Another Chicken Dinner

Note: I don't know what is going on with some of the fonts and font sizes in this post - I can't fix them!

A lovely dinner for 4 or fewer: Lemon Chicken with Croutons, Spinach in Puff Pastry, and Plum Cake Tatin. All three recipes are from Ina Garten's book Barefoot in Paris. I can pick up any of her books and make a million combinations for an awesome meal.

This is a very complete meal, with the bread in the chicken dish and the vegetable as either the first course or the side dish. You can add any extra vegetables or potatoes in with the chicken to roast; I added quartered button mushrooms. If I'd had carrots I definitely would have tossed them in too.
Next time I make this - and I most definitely will - I'll not put all the croutons on the platter under the chicken with all the juices like the recipe instructs. I'll put some around the chicken, whole or cut into pieces, on the platter, and try not to let them get completely soaked because they end up very quickly (big surprise:) just soggy. The best part of having croutons is the crunch! I might make a gravy out of the juices too, or reduce it a little, or add a squeeze of fresh lemon to the juices right before pouring them over the chicken next time. But without taking those extra steps it was still really great! Lemon zest over top on the plate was a perfect final touch for me because I love lots of lemon flavor with chicken.
A perfect bite! Chicken, mushroom, caramelized onion, crouton, with pepper and lemon zest:
Lemon Chicken with Croutons
Ina Garten, Barefoot in Paris

• 1 (4 to 5-pound) roasting chicken
• 1 large yellow onion, sliced
• Good olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 lemons, quartered
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 6 cups (3/4-inch) bread cubes (1 baguette or round boule)
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Take the giblets out of the chicken and wash it inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pinfeathers. Toss the onion with a little olive oil in a small roasting pan. Place the chicken on top and sprinkle the inside of the cavity with salt and pepper. Place the lemons inside the chicken. Pat the outside of the chicken dry with paper towels, brush it with the melted butter, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken.

Roast for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh. Cover with foil and allow to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. (The onions may burn, but the flavor is good.)

Meanwhile, heat a large saute pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil until very hot. Lower the heat to medium-low and saute the bread cubes, tossing frequently, until nicely browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add more olive oil, as needed, and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Place the croutons on a serving platter. Slice the chicken and place it, plus all the pan juices, over the croutons. Sprinkle with salt and serve warm.

I made a lot of tiny changes to this spinach in puff pastry recipe, so I'll note them within the recipe below.

Spinach in Puff Pastry
Ina Garten, Barefoot in Paris

• 4 T. (half a stick) unsalted butter
  
• 2 cups chopped onions (about 2 onions)
• 1 T. chopped garlic (3 cloves)
• 2 - 10 ounce - boxes frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
  
• 1/3 cup chopped scallions (2 scallions)
• 1 cup grated Gruyere cheese (I used small cubes of Swiss - flavor is perfect and it's cheaper!)
• 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 4 extra-large eggs, beaten (I only had 2 large eggs to use, and it turned out just fine. More eggs would have made the filling firmer, but I didn't mind because I was serving this on a plate with a fork anyway.)
  
• 1 T. dry bread crumbs, plain or seasoned
• 2 t. kosher salt (do use this full amount - it seemed like a lot to me so I didn't, but then it needed to be salted later)
  
• 3/4 t. pepper
• 1/2 t. ground nutmeg (I left this out)
  
• 1/4 cup toasted pignoli (pine) nuts (Left these out too)
• 2 sheets (one box) frozen puff pastry, defrosted overnight in the refrigerator (Without fail I forget to do this or don't plan ahead. Leave the frozen puff pastry on the counter near a hot stove for a little while and it will be fine. Just make sure it doesn't get too warm or it will get sticky.)
  
• 1 extra-large egg beaten with 1 T. water, for egg wash (so I ran out of eggs, right? So I used melted butter in place of egg wash, no problemo.)
  

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Heat the butter in a saute pan and cook the onions over med-low heat for 5 to 7 minutes, until tender. Add garlic and cook for one more minute. Meanwhile, squeeze most of the water out of the spinach and place it in a bowl. Add the onions and garlic, scallions, both cheeses, eggs, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and pignolis. Mix well.

