I could freeze half of it & eat the other half. I hate wasting food.
Well, Nemmie came to my rescue on Thursday when I saw her post for Pork & Tomatillo Stew. I must say, I have never purchased a tomatillo. Sure I know what they are & usually I walk right on past them in the grocery store, I mean, they are tomatoes with husks on them! But I figured, ok the hubs is gone, I will make this & if it doesn't look like Nemmie's or I find out I don't like tomatillos-well no one would know.
So here I am at the P.Chop trying to pick out tomatillos when I realized, I have no idea what the criteria are for a "good tomatillo". So i just picked up all different kinds. some were really light green, some were dark green.
(For those curious, "Fruit should be firm and bright green, as the green colour and tart flavour are the main culinary contributions of the fruit")
Nemmie's Pork & Tomatillo Stew (Food & Wine)

I left out the cilantro b/c I am not a huge cilantro fan. Also, I kept my pork tenderloin in pieces as opposed to shredded. Since I had just shredded the pork for the spaghetti sauce, I wanted a little different texture.
All in all, thanks Nemmie for introducing me to the scary fruit, all wrapped up in its husk, called a tomatillo.

What I Eat When The Hubs is Away

The hubs was out of town for the past few days for work. When he is out of town, i like to make things that I would eat and that I know he won't. For example, for dinner one night I had marinated artichoke hearts, some gouda cheese & some bread. Topped off with a glass of wine and you have a delicious dinner. At least in my mind you do.

So for lunch I made this salad. My salad greens were what the hubs would call "weeds" , with some chopped apples, gorgonzola cheese, peppered turkey breast & toasted pecans. I used a little balsamic viniagrette and there you have it-another delicious meal.

Well the hubs gets back today, so I dont think you will get to see any more weeds for awhile.

Irish Soda Bread!

Well I am trying to get into the spirit of the season! Spring is upon us, St. Patrick's Day is upon us, Easter is right around the corner-everything seems to be sneaking up on me!
I was perusing PopSugar yesterday and saw their post for Irish Soda Bread (actually on YumSugar but whatever) I was intrigued by the caraway seeds. I thought about leaving them out b/c I dont particularly like the way they taste, but the certainly lend well to this bread.

And while I was looking for the recipe I came across this gem: (yumsugar.com)
"Kym Douglas and Cindy Pearlman, authors of The Black Book of Hollywood Diet Secrets, appeared on The Early Show this morning to give away some of their secrets. While they mostly spilled the beans on diet tips, there was one thing that stood out to me: dishwasher salmon. That's right I said dishwasher. You just seal the fish up in foil, toss it in the dishwasher and let it go. The steam, along with a waste of power and water, cooks it through. Just be sure you don't use any soap.

If you think this sounds totally wacko then I should let you know that this is not the first time this has been done. Bob Blumer, aka The Surreal Gourmet, has poached salmon in more than 100 dishwashers on three continents. His recipe actually looks pretty good and comes complete with a piquant sauce. I don't know if I can actually endorse this method, it seems like a waste of energy, but I do think it would be fun to tell your guests you made it in the dishwasher. If you want to try it yourself, get his recipe when you read more "

Um what?? I don't think I would ever do this!