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Bubble Pizza (Pizza Monkey Bread)

January 31, 2012 by 16 Comments

Isn’t there some sort of sporting event coming up this weekend? Some big deal? Football something or other?

I’m a little fuzzy on that point, I’m just thinking I’ve heard talk.

Anyway, if you happen to be going somewhere or having lots of people over, you might be expected to have some finger food available. It’s only natural. And if you’re looking for something fast and filling, it doesn’t get much better than this.

We’re talking about Bubble Pizza. What is that, you say?

Pizza dough + pizza sauce + pepperoni + scads of cheese = Bubble Pizza

In other words, it’s a  lip-smacking, comforting, puffy, pizza-goody-packed, cheesy, gooey, easy, crowd-pleaser. If you’re not cooking for a crowd, don’t despair. If you serve this with a nice green salad, you have a complete meal that’ll win over everyone other than the dearly departed Doctor Atkins.

Here’s a bonus… If you keep this dough on hand, Bubble Pizza is never more than an hour away!

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Bubble Pizza (Pizza Monkey Bread)

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Bubble Pizza (Pizza Monkey Bread)

Some parts crispy, some tender, but all gooey, cheesy, pizza-y and full of pure comfort, Bubble Pizza is the perfect addition to your big game party food, but it's equally at home served with a big salad for a fast and satisfying weeknight meal.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound pizza dough (like this) , cut into 16 roughly equal sized pieces or storebought
  • 2 cups of your favourite pizza sauce (like this)
  • 3 cups grated part-skim mozzarella, separated
  • 25 thin slices of pepperoni, cut into quarters
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
    • Optional:
  • sliced green onions for serving

Instructions

Drizzle the olive oil into a 9-inch to 12-inch cast iron skillet (or other heavy oven safe skillet.) Use a pastry brush to distribute the oil over the bottom and up the sides of the pan.

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the pizza sauce, 1 cup of the mozzarella and the pepperoni slice quarters until evenly mixed. Drop in one piece of dough at a time, use tongs or two forks to turn it to coat both sides, then transfer to the prepared pan. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. If any of the sauce mixture remains in the bowl, use a spoon to dollop it in small amounts over the dough that is in the pan. Sprinkle the remaining cheese evenly over the prepared dough and let rise for 10 minutes before preheating your oven to 425°F with a rack positioned in the center third of the oven.

When the oven reaches the correct temperature, slide the pan into the oven (on top of a rimmed baking sheet to catch drips if the dough, cheese and sauce look precariously close to the top of the pan. Remember it will rise higher as it bakes!) Bake for 25-30 minutes (or longer, if necessary) or until the bread is puffy and well-set and the cheese is melted and browned. Remove the pan from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes. Lay a platter or plate that's slightly larger over the top of the pan before carefully inverting.

If desired, you can sprinkle sliced green onions over the Bubble Pizza before serving. Serve warm!

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/01/31/bubble-pizza-pizza-monkey-bread/

 

Filed Under: Bread, Comfort Food, kid food, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Stretching your dollars Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Peanutty Crispy Bars | Dark Chocolate Covered Peanutty Crispy Bars

January 30, 2012 by 7 Comments

A note to those with peanut allergies in the house. You can easily prepare these with sunflower or cashew or almond butter. They’ll be every bit as good!

*Cough cough*

In general I’m an annoyingly healthy person. I chalk this up to my lifelong practice of germophobia. I’m a poster child for the efficacy of excessive handwashing and hermit-like behaviour in flu and cold season. Who am I kidding? I aspire to being a recluse. I am what I am.

Hence, when I actually get sick, I turn into a big baby; for instance, right now. I sit in my chair in front of the woodstove and sit a wastebasket by my feet for tissues and slurp hot tea like a sump pump in a storm. Proper meals? Bah. I want treats. I want my mom to show up at my doorstep with a can of spaghettios and a chocolate malt cup.* But there’s that snowstorm we just had and that wicked winding mountain road between us and the fact that my mom has *gasp* a life! And I am, after all, a grown up, so I make my own treats.

*That was our default treat when we were sick as kids. On the drive home from the doctor’s office, with a bottle of the pink stuff safely in our possession, we’d stop at the corner gas station and grab spaghettios and chocolate malt  ice cream cups. I still think those did the job as much as the day-glo amoxicillin.

The criteria for “sick treats” are pretty cut and dried.

  1. It has to be easy. No sifting/sieving/fancy knife work allowed.
  2. It has to be made entirely of things in the pantry or fridge.
  3. It has to be tasty.
  4. It has to make a lot.

…And if it happens to hearken back to my youth, so much the better. What screams kid more than rice krispie treats? Not a whole lot. My favourite crispy rice bars are a wee bit different than the traditional variety in that they don’t use marshmallows and they’re decidedly peanutty. It just doesn’t get much easier than these treats. I’m willing to bet you have everything you  need in the cabinets right now. Best yet, you can choose to leave them nekkid or scatter a bunch of chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips over the bars while still hot. The chocolate melts and few flicks of the wrist with a silicone or offset spatula renders the chocolate coating complete.

Look at that chocolate getting all glossy and melty. You know that’s going to be good.

