Cinnamon goodness

I sent this recipe to someone on facebook and then decided that it may as well be my blog post and then i won't have to re-do it. So take it or leave it... but if i were you i would take it.

I got this recipe from Peter Reinhart and his book is called, "Artisan Breads Everyday".

Start this the night before.
All- purpose sweet dough

6 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
(I add 6 tablespoons of gluten which then makes it bread flour for less of the cost of actual bread flour)
2 teaspoons salt
6 tablespoons sugar
5 teaspoons instant yeast
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons lukewarm whole or low fat milk (and i just realized that I used water... oops)
1/2 cup vegetable oil or melted unsalted butter (i used salted butter)
zest of 1/2 lemon, or 1 tablespoon lemon extract, or 1/2 teaspoon lemon oil

Topping
3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
melted butter or vegetable oil for brushing
1 cup raisins, or to taste (i didn't use these)
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, or to taste (i didn't use these either)

But the topping that I used was a little bit different I got about 3/4-1cup brown sugar, cinnamon and then mixed a little bit of butter in with that... oh and nutmeg.

So this technique that he uses is genius! And i have been successful every time i make these.

Mix your dry ingredients- and the lemon zest and then make sure that your milk/water isn't too warm and then slowly mix in the wet ingredients. Mix in your mixer or hand knead for at least two minutes. (but i do it for 5 minutes to assure that your gluten is being activated... or whatever you call it.) Next, put the dough in an oiled bowl- cover and let it rest for five minutes. After five minutes pull the dough from right to left and then top to bottom and then one more time (kind of like in a Y shape) and let it rest for another 10 minutes. Repeat this process four more times in the next hour. Then put it in the fridge over night. It will keep up to four days although the dough quality will decrease after that. (that is what Mr. Reinhart says).

The theory behind it is that not only does the gluten need to be mix enough to be activated- but the dough also has to properly ferment for it to turn out. This goes for all bread.

Anyway- they say to get it out of the oven 2.5 hours before you are ready to cook it. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes before you do anything with it. And then on a floured surface roll out the dough. (i cut the dough in half and did it in two batches and it filled two 9x13 pans) butter the dough and put the cinnamon & brown sugar goodness on top. Roll the dough and cut. (i use dental floss). and place them in a greased pan. Paint with butter and let them rise for two hours.

So I made these last night and when i do the dough i set it in the oven and turn on the oven to 400-450 for one minute and then let them be in this nice warm environment... but i totally forgot about them for a few minutes... and i thought for sure i was toast. I had taken them out of the oven and i just started to watch them to see if they would indeed rise. And they totally started to rise. They kind of went crazy. I was thrilled but now the other batch wasn't rising. So I had an amazing idea... i put them in the microwave and put them on "warm hold" and they rose in like 20 minutes. it was amazing.

(sorry for the tangent)

And on to the frosting:

8 oz cream cheese
4 tablespoons butter
1 1/2-to taste powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 vanilla bean (optional but it is worth it)
2 teaspoons lemon juice

mix- and if it isn't enough powdered sugar just add more- if it is too thick add a little bit more lemon juice (like 1/2-1 teaspoon at a time).

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. And then turn the pan around in the oven- and cook for another 5-15 minutes. All in all i think that it was 25-30 minutes of pure baking time. you want the top of one of the rolls to sound hallow when you tap it...

enjoy.

playdough

My kids LOVE playdough- and I had just been buying it until I went and visited my mom a few months ago and she made some for my kids. And guess what, they LOVED it. And I have been making it ever sense.

Let's talk about how cheap it is to make. It seriously costs next to NOTHING and takes about 5 minutes to make. Not to mention that you can choose the color AND you can add some kind of flavoring to make it smell yummy. And let's be honest- who doesn't want to smell something yummy? :)

Here is the recipe- it is SO EASY.

2 cups of All-Purpose Flour
1 cup of Salt
4 teaspoons Cream of Tartar
2 Tablespoons Oil
2 cups water
-food coloring and flavoring of your choice

First thing is first- have everything ready because it goes pretty fast. I have everything all set out- and pre-measured so that i can add everything when I need to.

Start with your dry ingredients and then mix in the water, oil, food coloring, and flavoring. And you put it on a medium heat and stir constantly until it has thickened and then once it is a dough consistency take it off of the heat and knead dough for a few minutes. It is warm but not that warm and it has yet to stain my kitchen counter... so don't worry about that part. However do it at your own risk and I will not take responsibility for any stains on your counter top. :)

But note the color of my counter and the color of the playdough... it hasn't stained anything yet so I wouldn't worry so much.

Jenny's Whole Wheat Bread

2 1/2 cups warm water
1 TBSP yeast
(proof with a dash of sugar) *I added 1/2 c sugar
1/2 cup honey or brown sugar
1/4 cup oil
1 TBSP vital wheat gluten
1 TBSP salt
6-8 cups whole wheat flour (I can't remember how many cups it is because I do mine by feel and texture.  This is my best guess.)

