Snacks

Bacon and Swiss Rye Muffins

February 16, 2010 by Rebecca 9 Comments

These muffins won’t win any beauty contests. They’re not the prettiest muffins on the block. They have a muffin face only a mother could love. But man-oh- man, they’re delicious. Let me break it down for you…

They have bacon. That alone should be enough to convince you.
They have Swiss cheese both in them and toasted on top of them. If the bacon didn’t do it, the Swiss should.
They have rye. Rye? Because it’s delicious. That’s rye. (Hi, Dad. Thanks for the line.)

Any of those ingredients alone would be enough to make me dive mouth first into a muffin, but putting them together? Oh my. Oh me. It’s enough to drive a girl crazy with food lust. The salty, smoky bacon, pungent Swiss cheese (nothing neutral here) and sharp Rye flavors are all enhanced by a subtle presence of onion. It’s the ultimate deli experience encapsulated in one lovely (in a ugly duckling to swan sort of way) muffin.

Get in my belly!

What can you serve with these muffins? Soup, salad, or nothing at all. While they make a wonderful companion to creamy and brothy soups, or dinner salads, they stand alone as a hearty snack or breakfast, too. They store well, wrapped, in the refrigerator and I would imagine they freeze well, too. There is a disclaimer, though; we’ve never had a batch last long enough to freeze. Mainly they vaporize within a day.

In the interest of science, though, I wrapped and hid three muffins in the back of the refrigerator for four days. Okay, the truth is I put three muffins in the fridge and ate one the next day. On the second day I ate another one. On the third day, my son broke his arm. On the fourth day, I ate that last one. It was still marvelous. It was, as I said, a highly scientific process.

One more look before we make them? Certainly.

For a printer friendly, photo-free version of this recipe, click here!

Bacon and Swiss Rye Muffins

Adapted from King Arthur Flour’s Ham-and-Cheese Rye Muffins

Ingredients:

2 cups (7 1/2 ounces) whole rye flour (also known as pumpernickel flour)
3/4 cup (3 1/8 ounces) high-gluten flour (also known as bread flour)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon granulated onion
1 1/2 cups Swiss cheese, grated and divided
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups (12 fluid ounces) buttermilk (or 1 1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar in a measuring cup topped with enough milk to reach 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup (4 ounces by weight) melted unsalted butter
1/2 pound of bacon, sliced into thin strips and then cooked until crispy and drained on paper towels

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Generously grease a muffin tin or line with papers that are sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. This may seem like overkill, but the cheese likes to stick. Greasing the papers or the tins will ensure that you don’t have to gnaw crispy cheese bits from paper or a pan. I’ve done it. Trust me. In a big mixing bowl, whisk together the rye flour, high-gluten flour, baking powder and soda, salt and granulated onion. Toss in 1 1/4 cups of the grated Swiss cheese to ensure it’s coated with flour.

Whisk together the egg, buttermilk and melted butter in a separate bowl or large measuring cup. Pour into the flour mixture all at once and stir until it is evenly moist. Do not overmix. Gently stir in the crisp bacon.

Scoop the batter into the prepared pan. Since whole grain muffins do not rise as much as their non-whole grain counterparts, you can fill these tins or papers fairly full. You should get 12 muffins out of this batter.

Evenly divide the remaining 1/4 cup of Swiss cheese between the tops of the muffins and put the pan in the oven. Bake 25 minutes or until the cheese on top is toasty and deep golden brown and the muffins test done. (To test muffins, insert a skewer or toothpick into the center. If it comes out clean- with perhaps a little oil from the cheese or bacon but no clumps of batter- the muffins are done.)

Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 5 minutes then turn them out on a rack to continue cooling. Or just eliminate that step and eat them immediately. I won’t tell.

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Breakfast Foods, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Side Dishes, Snacks Tagged With: bacon-and-swiss muffins, dinner muffins, party food, quick and easy, savory muffins, savoury muffins, soup accompaniment, what to have with soup, whole grain muffins

Baked Potato Skins

February 2, 2010 by Rebecca 6 Comments

My father has told me more than once that he has one huge regret about how he raised my siblings and me. If he could go back and do it all over again, he would not teach us to love potato skins and the heels of bread loaves because he had to fight for every one he ate after he did. Does he have any other parental regrets? Who knows? I stopped listening and started drooling after he said ‘potato skins’. Sorry, Dad.

Ah the potato. God’s perfect tuber. I am eternally grateful to my Dad for selflessly showing me the delicious potato skin path through life. Baked potatoes topped with butter, salt and pepper are a wondrous thing but they’re not the only thing baked potatoes can do. Loaded Baked Potato Soup (shameless self-promotion alert), our family favorite baked potato bar, and twice-baked potatoes are all stupendous. But the apotheosis of potato preparations, the be-all-and-end-all of potato eatery is the baked potato skin. Fresh from the oven, crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside, seasoned and cheese laden, the baked potato skin is what every little spud aspires to become. Can you imagine anything more perfect than this?

Well, okay. How about anything more perfect than this?

Every time I see a plate of 12 dinky potato skins for $6.99 in a restaurant* I want to jump on the table and yell, “I can make four times that amount with four times the toppings for that same price! Highway robbers!”

*You know, on those 2 nights a year we eat in a restaurant. Maybe The Evil Genius would take me out more frequently if I stopped jumping on tables and haranguing the staff.

This is truly a wallet-friendly party food. Out of the same batch of baked potatoes that you got your Loaded Baked Potato Soup you can get these stupendous Baked Potato Skins. Let me lay out the plan for you.

Night 1: Bake 12 potatoes along with whatever number baked potatoes you can eat with dinner. Cool the 12 extra potatoes on the rack while you eat your dinner potatoes.
Night 2: Hollow out the 12 cold potatoes as directed in the recipe below. Use the potato ‘guts’ to make Loaded Baked Potato Soup. Place your potato shells on a rimmed baking sheet, cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days. If it’s going to go beyond that, you can pop the shells into the freezer. When they’re frozen solid, transfer to a zipper top bag and keep frozen for up to one month before using.
Night 3 (or 4, 5, etc…): Make your Baked Potato Skins and accept the praise and adoration lavished on you for serving such a delicious and festive food.