Unfold one sheet of puff pastry and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread the spinach mixture in the middle of the pastry, leaving a one inch border. Brush the border with egg wash. Roll out the second piece of puff pastry on a floured board until it's an inch larger in each direction. Place the second sheet of pastry over the spinach and seal the edges, crimping them with a fork. Brush the top with egg wash but don't let it drip down the sides or the pastry won't rise. (At this point I used a sharp knife and trimmed all four sides.) Make three small slits in the pastry top, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake for 30-40 minutes, until the pastry is lightly browned. Transfer to a cutting board and serve hot.

And, dessert! Hot, sweet, fruity, cakey, delicious! There are some interesting steps to this dish, but it's fun to make and can be made mostly ahead of time and then baked while you're eating dinner. I thought it looked so cool too, like an upside down cake. The red color is from the plums alone, darkened from the caramel. Andrew, my 2 year old, called it "jelly cake" because it did look like red jelly.

The intimidating part of this recipe is the sugar syrup. You have to cook water and sugar in a saucepan over high heat until it turns "a warm amber color, about 360 degrees." I think that a digital thermometer is an ESSENTIAL piece of kitchen equipment, but if you don't have one, still do make this recipe!! Cook the syrup until it turns brown - take it a little farther than you're probably comfortable with, but keep a close eye on it the entire time it's on the heat because it will burn fast once it's beyond it's perfect stage. However the syrup looks, because you will be skeptical, just continue with the recipe and it will turn out just fine.

Plum Cake Tatin
Ina Garten, Barefoot in Paris

nocoupons

• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing the dish
• 10 to 12 purple "prune" plums, cut in half and pitted (I just chose the purple ones over the orange/purple ones; they weren't labeled "prune." It took 5 and a half of them.)
  
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature (I used large because that's what I had.)
  
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• Confectioners' sugar (optional - I think unnecessary)
  

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter a 9-inch glass pie dish and arrange the plums in the dish, cut side down.

Combine 1 cup of the granulated sugar and 1/3 cup water in a small saucepan and cook over high heat until it turns a warm amber color, about 360 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Swirl the pan but don't stir. Pour evenly over the plums.

Meanwhile, cream the 6 tablespoons of butter and the remaining 3/4 cup of granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, until light and fluffy. Lower the speed and beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the sour cream, zest, and vanilla and mix until combined. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt and, with the mixer on low speed, add it to the butter mixture. Mix only until combined.

Pour the cake batter evenly over the plums and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes, then invert the cake onto a flat plate. If a plum sticks, ease it out and replace it in the design on top of the cake. Serve warm or at room temperature, dusted with confectioners' sugar.

Bruschetta with Crunchy Jalepeno Topping

I went to a farmer's market the other day, and I had this random thought to make some interesting bruschetta to have with dinner. We had leftovers of chili and pasta salad in the fridge to eat up, and lots of fresh vegetables to also use in the bruschetta topping.

Huge baskets of fresh jalepenos looked perfect at the market, so that's what I thought I'd use as the main ingredient for the fresh salsa-like topping for the fresh focattia bread I got at the Hearvest Bread Company. I really wanted sourdough, but they didn't have any made that day.

This is not a recipe really, I just chopped everything pretty tiny and threw it in the bowl until I was satisfied with it. I wanted lots of jalepenos, so I used only the outside flesh of the pepper, no ribs or seeds, and it wasn't very spicy. On the last pepper I chopped (I used 5 I think) I did add a little bit of the ribs because it needed a little heat though. Since I had celery and cucumber I threw them in and they added lots of cool crunch. Red onion and grape tomatoes, salt, pepper, a tiny splash of each olive oil and red wine vinegar, and done! If I had herbs like basil, cilantro, or mint, I would have thrown some in - dang I do have a mint plant on my porch but I totally forgot about it! Oh well, my point is use whatever you have... or think you have. Chop it fine or use the food processor and add ingredients until you like the balance of tastes. Tomatoes are the classic ingredient. I wouldn't put those in the processor, but if you use them, leave in all the juices and everything. If you think it needs a little perk up, throw in the olive oil, your favorite vinegar, lemon or lime juice and it will make a world of difference. Don't top the bread ahead of time if you're serving people, but when you spoon it on the bread do get the juices onto the bread because it's yummy!

