Whatever you do...

Make this bread!

Our neighborhood has several bakeries, excellent bakeries from what we have tasted. However, when my husband tasted his first bite of this bread, he said, and I quote:

"Mmmm, where did you get this bread?"

To which I replied, "I made it."

The rest of the conversation was inarticulate, a series of grunts and groans and happy husband sounds. I think that I heard "make again" somewhere in there.

Herbes de Provence Bread

1 cup warm water

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3 1/2 teaspoons Herbes de Provence (or italian herbs, or a mix of italian herbs and rosmary, or whatever herbs you like in your bread)

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 1/2 cups flour

Using a dough hook, mix the water, sugar and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Let the mixture stand for 5 minutes, or until bubbly. Add 1/2 cup flour, the salt, olive oil, herbs and pepper and mix, on medium speed, for a minute or two. Gradually add the rest of the flour, mixing on low speed until all of the flour is incorporated, and the dough starts to pull away from the bowl, about 6 minutes. Grease a clean bowl, and transfer the dough to the greased bowl. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place for an hour. Press the dough down, and transfer to a baking sheet (or a pizza stone, your call). Form the dough into a loaf shape, cover with the towel, and let the dough rise for another hour. Carefully remove the towel (some of the dough may want to cling to it), and bake the dough at 375° for about 30 minutes.

Enough of the Sweets!

Well, it is time to take a hiatus from all of the sugar-filled baked goods that I have been turning out lately. It's not that we haven't been enjoying good (non-sweet) food, but either I have forgotten to take pictures or it has turned out looking disastrous (like Monday's fajita quesadillas, which completely fell apart when the tortilla stuck to the pan, but tasted great). And besides, sweets are just a lot of fun to make and talk about! I'll move on. I promise.

Our lives have been pretty quiet lately. With my husband studying most of the daylight hours, I have spent time reading, cleaning, cooking, and planning our meals into November! This meal-planning process involves looking at recipes and planning a week's or month's worth of menus on a calendar. It's a process that I love, but once I finish, I want to do it all over again, because there are always more recipes out there that I would love to try. Don't get me wrong, we probably will not follow my little calendar very closely, because usually we get whims for different foods and aren't always good about ignoring those whims. However, I have good intentions, and it is a great method of planning and incorporating fall flavors and seasonable vegetables into our life, and making sure that we get plenty of variety. Besides, my classes will start September 10th, and it will be easier to have a meal plan to go by.

Menu planning gives us a lot of room to try new things, but there are always a few tried and true dishes that I try to occasionally add to our repertoire. Curry chicken, beef stroganoff, roast chicken, low country boil, and shrimp and grits are all menus that the husband has deemed "make again," and that we return to often. That is exactly what we did earlier this week; we had shrimp and grits.

Creole Shrimp and Grits
From Southern Living, January 2009

2 pounds unpeeled, medium-size raw shrimp
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 medium-size green bell pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 (6-oz.) can tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 teaspoons Creole seasoning
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
4 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup stone ground grits
1-2 tablespoons butter
1-2 tablespoons half-and-half

Peel shrimp, reserving shells; devein shrimp, if desired. Bring shells and 4 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat; reduce heat to low, and cook 20 minutes. Pour shrimp broth through a colander over a large bowl, pressing shells with back of a spoon; discard shells.*

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat; stir in flour, and cook, stirring constantly, until flour is caramel colored (about 8 to 10 minutes). Add onion and next 3 ingredients, and cook, stirring often, 5 to 7 minutes or until tender. Stir in 2 cups shrimp broth, tomato paste, and next 4 ingredients. Reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring occasionally, 45 minutes. Add shrimp, and cook 10 minutes, stirring in 1/4 to 1/2 cup remaining shrimp broth to reach desired consistency.

In a medium pot, whisk together the water, grits, salt and butter. Bring to a simmer and cook, covered, for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Whisk in the half-and-half.

Serve the shrimp over the grits.

*I have made the shrimp stock before using this method, but this time I bought peeled shrimp and used store-bought seafood stock. You could also use half/half clam juice and chicken stock.

Stay tuned for the fabulous herb loaf recipe, pictured in these photos.

