Raspberry Scones

Needed:

• Scones
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) cold, unsalted butter
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ¼ cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 large lemon, zested
• ¾ cups heavy cream
• ¾ cup frozen raspberries
• Glaze
• ½ large lemon, juiced
• ½ to 1 cup confectioners’ sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cut butter into ¼-inch pieces and return it to the refrigerator to keep it cold until needed.
2. Preheat oven to 425° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and lemon zest in a large wide bowl. Mix to combine.
4. Add butter to the dry ingredients and toss it to coat with flour. Working quickly with clean fingers or a pastry blender, rub or cut butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal.
5. Add frozen raspberries to the mixture and toss to coat. Drizzle the heavy cream evenly over the mixture. Toss with a fork, scraping up from the bottom, until the dough starts to clump together. Knead the mixture together in the bowl until it comes together in a mass. It’s okay if there are a few stray bits and dry patches; the most important thing is to avoid overworking the dough.
6. Turn out the dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Press in stray bits gently and shape the dough into an a 7 to 8-inch square about ¾-inch thick. It should look a bit rough and ragged.
7. Using a knife or bench scraper, divide the square into 9 smaller squares. Divide each square in half diagonally to make 18 small triangles.
8. Separate the scones carefully to give them room to spread. Bake until pale golden, about 12 to 15 minutes.
9. To prepare the glaze, combine lemon juice and ½ cup confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl. Whisk to combine. Add more sugar, as needed to create the desired consistency for glazing.
10. Cool scones for at least 10 minutes before glazing. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Neal's Ricotta Scones

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ¾ tablespoons sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter
• ½ cup green onions or scallions, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• ⅔ cup milk
• 1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon water (for egg wash)
• sea salt
• black pepper
• smoked paprika

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

• Whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Grate butter into the flour mixture and stir with a fork until the consistency of coarse meal.
• Stir in scallions and fresh herbs. Add ricotta cheese, then add milk and stir until just combined.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead 2 to 3 times, then pat dough into a 9-inch rectangle. Dip knife into flour and cut dough into 12 equal pieces.
• Transfer scones to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush tops liberally with egg wash. Sprinkle tops with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and smoked paprika.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes or until scones are golden brown.

Irish Soda Bread Muffins

I think that everything should be in individual containers. So I decided to make Irish Soda Bread the same way. It was pretty good.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup or half a stick) melted butter
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup raisins (I omitted.)

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. In another large bowl, beat together the egg, buttermilk, melted butter, and oil. Gradually beat in the flour mixture until just moistened. Fold in the raisins.
4. Fill each muffin cup about three-fourths full. Sprinkle the tops with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes before removing from the pan. Serve warm or cool to room temperature. Store in an airtight container.

Heather's Artisan Bread

My friend Heather Clark has made this bread several times and I decided I needed to recipe.  It is amazing!

Artisan free-form loaves - Becky Vincent

Makes four 1 pound loaves (recipe is easily doubled or halved)

3 Cups lukewarm water (about 100 degrees)

1 ½ Tbsp granulated yeast

1 Tbsp kosher salt

6 ½ cups un-sifted, unbleached all-purpose flour

Cornmeal or parchment for pizza peel.

Preparing the dough:

In a 5 quart bowl or re-sealable, lidded food container, add yeast & salt to lukewarm water. Don’t worry about getting it all to dissolve.

Add in all the flour at once. Mix with a wooden spoon (you can use very wet hands to help if needed) or a heavy duty stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.

Don’t knead the dough; just mix until it is uniformly moist without dry patches.

Cover with a lid that fits well, but not airtight. Allow to rise at room temperature until it begins to collapse, about 2 hours (you can let it go for up to 5 hours) The dough is ready to use at this point, but will be easier to shape if it is refrigerated at least 3 hours first.

On Baking Day:

Prepare a flat surface (pan, cutting board, etc.) by sprinkling liberally with cornmeal (or lining with parchment)

Sprinkle the surface of your refrigerated dough with flour.

Pull up and cut off a pound (grapefruit-sized) piece of dough, using a serrated knife.

Hold the mass of dough in your hands and add a little more flour as needed so it won’t stick to your hands.

Gently stretch the surface of the dough around the bottom on all fours sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. (Most of the dusting flour will fall off) the bottom of the loaf may appear to be a collection of bunched ends, but it will flatten and adhere during resting and baking.