Some advice about working with the bars, whether you use the chocolate coating or not…

  • When spreading the hot crisped rice mixture into the pans, use a silicone or rubber spatula that is lightly oiled. The mixture likes to stick to wooden spoons and is far too hot to spread with your bare hands.
  • Line your pan with parchment paper that either completely covers the inside of the pan or extends up two opposite sides to make removing the bars from the pan easier. This, in turn, makes cutting the bars easier since you can lay them out on a cutting board and whack ‘em clean instead of fighting to get a knife to the edges inside a pan.
  • After refrigerating the bars to help them firm up, allow them to sit on the counter at room temperature for at least thirty minutes before attempting to cut them. Trust me. If you don’t, you’ll be cursing my name while trying to hack these things apart. I like you. I don’t want you to curse me.
  • As long as you keep them in an airtight container (think: Gladware, Ziploc containers, Rubbermaid, etc…) you can store them at room temperature for up to a week although I seriously doubt they’ll stick around that long as they have an alarming tendency to leap into your mouth when you’re walking past them.
  • The recipe, as given, makes a very large amount. The reason for this is that it uses an entire twelve ounce box of crispy rice cereal. You can definitely halve it if you’d like, it just means you’re going to use about six and a half cups rather than the whole box. On the other hand, if you make the entire batch as written, you can make your family happy and give away the extras (ha) and thereby make the postal carrier, UPS guy, school bus driver, or veterinarian very, VERY happy. Unless you’re ill, in which case you should probably eat them all to keep up your strength. Your call.

Now, I’m going to go sit down after I put a log on the fire and eat a few more of these. In the name of health, of course. What excuse I have for the ponytail and ugly sweat pants I don’t know…

*sniffle*

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Peanutty Crispy Bars | Dark Chocolate Covered Peanutty Crispy Bars

Yield: 48 bars

Serving Size: 2 bars

Peanutty Crispy Bars | Dark Chocolate Covered Peanutty Crispy Bars

These chewy, crispy, peanutty crispy rice bars give the traditional Rice Krispie Treats a fun make-over. We like the texture and flavour better than the originals!

Ingredients

  • 1 (12 ounce box) crispy rice cereal or 12 1/2 cups (like Rice Krispies)
  • 2 cups honey or light corn syrup
  • 2 cups granulated or raw sugar
  • 1 cup butter
  • 2 cups peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
    • Optional:
  • 3 cups well-chopped dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Line a 13"x18" half sheet pan with parchment paper being sure that the parchment paper extends up at least two of the opposite sides so you can use the parchment paper to remove the uncut bars from the pan more easily. Set aside.

In a large, heavy-bottomed stockpot, melt together the butter, honey or corn syrup, and sugar over medium low heat. When the butter is fully melted, raise the heat to medium high and bring to a boil. Boil hard for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the peanut butter quickly until the mixture is smooth. Immediately add in all of the crispy rice cereal and gently but quickly combine until the cereal is all coated evenly and there are no pockets of liquid. Turn the mixture out onto the prepared pan and use a lightly oiled spatula to evenly distribute then press the mixture into the pan. Be sure to push it into the corners, too, before smoothing the top.

Optional:

If you'd like your bars to be chocolate covered, scatter the chopped chocolate or chocolate chips evenly over the top as soon as you have it pressed into the pan. Let stand at room temperature until all of the chocolate is glossy and melted looking (about 5-10 minutes) then use an offset spatula or a silicone spatula to spread the chocolate evenly.

Put the pan into the refrigerator for at least an hour to let the hot bars set up. Before cutting into squares or whichever shapes you prefer, let the bars set at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

Store bars in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to a week.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/01/30/peanutty-crispy-bars-dark-chocolate-covered-peanutty-crispy-bars/

 

Filed Under: Comfort Food, Desserts, kid food, Rebecca, Recipes, Vegetarian

Waffle-Iron Ham and Cheese Paninis

January 24, 2012 by 12 Comments

We all know how I feel about ham and cheese. It’s no secret that I love it truly, madly, deeply…

The world’s simplest ham and cheese is good enough, no doubt, but everyone knows a toasted ham and cheese is even better.

And when you compress that sandwich while it’s toasting -á la panini- you get some serious hubba hubba working.

Now, I’ll be honest, as much as I love kitchen gadgets, I’ve never been able to justify buying a panini maker. There’s no panini maker big enough (that I’m aware of) to make a large amount of sandwiches simultaneously, and since I’m making meals for seven at a time, paying big kitchen gadget bucks to stand there pressing and grilling one sandwich at a time just doesn’t sound like my idea of good money management. Plus, it’s another thing on the shelves taking up space. On the other hand, pressed and grilled sandwiches… Sigh.

I’ve tried every trick out there for pressed sandwiches. Wrapping a brick in foil and heating it in the oven worked well, but dangit! I had to wrap a brick in foil and preheat it. I don’t always think that far in advance of my desperate need for a sandwich.

I tried heating up two cast iron skillets at the same time and laying one on top of the other, but then you get to scrape toasted cheese off of the bottom of an otherwise clean cast iron skillet. Since I’m firmly in the no-soap-on-cast-iron camp, that, too, was a pain in the rear.

I even bought a slimline cast-iron panini “lid” thingie. Cute, yes. But it was yet another “heat up the second component” thing and darned if it didn’t fall out of the cabinets onto my toe. That hurt enough that the item got its very own special trip to the thrift store.