Dinner with the Neighbors

When we were young, we would spend almost all day every day with our next-door neighbors. We would ride bikes in their cul-de-sac and have lemonade sales on hot afternoons. We would jump on the trampoline and choreograph dances to Wilson Phillips' "Hold On." When it was getting close to dusk, our mother would ring a bell and we would come home for dinner. Occasionally, however, we would eat dinner with our neighbors. I don't much remember what we would have to eat at their house, but I do remember having what we thought then was a fabulous treat: Kraft macaroni and cheese.

It was not that our mother didn't make macaroni and cheese. She just didn't make Kraft macaroni and cheese, with all of it's fake-cheesy-ness. She would make what she called "Macaroni Casseroni," with real cheese and real wholesome goodness. To our unrefined pallets, it was just wasn't the same (and, unfortunately, we let her know it). Thankfully, I have grown out of that phase of life.

I tell you this story because, thanks to my mom's love for good food, we very rarely ate any pre-packaged or box-mix fare. I don't mean to be a snob about it, but aside from the fact that home-prepared foods are generally much healthier, they are also usually much, much better tasting!

All of that said, I have to apologize for this recipe. It contains a box mix. Actually, it contains two. Please don't disown me. You know that I wouldn't put it on here if it wasn't wonderful.

I made this (and some of those wonderful molasses cookies) for my little brother's birthday, which is today. He still enjoys Kraft macaroni and cheese. Happy Birthday, little brother!

Black Russian Cake

Cake:
1 Duncan Hines Yellow Cake Mix
1 3.9 ounce Instant Chocolate Pudding Mix
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Vegetable Oil
4 Eggs
1/4 Cup Vodka
1/4 Cup Coffee Liqueur, such as Kahlua

Glaze:
1/4 Cup Coffee Liqueur, such as Kahlua
1/2 Stick Butter (4 tablespoons)
1/2 Cup Sifted Powdered Sugar

Combine the first seven ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Beat at low speed with an electric mixer for 1 minute; increase speed to medium, and beat 4 more minutes. Pour batter into a greased and floured bundt pan.

Bake at 350° for 50-60 minutes until a tester comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine remaining liqueur, powdered sugar and melted butter, stirring until smooth. Prick warm cake at 1-inch intervals with a long skewer. Brush a third of the liqueur mixture over the bottom of the cake. Wait 10 minutes, and invert the cake onto a serving cake. Prick the top of the cake with a skewer, and brush the rest of the liqueur mixture over the top and sides of the cake. Cool completely. Sift additional powdered sugar over the cake before serving.

Serve with coffee ice cream for a special treat!

Summer Camp Cookies

Can you believe it? Summer's end is just around the corner. To me, one of the tell-tale signs of fall is the start of the new school year. In the south, school starts in early to mid-August, as the air conditioning is a respite for the hottest month of the year. In the northeast, school starts in September, because most schools do not have air-conditioners, so they must wait until it is a bit cooler to start. And although September 22nd is officially the first day of fall, Labor Day seems to be most people's idea of "Summer's Last Stand," the last time to truly enjoy all that summer has to offer.

I have to admit, I am pretty excited about the arrival of fall. I love the change in the seasons! I think that it is a reminder of Ecclesiastes 3: For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven...I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.

As much as I am looking forward to fall, I don't want to overlook the last few days of summer. After all, it will be another nine months or so before it comes around again, with all of it's fresh tomato, cucumber, corn, basil and butter bean goodness. And we do plan on celebrating on Labor Day, with an entire meal cooked on the grill. But until then, I will share these cookies with you.

These cookies really should be fall and winter cookies, as they are full of the spices that signify those seasons: cinnamon, ginger and cloves. However, to me, they are the ultimate summer camp cookie. My mom always made a double (or maybe triple?) batch of these to send to my brother, who would spend his summers working at Boy Scout camp. I remember her sending me a batch when I worked at Panama City Beach for a summer. I'm not sure, but I think a batch of these even made their way to Thailand, when my sister was living there. The thing that makes these the ultimate summer camp cookies is that they travel well, and they stay soft and chewy for quite a while. The key here is to take them out of the oven before they seem to be done, and they will be perfect.

Molasses Cookies

1 1/2 sticks of butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat the oven to 350°. Mix the melted butter with the sugar and molasses. Lightly beat the egg and add to the butter mixture. Blend well. In a separate bowl, sift the flower with the spices, salt and baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix well. The batter will be wet.

Lay a sheet of foil on a cookie sheet. Drop batter by tablespoons on foil, leaving about 3 inches between the cookies. Bake for 8-9 minutes, until the cookies start to darken, but are still soft. Let cookies cool on the foil.