And, hey! Sunday is the Super Bowl and the Olympic Games start next week. This is hard-core finger food time, people. Whether you’re attending a party, hosting a party or attempting to become one with your couch, you need to make these. They’re guaranteed to win friends and influence people. At least it wins and influences me.

Hey there, handsome...

For a photo-free, printer friendly version of this recipe, click here!

Baked Potato Skins

Ingredients:

12 baked potatoes, cooled to room temperature
2-3 cups grated cheese (I prefer extra sharp Cheddar, but you can also use Monterey Jack, Colby, Pepper Jack or any combination of those cheeses.)
1/2 pound of bacon
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
a batch of Creamy Onion Topping (full post here, or printer friendly version here.)
additional thinly sliced green onions for topping

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Cut each baked potato into quarters, taking care to keep the skin as intact as possible. But don’t just cut them willy-nilly. Take a second to consider your potato. Cut in half first.

Now look at your halves. See how potatoes are generally oval shaped? You want to cut those halves in half again, but cut them so that you’re cutting it through the longest angle of the oval so that your quarters will be relatively stable on the pan when you lay them down. That would be front to back on the left potato half or side to side on the right potato half.

Use a regular soup spoon to carefully scrape most of the insides out of each potato quarter into a large bowl, leaving behind a shell of about 1/4 to 1/2 of an inch.

I know some folks take more of the potato out of the shell, but I like my potato skins a bit more substantial. Feel free to cut back on the amount of potato, just be sure to keep a shell intact or your potato skin will go floppy. Not so appetizing sounding, is it?

When you have eviscerated all your potatoes divide your potato shells between two rimmed baking sheets. Use the potato ‘guts’ to make baked potato soup or tightly wrap with plastic wrap, refrigerate and make soup within the next three days.

Drizzle the extra virgin olive oil evenly over the potato shells using about two tablespoons per baking sheet. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the potato shells to taste. Remember that potatoes love salt and pepper, so don’t skimp here.

Place sheets in the top third of your preheated oven. Set timer for 10 minutes.

While the potato shells are toasting, turn your attention to the bacon. Slice the bacon into 1/2-inch thick strips and slide into a large skillet over medium heat.

Cook until the bacon just begins to turn crisp. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain.

Move the drained bacon to a cutting board and coarsely chop.

Remove potato shells from the oven and generously cover with the grated cheese, using about 1 cup per baking sheet. Scatter the bacon pieces evenly over both sheets.

I used a mix of cheeses including copious amounts of white extra sharp Cheddar here. Because the potatoes were so hot when the cheese went on it began melting immediately. Whilst it appears these potatoes are almost naked I assure you they weren't. I wouldn't do that to a potato.

Sprinkle the remaining grated cheese over the bacon and return the pans to the oven. Bake for 6-8 more minutes or until the cheese is melted. If you like your cheese a little on the more toasty side -and I do- allow to cook an additional 2 minutes or just until the cheese is beginning to brown on top but is still gooey underneath.

Move baked potato skins to a platter. If so desired, garnish with sliced green onions and serve with a bowl filled with the Creamy Onion Topping.

And boy, do I ever so desire.

Later this week, in keeping with our preparations for the Super Bowl and the Olympic Games there will be an epic barbecue smackdown wherein I take on…

Myself!

What will win? My Carolina Style Barbecue Sauce or my Smokey Tomato Based Sauce? Hmm?

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Getting Creative With Leftovers, Holiday Food, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Side Dishes, Snacks Tagged With: munchies, Olympic Games, snack food, Super Bowl

Sausage Baked Beans and Grandpa’s Baked Bean Sandwiches

January 24, 2010 by Rebecca 8 Comments

I’ve talked a great deal about frugal foods and menu planning in my last few posts. There’s no doubt about it, one of the most budget-friendly foods you can make is beans! But that’s not why I’m posting this recipe today. I’m posting it because it’s STINKIN’ AWESOME! And because it’s cheap. I thought you should know…

I also thought you should know that I successfully resisted the temptation to indulge in two cheap and easy beans-and-gas jokes just now. But I digress…

My Grandpa was a man who knew his food. He was also a very accomplished man; a former construction worker, professional musician and ordained Methodist minister. And among all of his achievements, this sandwich stands as one of his best.

At first glance, a sandwich composed of baked beans, onions and mustard may not sound like it’s going to rock your world but take a closer look. The homemade baked beans are saucy and just a little sweet with a pronounced molasses flavor. The onion rings are sliced paper thin and add just the right amount of pungency. The tang, salt and vinegar bite of the yellow mustard acts as a perfect foil to the slight sweetness of the beans. And on lightly buttered homemade rye? Oh my. It makes an extraordinarily balanced sandwich full of umami. Yes! A sandwich that for all intents and purposes should be anything but refined ends up effortlessly tickling the taste buds in a way that cooks over the globe strive for when they create much fussier food. And there is a very good reason behind it…

Much of the greatest and most comforting food in the world is the direct result of poverty, hardship and privation. Pho, stock made from chicken feet, fried rice, dumplings, pasties, coq au vin, cassoulet, marrow bones, beef jerky* and haggis* all sprang from a desire to use every single possible edible part of the animal and avoid all waste.

*I’ll take on anyone who claims beef jerky isn’t great food. Me and beef jerky? We’re like this. I could easily eat my way through a pound all by myself. I accept donations of beef jerky.

Now haggis? Haggis has its origins in poverty to be sure. But I’ve heard it said that people’s enthusiasm for haggis is directly inverse to the amount of hand they’ve had in preparing it. The truth is that I just threw that in because tomorrow is Robert Burns’ birthday. So for the most part, haggis is relegated to being stabbed annually on Burns’ Nicht. I, for one, am a-okay with this. Moving back on to tastier things…

It’s probably not too far a stretch to say that our country was built on baked beans. The native population ate beans, the settlers practically survived on beans, (That is to say that those who did survive did so with the material assistance of their bean-rich diet.) and nearly every single immigrant population who has joined us since has brought another version of beans or their preparation with them. Baked beans are the original All-American Food.

And -cough, cough- I do believe that mine are out of this world. They are the basis for the aforementioned Grandpa’s Bean Sandwiches. Now you could throw canned baked beans on a piece of bread and I’m sure it’d be decent. But to have the sandwich that -in my Grandpa’s words- would make your tongue slap your brain silly, you want to make my beans. Oh yes you do. Because it all starts with this.