One day last week, while I was cleaning and putting away my beloved waffle maker, the proverbial light bulb over my head flickered and went BING! Big, fat, hairy DUH! How had I not thought of this before? My waffle maker could be my panini maker, too! Granted, I was still only going to be able to turn two sandwiches out at a time but hey! We’re talking about two extraordinary sandwiches, no extra gadgetry on the shelves and multi-tasking. If there’s anything I love almost as much as pressed, toasted sandwiches, it’s multi-tasking: delicious, nutritious, cheapola multi-tasking.

A word about waffle makers before I go any further; I adore my waffle maker. This is my waffle maker.

What the picture doesn’t show is that the lid is “free-floating”. In other words, it can rise or fall depending on the bulk of what you have in it. This makes it the perfect ad hoc panini press. (The fact that it turns out the best waffles I’ve ever had in my life is nothing to sniff at either. Oh! And you want one that cleans up beautifully? This is the one for you. The waffle/grill plates snap out and the housing is stainless steel. Yes, it gets hot to the touch, but it doesn’t melt. What? You, unlike me, can manage not to melt the cool-touch waffle makers? So, it’s just me who melts plastic waffle makers? Huh. Who knew?)

Now, the sandwiches.

My all-time favourite sandwich filling is, as I’ve said, ham and cheese, but I have sandwich related Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Yes, it’s surprising, I know, because I am so very moderate in everything else in my life. Ahem. Anyway…

Here’s my idea of the perfect sandwich construction layer-by-layer.

  1. Soft but sturdy bread spread with mayonnaise and Dijon mustard.
  2. Three or four very thin slices of ham (depending on the size of the bread) draped and not laid flat. This comes from my time working at a deli. I like a pretty sandwich. I swear I can feel the difference between a pretty sandwich and a sad, depressed, flat sandwich blindfolded. But really, no, I am sane!
  3. One thin piece of cheese. You can rip the cheese to cover the meat and reach the edges of the bread, if you’d like. And I do.
  4. Baby or tender arugula or leaf lettuce.  If you put a sandwich in front of me with iceberg on it, I’ll eat it -don’t misunderstand- because I love sandwiches of all kinds. But if I’m talking perfect world sandwich, which is rather the point here, iceberg has no business being in the mix.
  5. Paper thin slices of sweet onion, preferably Vidalia. And since I’ve already gone down the high-maintenance sandwich preference road, I’m going to say another thing here. For cryin’ out loud (onion joke), please make the onion slices in half moons. That way, when you take a bite, you’re not going to pull an entire slab-o-onion off the sandwich when you pull away with a mouthful.
  6. More arugula!
  7. More cheese!
  8. More ham! Still draped! (Don’t make me come fix your sandwich to prove it!)
  9. One more piece of bread with mayonnaise and Dijon mustard.
  10. Cut it in half, for the love of all that is good in the world. I realize that’s not technically a layer, but to me, it’s part of the enjoyment of the sandwich, so don’t skip it!

And when you butter the outside of both ends of that sandwich and shove it in a waffle iron or panini maker you get the most heavenly, shatteringly crunchy exterior to a toasted ham and cheese you’ve ever seen. Golden-brown, crisped bread that is still tender inside with gooey cheese, salty ham, peppery arugula, sweet onion, pungent Dijon mustard and smooth mayonnaise; this sandwich is everything a sandwich aspires to be. Whether you serve these as part of a meal or as part of your game day party food, you are sure to score big.

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Waffle-Iron Ham and Cheese Paninis

Waffle-Iron Ham and Cheese Paninis

Golden-brown, crisped bread that is still tender inside with gooey cheese, salty ham, peppery arugula, sweet onion, pungent Dijon mustard and smooth mayonnaise; this sandwich is everything a sandwich aspires to be. Whether you serve these as part of a meal or as part of your game day party food, you are sure to score big.

Ingredients

    Per Sandwich:
  • 2 slices (about 1/2-inch thick each) soft but sturdy bread. (Like this. )
  • 1 tablespoon, approximately, softened butter
  • 6 very thin slices deli ham (Black Forest or Virginia Style, preferably)
  • 2 thin slices provolone cheese
  • 1 fistful baby or tender arugula
  • paper thin slices sweet onion, to taste
  • Dijon mustard, to taste
  • mayonnaise, to taste

Instructions

Preheat your waffle iron or panini maker according to manufacturer's instructions.

Spread the top of one piece of bread with mayonnaise and Dijon. Arrange 3 pieces of the ham on the bread, top with 1 piece of the provolone cheese, half of the arugula, the onions, the other half of the arugula, last piece of cheese, and the remaining 3 slices of cheese. Finally, spread the remaining piece of bread with more Dijon and mayonnaise and put that side down on top of the sandwich. Generously butter the top of the bread.

Open the waffle iron, hold the sandwich together and carefully invert it so the buttered top is facing down on the waffle iron. Quickly butter the piece of bread that is now on the top and close the waffle iron. You may need to weight the top of the waffle iron down until the sandwich begins to compress. A heavy pan or can of something that will not be damaged by heat is a good bet.

Toast until the sandwich is compressed and the outside is a crispy, deep golden brown. In my waffle maker, set on high, that took about 5 minutes.

Use tongs or a spatula to carefully remove the sandwich from the waffle iron and transfer it to a cutting board. Cut in half (or quarters) and serve hot.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/01/24/waffle-iron-ham-and-cheese-paninis/

What are you favourite sandwich fillings? Are you a cold or hot sandwich person or not a *GASP* sandwich person at all?