Cut the bread in slices, toast, and then rub with a cut piece of garlic and drizzle olive oil, salt, and pepper on top. That is bruschetta. It's great with many types of bread; focaccia would never be my first choice, but it was good, this one had stuff like fennel seeds baked in. Whatever topping you like - could be simply chopped tomatoes in a dressing, is a bonus! If you make this, leave a comment and let me know what you used!

Still messin'.............

I cook, I make a mess, I take the silly pictures....
and every once in a while I get around to posting the recipes and stories!

I'll throw in a super-easy recipe right now, just since I don't have to look anything up to do so. It's the cornbread in the bottom row of the collage.

Cheddar Jalapeno Cornbread

1 package Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
1 cup grated cheddar (or other cheese)
1 minced jalapeno (seeds and membrane removed for less heat)

Prepare muffin mix according to package directions. Stir in grated cheese and minced jalapeno.

If you have a cast iron skillet, place it in the oven while it preheats, and then leave it to get hot for a few extra minutes. Carefully remove the skillet and add 2-3 tablespoons of butter and allow it to melt, then pour in the batter. (Spread it out to the edges but it won't fill the pan.) If you don't have a cast iron skillet, use another baking dish and don't preheat it, but still grease the pan with plenty of butter.

Then cook according to the package directions for cornbread.

No-Knead Bread

I found this recipe on my all-time favorite food & cooking blog: The Amateur Gourmet, Adam Roberts. Apparently this no-knead bread technique has been around for a while, but I'd never heard of it because if I had, I'd have been making it every week since.

The first time I made this was just before going to Richmond for Christmas. It literally came out of the oven and was the last thing packed in the car; I almost didn't want to leave and let the aroma of baking bread be enjoyed by only the kittens, but the whole ride down was like sitting in a bakery. I've made it twice since then, trying both variations of using bread flour vs. AP flour, and flour vs. cornmeal as a coating. I have found the best combination for the softest bread and crust that's not too hard. Either bread or AP flour will work fine, but I liked the AP flour the best. Cornmeal is much better than flour for the coating, and I do suggest buying some for this rather than using flour because the crust comes out much nicer. (Ladies at the dinner swap yesterday - you got the loaf with the bread flour and flour coating. The winning combo came out of the oven later last night.) Also the first time I made it (and took the pics) I followed the timing exactly, but yesterday when I made two, I slacked and did not follow it precisely, and I didn't get the same rise and texture inside. I did hold the rising process at step 5, as I noted below, and I don't think that caused a problem at all.

I insist you make this, I really do. You just can't not. It's so easy!! Plan to make it for sure if we get a snow day, and I stress PLAN because you do have to start a day ahead. I scribbled down the recipe from Adam Roberts's blog on an envelope, but I now have it easily memorized because there's not much to it. It looks like a lot of steps but I broke it down that way to make it easiest to follow. This is the most bang for your buck type of recipe I've ever made - meaning so few ingredients, effort, and working time on your part for such a great end product. I'll even put in a nice little time-line for you.

Of course you can just click on Adam Roberts's blog for the recipe, which is hilarious and has great photos, but here's my spin:

No-Knead Bread

Ingredients:
3 cups of AP flour
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1.5 cups plus 2 tablespoons water (1 5/8ths cups)
Cornmeal (1/2 cup or so)

Directions:
1. [4:00pm day one] Place flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl and stir.

2. Add the water and mix in. Cover with plastic wrap.

3. Let rise for 12-18 hours (18 is better).
4. [10:00am day two] Flour your counter and plop the dough down on it. Fold the dough over onto it's self a couple of times. Place it back in the bowl and cover with the plastic wrap again.
5. Let rest for 15 minutes. (For one of my loaves yesterday, at this point I refrigerated it because I needed a few extra hours before baking, and that did work out nicely.)

6. [10:15am] Lay a clean kitchen towel down on the counter, and coat it with cornmeal.

7. Plop the dough onto the cornmeal in one big ball, then sprinkle more cornmeal over the top. Cover with another kitchen towel.

8. Let sit for 1.5 hours until the next step (the dough will sit like this for a total of 2 hours).
9. [11:45am] Place a 6-8 quart enamel coated cast iron pot, and it's lid, in the oven and heat the oven to 450 degrees. Let it heat up for 30 minutes.

10. [12:15pm] Remove the pot from the oven and take off the lid (KEEP THE POTHOLDER ON THE LID AFTER YOU REMOVE IT OR YOU WILL FORGET THAT IT'S HOT AND YOU WILL BURN YOURSELF). (OK that note was mainly for myself because you are smarter than me, but it is a good tip.)