My baked beans have a little something extra that turns them into something good enough to make your grandpa cry. I bake little bits of spicy sausage into the beans as they bubble away in the oven. At least it would’ve made my Grandpa cry. He liked sausage.

You can easily turn these baked beans into a delicious vegetarian dish simply by omitting the sausage and replacing it with two tablespoons of olive oil and a handful of chopped mushrooms.

And boy howdy are these ever inexpensive! Including sausage, the whole dish should run you no more than five dollars and it can feed you for days!

For a photo-free, printer-friendly version of this recipe, click here!

Sausage Baked Beans

Ingredients:

1 pound dried Navy beans, rinsed and picked over to remove stones or dirt clumps
12 cups fresh water for soaking plus additional boiling water for cooking
1 bay leaf
1 large cooking onion, peeled
1/4 pound spicy link sausage, cut into 1/2″ chunks
1/2 cup molasses
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon dried mustard powder (or 1 Tablespoon prepared yellow mustard)
salt and pepper to taste

Place Navy beans in a dutch oven or other stove-top and oven safe deep-sided heavy pan with a tight fitting cover. Pour 12 cups of fresh water over the beans, cover, and place over high heat. Bring to a boil and allow to cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to sit at room temperature overnight, still covered.

In the morning, remove the cover, add the bay leaf, stir the beans and return to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat to medium and simmer for about 30 minutes or until beans are just beginning to become tender, adding more boiling water if necessary. You’re not looking to get the beans totally tender, you just want them to be starting to get tender. They’ll finish cooking as they bake! Remove the beans from heat again and pour into a colander in the sink. Fish out and discard the bay leaves.

Preheat the oven to 300°F.

Evenly scatter the chunks of link sausage over the bottom of the pan you used to soak and cook the beans. (Rinsing the pan between steps is unnecessary!) Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the molasses, brown sugar and mustard powder and then pour the hot beans over top.

Gently fold the beans and molasses mixture together. Don’t beat the tar out of ‘em. Be gentle about it. Just fold…

Use a wooden spoon or silicone spatula to scrape the molasses coated beans into the pan over the sausage pieces. Pour additional boiling water over the beans to cover them by about an inch. Place pan, uncovered, in the oven and bake for about three hours. Check the beans periodically to make sure they’re not becoming dry. As soon as the beans are tender (This could be less than three hours or more depending on the age of the beans. Just check them every now and again!) stir them so that you’re transferring the beans that were on bottom to the top and vice versa. Raise the oven’s heat to 400°F and cook, still uncovered, until the sauce around the beans is thick and bubbly. This should take about an hour. Remove from oven, add salt and pepper to taste, cover, and allow to cool until they are a comfortable temperature to eat.

These beans are great hot, warm, room temperature or cold. In short, eat them with dinner and then sneak them from the refrigerator at midnight. I won’t tell.

Store leftovers, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to a week. They freeze and reheat well, too!

So what do you serve this alongside? Roasts, sausages, hot dogs, hamburgers, toast, eggs, you name it. But I do believe the best thing you could possibly do with these beans is whip up a couple of Grandpa’s Baked Bean Sandwiches.

For a printer friendly version of this recipe, click here!

Grandpa’s Baked Bean Sandwiches

Ingredients:

2 slices hearty bread (I prefer rye.)
1 cup slightly reheated baked beans
thinly sliced sweet onions
prepared yellow mustard
softened butter

This sandwich is as easy -and as good- as it gets! Butter one side each of two slices of bread. Spread the baked beans over the butter on one slice of bread, top with paper thin slices of sweet onion and a drizzle of prepared yellow mustard. Lay the other slice of bread, butter side down, over the beans. Slice in half and serve with pickles and a handful of chips, if life is good enough to you that you have them. Sit back, enjoy and remember that just because you don’t have money doesn’t mean you have to eat like it!

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Beans, Breakfast Foods, Component Foods, Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, Instructional, Kitchen Techniques and Hints, Main Dish, Rebecca, Recipes, Side Dishes, Snacks, Stretching your dollars, Vegetarian Tagged With: Déjà Food, Frugal Food, kid friendly, leftovers, quick and easy, quick meal

Savoury Rice and Egg Pancakes

January 12, 2010 by Rebecca 14 Comments

Looks tasty, doesn’t it? It’s crisp around the edges with the perfect balance of saltiness and creaminess in the center. It’s nourishing. It’s delicious. It fills you up. It only takes five minutes to make from start to finish. But you know what else dings my chimes about this dish? It costs $3.42 for four large servings. And yes, that includes garnish.

And no, I’m not joking.

I sat down today prepared to write a little ‘how-to’ on saving money in the kitchen with a family favorite recipe thrown in to boot. The keyword here was ‘little’. An hour into writing, I realized there was no way to condense what is a way of life into one itty-bitty post with a recipe. I have enough material to fill four posts and I will get to every bit of it. I want you to come back for all of this. Here’s the deal. I know saving money in the kitchen isn’t exactly the sexiest topic. I get it. So I have a little incentive to offer. But first, a question.

How much do you spend on food each month? And how many people are you feeding? You don’t have to tell me unless you feel so inclined, but just consider it for a moment. According to the USDA’s Cost of Food reports (published monthly), my family of seven should be spending $804.40* per month on our food.

*This is calculated according to the ‘Thrifty’ food plan numbers given on the chart. If I were to use the ‘Low’ food plan we would be expected to spend in excess of $1,067. This trend continues on up through the ‘Moderate’ and ‘Liberal’ plans.

Here is my incentive. I’m going to tell you what I spend every month on groceries. I’m also going to tell you what another blogger buddy of mine, my dear friend Krysta a.k.a. Evil Chef Mom, pays monthly to feed her family of six. Just one other question, though, before divulging our food budgets. Would you agree, from all appearances here at Foodie With Family and over at Evil Chef Mom that our families eat pretty well? You might even say a wee bit on the fancy-pants side occasionally? I think that’s fairly safe to say, right?

I spend $500 a month. I feed seven people and whatever friends or family happen to be hanging around at meal time out of that.

