Simple Artisan Bread

This is one of Natalie's favorite breads.  It isn't hard to make at all, just need to have your time planned.

Ingredients-

Bread flour - 425g (plus a little for dusting)

2 tsp Rapid Rise yeast 

2 tsp coarse salt

360 ml tap water

What to do-

• In a large un-greased mixing bowl, whisk the flour, yeast, and salt together. Pour in the cool water and gently mix together with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. The dough will seem dry and shaggy, but keep working it until all the flour is moistened. If needed, use your hands to work the dough ingredients together. The dough will be sticky. Shape into a ball in the bowl as best you can.

• Cover the bowl of dough tightly with plastic wrap and set on the counter at room temperature.  Allow to rise for 3 hours.  The dough will just about double in size, stick to the sides of the bowl, and have a lot of air bubbles.

• Lightly dust a large nonstick baking sheet with flour (or use parchment paper that can withstand high heat). Turn the cold dough out onto a floured work surface. Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut dough in half. Some air bubbles will deflate as you work with it. Place dough halves on prepared baking sheet. Using floured hands, shape into 2 long loaves about 9×3 inches each (doesn’t have to be exact) about 3 inches apart. Loosely cover and allow to rest for 45 minutes. You will bake the dough on this prepared baking sheet. 

• During this 45 minutes, preheat the oven to 475°F (246°C).

• When ready to bake, using a very sharp knife or bread lame, score the bread loaves with 3 slashes, about 1/2 inch deep. (“Score” = shallow cut.)

• For a slightly crispier crust: Add a cast iron skillet to the bottom of the oven as it preheats. Carefully and quickly pour 4 cups of boiling water into it. Place the scored dough/baking pan on a higher rack and quickly shut the oven, trapping the steam inside. The steam helps create a crispier crust.

• Place the shaped and scored dough in the preheated oven on the center rack. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Gently tap the loaves– if they sound hollow, the bread is done.

• Remove the bread from the oven and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Spicy Chicken and Sweet Potato Stew

This is an adaptation of an original recipe from allrecipes. It is hailed as my bride's favorite of all stews!

Ingredients-

1 tsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, mince (I use the jarred minced garlic)

1 lb of sweet potato, peeled & cubed

1 bell pepper, seeded and cubed (colored is best for presentation, but green will work too)

1 lb cooked chicken breast, cubed.  (left over chicken works well here, or a couple boneless breasts cubed and browned too.)

1 or 2 cans of diced tomatoes. ( I like two myself)

2 cups of water

1 tsp salt

2 Tbsp chili powder

1 tsp ground cumin ( I make it a heaping teaspoon)

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp cocoa powder, unsweetened of course

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp red pepper flakes (heaping again)

1½ Tbsp all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp water

1 cup frozen corn

1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed (I prefer the dark in this stew)

What to do:

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Stir in onion and garlic cooking until the onion has softened and becomes translucent (5 minutes or so).  Stir in sweet potato, bell pepper, chicken, tomatoes, and 2 cups of water.  Season with salt, chili powder, cumin, oregano, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and red pepper flakes.  Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil.  Dissolve the flour with the 2 Tbsps of water and stir into the boiling stew - mix well.  Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and allow to simmer until the potatoes are tender but not mush (10-20 minutes) Stir occasionally to keep from sticking to the bottom.

2. Once the potatoes are tender, stir in corn and kidney beans.  Cook a few more minutes until heated completely.  

ENJOY!!

Cheese Pennies

 A wonderfully easy appetizer for parties or a light snack with drinks. 

Ingredients:

2 cups grated sharp cheddar (227g) (or other cheese such as pepper jack for added "BAM")

1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature

1½ cups (180mg) of all-purpose flour

¾ tsp salt

½ tsp dry mustard

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

water as needed a little at a time

Directions:

1. In a medium-size mixing bowl or electric mixer, combine all ingredients to make a cohesive dough. Sprinkle in water as needed to make it all bind together. Once it comes together divide it into two balls.

2. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and roll each into a log about 1 inch in diameter.

3. Wrap each in wax paper and/or plastic wrap and place in the freezer for thirty minutes.

4. Preheat the oven to 4ooF.

5. Removing one log at a time from the freezer, cut into ⅛ inch rounds. Arrange rounds on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. They don't spread much so half an inch spacing will be enough.

6. Bake pennies for 11-12 minutes until they start to brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool on pan for several minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to a week - if they last that long....

**Recipe adapted from King Arthur Baking

Enjoy!

Nana's Raisin Bread

This is a family traditional Christmas-time recipe that just the smell of this bread baking stirs so many wonderful memories to fill my heart.  Great memories of sitting in the picture window of 34 Graystone Lane, Levittown, Pennsylvania as my Nana sliced and buttered raisin bread to eat with our hot tea.  Also the memories of my mother’s kitchen with her mother-in-law supervising the kneading and baking of the bread.  These two women were extreme influences of who I am today because of the love they showed me. (If it weren’t for that great love they’d killed me long ago!)  

This raisin bread recipe was always used at some point during the Christmas season.  My cousins in the north know this bread as "kern bread" shortened from "currant bread" that it was originally made with. We didn’t leave milk and cookies for Santa when I was growing up; we plated raisin bread with eggnog! Christmas breakfast almost always included sliced kern bread around the tree while opening gifts. 

The aroma this bread distributes while baking in the house is absolutely heavenly.  This bread recipe is an ALL-DAY work of love, maybe which is why it tastes so wonderful! 