Kneed until gluten is fully formed and flour hydrated.  Rise in oiled bowl for at least one hour or until doubled.  After risen, shape into two loaves and rise again for another 30 minutes or until loaves have doubled in size.  Bake at 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until brown on the bottom and hollow-sounding.

Here goes nothing...

Well- Most of you don't know that this blog is even here. Hopefully I will commit enough to it to send out invites to those of you who want to participate. And then actually keep it up. I don't know why but sometimes I have a hard time committing to things.. but that is a whole different issue that we won't discuss at this time.

I have made a lot of stuff in the past few weeks. And at first few recipes I remembered to take pictures of. And it is all down hill from there. :) But don't worry I have a good menu planned for this week and will remember to take more pictures. But I will try to put all of the recipes up that I have used this past week. Alright, enough with the blabbing- and on to the main event!

I have been doing A LOT of bread lately. My husband got me these bread books for my birthday and I have only done one of the recipes in it but I have been pouring over them and the more I try the better the outcome. (practice makes perfect, right?)

The book (one of them) is called, "Artisan Breads Every Day" by Peter Reinhart. He has such a great technique on how to make bread. I have always dreaded mixing the dough- and kneading the dough enough so that the gluten will form. And even when I would mix the dickens out of it the bread still just wasn't quite right. It didn't have a great crust, and it was still crumbly. Well gluten wasn't the only thing that was going into the picture. I never even took into account that the yeast needed more than two hours to ferment. And so begins my very long journey into that perfect loaf of bread.

*I am not claiming that I know anything about bread- only what I have recently learned so bare with me.

Peter Reinhart's theory of bread making makes so much sense- I don't know why I never knew about it sooner. But the whole thing is that you have to let it rise long enough for the dough and the grain of the bread to reach it's full flavor. Makes sense, right? Well- you should go to the library and check this book out. It is loaded with the "how to" of bread making and not so much a recipe book- which I actually like a lot better.

Anyway- on to the recipe

This is called "Lean Bread" and time does most of the work with this bad boy. (which i think is fantastic) And like I said, all you have to do is a little bit of planning.

(I have used both bleached and unbleached and the unbleached definitely turned out a lot better. I also don't use bread flour because it is so much cheaper to buy gluten and then add that to your flour. So I am going to tweak this recipe the way that I did it.)

5 1/3 cups unbleached flour
5 Tablespoons of gluten
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons instant yeast (and please do me a favor and make sure your yeast is active before you go to all of this work. :)
2 1/4 cups lukewarm water (about 95 degrees) (if you test it on your wrist you will have an easy time "eyeballing" it instead of actually having to us a thermometer)

So the next part is easy- you mix the dry ingredients for 2-5 minutes. (I mix for closer to 5 minutes) and then you set the dough in a oiled bowl and let it rest for five minutes at room temperature. The dough should be tacky and not sticky. But it shouldn't be dry. (You should be able to stretch it).

After the five-ish minutes are up you pull the dough from right to left, top to bottom and then one more time. (kind of in a Y shape) and then you let it rest for another ten minutes. Repeat this process 4-5 times over the next hour. After that hour is up place it in the fridge (covered with plastic wrap). Make sure you put it in a big enough bowl so that it will have enough room to rise.

The next day

The next morning try to contain yourself as you check on your BEAUTIFUL dough. (well that is how it is for me anyway). Make sure the surface that you are working on is clean and dry. Then add about 2 Tablespoons of oil to the surface and with wet or oiled hands take out your dough. Cut into two pieces and form into loaves.

Next (this is how i let my loaves rise) preheat your oven to 400-450 for one minute and then promptly turn off. Let your bread rise in your oven for two hours before baking. And when it comes time to bake your bread (this is also the way I do it- and not necessarily the correct way) take the dough from the oven... carefully people- it is fragile. Place a cookie sheet with a lip on it or a 9x13 pan and then preheat your oven to 550 (this is from the book so don't think that I'm crazy). When the oven and the cookie sheet is preheated- take one cup of cold water ready to pour into the cookie sheet. (i use a glass measuring cup so that it is easy to pour and so you don't burn yourself). Remember to put your bread back in the oven BEFORE you give the steam bath. Then of course pour the water in the cookie sheet. (I think I made it more complicated than it really is.)

Turn the head down to 450 degrees and bake for 10-15 minutes. I usually check on it then (because it won't be done yet) and set for another 10-15 minutes. Keep a close eye on it because you don't want it to burn.

When you are finished place the bread on a cooling rack and let it rest for one hour (if you can last that long- good luck). and enjoy!

New name- but the same blog

Annie said that this blog was up for grabs a few months ago and I decided it would be fun to start a food blog to keep track of all of my recipes. And anyone who wants to join just email dontcrowdthemushrooms@gmail.com if you want to join. I am going to send invites here soon. So here is to you who need good ideas or just need to keep track of some of your favorites.