Krysta spends between $650 and $700 a month. She’s feeding three, count ‘em, THREE teenagers, a pre-teen, a host of kids’ friends (also teenagers), and any family or friends who might be present at meal time.

We both make food good enough to share.

That puts me in at more than $300 under what the government believes is the least amount of money a family my size would reasonably spend per month in food.

Lest you should get the wrong idea let me tell you something important. Neither of us coupon shops. Neither of us obsessively watches sales. None of us -ourselves, our kids or our husbands- feel deprived of the food we want or crave. We are food lovers.

It’s really simple. Really. I wouldn’t lie to you!

Starting tomorrow we’ll go through a series of posts chock full of tips, tricks, and methods that can potentially help you save beaucoup bucks in the kitchen without sacrificing flavor or slaving away in the kitchen. Unless, of course, you like slaving away in the kitchen. The point is that it’s your choice.

Let me break down the food cost from today’s recipe:

2 cups of uncooked rice from a 25 pound bag. The bag was $16. There were 62.5 cups of rice in the bag. That translates to $0.51 for this recipe.
6 eggs from a dozen at a cost of $1.50 per dozen (from our own chickens). The cost for the eggs was $0.75.
1 cup of shredded cheese from a 3 cup bag that cost $2.79. The cost of the cheese for this recipe was $0.93.
1 Tablespoon of hot sauce from a bottle containing twenty tablespoons. The bottle cost $2.99. The hot sauce used in this recipe cost $0.15.
1 teaspoon of salt from a one pound box that cost $2.99. The one pound box contained 283 teaspoons. That puts the cost of the salt in this recipe at a fraction of a cent over $0.01.
2 Tablespoons of canola oil from a $1.00 jar that contained sixty tablespoons. The cost of the oil is $0.03.
8 Tablespoons of salsa from a jar containing twenty two tablespoons. This is the big splurge in our recipe. Since the jar cost $2.79, the total cost of the salsa for the dish was a whopping $1.04.
That makes the grand total for the whole recipe a bank-book friendly $3.42. If you skipped the salsa you’d clock in at $2.38 for the whole entree.

This is great-tasting food, too. You can make a whole batch of them, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator, and take a couple a day to work or school for lunch. They reheat beautifully. If you need a little something extra, throw a handful of salad alongside. Bang. A complete meal.

There are more options. You can mix in some leftover cooked meat or vegetables. Wrapped in a piece of foil or a paper towel it’s a meal you can take on the road with you. No matter how you slice it, it’s going to be cheaper and more filling for the money than even the dollar menu.

Frugal does not have to look or taste like sacrifice.

Hang on. There’s more to it. It’s good for you. It’s great for you. The egg provides lean protein. The rice provides a healthy carbohydrate. The canola oil is non-hydrogenated. The salt is negligible. On it’s own, it’s healthy. If, however, you compare it to fast-food or pre-packaged, processed food you’re going to come out leaps and bounds and miles ahead nutritionally.

How about it? Are you interested? Try the Savoury Rice and Egg Pancakes and then come back tomorrow. This is going to be fun! I promise!

For a photo-free, printer-friendly version of this recipe, click here!

Savoury Rice and Egg Pancakes

Ingredients:

4 cups chilled leftover cooked rice
6 large eggs
1 cup shredded cheese, whatever type you have on hand
1 Tablespoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 Tablespoons Canola oil (or non-stick cooking spray)
8 Tablespoons salsa
optional: thinly sliced green onion tops

Break up the cold rice in a mixing bowl (or in a resealable plastic bag) with your hands so that no chunks remain.

Crack eggs into the rice, add shredded cheese, hot sauce and Kosher salt. Mix thoroughly.

If your mixture is too thick or dry, you can crack another egg into it. Eggs vary in size, so this may happen occasionally. So, gee whiz, add another $0.10 to the total if you need to do it.

Add just enough oil to a non-stick skillet to lightly coat the pan. Place pan over medium high heat. When the pan is hot scoop a scant quarter cup into the pan. Use the bottom of the scoop to gently pat the rice mixture out to a thinner patty shape. The mixture will not spread on its own.

Don’t crowd the pan. This 12″ nonstick pan can comfortably fit four pancakes at a time.

Cook for about two minutes per side, or until deep golden brown on each side.

Transfer to a waiting plate and repeat with the remaining rice and oil until it is gone. Serve with salsa. You can plate it up all perty-like if you want. And I want.

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Breakfast Foods, Eggs, Getting Creative With Leftovers, Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, Household Hints, Instructional, Kitchen Techniques and Hints, Main Dish, Rebecca, Recipes, Side Dishes, Snacks, Stretching your dollars, Vegetarian Tagged With: cheapskate food, frugal, Frugal Food, frugal living, frugal snacks, tightwad food

Pimiento Cheese

December 29, 2009 by Rebecca 2 Comments

This is the second installment of my Southern New Year’s Foods series. Happy New Year!

Really, The Evil Genius and I complete each other. While I sit here on the couch with the laptop, contemplating pimiento cheese, he is watching ‘Alien vs. Predator’ and talking about which characters he thinks will be eaten. So see? We’re both thinking about food.

This family marches on its stomach. Long before I met my southern transplant husband, I was learning to cook southern food from my Arkansan grandma. And while I’m certain he didn’t marry me just for Grandma’s pimiento cheese, collard greens, and cornbread recipes, I’m equally certain that the ability to execute those dishes well contributed to my charms.

Although I wouldn’t swear to it, I do believe that I detected tears of joy in his gorgeous blue eyes when I placed a dish of this pimiento cheese along with a plate of crackers in front of him so many years ago. Just for the record, there’s no shame in a good ole boy weeping over food like Grandma used to make… He may be Evil, but he still loves his Mammy.

Pimiento cheese is a food that is as big a part of the South as the phrase “y’all”. This flavorful creamy cheese spread is flecked with bits of sharp cheddar and bright roasted red peppers. It is as at-home on an elegant buffet table as it is on humble celery sticks for an after-school snack. Thrown together in a flash, pimiento cheese is big on flavor and low on effort.

Don’t just stop with at the crudites and crackers, though. Whether you trim the crusts and add watercress for sophisticated tea-time sandwiches or slap it between two slices of buttery white bread, pimiento cheese makes a delicious and satisfying savoury sandwich filling. You can’t get much more Southern than a having a pimiento cheese sandwich and a glass of sweet tea for lunch on the front porch. And you just may have the best grilled cheese of your life if you toast two slices of hearty wheat bread filled with pimiento cheese.