Handle the dough as little as possible.

Place the shaped ball on the cornmeal-covered surface.

Allow the loaf to rest there for about 40 minutes, uncovered.

Depending on the age of the dough, you may not see much rise (more will occur during baking)

20 minutes before baking preheat the oven to 450 degrees, with the baking stone or pan placed on the middle rack.

Place an empty broiler tray for holding water on any other shelf that won’t interfere with the rising bread.

Dust the top of the loaf liberally with flour.

Slash a ¼ inch deep cross, scallop or tic-tac-toe pattern into the top, using a serrated bread knife.

With a quick forward jerking motion of the wrist, slide the loaf off the cornmealed surface and onto the preheated baking stone.

Quickly but carefully pour about 1 C of hot water from the tap into the broiler tray and close the oven door to trap the steam.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until the crust is nicely browned and firm to the touch.

Allow to cool completely, preferably on wire rack.

Store the remaining dough in refrigerator in your lidded ( not air-tight) container.

Cut off and shape more loaves as you need them anytime over the next 14 days.

The flavor and texture will improve after even one day’s storage.

*Tester’s note: If you don‘t have a baking stone, you can bake the loaf on a cookie sheet, but we found the crust was not as pleasantly crisp this way   

Zupas Chicken Pesto Panini

So Zupas got rid of my favorite Panini.  Just to be a stinker, I ask for it every time I go in. (The Milano.)  This is why I stopped going to Cafe Paison.  I do not like falling in love with something and having the stinking restaurant change their menu.  Bah!

So I have been looking for a new favorite sandwich there.  And I tried the Pesto Chicken Panini.  It was yummy.  I found a copycat recipe.  I am also going on a retreat this week where we are making Panini's.  I have felt some resistance about making some of the recipes I would like to make, so I am going to just bring my own ingredients and make my own.  I am very excited.  :)

Recipe from: bakingwithblondie.blogspot.com

4 ciabatta rolls, sliced in half 
1 large tomato, stem removed, sliced 
about a cup of alfalfa sprouts 
4 slices muenster cheese 

1 chicken breast, cooked, cubed 
1 roasted red pepper (I used the ones from the jar = easiest), sliced into small cubes 
1/2 C slivered almonds, toasted 

1 batch of my homemade basil pesto (basil, garlic, pine nuts, EVOO, parmesan, lemon juice) 
1 cup real mayonnaise (I love miracle whip, but don't use it with this recipe. I beg you) 

In a bowl, mix together chicken breast, roasted red pepper, slivered almonds, basil pesto, and mayo until just combined. Slightly broil your ciabatta rolls in the oven so they're warm and a teeny bit crispy (or use a panini-maker). On the bottom half of the ciabatta roll, layer on your muenster cheese, chicken mixture, tomato (seasoned with salt and pepper), and alfalfa sprouts. Top with the other half of the roll, and use a toothpick to hold in place. 

Dunk in soup, or devour as is. Both will rock your world.

The Best Cornbread

If I'm going to share this, I'd better make sure it is actually up here. :)

1 cup melted butter
1 1/3 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 cups cornmeal
2 cups flour

(Substitute for buttermilk: 1 cup=1 Tbsp. lemon juice or vinegar plus milk to make one cup. Let stand for 5 minutes.  Or Dissolve 1 tsp. baking soda in 2 cups milk.)

Melt butter and stir in sugar.  Beat in eggs.  Mix baking soda in buttermilk, and then add in with remaining ingredients.  Bake in a well greased 9 x 13 inch pan at 350 degrees for 30 minutes (until fork inserted in middle comes out clean.)

Sometimes I make them in to muffins or mini loaves and adjust the baking time accordingly.

Zucchini Bread

I've been trying to collect recipes that are more "whole food recipes."  I don't mind cooking things from scratch, but I never know what to cook.  Where do you start?  Well, I learned how to do it.  You start with one thing at a time.  Matt makes salsa, spaghetti, red beans and rice, and a few other things he is really good at.  And I make Alfredo sauce, and I am a pretty good baker.  We've been trying to make our food choices more and more healthy.   My sister showed me a website called "100 Days of Real Food".  So I'm going to start with a couple that look great.