 

Filed Under: Comfort Food, kid food, Kitchen Techniques and Hints, Main Dish, Meat, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: , , , ,

Layered Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake with Salted Caramel

January 18, 2012 by 12 Comments

This cake has two layers and this post has two purposes. One is a no-brainer: to share the recipe. The other? Well the other reason is a serious case of Mama pride. This cake is what my pickle in the middle son requested for his birthday but that’s not why I’m proud. I’m busting my buttons because he came up with the idea for the cake.

Let me backtrack a bit and introduce you to my guy.

This is Ty.

Not Tyler, not Tyrone, not Tyson. He’s Ty. It’s a Welsh word that means “House”: as in strong like one. And Ty is. He’s the strong, silent type. He has a fast wit, but you have to listen for it. Believe me, it’s worth listening.

Ty is a sports and outdoors nut.

He’d just as soon be hitting home-runs, throwing balls,  climbing trees, running laps, slap-shotting, or bicycling at warp speed as he would anything else. Don’t let his elven appearance fool you. He is made of stern stuff. He taught himself to ride his own bike in one afternoon.  It didn’t matter that he fell of about fifty times. He was determined to learn it and no gravity was going to stand in his way.

He zigs when others zag. (Note the upturned corners of the mouth during the obligatory Sturgeon Faces at the Sturgeon River pose. He’s the happy sturgeon next to the Grandpa Sturgeon.)

Sports, admiring cats, and reading Harry Potter are three of his favourite past times, but there’s one bigger than anything else. The boy loves to cook.

It gets better, though, because he’s darned good at it. He loves traditional British food (think treacle tarts, shepherd’s pie, toad-in-a-hole, etc…) but he’s an innovator, too. Proof of this came with his birthday dessert request; he wanted me to whip up a gingersnap crusted pumpkin pie with a thick cheesecake layer on top, thus combining all of his best-loved desserts. And here’s the kicker; he wanted to help make it.

Ty and I made gingersnaps together.

We snuck a couple, shared a few with the rest of the family and turned the remaining cookies into crumbs for our crust. He tossed in melted butter and sugar and pressed it into the bottom of a parchment lined springform pan.

We whipped up a small batch of pumpkin pie filling and a medium batch of cheesecake batter.

We did a very convoluted method of pouring both into the pan (which you can skip since it formed its own layers), put the pan in the oven, then sat down with a cup of tea (any Welsh readers will recognize the seriously appropriate nature and wondrous pun of Ty’s love of tea) to wait for the cake to finish baking.

After it was set up, all that was left was the long overnight wait for the cake to chill through and birthday proper to begin. Showing much more patience than his Mum, Ty insisted on waiting until after dinner (shepherd’s pie) to cut into the cheesecake pie. And like Ty’s humour, it was more than worth the wait.

The spicy, deep molasses of the gingersnap crust was the perfect foil to the custardy pumpkin pie and silky cheesecake. The slight hint of orange in the cheesecake amplified the nutmeg, allspice and cinnamon in the pumpkin pie. The just-this-side-of-burnt sugar salted caramel drizzled over the cloud of whipped cream pushed the entire dessert into the stratosphere.

Can you see why I’m about ready to pop with the pride?

Oh, these boys of mine. I think I’ll keep them. Happy Birthday, my Ty guy. You are very loved.

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Layered Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake with Salted Caramel

Layered Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake with Salted Caramel

The spicy, deep molasses of the gingersnap crust is the perfect foil to the custardy pumpkin pie and silky cheesecake. The slight hint of orange in the cheesecake amplifies the nutmeg, allspice and cinnamon in the pumpkin pie. Then, the just-this-side-of-burnt sugar salted caramel drizzled over the cloud of whipped cream pushes the entire dessert into the stratosphere.

Ingredients

    For the Crust:
  • 2 cups fine gingersnap crumbs
  • 1/4 cup (1/2 a stick) butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup raw or granulated sugar
    • For the Pumpkin Pie Layer:
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground or grated nutmeg
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 can (15 oz.) canned pumpkin (NOT canned pumpkin pie filling)
  • 1 can (12 fl. oz.) evaporated milk
    • For the Cheesecake Layer:
  • 3 (8 ounce each) bricks cream cheese, softened to room temperature
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 3 tablespoons Grand Marnier ~or~ 2 tablespoons orange juice
  • 2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
    • For the Salted Caramel Sauce:
  • 1 cup (7 ounces by weight) sugar
  • 1 2/3 cups (13 ounces by weight) heavy cream
  • Sea salt or kosher salt to taste

Instructions

Grease and line a 10-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper. Position the springform pan in the center of a rimmed baking sheet. Toss together all of the ingredients for the crust with a fork and press evenly and firmly onto the base of the prepared pan. The crumbs may extend up to 1/4-inch up the sides, but no higher. Set aside.

Position your oven racks so there is one in the center and one far enough below it to hold a bread or cake pan that will be filled with boiling water. Preheat the oven to 300°F and put a kettle of water on to boil.

To Prepare the Pumpkin Pie Layer:

Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl. In a smaller bowl, use a fork or whisk to combine the sugar and spices. Add those along with the pumpkin puree to the eggs and whisk until smooth. Stir in the evaporated milk and pour carefully into the prepared crust.