A party just isn’t a party without pimiento cheese in some form, and New Year’s Eve is the biggest fete of the year! So break out a bowl this festive spread and have copies of the recipe handy to pass out, because you will be asked. It is that good.

Happy New Year Y’all!

For a printer friendly, photo free version of this recipe, click here!

Pimiento Cheese

Ingredients:

1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened to room temperature
16 ounces grated Cheddar cheese (I like to use a blend of extra sharp and sharp cheddar.)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 of a small onion
2-3 Tablespoons pimientos (or roasted red peppers) smashed with juice from the jar.
1/2 teaspoon each granulated garlic, granulated onion, coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Add the cream cheese, mayonnaise, granulated garlic and onion, salt and freshly ground pepper to the work bowl of your food processor that has been fitted with the blade.

Grate the onion into the the food processor on top of the other ingredients.

Pulse until smooth.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the shredded cheddar. Pulse seven or eight short bursts; just until the cheese is mixed into the cream cheese. Scrape down the bowl again and add the pimientos with their juice.

Pulse four or five more short bursts; just until the pimientos are chopped to the point where they are blended in, but still in recognizable pieces.

Use a silicone scraper or spatula to transfer the mixture to a serving dish or storage container. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour prior to serving to allow the flavors to meld.

Leftovers can be kept tightly wrapped in the refrigerator for up to a week.

*If you do not have a food processor simply combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and stir vigorously with a sturdy spoon until thoroughly blended.

Now slather this on some celery sticks, pour yourself a tall glass of sweet tea and say y’all a few times. You might just like it.

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Camping Food, Component Foods, Holiday Food, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Side Dishes, Snacks, Vegetarian Tagged With: Food gifts, kid friendly, party food, quick and easy, quick meal, Southern New Year, traditional food, traditional southern food, Vegetarian

Recession Caviar (Black-Eyed Pea Salsa)

December 28, 2009 by Rebecca 11 Comments

Thank you all so much for spending time with me here at Foodie with Family. To those of you who have visited me regularly through the year, thank you for your continued support. It has meant the world to me to get to know you all. And to those who are new, Welcome! I hope you stick around. I’ll put on a pot of tea! Hearing from you -whether it is questions or comments about recipes, a story, or sharing a recipe of your own- is one of the highlights of my days. Even if I’m a total dork and forget to respond, rest assured you’ve put a smile on my face. For this, my long-suffering kids thank you.

To all of you: I hope your New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are full of wonder, loved ones, great food and better memories. And more than that, I hope that your upcoming year is even better than those two days.

This week, I am going to post a series of my version of the traditional Southern New Year’s meal. Yes, there will be greens and pork products. Yes, there will be cheese spread. There will be much delicious soul food. It’ll be here. I’ll be here. I hope you will be, too!

~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~

So. Who’s ready for a brand-spankin’, shiny New Year? A blank slate full of possibility? Another three hundred and sixty five opportunities to make your life exactly what you want it to be? Oh, I am. I so am.

I’m not exactly the resolution type. My anti-authoritarian streak runs so strong that I even rebel against the rules I make for myself. (Side note to my parents: I can hear you snickering from here. ) But I am crazy about the idea of self-improvement, on my own schedule and without pressure or someone telling me what to do, thankyouverymuch.

Instead of resolutions against which I would inevitably rail, I reflect on Longfellow’s ‘A Psalm of Life’ (full text below the recipe.) My favorite stanza from the poem reads:

“Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate ;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.”

This poem is my little pep talk to myself at the beginning of each new year. It points my head and heart in the right direction. And as we celebrate the ending of a year and the possibilities that lie ahead, I turn to poetry and food. Food and poetry: Sustenance for the romantic heart and the sensual stomach.

Because really, it isn’t a celebration if there isn’t food. And New Year’s Eve comes with a set of dishes as traditional and romantic as Christmas geese and Thanksgiving turkeys. I may have mentioned before that I married into a good Southern family and that my maternal grandparents are both Deep South born and bred. New Year’s Day means you need black eyed peas. And I don’t mean Fergie and her impossibly tight black leather pants. I mean the humble black-eyed pea or cowpea; the legume with the animal/vegetable name.

Southern tradition dictates that you improve your chances of having a great year if the first food you consume in the new year is black-eyed peas. The practice of eating black-eyed peas for luck on New Year’s Day dates back to around the Civil War era. According to Wikipedia (who we all know is never, ever wrong) this came about when the Northern troops continually “stripped the countryside of all stored food, crops, and livestock, and destroyed whatever they couldn’t carry away. At that time, Northerners considered “field peas” [black-eyed peas, among others] and field corn suitable only for animal fodder, and didn’t steal or destroy these humble foods.” Ha! The joke is on us, Yankees. Those black-eyed peas are the bees knees. Especially when tossed together with snappy corn, vibrant jalapenos and big old flavors in Recession Caviar.

But back to the legend. The black-eyed peas are supposed to represent coins. Tradition dictates that by pairing the black-eyed peas with greens (I’ll post a killer green recipe later this week), which represent paper money, that you are starting your year out with wealth and the rest of the year will follow suit. Now, I don’t know about all that, but I do know that starting the year out with a recipe that sure to save you some money can’t be a bad thing.

Long a standard recipe in my family, budget-friendly Recession Caviar comes in many forms (made with black beans or chili beans instead of the black-eyed peas) and has many names (Lindamood Caviar, Hillbilly Caviar, Texas Caviar, et al.) depending on the occasion. Of course, this being for New Year’s we’ll be making it with the ubiquitous black-eyed peas. I recently made a giant bowlful of this for a gathering of family at The Evil Genius’s Aunt Patty’s home (would that make her my Aunt-in-law?). This room full of Virginians, Texans, Georgians, Floridians, and a couple assorted Yankee spouses (meself included) gave it the ultimate stamp of approval; an empty bowl. I’d say that’s some pretty universal appeal with hearty representation from the drawl-contingent.