11. Plop the dough into the pan, trying to let the bottom be flat and any folds or creases in the dough to be on top.
12. Put the lid back on and place in the oven for 30 minutes.
13. [12:45pm] Remove the lid and bake for another 15-30 minutes until it looks nice and brown.
14. [1:00 or 1:15pm] Let cool, at least for a few minutes, before you slice it.OK, now is the fun part. This isn't the type of bread I like to slice and eat plain because the crust is so crusty, unless it's still warm and you have butter on it. Here are some ideas:

Toast, then slap on some butter and jam (or Sue Ann's homemade blackberry preserves like I had this morning, way yum).

Grill or toast, then rub with a cut piece of garlic. Drizzle on extra-virgin olive oil, kosher salt, and cracked black pepper.

Or grill or toast and top with bruscetta. (Accd to my Amateur Gourmet: That's 5 plum tomatoes cut in half and cored and seeded (I used a soup spoon), cut into 1/4-inch cubes, and tossed with 3 cloves of chopped garlic (I like it garlicky), a bunch of basil leaves chiffonaded and then a splash of red wine vinegar, a heavier dose of olive oil (but not too much), salt and pepper. It's that easy and it'll knock your socks off. As my great-grandmother Helen would say: "It's the cat's pajamas and the snake's hips.")

Or, for garlic bread: make a mixture of softened butter, lotsa garlic (either fresh minced or garlic powder is good here too), parsley (fresh or dried, or dried Italian herb mix), salt and black pepper. Smear this on thick cut bread and toast or broil on a baking sheet.

For REAL garlic bread, shmear toasted bread with roasted garlic and olive oil.

Next time I make this bread, I'm going to add some roasted garlic cloves and maybe fresh thyme or chives, or some other herb, to the dough and bake it in. I think the smell of that baking would delay a road trip...

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

You KNOW you want to bite into this bread right now! I had to slice it while it was still warm; I couldn't take it any longer. Although I just read in my Cooks Illustrated cookbook that technically bread is not finished baking until it's cooled. Hmm. Sometimes a loaf's gotta take one for the team I guess.

The texture of the bread part is dense but not too heavy, and overall the loaf is breadlike rather than cinnamon-roll like; it's actually not very sweet. It would make a mean French toast and in fact if there's any left in a few days it just might! The cinnamon I use, Penzey's Extra Fancy Vietnamese Cinnamon, is particularly strong and spicy, like Big Red gum. Ceylon cinnamon would be very good in this recipe since it is more mellow, and of course the regular cinnamon from the grocery store has the most traditional flavor that everyone loves.

There are a few reasons why I decided to make this bread. First, I wanted to make a treat for our good friends the Decker/Dawson family (and all the cookies and pies in the house are just not good enough, it's gotta be FOR them). Second, I promised myself that I'd try my hand at more yeast doughs since I have the big jar of yeast. And lastly, because I was flipping through one of my favorite huge baking cookbooks and this was on the page I landed on.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread
recipe from Baking Illustrated; also found online here.

Makes 1 loaf.

If you like, the dough can be made one day, refrigerated overnight, then shaped, proofed, and baked the next day. This recipe also doubles easily.

Ingredients
Enriched Bread Dough:
1/2 cup milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick), cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 package dry active yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees)
1/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
3 1/4 - 3 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Filling:
1/4 cup sugar
5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Milk for brushing

Glaze:
1 large egg
2 teaspoons milk

Instructions
1. For the dough: Heat milk and butter in small saucepan over medium heat until butter melts. Cool to lukewarm (about 110 degrees).

2. Meanwhile, sprinkle yeast over warm water in bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle. Beat in sugar and eggs and mix at low speed to blend. Add salt, lukewarm milk mixture, 2 cups of flour; mix at medium speed until thoroughly blended, about 1 minute. Switch to dough hook attachment. Add 1 1/4 cups flour, and knead at medium-low speed, adding additional flour sparingly if dough sticks to sides of bowl, until dough is smooth and comes away from sides of bowl, about 10 minutes.