To Prepare the Cheesecake Layer:

In a food processor fitted with a metal blade (or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk), blend the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Scrape down the sides, add the eggs and blend until smooth again. Scrape down, add remaining cheesecake ingredients and blend until smooth. Pour carefully into the center of the pumpkin pie filling.

Place the baking sheet with the sprinform pan on the center rack in the preheated oven and pour boiling water from the kettle into the loaf or cake pan. Bake for 60-80 minutes, or until the outer 2/3 of the cake is set but the center is still a little jiggly. Turn off the oven and insert a wooden spoon in between the oven and the door to hold it slightly ajar. Let cool, along with the oven, to room temperature.

Lay plastic wrap directly on the surface of the cheesecake and refrigerate overnight before serving.

To Prepare the Salted Caramel Sauce:

Melt the sugar (with just a couple drops of water to help it along, if you're uncomfortable melting it dry.) over medium heat in a large, heavy-bottomed pot until it is a nice, deep-caramel colour. Do not stir as this causes crystallizing in the caramel. When it reaches the caramel colour you want, pour in the heavy cream (taking care as this will bubble up massively), whisk it and remove from the heat. Add sea salt (a couple good pinches usually does the job) to taste, whisk and set aside to cool to a comfortable temperature.

To Serve the Cheesecake:

Slice the cheesecake into thin wedges. On each wedge, dollop a hearty amount of whipped cream and drizzle the salted caramel sauce.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/01/18/layered-pumpkin-pie-cheesecake-with-salted-caramel/

 

 

 

Filed Under: Desserts, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Mini Cheddar Scallion Monkey Breads

January 16, 2012 by 22 Comments

 

There’s very little cheese in this recipe. That is, there’s not so much cheese compared to the sum total amount of cheese in, say, Wisconsin or Vermont. There’s really not a whole lot compared to what you would find in my favourite cheese factory and shoppe. But otherwise?

There is a ton of cheese in and on these mini monkey breads.

As in a lot.

Very much.

A whole cheesy bunch.

 

Mmm. Cheese.

What we have here is little pieces of cheese bread dough tossed with minced scallions (Because onions and Cheddar cheese? They’re like *this*!) and olive oil, plopped into muffin tins and capped with a serious amount of cheese. How much? Well, about this much…

In case you’re mentally tabulating, that’s roughly a quarter cup of shredded cheese on top of each of these little golden brown beauties. (That doesn’t count how much went into the dough. Hubba hubba.)

In short, this bread is a cheese lover’s dream. Served by itself as a hearty snack or alongside a piping hot bowl of whatever soup flicks your Bic, this is, simply put, the stuff.

Now I’m going to tell you to grate your own cheese for this. I try not to be super bossy about this kind of thing, but I’m going to put on my mom voice right now. Whether you do it, your food processor does it for you or you bribe some burly bicep-ed man in the house with promises of cheesy kisses, I don’t care… Just don’t use the stuff in the bag (not that I’m opposed to that sometimes) because it usually is treated with stuff to make the shreds stay separate for long periods of time on the store shelves. There’s something about the way cheese you’ve shredded yourself melts that just plain makes this taste better.

I have another piece of unsolicited advice for you.  Use the extra sharpest Cheddar you can find for this bread. You want the tang and punch and wow and “I AM CHEESE” presence that only extra sharp Cheddar can deliver. Your extra-Cheddar perseverance will be rewarded. Unless, of course you really don’t like extra sharp, in which case you should substitute away!

I want you to know that I accidentally fell face first into this plate after I took these pictures.

It’s okay, though. I only ate the ones I licked.

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Mini Cheddar Scallion Monkey Breads

Mini Cheddar Scallion Monkey Breads

Bite sized morsels of cheese-laced bread dough tossed with minced scallions (Because onions and Cheddar cheese? They're like this!) and olive oil, arranged in muffin tins and capped with a serious amount of cheese then baked to crisp topped, deep golden brown perfection.

The dough for this is the Cheese Bread recipe from the King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion.

Ingredients

    For the dough:
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 3 1/2 cups bread flour (can substitute all-purpose flour if necessary)
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
  • 1 cup finely grated extra sharp Cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 tablespoons softened butter
  • 2 teaspoons tomato paste
    • For the Scallion Oil:
  • 8 scallions, trimmed and minced
  • 5 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 clove garlic, peeled and minced
    • To Top the Rolls:
  • 2 cups finely shredded extra sharp Cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Mix together all of the dough ingredients by hand, stand mixer or bread machine until a smooth, elastic dough forms. Let rise, covered, until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Stir together all of the ingredients for the scallion oil in a small mixing bowl. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. Toss together the cheese topping mixture. Set these all aside.

Turn the risen dough out onto a clean counter and divide into 36 equal-ish sized pieces. Roll each piece in the scallion oil, pushing scallion bits into the dough. Put 3 pieces in each of the 12 muffin cups. Let rise for 30 minutes in a warm, draft-free place.

Preheat oven to 375°F. As the oven preheats, evenly divide the cheesy topping mixture over each of the risen monkey breads. Bake for 22-30 minutes, or until the bread is set and the cheese is golden brown and crusty on top of each monkey bread.

Let the bread cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then turn out onto a cooling rack. Serve warm or room temperature.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/01/16/mini-cheddar-scallion-monkey-breads/

Filed Under: Bread, Comfort Food, kid food, Rebecca, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , ,

Baked Maple Oatmeal

January 13, 2012 by 27 Comments

I know I’ve mentioned a few times that I’m not a breakfast person. I maintain that with one big exception. See that bowl up there? That’s the exception. That is baked oatmeal.