And true to the name I’ve given it, it’s suitable for recession-stressed budgets. Beans -both canned and dried- are a perennially inexpensive and nutritious source of protein, fiber, iron, vitamins, minerals and other vague nebulous nutrients*. In fact, beans are, pound for pound, one of the least expensive and most nutritious foods you can introduce at your table.

*Vague and nebulous don’t do it for you? Have a look at The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition’s ‘legumes and soybeans’ page. There is a wealth of information beyond my simplistic explanation. But trust me. Beans are good for you. And your heart. Because the more you eat, the more you… I’m sorry. You DO remember I have five sons, right?

Recession Caviar isn’t just easy on the pocketbook; it is a versatile contributor at the dinner table, snack time and parties, too. Whether served with tortilla or corn chips, spooned into a burrito or on top of tacos, or as a side dish to fish, chicken, or pork, it is certain to impress with its big, bold flavors and fresh texture. You can always change out the black-eyed peas for black beans or chili beans and throw any other fresh vegetables you have into the mix. Think of this a jumping off point…

Psst… Remember it’s good for you, too! Consider this; you can ring in the New Year with proper Southern pride, please your belly, impress your guests, and watch your waistline all at the same time. Who loves ya, baby? Me! That’s who!

For a photo-free, printer friendly version of this recipe, click here!

Recession Caviar (Black-Eyed Pea Salsa)

Ingredients:

3 cans (14.5 ounces each) Black-Eyed Peas, drained and rinsed
3 cups frozen corn, thawed
1/2 of a large red onion, or more to taste
1-4 fresh jalapeno peppers, according to preference
1-4 cloves of fresh garlic, according to preference, minced
1 large handful of fresh cilantro, rinsed and air-dried
2 Tablespoons light olive oil or canola oil
1 Tablespoon chili powder
the juice of two fresh limes (You can use bottled lime juice if necessary.)
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper to taste

Peel the red onion half and lay down on its cut side. Slice parallel cuts 1/8- 1/4 of an inch apart across the onion leaving the root end intact. Turn the onion 90 degrees and slice across the cuts for a small dice. And really, don’t sweat trying for perfection on this one. Part of the charm of Recession Caviar is its rustic appearance.

Add diced onions, corn and the rinsed black-eyed peas to a mixing bowl with the garlic. Set aside.

Slice jalapeno peppers in half and use the tip of a spoon to remove the seeds, membranes and stems.

Slice the peppers into thin strips, turn the strips 90 degrees and slice across the strips to finely dice the peppers.

Transfer to the mixing bowl with the black-eyed peas, garlic and onions.

Roughly chop the cilantro and stir into the black-eyed pea mixture along with the oil, chili powder, lime juice, kosher salt and black pepper.

Allow to sit, covered at room temperature for an hour prior to serving or in the fridge for at least four hours prior to serving. Store leftovers for up to 5 days tightly covered in the refrigerator.

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As promised, one of my favorite ways to ring in the New Year.

A PSALM OF LIFE

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

WHAT THE HEART OF THE YOUNG MAN
SAID TO THE PSALMIST

TELL me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream ! —
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.

Life is real ! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal ;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way ;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world’s broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle !
Be a hero in the strife !

Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant !
Let the dead Past bury its dead !
Act,— act in the living Present !
Heart within, and God o’erhead !

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time ;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate ;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Beans, Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, Holiday Food, Kitchen Techniques and Hints, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Side Dishes, Snacks, Stretching your dollars, Vegetarian Tagged With: Beans, budget-friendly food, Frugal Food, kid friendly, party food, quick and easy, Southern New Year, The Musical Fruit, traditional food

Chicken and Pork Potstickers

December 23, 2009 by Rebecca 9 Comments

Tradition; that inexplicable tie that binds across generations. It’s the only reasonable way to explain an entire nation of people roasting turkeys on the fourth Thursday of November and grilling on the fourth day of July. Without it we would be hard-pressed to justify hundreds of people gathering annually in a tiny town in Pennsylvania on the second day of February waiting excitedly for a little ground-dwelling mammal to emerge from its burrow.

Tradition isn’t only defining on a grand scale. Whether we accept or reject tradition forms a large part of how people view us and how we view ourselves. Traditions are like a collective cultural memory. Much more personally, though, traditions are the source of many of our most memorable family moments; weddings, funerals, Christmases, Independence Days, Thanksgivings, Easters… all spent in gathered around the table with loved ones.

When The Evil Genius and I started dating seriously (as opposed to when we were dating humorously), we carried on a tradition from his family; weekly dinners at Kam Wah Chinese Restaurant in Penfield, New York. The Lindamood Viking Horde had been going there since my husband’s junior year of high school. Considering the fact that he had established his Evil Empire long before I met him, you can imagine there was some lapse of time there. The Evil Father-In-Law was good friends with the restaurant’s owner, Mr. Wong. (a.k.a. Uncle Wong.) Uncle Wong and his staff welcomed me as a part of the Lindamood Horde and treated me to off-menu items like Vicki’s Dumpling Dipping Sauce and his own private stash of homemade kimchi. As the years passed, we celebrated our engagement there; ate our first post-honeymoon dinner there; ate there the night we learned we were pregnant for our first child (and second, third, fourth, and fifth child…); celebrated buying our first home, and generally ate there every time we wanted to treat ourselves or impress someone we were taking out to eat.

We took our whole family to eat at Kam Wah’s on a semi-regular basis. As we added more kids to our brood, our ability to dine out diminished, but we got up there after each baby was born. Uncle Wong would insist that we eat unencumbered and would carry the babies around and show them off while we dined. The wall by the cash register bore pictures drawn by and photos of my children. In short, we were in.

Then one fateful day two years ago The Evil Genius told me that his brother, The Slightly-Less-Evil Lewis, called to say he heard Kam Wah’s had been closed. I was sure he was wrong and told my husband so while frantically dialing Kam Wah’s phone number. No answer. I called again. No answer. I called again. No answer. At this point, you might consider my behavior stalking, but wait. There’s more! I sent my husband forty minutes out of his way on his morning commute to check the restaurant. He reported back that it was locked up, the lights were out and there was a sign on the door explaining that it was closed. I went into shock.