A Great Feast

Sunday, after church, my husband's Greek professor and his wife graciously opened their home for a small group of us to eat lunch. They were a perfect example of the message that our pastor shared in his Sunday sermon.

He spoke on 1 Peter 4:7-11, and spent a good long while expounding on using one's gifts to love one another and to show hospitality to one another. How hard is it to love one another? It truly is difficult! But, you know, we all have been given gifts, and should use those gifts, whatever they are, to show love to one another, even when it is difficult. That is true hospitality. Our host and hostess on Sunday did all that they could to welcome us into their home, to be hospitable, and to love us.

You know, I love that I love to cook. I am really happy that is one of my gifts. And although sometimes I struggle with my lack of other gifts, (my husband has a wonderful gift of conversation and the ability to know just what to say, which I often find difficult), one of the things that I love about cooking as a means of love and hospitality is that it points to a feast that is to come. Our small-scale "feasts" here are just a mirror of the beautiful wedding feast that we will enjoy when Christ is joined forever with his bride, the Church.

This cake was my contribution to our feast on Sunday. It is particularly rich and moist. Although it was wonderful as-is, I think that it would be excellent with 1-2 teaspoons of fresh grated ginger in the batter.

Carrot Cake
Adapted from Southern Living

For the cake:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups grated carrots
1 orange, zested
1/2 cup fresh pineapple, cut into small pieces
1 cup sweetened coconut
1 cup chopped pecans

For the Glaze:
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon soda
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup butter
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Icing:
16 oz cream cheese, room temperature
8 oz butter, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
zest of 1 orange
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon almond extract

Butter and flour three round cake pans. Line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper; butter and flour the parchment.

Mix the dry ingredients in a small bowl.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla until well blended. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in the carrots, orange zest, pineapple, coconut and pecans. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes.

While the cake is baking, prepare the glaze. In a medium saucepan, heat the sugar, soda, butter, buttermilk and corn syrup over medium heat. Boil for four minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in the vanilla. Pour the glaze all over all three cakes while they are warm, brushing the glaze so that it soaks into every little part of the cake. Allow the cakes to sit in the pans for several hours, until they are completely cooled.

To prepare the icing, beat the cream cheese and butter until nice and creamy. Mix in the lemon juice and extract, and add the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at the time. Use a spatula to fold in the zest.

Remove the cake layers from the pans, and remove the parchment. Ice the cooled cake layers, and refrigerate. Hint: I prepared the cake layers, wrapped them individually in saran wrap and froze them overnight. It makes icing the cake so much easier.

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Strolling

Our new neighborhood is very stroll-able. My husband and I go for a walk just about every weeknight, catching up on each other's days and looking at the beautifully landscaped yards and the gorgeous stone houses, wondering at their history. Sometimes we walk up and down the main street, looking in closed shop windows, admiring cakes and cookies and loaves of bread in the window of a bakery or stopping to read a posted restaurant menu.

I suppose that eventually we will try most of these places. I know our friends help us out with this, too; a few days ago, I went with a friend to a bakery cafe that is located in an old flower shop conservatory. I brought my leftovers home and sent them (half of a grilled cheese sandwich) with my husband for lunch the next day. He came home saying that he had his doubts about a cold grilled cheese sandwich, but it was so good that he was dying to go try that restaurant himself!

I do some strolling myself during the days, too. I often go up to the library to check out a book or two, and pass one of the neighborhood markets on the way home. A few days ago, I stopped by on my way home from the library, and I saw a beautifully unexpected sight; sour cherries! They are well past their prime; they usually show up for about two weeks in June or July. I have read about them in several blogs this summer, and have been intrigued by descriptions of this incredibly tart fruit and how if I see some, I must buy them! I grabbed two very full quart baskets and came home with my bounty.

I am freezing over half of them for a winter treat, but what to do with the rest of my new discovery? Well, given my recent baking kick, I decided to bake a loaf of cherry almond bread. How good does that sound?

The bread was wonderful. It was incredibly moist and yummy. The cherries were very tart, but a wonderful contrast to the sweet bread. If you happen to see some late-season sour cherries at your market, pick them up and try some!