INGREDIENTS:

3 cups whole-wheat flour (I used King Arthur’s white whole-wheat flour)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
¾ cup oil (I used coconut oil)
¾ cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped nuts (optional – I have tried both pecans and almonds, although walnuts would be good too)
DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F for small loaf pans or 325 degrees F for large loaf pan or muffins.
Blend the dry ingredients.
Make a well (or hole) in the center and pour in the eggs, oil, honey and vanilla. Stir just until mixed – do not overmix.
Fold in the grated zucchini and chopped nuts if using. Pour batter into greased loaf pan(s) or muffin holders and bake until a toothpick comes clean in the top/center of the loaf or muffin.
If using smaller pans bake for 30 – 40 minutes. I was able to fill four of my small loaf pans.
For one larger loaf pan bake for 50 – 60 minutes.
For muffins bake for 15 – 20 minutes.
Enjoy and don’t forget to freeze the leftovers!

French Bread

We got this one from Christene Johnson a few years ago. Fun recipe.

2 packages or 2 Tbsp. yeast
5 Tbsp. cooking oil
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. salt
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups hot water
6 cups unsifted flour

--Dissolve yeast in warm water. In a large bowl, combine hot water, sugar, salt, oil and HALF the flour. Beat well, still in yeast and ad remaining flour. Rest 10 minutes then mix for 20 seconds. Repeat this 5-6 times. Turn out on floured board and divide dough in half. Use a rolling pin to shape into a rectangle and roll (like a jelly roll). Tuck the ends under and pat into dough. Place on large oiled cookie sheet. Slash top several times diagonally and let raise for 30 minutes. Bake @ 400 degrees for 25 -30 minutes.

Garlic Rolls

I love bread. And I love pasta with garlic bread. Not the best for me, but oh is it tasty. My Achilles heal so to speak. I wanted some for dinner tonight but all I had was Rhodes bake and serve. So I improvised. Here is what I did.

Place 20 frozen rolls in a 9x 13 inch pan for 3 hours. To defrost and to let rise.

Place in oven at 350 for 10 minutes.

About halfway through the cooking time (after the 10 minutes) take
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of melted butter with
1 Tbsp. garlic
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning

And drizzle it one the rolls. Then put back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes.

They were delicious. I used 1/2 cup of butter and the bottoms were pretty buttery. I may to less, but don't get me wrong, it tasted wonderful.

Orange Rolls

I got these from my friend Heidi's food blog, Food Glorious Food. They are pretty tasty.

2 large oranges
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 TBSP yeast
2 large eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
5 cups flour

Frosting:
Juice from 1 orange
2 TBSP butter
2-3 cups powdered sugar

Put warm water in mixer and add the yeast. Add the zest from one of the orange rinds (I took Heidi's suggestion and zested both rinds. This turned out well.) and 1/4 cup of juice from the orange. Add eggs, sugar, salt, and flour. Knead well. Let stand 10 min. Knead again. Let rise for 2 hours. Make dough into ropes (from 6-8 inches long and 1/2 to 1 inch thick) and TIE INTO A KNOT. Let rise until double in size. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes or until slightly golden on top.

Mix frosting ingredients and brush onto warm rolls. (I like my frosting really gooey. I think I would do the frosting differently. I would making it thicker or brush more on after it is cooled down. But otherwise, these were a huge hit. Well, Ally didn't like them. But she's crazy.)

Dill Rolls

As long as I'm sitting here typing in recipes, I should put this one in. It's great on it's own or with hamburgers or sandwiches. This has to be to most requested roll recipe I have from my family. It's very tasty.

5 cups flour
4 tsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. minced onion
4 tsp. dill weed
2 1/2 tsp. salt scant (meaning not quite 2 1/2 tsp, slightly less)
1/2 tsp. soda
2 Tbsp. (Or packages) of yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups cottage cheese
2 Tbsp. butter
2/3 cup water
2 eggs

--Dissolve yeast in the first 1/2 cup warm water. Add the other ingredients. Mix well, using dough hook on mixer. Let rise until double in bulk. Knead and roll to about 1/2 or 2/3-inch, cut with a 2 1/2-inch cutter. Place on buttered cookie sheet, with at least 1 1/2 inches between rolls on all sides. Let rise 1 hour. Bake @ 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden.

Note: Cu with a tuna fish can and use rolls for hamburger buns.