I had a big time Goldilocks complex about oatmeal, and not being someone who eats until ten-thirty/eleven-ish each day, I never really felt compelled to get serious about perfecting my porridge. I dutifully made oatmeal for my crew in the wee hours most days, went about my morning routine, then came back to the leftovers when my hunger kicked into gear. I repeatedly tried it to see if it was dinging my chimes yet. Not so much. By the time I was ready to eat, the stuff I’d made them in the early morning hours was  a stodgy clump of thick grey goo. Ew.

*Notable exceptions to the oatmeal blahs were my stepmom’s piping hot camping oatmeal chock full of dried fruit and seeds and drizzled with maple syrup and my dad’s peanut butter and dried fruit combos. Somehow, it just never tasted as good when I made it for myself. This is either due to the tastes-better-when-someone-you-love-makes-it-for-you-phenomenon or to the fact that I never got to eating it until about two hours after it was made. Sigh.

Then I saw Erica Berge’s gorgeous baked oatmeal a few months ago and decided to give oatmeal another whirl. Boy am I ever glad I did because it solved every issue I’ve ever had with oatmeal. It is golden and firm and moist where normal oatmeal is grey and mucilaginous and wet. The texture is like a cookie crossed with a cake crossed with granola crossed with oatmeal. Leftovers hold and reheat beautifully where regular oatmeal becomes a weird amorphous mass. See, that? That is the real kicker. It’s the holding over well that sealed the deal for me. My kids were able to have something they loved, LOVED, first thing in the morning for breakfast, and I was able to have something I loved when I was good and ready to start chowing down.

If you, like me, are doing all you can to get your brain into gear before you’ve caffeinated it, there is an added bonus; you can mix the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl, and mix/cover/refrigerate the wet ingredients the night before. Then, while still bleary-eyed the next morning,  combine the two mixtures while the butter melts in the preheating oven, pour, bake, and ta-da! You’re a hero! Quite conveniently, a double batch of this takes almost exactly as long to cook as my Pilates routine takes to complete. Admittedly, keeping me going until lunchtime is not such a challenge since my breakfast comes a paltry hour before my noon meal, but my kids are another story and this does the job admirably.

The smell of this baking is one of the easiest ways to get even the hardest-to-wake children out of bed. It has to be one of the most perfect ways to start a blustery, cold day. The comfort factor of golden, maple-kissed baked oatmeal cannot be exaggerated. With the wintery weather we have predicted this weekend, I can promise a pan full of this will be greeting my kids on our breakfast table Saturday morning and I guarantee we’ll be warm enough to face whatever blows our way!

A tasty hint:

While the oatmeal tastes wonderful by itself, when you follow Erica’s advice and serve with a splash of heavy cream on top it becomes dreamy. There is no way I can recommend the addition of heavy cream highly enough. Do. It.

 

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Baked Maple Oatmeal

Baked Maple Oatmeal

The comfort factor of this golden brown, maple-kissed, baked oatmeal reminiscent of cookies, granola, and cake cannot be exaggerated. There simply is no better way to wake up on a blustery morning than to a bowl full of this drizzled with cold heavy cream.

Recipe courtesy of Erica Berge of Cooking for Seven with gentle adaptations.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup (1/2 a stick) of butter
  • 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (do not substitute quick or instant or steel cut oats)
  • 1/2-3/4 cup raw or maple sugar preferably (You can substitute granulated or brown sugar if necessary.)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup (you can substitute Golden Syrup if you prefer it.)
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (or 3/4 teaspoon ground vanilla)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. While the oven is preheating, unwrap the butter and place it in an 8-inch x 8-inch or 9-inch x 9-inch baking pan. Place the pan on the center rack of the oven and let the butter melt as the oven heats. (As soon as the butter is melted remove the pan from the oven or the butter may scorch.)

Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Whisk together the milk, eggs and vanilla extract in a separate bowl, pour over the dry ingredients and mix together with a sturdy spoon until everything is evenly combined and wet. Scrape into the pan with the melted butter and stir until most of the butter is incorporated, but there are little pockets of melted butter still visible at the corners.

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Serve hot with a splash or a good glug of heavy cream.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/01/13/maple-baked-oatmeal/

Filed Under: Breakfast Foods, Comfort Food, kid food, Rebecca, Recipes, Stretching your dollars, Vegetarian

Boston Cream Pie

January 11, 2012 by 12 Comments

Phew. I made it through birthday season! I cooked, I decorated, I celebrated, I cooked some more and I found the perfect gift for each child. Thankfully, three-fifths of the kids chose their dad’s extra wonderful specialty (extra crispy fried chicken) for dinner, but that didn’t leave me off the hook. Oh, no no no it didn’t.

There were still pig tails (my kids’ name for these), French fries, coleslaw, and various other side dishes to make with those meals. Above all else, though, there were the cakes to be made. Yes, those cakes.

Last year, my studiously wacky second born asked for a three-dimensional Tardis cake. My policy to is to deliver whatever the requested cake is no. matter. what. So I toiled with fondant (blech!), and cake sticks and printable edible transfers and what not. And after the kids went on a three day food colouring induced nutso bender, I prayed that there would be no more Ace of Cakes style requests.