Cherry Almond Bread

1 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 Tablespoon orange cognac
zest of one lemon or orange
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon buttermilk (or sour cream)
1 cup pitted sour (tart) cherries
1/2-3/4 cup sliced almonds

Sift together the first eight ingredients in a small bowl. Take two tablespoons of this dry mixture and toss with the cherries and almonds.

Cream the butter and sugars in a medium bowl with hand mixer. Beat in the eggs, one at the time. Mix in the extract, cognac and zest. Mix in the dry ingredients alternately wiht the buttermilk and sour cream.

Using a spatula, fold in the cherries and almonds.

Bake for 1 hour at 350°. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, and then allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.

For the Love of Cooking

** Photos Updated November 23, 2009

I have been cooking up a storm here, and reveling in preparing even our nightly dinners! I have come to the realization that I love to cook, just for the sheer love of cooking. Of course, I love to eat the food, too, but why else would I volunteer to bake a cake for someone else's shower, when I'm not even attending? I guess that for me, it is an outlet; a place where I can relax and enjoy the process. Why not bake a strawberry cake, just for the love of it?

In addition to dinner preparation, and baking a random strawberry cake, I have been doing a lot of bread baking. I have tried several yeast breads and several quick breads. My recent baking "kick" has been banana bread (five loaves in two weeks, anybody?). My husband has patiently (okay, well really willingly) tried several different recipes and commented on each, and I think that I have found my perfect Banana Bread recipe. The first two loaves of this recipe went to my husband's Greek class for breakfast on Tuesday.

The key here is to adjust the recipe based on your likes. My mom's banana bread, which is wonderfully moist, and the basis for my recipe, does not contain any spices. I wanted my banana bread to have a little hint of Bananas Foster, so I included some cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. You can tweak it to your tastes as well. Also, make sure that your bananas are very ripe, with lots of dark spots. That will give this bread a stronger, sweeter banana flavor.

Banana Bread

1 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon bourbon (optional)
zest of one lemon
3-4 ripe bananas, mashed
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon buttermilk (or an extra tablespoon sour cream)
1/2-3/4 cup pecans, chopped

Sift the first eight ingredients into a small bowl. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars with a hand mixer. Add the eggs, one at the time. Add the vanilla, bourbon, zest and bananas and blend. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the sour cream and buttermilk, mixing on low speed until just combined.

Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl (and scrape any lemon zest that may be "holding on" to the mixer beaters. Using the spatula, fold in the pecans.

Bake at 350° for one hour.

A Supportive Husband

Have you heard the saying, "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach"? Well, I think that in the south, this is particularly true. It is certainly one of the main ways that my mom "won" my dad's heart, and I won my husband's. Although there are certainly times when my husband will admit that I spend a little too much time in the kitchen, he continues to be completely supportive of my love of cooking. In fact, our dates often consist of walking through Williams-Sonoma or browsing the cookbook section of the local bookstore. Usually gifts for special occasions (and sometimes not-so-special occasions) come from books or kitchen gadgets that I have pointed out on our dates. Sometimes, he'll even delight me by bringing me something for no occasion at all. Last week, however, my husband completely surprised me with something that I had not expressed any interest in at all, but have thoroughly enjoyed. He took me to our local library, where he picked up this book that he had put on hold two weeks before:

This book details Julia Child's love affair with France and French food, which inspired her career and ultimately has changed the way that America cooks! My sweet husband thought that I would love reading all about Julia's adventures, and he was completely right. Oh, and by the way, he took me to see the movie, Julie and Julia, last Friday night. Both the book and the movie are delightful, and I truly am blessed with a supportive husband.

No Leftovers

At the end of last week, Kristin at the Kitchen Sink featured her first attempt at a Low Country Boil. This is a meal that I have made many times, and reading her article made me want to put that on our menu for this week’s meals. I added smoked sausage to the pot and cornbread to complete the meal. The first thing that my husband said was, “Are we having company?”, and then he became very excited that it was no special event, but just a Monday night dinner for the two of us.

This was our meal on Tuesday night:

Do you notice anything? You might not, but my husband did notice that there were no leftovers for him to eat for lunch on Tuesday. If you look closely, you will see that there are a lot of similar elements from our Low Country Boil! I took everything except the sausage and repurposed it for Tuesday’s dinner. Of course, my husband was a little disappointed when he realized that there were no leftovers for lunch, but he was very satisfied when dinner came around.