The ingredients:

5lb bag all purpose flour

½ lb light brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar + 1 tsp for yeast mixture

1 Tbsp salt

1 heaping tsp cinnamon

1 heaping tsp allspice

1 heaping tsp ground cloves

½ cup of molasses

½ cup of milk

2 Tbs instant coffee

3 packs dry yeast (rapid rise)

1½ lbs raisins

3 eggs

4 cups water, divided  (1½ for yeast, 2½ for dough)

1 cup of Crisco shortening

The Directions:

1.     Soak raisins in a large bowl with hot tap water for 30 minutes then drain.

2.    In a small bowl put yeast a teaspoon of sugar and 1½ cup of water (check yeast instructions for water temp - usually 110-120) Let this sit for about five minutes.  It should begin foaming if the yeast is active.

3.    In large mixing bowl pour half of the flour, and mix in other dry ingredients making a hole in the middle of the flour.

4.    Add 2½ cups water, eggs, milk, shortening and yeast mixture.

 

5.    Add flour and raisins a little at a time. (an extra set of hands will reduce the mess) Mix by hand- squeezing, turning, folding, swirling - until it won’t stick to fingers.  At this point I move it to a lightly floured surface and continue to work the dough folding, and pushing away, then quarter turn and repeat until the dough is springy to touch. Form into a ball and place in a grease bowl

6.    Cover bowl and keep warm until doubles in size (about 2½ to 3 hours).  This seems a long rise for bread, but due to all the fruit, and other ingredients the yeast needs more time to work. I use my oven on PROOF setting, but sometimes use my laundry room when washing with hot water and drying towels. The small room stays warm.

7.   When the dough has doubled, punch it down in the bowl to flatten out the air.  Pour out onto a lightly floured surface.  It's important to NOT knead at this point, but to press the dough down. It's okay to fold it once or twice, and press down, not the kneading motion as earlier.  Now, cut into separate loaf sizes, then roll into loaves and place into greased and floured pans.

8.    Cover with plastic wrap (spray the bread side with non-stick spray) and let rise to double in size again. (about an hour)

9.    Bake at 325 for 40-50 minutes.  Remove from pans and spread tops with Crisco or Margarine.  Make sure you have an oven thermometer to set or hang inside the oven.  (Every make and model heats differently and changes over time.  I have over cooked one batch due to the control setting and actual heat not matching by about 40 degrees!)

10. Allow to cool completely on wire racks before slicing.

    

Enjoy!

Raspberry Chiffon Pie

 Ingredients:

Crust- 

2 cups crushed ginger snaps (about 44 small snap cookies)

6 Tbsp unsalted butter at room temp 

¼ cup granulated sugar

Curd-

12oz fresh raspberries

1 cup granulated sugar

½ cup orange juice

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks (save whites for meringue)

2 Tbsp water, hot tap

1 ½ tsp unflavored gelatin

Meringue-

¾ cup of granulated sugar

2 large egg whites (reserved from curd)

⅛ tsp regular salt

Topping-

½ cup heavy whipping cream

1 Tbsp confectioners’ sugar 

Instructions:

Crust:

1. To make the crust: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the crumbs, sugar, and butter.

2. Press the mixture into the bottom and sides of 9" deep-dish pie pan.

3. To prebake the crust: Place it in a preheated 375°F oven for 15 minutes, just until set and you smell the cookies toasting. Remove the crust from the oven, cool on a rack. (Or refrigerate overnight)

Curd:

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the raspberries, sugar, juice. Set the pan over medium-high heat and bring the berries to a simmer. Cook until all the berries have burst and softened.  Smashing/pressing as you stir; about 10 minutes total.

2. Remove the pan from the heat and pass the cooked raspberries through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl or measuring cup. Be sure to press the solids to extract as much of the smooth sauce as possible; you should be left with about 1 ½ cups (400g to 425g) of sauce.

3. Stir the butter into the warm sauce until it’s melted completely.

4. Clean and dry the saucepan, then add the eggs and egg yolks to it. Slowly pour the cranberry sauce back into the saucepan with the eggs, whisking to incorporate.

5. Return the pan to medium-low heat and cook the curd, stirring constantly, until it’s thick enough that the lines made by your spoon or spatula as you stir take a second or two to disappear.

6. Remove the curd from the heat and pour it into a heat-safe bowl or measuring cup. If you see any small bits of cooked egg, pass the curd through a fine-mesh strainer to remove them.

7.  In a small bowl, combine the hot water and gelatin. Add a spoonful or two of the hot curd to the gelatin, stirring to incorporate, then stir the gelatin mixture back into the curd, mixing thoroughly. Set aside while you prepare the meringue.

8. Meringue: In a large heatproof bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together (briefly) the sugar, egg whites, and salt.

9. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (you should just barely see some lazy bubbles coming up) and whisk gently and continuously until the mixture reads 160°F to 165°F on a digital thermometer.

10. Remove the bowl from the heat and beat the meringue with a whisk or your stand mixer's whisk attachment until stiff.

11. Fold about a quarter of the meringue into the curd to lighten it, then fold the curd back into the meringue, mixing gently until no white streaks remain.

12. Pour the filling into the cooled crust and refrigerate the pie (covered with a cake cover or large overturned bowl) until set, at least 4 hours or overnight.

13. Topping: Whip the cream and confectioners’ sugar until soft peaks form.

14. Spread the whipped cream on top of the pie or serve it in a bowl alongside. Garnish with sugared raspberries

**A version from the King Arthur Baking Company