When Aidan approached me this year announcing he’d decided on his cake, I held my breath. “I want a Boston Cream Pie!” Not only was there zero required food dye, he’d chosen one of my all time favourite desserts. Woo to the hoo, people.

I asked the birthday boy why he wanted a Boston Cream Pie (file this question under the “Mom Trying to Understand Male Children” category) and as he ran out of the room he yelled, “Because it’s called a pie but it isn’t one. Isn’t that great?”

Yes.

Yes, it is.

Boston Cream Pie is no pie. It is a cake. It is a darned good rich butter cake filled with vanilla flecked pastry cream and topped with a gooey chocolate glaze and it is also the perfect metaphor for my boy. Playful and silly,

deep,

irresistible, surprising, charming, and easy on the eyes.

Aidan and Boston Cream Pie, two great things that go great together.

 

Happy Birthday, little fire. You are strong, loyal, hilarious and loving. You keep my life full of joy!

 

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Boston Cream Pie

Boston Cream Pie

Layers of tender, buttery cake and rich, custardy pastry cream with a bittersweet chocolate glaze are irresistible for any occasion. This is well worth the little bit of effort required to produce it.

Used with thanks from the King Arthur Flour's The Baker's Companion.

Ingredients

    For the Cake:
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 4 tablespoons softened butter
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
  • ¼ cup cornstarch
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ cup milk
    • For the Vanilla Pastry Cream:
  • 3 cups whole milk
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
  • 4 large egg yolks
  • 4 tablespoons cold butter plus 1 tablespoon
  • 1 cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks
    • For the Bittersweet Chocolate Glaze:
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • pinch of salt

Instructions

To make the pastry cream:

In a heavy-bottomed medium or large saucepan, stir together 2 ½ cups of the milk, the sugar, salt and split vanilla bean with its scrapings. Place the pan over medium heat and bring to a boil.

While the mixture is coming to a boil, whisk together the cornstarch, flour and egg yolks with the remaining ½ cup of milk in a separate bowl.

Carefully ladle some of the boiling milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Pour the egg yolk mixture back into the boiling milk, again, whisking constantly. Return to a boil for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat immediately and pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Add 4 tablespoons of butter to the custard (and the vanilla extract if using) and stir until completely melted and combined. Smooth the top of the custard, rub the remaining piece of butter over the surface of the custard and place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the custard. Refrigerate until completely chilled.

While the custard is chilling, prepare the cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Beat together the sugar, butter, salt and vanilla extract in a stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer until the mixture is fluffy. Beat in the oil, scrape down the sides, and then add the eggs, one at a time, beating until the mixture is even fluffier.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch and baking powder.

Alternate adding about 1/3 of the dry mixture and 1/3 of the milk, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition, until the batter is even and smooth.

Grease and flour an 8”x8” square baking pan or a 9” round baking pan and spoon the batter into the pan. Bake for 38-45 minutes, or until the cake tests clean with a skewer or tooth pick and the edges pull away from the pan. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning onto a rack to cool completely.

While the cake is chilling, prepare the chocolate ganache:

Pour the heavy cream into a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium high heat and bring it to a boil. Pour over the chopped chocolate, corn syrup, vanilla extract and salt and let rest for 5 minutes, undisturbed. When the 5 minutes have elapsed, stir slowly in one direction until the mixture becomes smooth and glossy. Add the pinch of salt and stir in gently. Set aside for 10 minutes at room temperature.

To finish the pastry cream and assemble the cake:

Fold the whipped cream into the chilled pastry custard and set aside.

Level the top of the cake using a serrated knife if necessary then split the cooled cake in half horizontally and carefully transfer the top layer, cut side down, to a cake plate or serving platter. Pile the pastry cream onto the cake layer to within 1/2-inch of the edges. Carefully invert the remaining cake half cut side down onto the pastry cream. This will leave the smoothest surface of the cake on top to be covered with glaze.

Refrigerate the cake without glaze if you do not plan to serve it immediately as the glaze hardens into an almost taffy-like consistency in the refrigerator.

Shortly before you're ready to serve the cake, pour the glaze down onto the center of the cake. This will allow the glaze to spread over the top and drip down the sides of the cake. Slice and serve.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/01/11/boston-cream-pie/

We have one more birthday post coming up, even though Aidan’s birthday wrapped up our birthday season. Even though it’s coming out of order, it’s such a spectacular dessert that it’s worth saving for last. Stay tuned for a tale of Mama pride and a gorgeous dessert.

Filed Under: Cakes, Desserts, kid food, Rebecca, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , ,

Sticky Garlic Ginger Venison (or Beef) Stir Fry

January 6, 2012 by 21 Comments

 

I was a weird kid. Unlike many teenaged girls that I knew, I hated babysitting.  I only did it a handful of times and each time ended up providing me with a cautionary tale of terror about children. It’s a wonder I decided to procreate.

One time, a couple had me babysit their infant while they went out for dinner and a movie. Being so very rural, that required a drive of no small distance, so the evening was going to be a long one. Their house was decked out with all kinds of deer, elk, and moose heads on the walls and I had an overactive imagination. It wasn’t long before I was convinced those heads were watching me wherever I went in the house. I called my mom who did not laugh at my fears, but instead sent my aunt over to check on me. My aunt helped me drape dishcloths from the antlers so I couldn’t see the eyes on the critters and I was fine. At least until I forgot to take down the towels before the couple returned. They didn’t say anything, but I wasn’t asked back again either.  I didn’t blame them and I was somewhat relieved. I promised myself I would never eat deer, put a deer head on the wall or marry a hunter.