3. Turn dough onto work surface. Squeeze dough with a clean dry hand. If dough is sticky, knead in up to 1/2 additional cup flour to form a smooth, soft, elastic dough. Transfer dough to a very lightly oiled large plastic container or bowl. Cover top of container with plastic wrap and let rise until double in size, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. (Ideal rising temperature is 75 degrees.) After rise, punch down center of dough once (can be refrigerated, covered, up to 18 hours). Making sure not to fold or misshape dough, turn it onto unfloured work surface; let dough rest, to relax, about 10 minutes.

4. Grease sides and bottom of a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. Mix sugar and cinnamon in small bowl.

5. Press dough neatly into an evenly shaped 6-by-8-inch rectangle. With short side of dough facing you, roll dough with rolling pin into evenly shaped 8-by-18-inch rectangle (flour counter lightly if dough sticks). After rolling out dough, brush liberally with milk. Sprinkle filling evenly over dough, leaving 1/2-inch border on far end. Roll up dough, pinching gently with fingertips. To keep loaf from stretching beyond 9 inches, use hands to occasionally push ends in as dough is rolled. Use fingertips to pinch the dough ends together very tightly to form a secure seam. With seam side facing up, push in center of ends. Firmly pinch outside dough edges together to seal.

6. Place loaf, seam side down, into prepared pan; press lightly to flatten. Cover top of pan loosely with plastic wrap and set aside to proof. Let rise until dough is 1 inch above top of pan, about 1 1/2 hours, or about 1 hour longer if dough has been refrigerated. As dough nears top of pan, adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 350 degrees.

7. Meanwhile, in small bowl, whisk together egg and milk. Gently brush loaf top with egg mixture; bake until loaf is golden brown and instant-read thermometer pushed through top side into center of loaf registers 185 to 190 degrees, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove bread from pan and cool on its side on wire rack until room temperature, at least 45 minutes. (Can be double-wrapped in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for four days or frozen up to three months.)

For mixing by hand: Beginning with step 2, sprinkle yeast over water in large bowl. Follow instructions in step 2, using hand mixer or wooden spoon, thoroughly blending ingredients with 2 cups flour. Using wooden spoon, mix in 1 1/4 cups flour. Knead by hand until dough is smooth and elastic, 12 to15 minutes, adding additional flour if necessary. Transfer dough to lightly oiled container and follow rising instructions.

I doubled the recipe, and here's all the dough in step #3 after being punched down:Here's step #5:These are the loaves just before going in the oven. I have one silicon loaf pan and one non-stick one. I prefer.... neither. But as you'll see, the non-stick made a perfect loaf (for the first time in it's life! It usually burns things), and the silicon one doesn't hold it's own shape very well so the bread swells and billows out, which isn't preferable in this recipe because we're trying to keep the cinnamon-sugar filling rolled up and the edges pinched and sealed together. I was a proud baker when I pulled this out of the oven! I've never made anything that looked like that before:Here are the loaves cooling on their sides. They started out with the exact same weight of dough, and you can see how the silicon pan allowed the dough to spread out.

Challah Recipe

I am definitely putting this recipe in the keeper file! ESPECIALLY since Robyn showed me her recipe for Creme Brulee French Toast using challah. Thank you!! I will make this over Thanksgiving for sure! Follow that link and you'll also find her challah recipe, which makes 4 whole loaves! I used Martha Stewart's recipe, which makes one.

A few notes on ingredients and equipment for making this challah. I'd never bought or used fresh yeast before, so in case you haven't either, I found it in the refrigerated section of the grocery store near the butter, and this is what it looks like:It comes in 0.6 oz packages, so to get 0.75 oz I used my handy digital scale. I couldn't cook without this thing, I use it very often. It makes me so happy when baking recipes use weight measurements of ingredients because it's very precise. I've been known to weigh each and every single cookie in a batch to make them all the same exact size! I'm really a nerd about my kitchen equipment, but I love it!This recipe calls for using a digital thermometer to test for doneness, and while not essential for this, I wanted to mention it because if you're thinking of buying one and are unsure how often you'll use it, once you have it you will find yourself using it all the time. Same with the little scale; you'll wonder how you ever got along without it!

Challah
recipe from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

1 1/2 lbs bread flour (about 4 1/2 cups), plus more for dusting
3/4 oz. fresh yeast
1/4 cup sugar
3 T. honey
1 T. coarse salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil, plus more for bowl, plastic wrap, and baking sheet
8 large egg yolks
1 large whole egg

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the flour, yeast, sugar, honey, salt, vegetable, oil, egg yolks, and 1 cup water. Mix on low speed until the dough is smooth and stiff with a slight sheen, 8 to 10 minutes.
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface, and knead to make sure any loose bits are incorporated.