I called The Evil Father-In-Law in Florida who was, likewise, shocked. He called Mr. Wong’s home phone. It took us two weeks to find out that Uncle Wong had closed the restaurant for the most ridiculous of reasons. He was old and wanted to retire. Pshaw. Unkind! He hadn’t told any regulars because he didn’t want us to try to talk him out of it. I wanted my potstickers with Vicki’s sauce, House Special Soup with deep fried filled wontons floating in it, pork shreds in garlic sauce (extra broccoli, please!), and sesame beef (extra crispy, please!) with a bowl of Uncle Wong’s kimchi. My kids wanted the little paper umbrellas and bags of sweets that Uncle Wong sent home with them after every visit. And The Evil Genius wanted Szechuan beef and shrimp (extra spicy, please!) and the restaurant that had been a part of all the major events of his adult life. And we didn’t even get a chance to lobby Uncle Wong to change his mind. (I had persuasive lines to use, too. How about this one? “Retire? You can rest when you’re dead! I want my dinner!”) No dice. He stayed retired and Kam Wah’s stayed closed. And I stayed hungry.

In the past two years, after completing four of the five stages of grief over the closure of my favorite restaurant I’ve finally reached stage five; acceptance*. And with acceptance comes desperation. I needed the food more than anything else. The hunt for the perfect potstickers began in earnest. (To my mind, the one food more than any other that I associated with Kam Wah’s was and is potstickers.) I tried every brand available at our local (and by local I mean an hour and a half away) Asian foods market. They were good, but they weren’t just right. I am too stubborn to settle for okay.

*My version of acceptance anyway. In this version, I acknowledge that Uncle Wong has retired and I accept that he could still change his mind at any time and reopen the restaurant. That works, right?

Potstickers fill my dreams because of their perfection; steaming hot, crisp-bottomed and soft-topped dumplings filled with moist gingery, garlicky meat and flecked with tiny bits of Chinese cabbage and scallions. When served over chili-garlic sauce, soy sauce, and sesame oil or laying on a bed of Momofuku’s Ginger Scallion Mother Sauce, there is no food more satisfying in all of the world. Salty, crispy, meaty, garlicky, gingery, scallion-y, they are the ultimate in umami.

I could say I slaved over this recipe trying bazillions of different combinations, but I won’t. (And I will now proceed to contradict myself from three paragraphs ago.) This one is close enough to the flavors I remember of Kammie’s dumplings that I don’t mess too much with it. I make small alterations each time I make it, but I’m moving incrementally toward perfection. This particular combination is as close to the Kam Wah recipe as I have ever gotten. I suspect they used all ground pork with a little minced shrimp in there, but I haven’t gotten around to that attempt yet. And in the meantime this recipe is great. It’s delicious. It’s everyting a dumpling should be (shy of being made by the chefs at Kam Wah.)

This Chicken and Pork Potsticker recipe allows me to put into motion another tradition I’ve been meaning to start- Chinese food on Christmas Eve. This tradition I borrowed from our dear friends, the Wilsons. Every Christmas for as long as I’ve known them they’ve had Chinese takeout on Christmas Eve. This is a tradition behind which I can firmly plant myself. But seeing as there is a dearth of decent Chinese food in Amish country, I’m on my own. The food has to be made by me or it won’t exist at all.

One of the beautiful things about making the potstickers is that you can prepare the dumplings ahead of time and freeze them. You pull just as many as you’d like from the freezer, heat the pan and fry the little beauties to perfection all in under ten minutes. If that doesn’t make it the perfect prelude to a night filled with present wrapping and stocking stuffing then I don’t know what does!

I told my kids they’d get cooler presents this year if they left out a plate of potstickers instead of cookies. Hey, Santa baby. Check these out!

For a photo-free, printer friendly version of this recipe, click here!

Chicken and Pork Potstickers

Ingredients:

1 pound ground pork
2 pounds ground chicken
1 small head Chinese, Napa or Savoy cabbage, minced
1-1/2 bunches green onions, washed and trimmed of roots and any dry ends
8 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1/4- 1/2 cup peeled, minced or grated fresh ginger root
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tablespoon dark sesame oil
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 package dumpling (gyoza) wrappers
1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 1 Tablespoon cold water

Lay green onions on the cutting board. If you have onions with large bulb ends, you can cut them in half lengthwise before slicing to insure you have small enough pieces. Slice the green onions thinly on an angle.

Set the onions aside.

Mix together pork, chicken, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, and fish sauce with your hands until everything is evenly distributed.

At this point, I usually pull about a cup of filling out for the anti-vegetable crowd around here.

Add the cabbage and sliced green onions to the pork mixture and thoroughly combine until evenly mixed.

Have you ever bought dumpling wrappers? This is what the packages look like at my favorite market.

Mound 1-1/2 teaspoons of the filling into the center of a dumpling wrapper.

Moisten a finger tip in the cornstarch and water mixture then rub along the edge of the dumpling skin.

Pull both sides up -like a taco- around the filling and pinch together the excess dumpling skin.

Try to squeeze as much air out of the dumpling as you can while you firmly press together the sides. Squeezing the air out keeps them from bursting while cooking.

It will look like a pierogy at this point. This is proof that every single decent ethnic food features a delicious stuffed dough type thing. Pierogies, potstickers, ravioli… Need I go on?

When it is completely closed and sealed start in the center, pull and fold a pleat of the pinched dumpling skin toward the middle. Pinch firmly until it sticks.

Continue by forming two more pleats on that end of the dumpling.

Repeat in the opposite direction on the other end. Place finished dumpling on a cookie sheet.

Make as many dumplings as your filling and wrappers will allow. You can freeze the dumplings on the cookie sheet then transfer to a zipper top bag in your freezer if desired or you can cook them immediately. You can also tightly wrap and freeze any leftover filling or wrappers for your next round of dumpling making.

To Cook the Dumplings:

Pour one tablespoon of neutral oil (Canola, Vegetable, or Peanut) into a heavy non-stick skillet with a tight fitting lid. Place the pan over medium high heat. When oil is hot, swirl the pan to coat the bottom. Place several dumplings in the pan taking care not to crowd the pan.

Fry the potstickers for three minutes. Add 1/2 cup of warm water to the pan and immediately place the lid on the pan. If cooking fresh potstickers, steam with the lid on for 5 minutes. If starting with frozen potstickers, steam with the lid on for 8 minutes. When the time is up, remove the lid and cook for 1-2 minutes more so the potstickers can crisp back up on the bottom.