It’s funny how life can change you. Somewhere along the line, I realized how delicious venison is and did a nice about face. In fact, I became a little obsessed with venison.

My husband decided to take up hunting two years ago at my request.  He did it semi-enthusiastically. He liked the idea of cheap meat, but wasn’t thrilled about the whole process of gutting. He was a man who was torn.

I was a little more excited about the whole thing. Okay, let’s be honest. I was a little Lady Macbeth about it. I wanted venison and I wanted it badly. We had hunting friends and neighbors who kindly shared venison with us and one mega-hunting buddy who went so far as to give a couple of deer he had harvested to us in their entirety last year but it just wasn’t enough. I wanted a freezer full of the stuff.

I spent all year talking up the romance of hunting season. I sewed felted wool boot inserts to keep his feet warm. I knitted a toasty scarf. I planted visions of venison salisbury steak with piles of creamy mashed potatoes and buckets of gravy. By the time hunting season opened, my man was ready. And I was hungry.

Day one, he came back in at dusk and told me he had seen a young four pointer but passed it over because he wanted a bigger buck. Here, I became even more Lady Macbeth. I think my speech may have even included, “But screw your courage to the sticking point and we’ll not fail!” along with a reminder that his first buck probably wouldn’t be a trophy, but that all venison was good venison. Sigh. Not one of my prouder moments. At least I said it in a supportive tone. Ahem. Moving on.

We reached the second to the last day of hunting season and the hub wanted to go out hunting one last time.  I had to do some grocery shopping, so I kissed the mighty hunter as he walked out into the back field, left the eldest minion in charge and drove up the hill to our Amish friends’ home to see if they wanted to go to the big grocery store with me. Seeing as it’s a forty five minute drive there and back, they can’t go unless an “English” neighbor or friend takes them along. My friends Ada and Anna grabbed their lists and hopped into my van and we were off. We were in the entry way to Wally World (a.k.a. The Walmart) when I got a cryptic text from my beloved.

“8 pointer”

I responded with a question that reflected the lack of success we’d had even catching a glimpse of any bucks beyond that first four pointer.

“As in you saw one or shot one?”

The next text I got from him was a picture of a big old buck in a very relaxed pose. Super chill. As in dead.

I showed the picture to my friends and there stood I, big fool that I am, hopping up and down yelling excitedly while my Amish friends clapped and whooped.  I’m sure it was quite the scene. For a brief moment, I felt like passing around cigars like dads would in a nineteen-fifties era neonatal waiting room.

Then came the giddy call from my husband who was now well and truly hooked on hunting. “Hey. The gutting wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be! God bless Youtube. There were so many awesome videos on how to eviscerate deer.” This is not a phrase you hear uttered every day, but it was music to my red-meat loving ears.

Here’s where my heretofore solid analogy to the Scottish Play fails, though. There was no wringing of hands and attempts to rub out spots. There was zero guilt. There was eager anticipation. I got in there with my knife and helped butcher the majestic thing. And the only perfume I needed to sweeten my hands was a little garlic and ginger and soy concoction to go along with the beautiful, beautiful venison filling my frying pan.

For the record, I had some serious crow to eat along with my venison. That buck was a trophy buck. He was huge. And in a little under a year, I’ll do something I swore I never would. I’ll proudly hang an artistically mounted deer head from my wall. Ah, the circle of life.

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Sticky Garlic Ginger Venison (or Beef) Stir Fry

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Sticky Garlic Ginger Venison (or Beef) Stir Fry

A sticky, caramelized crust coats this tender and fragrant garlic and ginger laden stir-fry of lean red meat. I prefer venison, but lean beef can be used if venison is not available to you. This healthy Asian-inspired solution to dinner is on the table in under a half hour making it an ideal meal for busy nights.

Adapted with thanks from Hunger and Thirst's Roadkill Elk

Ingredients

  • 1 pound venison (or lean top round beef steak)
  • 3-4 tablespoons lard or canola oil
  • 2-inch knob of fresh ginger root, grated finely
  • 5 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
  • 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon raw sugar (or brown sugar, if necessary)
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce (plus more if needed)
  • Optional for garnish: sliced green onions
    • Serve with hot rice and your favourite greens. I like Spicy Asian Broccoli with it.

Instructions

Slice the venison (or beef) diagonally against the grain into strips that are about 1"x 4" and about 1/8" thick. Set aside.

Place a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat and melt the lard or canola oil until shimmery. Add the grated ginger and garlic cloves and stir constantly until fragrant, about 15-30 seconds. Add the venison to the pan and stir-fry until it is cooked about halfway through. Sprinkle the raw sugar over the meat, then drizzle the soy sauce over the top. Stir to coat well and let it cook, undisturbed, until the liquid becomes thick. At that point, begin stirring until a sticky, deeply caramelized, crusty coating forms around the venison strips. Remove from the heat and serve immediately garnished with sliced green onions.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/01/06/sticky-garlic-ginger-venison-or-beef-stir-fry/

 

Filed Under: Accessible Ethnic, Comfort Food, Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, Rebecca, Recipes, Stretching your dollars Tagged With: , , , ,