The dough was very sticky and kind of rubbery.
Fold in the following manner: Fold the bottom third of the dough up, the top third down, and the right and left sides over, tapping the dough after each fold to release excess flour, and pressing down to seal. Gently gather the dough and flip it over, seam side down. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with oiled plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about an hour. Brush an unrimmed baking sheet with vegetable oil or line with parchment paper. Set aside.

Return the dough to a lightly floured work surface, and divide into three equal pieces.

I used my little scale for this, too! I'm such a nerd. Roll each piece into an 18 inch log, and place the logs parallel to one another.

In Martha's pictures, her dough logs at this point were perfectly smooth and magically not floury even though they are to be rolled on a floured surface.... Most cookbooks with pictures are intimidating and you can't trust them - they cause everyone to have those self-doubting moments.

Pinch the ends together at the top, and weave the three strands into a tight braid, tugging gently as you go. Press the ends together to seal. Place loaf on the prepared sheet. Loosely cover with oiled plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Before rising: After rising and brushed with egg:
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375. Lightly beat the remaining whole egg and brush gently but thoroughly over loaf, making sure to cover any seams and crevices. Bake until the crust is dark brown, 50-60 minutes. The bread should reach an internal temperature of 190 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, and should have a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom. Transfer the bread to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing. Bread can be wrapped in plastic and kept at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Challah Bread: A Success!

These are the pictures in Martha's book with her recipe for challah:

And this is my challah:Not too bad, right! Despite problems with my sneaky oven, I was happy with how my bread came out. It was heavy, dense, eggy, and had a nice soft texture inside and a really nice crust that was as dark as a soft pretzel.

My oven has a mind of it's own and often cranks its self way the heck up to 500+ degrees. I think it gets out of whack and doesn't shut off the heat to regulate the temperature. This is one reason why I sometimes use the AirBake baking sheets, which buys me a little time before the burning happens, and one reason why I despise non-stick bakeware which always burns my food in my oven! Also, I am a fan of baby birds, so that's another reason I don't like that stuff. Non-stick baking sheets, loaf pans, muffin tins, etc, are a waste of time, unhealthy for you and the environment, and I recommend never using them. To avoid sticking I use a Silpat (if you don't have one, ask for one for Christmas!), or parchment paper on standard-sized good quality sheet pans, and properly oil, butter and flour the bakeware when necessary. I use nonstick pans on the stove only when really necessary and never heat them while empty, never broil with them, and try to avoid using them on a high flame.

I will post Martha's recipe here, and my pictures of my challah baking adventure, when I have time soon so check back! I have so much to catch up on!!

Buttermilk Biscuits

There are still more Fakesgiving recipes to come, but I had to throw this in!

Buttermilk biscuits are the most important component of Erol's favorite breakfast.

I make biscuits (or pancakes when I have my way) almost every weekend, and I have tried tons of different recipes. Of course Martha makes the best! Biscuits made from Bisquick or self-rising flour are the easiest, but these are easy too, and worth the few extra steps. I like them because the inside is fluffy and the outside is crispy, and they don't have a doughy flavor like Bisquick biscuits.Buttermilk Biscuits
Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

(Makes about 14 biscuits; recipe easily halved)
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 T. plus 1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 t. sugar
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
1 3/4 cup buttermilk, plus more for brushing

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Using a pastry blender (or a fork or your fingers), cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with a few larger clumps remaining.

Pour in the buttermilk; using a rubber spatula, fold buttermilk into the dough until it just comes together. The dough will be slightly sticky; do not overmix.

Transfer to lightly floured work surface; use floured fingers to pat dough to 1-inch thickness. Use a 2 1/2-inch round biscuit cutter or cookie cutter to cut biscuits as close together as possible to minimize scraps. Gather scraps together once, pat together and flatten, and cut out.

Transfer biscuits to a baking sheet and brush with buttermilk. Bake until lightly browned, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven; cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temp.

Cheddar biscuits: Add 3 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese just before the buttermilk.

You can't really tell in this pic, but you should see pieces of butter in the dough before baking.