Serve with desired condiments; we like chili garlic sauce, soy sauce, Sriracha, and Mae Ploy the best.

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Instructional, Kitchen Techniques and Hints, Main Dish, Meat, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Snacks

Garlic Butter Crusty Bubble Bread

November 17, 2009 by Rebecca 23 Comments

I have an enduring love affair with bread. It’s not just the pure pleasure of pulling off a steaming heel of bread, slathering cold sweet cream butter over the top, sinking your teeth into the crumb and shattering the crust; although those are reasons enough to be devoted. Making bread; the process of measuring, mixing, kneading, waiting, shaping, waiting again and finally baking is -on its worst days- meditative and -on its best days- cathartic. But more wonderful than all of that put together is the delicious and painful anticipation while the bread bakes; the nutty, grainy, toasty smell of dough transforming itself into brown bread, and the impossible wait while the bread cools. I can never wait long enough.

I know very well that you should let the bread cool completely before cutting into it. I get around this problem by tearing into the hot bread with my bare hands. Throwing the bread from hand to hand until it’s cool enough rest in the palm is a skill I’ve developed out of necessity and a skill I’ve taught my family. Once the piece of bread reaches that temperature it is not long for this world. A fresh loaf of bread is shown no mercy in this home. And that is as it should be.

Bubble bread is the hard drug of the bread world; one experience with it is enough to hook you for life. There are variations enough on the theme to feed everyone’s addiction; chocolate, caramel, cinnamon, cheese, onion, dill, and on and on and on. But this particular take on bubble bread -Garlic Butter Crusty Bubble Bread- is our family’s favorite. Rolled in, topped with and baked in garlic butter and olive oil, and aromatic with Italian herbs this bread develops a crackly crisp deep brown crust all around and keeps an incomparably tender interior. Served as is, hot from the oven, it is a savoury and rich snack. Showered with grated Romano or Parmesano cheese and surrounding a warm bowl of marinara sauce it is second to none in party food or appetizers.

There’s more to this bread than just a pretty package and head-swimmingly delicious taste. It takes advantage of the versatile Master Bread dough from the original ‘Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day’ by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François. In other words, the dough is ready and waiting in the fridge for a Garlic Butter Crusty Bubble Bread craving attack. And believe me. Once you’ve had it, those attacks will be frequent.

I have a confession to make. This bread is not low-fat or diet friendly. But sometimes, just sometimes, you have to feed the love handles and muffin tops to feed the soul. I, for one, am okay with that.

For a photo-free, printer-friendly version of this recipe, click here!

Garlic Butter Crusty Bubble Bread

Ingredients:

About half a batch of Master Bread Dough (recipe listed below)
1/4 lb (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
3/4 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon granulated dried garlic
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt, plus an additional 1/2 teaspoon for sprinkling
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
optional for serving, grated hard Italian cheese (Romano, Asiago, Parmesano, etc…) and a bowl of warm marinara sauce.

As with many good foods, this recipe starts with a stick of butter. Oh butter, I love you. Why do you treat me so badly?

Unwrap butter and place in a microwave safe bowl. Heat in the microwave until the butter is fully melted. There are days I’m tempted to stop at this step and just rub the melted butter into my skin. But that might encourage cannibalism.

Stir garlic, Italian seasoning, granulated garlic, the 1/2 teaspoon of Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper into the melted butter. Set next to you on the countertop and turn your attention to the dough.

Dust the refrigerated dough in the bucket with a generous amount of flour.

Pull dough up from the center and use a sharp knife to cut off a portion that is between the sizes of a golf ball and plum. Please excuse my floury hands, folks, there’s just no way to get around it here…

Pull the sides down and under while rotating the dough to form a smooth ball.

On a clean counter, place the dough ball, seam side down, and gently cup the dough with your hand.

Rotate it in one direction on the counter while providing gentle and steady downward pressure. This will smooth the surface of the dough ball and make it tight.

Carefully deposit the dough ball into the butter mixture and turn to coat completely.

Use a fork to transfer the dough to a 9″ x 13″ pan. My pan, she has been well used and she works hard. She has permanent stains. Please don’t hold that against me.

Repeat until you have at least four rows of three dough balls. If you want very crusty bubbles of bread, stop here. If you prefer crusty tops with softer sides, cut off and roll six more dough balls and place them in the open spaces between rows. For this batch, I opted for crusty tops and soft sides. I’m unpredictable like the wind.

Do not crowd the dough to the point where you have to squeeze or mash them to the side to fit more into the pan. Drizzle any garlic butter mixture that remains in the bowl over the top of the dough. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 teaspoon of Kosher salt.

Allow the dough to rest while preheating the oven to 450°F (230°C or 8 Gas Mark). When oven is hot, place pan on a rimmed cookie sheet on the center rack and bake for 25 minutes, or until the top of the bread is deep brown. The cookie sheet is there to catch any butter that tries to escape. There will still be quite a bit of bubbling butter around the edges of the bread. This is a good thing.

Allow the pan to stand on the stovetop until the remaining butter is absorbed. Trust me. Much like the Borgs, it will be assimilated.

Serve warm, as is.

Or top with a generous amount of freshly grated hard Italian cheese and a bowl of warm marinara sauce for dipping.

Update: This post has been updated to reflect the removal of the 4 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil from the recipe. While it was delicious with the oil, there was enough variance in people’s ovens that some ovens scorched the bread or overcrisped the bottoms of the rolls with the additional fat. The removal of the fat ensures a more even result. Either way, it’s good eats, folks!

Master Bread Dough Recipe

From the book ‘Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day’. Zoë François graciously allowed me to share this recipe.

Ingredients:

6 cups lukewarm water
3 Tablespoons instant yeast
3 Tablespoons kosher salt
13 cups all-purpose flour

Mix water, yeast and salt together in the bowl of a large stand mixer or in a 10 quart food-safe container. Add flour and stir until the mixture is uniform. You don’t have to knead, but you want everything uniformly moist, without dry patches. The dough will be wet and will conform to the shape of its container.

Cover with a lid that fits well, but is not airtight and allow to rise at room temperature for about 2 hours or until the dough collapses back in on itself. You can now refrigerate the dough for up to two weeks, using the dough whenever you need it or you may use it immediately.