I was worried that because everything was cooked with the same spices on Monday night which is a good thing with that meal, that there would be the same essence throughout Tuesday’s meal (which I did not necessarily want). This really was not a problem; the new flavors that were added were really complemented by the Boil seasoning. Here’s how I did it:

1.) Corn on the Cob becomes a Corn and Cherry Tomato Salad

2 ears of corn, cooked

1 pint cherry tomatoes

1/2 red onion

2-3 stems of basil

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Cut the corn off of the cob using a sharp knife. Place the corn into a medium bowl. Half the cherry tomatoes and add to the corn. Finely dice the onion and add as well. Chiffonade or chop the basil, and add the basil and the rest of the ingredients to the bowl. Mix well, and serve at room temperature.

2.) Potatoes become Potato Salad

You can adjust your ingredients based on how many potatoes you have. Because I was using leftovers, I had fewer potatoes.

6 medium red potatoes, cut into pieces, boiled until cooked through

1 ¼ cups Mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream

¼ cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon celery seed

1 ½ teaspoon horseradish

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 cup chopped green onions

Mix all together and adjust for seasonings.

3.) Shrimp became Shrimp Burgers

½ pound peeled cooked shrimp

½ rib celery

2-3 stems parsley

1 green onion

1 large lemon

1 ½ tablespoons mayonnaise

½ cup cornbread crumbs (I used one cornbread muffin from the night before)

salt and pepper

hot pepper sauce
1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon butter

Chop the shrimp, celery, parsley and onion. Place into a small bowl. Using a fine grater, zest half of the lemon and add to the bowl. Add the mayonnaise and cornbread. Add salt, pepper, and hot pepper sauce to taste. Add about half of the beaten egg, and mix well. The mixture will barely hold together.

Using your hands, make two burgers from the mixture. They will hold together better if they are thicker, rather than wider. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

Heat the butter over medium heat in a large nonstick skillet. Carefully add the burgers, using a spatula to press any parts that have fallen apart. Cook for 3-4 minutes, and then use two spatulas to carefully turn both burgers. Cook on the other side for 3-4 minutes. Serve over a bed of baby greens.

BBQ Sauce

Well, like I have said, last weekend we had some friends over for BBQ. It was my first time to cook Boston Butt, and although it was very good, I will keep looking for a good rub recipe. The BBQ sauce, however, is tried and true, and will make any mediocre BBQ sandwich an excellent one. I think that it is better than anything that I have ever had from a jar, even though it is made up from mostly canned and jarred items. Also, it makes quite a lot, but it freezes well and keeps for a long time in the refrigerator.

BBQ Sauce

From Ina Garten's The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

1 large Vidalia onion, chopped

3 cloves minced garlic

½ cup vegetable oil

1 cup tomato paste

1 cup cider vinegar

1 cup honey

½ cup Worcestershire sauce

1 cup Dijon mustard

½ cup soy sauce

1 cup hoisin sauce

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin (Original recipe calls for 1 tablespoon)

½ tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes

Sauté the onion and garlic over low heat in the oil for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, measure out all of the other ingredients into a medium bowl. Mix well, and add to the onions when they are done. Simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes; stir occasionally with a wire whisk. Store the sauce in the refrigerator.

One is Silver and the Other Gold

When I was a child, I listened to the “Wee sing” series of tapes. They had little songs for children; some silly, some Bible songs, some patriotic, etc. One song that was more of a proverb has been going through my head this weekend, “Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold.” This is so true; what a blessing it is to have friends, old and new! We were blessed to have a wonderful group of friends before we moved, and while never forgetting or losing love for those friends, we are gaining new friends here, too.

I am convinced that one way to make new friends, and to show them how much we love and appreciate them, is by cooking. So that is exactly what we did this weekend. We served Boston butt with homemade BBQ sauce, two salads, sweet potato fries and strawberry shortcakes for dessert. All in all, it was a great meal, and we truly enjoyed the company.

Unfortunately, I completely forgot to take pictures of our dinner party in the midst of everything, so all that I have is a few photos of the shortbreads, sweet potatoes, BBQ sauce and the tomato salad.

One great side effect to having new friends over for dinner is that it lit a fire. That fire pushed us to finish setting up our living room (or at least what we can do until our sofa arrives), clean the apartment and ready everything for guests to actually see. So, here they are, photos of the final (or semi-final) product:

Our Bedroom

Another Shot of the Bedroom

The Living Room

The Bathroom