Mari's Dinner Rolls

I actually love eating baked goods. I just have one problem. I always have trouble baking because I hate allowing for rise time. I'm lame, I know. But I have been determined to make some baked goods, if for nothing else than to use up the mega pack of yeast I've had in my fridge FOREVER. I started with these. I made them to go with Ellee's Cheesy Potato Soup Recipe that is also on this blog. And they went together well. I enjoyed making these rolls.

2 1/2 cups warm water
2 Tbsp. yeast
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. salt
5 cups flour

--Note: You can apparently shorten the rise time the second time to less than 10 minutes. I tried it and it was true. A shorter rise time didn't hurt anything.

--Dissolve yeast in water. Add all ingredients except flour and mix. Add 1/2 of the flour and beat until smooth. Add rest of flour until soften or cleans sides of bowl. Knead 5 minutes. Raise one hour, shape, put on greased pan and raise again (about 1/2 hour). Bake @ 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 2 dozen.

Thyme and Cheese Biscuits

I love biscuits and gravy. I've been playing around with different biscuit recipes. I found this one at oldfashionedliving.com. It was a hit. FYI, I use McCormick's Country Gravy mix for the gravy.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. fresh minced thyme
1/2 tsp. minced fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. minced fresh rosemary
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
5 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup milk

Preheat over to 400 degrees. Grease a cookie sheet and set aside. Mix flour, baking powder, herbs and cheese in a large mixing bowl, using a fork. Cut in the butter. Mixture will be crumbly. Add the milk and stir until dough holds together, you may add more milk if necessary. Drop by large spoonfuls on the cookie sheet an inch apart. Bake 10-12 minutes.

Monkey Bread

Courtesy of Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• Leftover Bread Dough (or Refrigerated Biscuit Dough, Cut Into Thirds)
• Butter
• Sugar
• Ground Cinnamon
• Sweetened, Condensed Milk

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Add 1/2 teaspoon butter to muffin tins. Sprinkle in sugar and cinnamon.

Roll dough into walnut sized balls (or cut refrigerated biscuit dough into thirds). Place three into each muffin tin.

Top with 1/2 teaspoon butter. Sprinkle on more sugar and cinnamon.

Allow dough to rise, if applicable, or just go ahead and bake for 15 minutes, or until golden and bubbly.

Remove from oven and immediately drizzle plenty of sweetened condensed milk over the top of each one. Be generous! Allow rolls to sit for a little while to absorb sweet, sticky milk.

Scoop out with a spoon and serve to hungry humans.

Granite Steps Country Coffee Cake

Ohhhhhh, this is yummy and really easy. This recipe is courtesy of Paula Dean who is my Goddess Grandma. I love that lady. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 (12-oz.) can buttermilk biscuits
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Generously grease a 9-inch square baking dish. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon and mix well with a fork. Seperate biscuit dough into 10 biscuits. Cut each bisciot into quarters and dip each pience in melted butter and coat with brown sugar mixture. Arrange in a single layer in a baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the oats.

Combine blueberries and sugar in a bowl and toss to coal. Spoon over oats and biscuits and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup oats. Drizzle remaining melted butter on top. Bake for 20 minutes or until cake is golden brown and center is done. Cool for 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Panipopo

There are a couple Hawaiian families in our neighborhood. And it is very pleasing to the mouth. This is a recipe for some rolls that are basically cooked in a coconut sauce. I would like to try these myself sometime.

Basic roll recipe that makes about 30 rolls.

Or

Rhodes Rolls (frozen)

1st Sauce - for first layer on bottom of pan.

1 can coconut milk
1 cup sugar
3 Tbsp. cornstarch, mixed in 2/3 cup water

Cook on stove until thickened then pour on the bottom of pan.

Place rolls on top of sauce. Let rise until double.

2nd Sauce - for the top of rolls

2 cans coconut milk
2 cups sugar
4 Tbsp cornstarch, mixed in 1 1/2 cups water

Cook like first sauce and pour over top of rolls before baking. Follow normal baking time to the rolls you used.

Now I know the recipe didn't say it, but I think these are made in a 9 x 13 pan. Hopefully. I should get a move on and make this one.

**Make this recently. IT was A-MAZ-ING. I am hoping to get more Luau recipes so I can do the whole thing myself. My brother lived in Hawaii for almost a year. They came back with some recipes, some of which I tried. You can also find some traditional recipes for a luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center's website. Look under Luau!