I'll try to give a reference to those recipes that I use and links to those recipes that are online. There are a lot of fun food blogs out there and it is fun to have new ideas for dinner. You know the meal that seems to come around EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. And sometimes it is a daunting task to face- but we can do it.

Happy Cooking. :)

The Blog Was Looking Lonely....

so I thought I'd add the following easy, fast recipe for pizza crust:

1 package dry yeast dissolved in 1 c. lukewarm water

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

2 Tbs. olive oil

2  1/2 c. flour

Dissolve the yeast in the water.  In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients.  Add water/yeast mixture and olive oil, stirring to combine.  Knead until smooth and well-blended.

Let rise for 10 minutes in a warm place, free from draft.

Spread a few tablespoons of olive oil on a cookie sheet or pizza pan, then pat out the dough on the cookie sheet.  Add pizza sauce, cheese and the toppings of your choice.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and crust is lightly browned.

Wendy Says: I always use at least a cup of whole-wheat flour, and the crust is still soft and delicious. 

Sandwiches

so i have never been ambitious enough to ever post on here... but one day i was making these AMAZING sandwiches (which i thought of myself) and i actually took pictures. :) go me!
what you need:
-bread
-turkey
-fresh mozzarella
-tomato
-avocado
-sprouts
-apple
-hungry people

cut the mozzarella, apple, tomato, and avocado all into thick slices. Next, toast the bread and then assemble... and there you have an AMAZING sandwich. :)

Ritz Chicken

Okay, I haven't posted in ages, but here's a good quick, easy recipe for you all.  I got it from a cookbook I got as a bridal shower gift.  It's pretty much just a collection of the Huffman family's favorite recipes.  (Note, I do not know who they are, but somehow one of my mother's recipes ended up in there.)

There are no exact measurements to this, so it's a little bit of trial and error.

Ingredients

Chicken breasts (as many as you need for however many people you have)

Ritz crackers* (1.5-2 sleeves should do it for three to four chicken breasts)

Grated parmesean cheese (in the bag or fresh, not in the can)

Garlic powder

Seasoning salt

Pepper

Butter

Cut your chicken breasts up into strips or nuggets, whatever you want.  You could probably even leave them whole.  Crush up the crackers and add the remaining ingredients (except butter).  I use a  big ziploc bag with the zipper closure, makes things so much easier.  Melt some butter in a dish.  Dunk the chicken in the butter, toss the pieces in the bag, close it up and shake to coat.  Put chicken on a cookie sheet.  Preheat your oven to 350.  Bake chicken for about 30-40 minutes.

*I use the low sodium Ritz.  You add quite a bit of salt with the seasonings.

Spinach and Strawberry Salad

I used to be very against fruit in a green salad but this has won me over! I got his recpie from my "aunt" Stacia. I say "aunt" because I am a year older than her! :) Thanks Stacia!

In a bowl combine:

Bag of spinach or you can use romaine (or use both!)

mushrooms (sliced)

sugared almonds (optional)

red onion

strawberries (sliced)

Dressing:

1/2 cup of sugar

1 cup of olive oil

1/3 cup of white or rice vinegar

1 1/2 tsp. dry mustard

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp poppy seeds (this can be optional!)

and some of the red onion chopped

add all of the ingredients into a processor or I use my blender and mix it together.

It is so good and I have been using it with the Parmesan Chicken dish instead of the lemon vinaigrette salad. A very nice fresh and light summer salad. I have cut the dressing recipe in half before . It just depends on how much of the salad you want to make.

Parmesan Chicken

I got this one from the Barefoot Contessa. It is a little more work but totally worth it. My husband loves this one and actually asks me to cook it. Just so you know I usually cut the recipe in half and that is plenty since you are pounding the chicken flat. Anyway, on to the recipe!

4 to 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup of flour
1 tsp. of salt
1/2 tsp of ground black pepper
2 extra large eggs
1 tbsp. of water
1 1/4 cups of seasoned dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
butter
good olive oil
salad greens for 6, washed and spun dry

Recipe for a Lemon Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1/2 cup good olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt


Pound the chicken breasts until they are 1/4 inch thick. You can use either a meat mallet or a rolling pin.

Combine the flour, salt and pepper on a dinner plate. On a second plate, beat the eggs with 1 tablespoon of water. On a third plate, combine the bread crumbs and 1/2 cup of grated parmesan. Coat the chicken breasts on both sides with the flour mixture, then dip both sides into the egg mixture and dredge both sides in the bread crumb mixture, pressing lightly.

Heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan and cook 2 or 3 chicken breasts on medium-low heat for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until cooked through. Add more butter and oil and cook the rest of the chicken. Toss the salad greens with lemon vinaigrette. Place a mound of salad on each HOT chicken breast. Serve with extra grated parmesan.

**I also cut the chicken breasts in half before I coat them with the mixtures. They seem to cook more evenly that way. Also, if you happen to use plain bread crumbs (as I have!) add some italian seasoning to the flour mixture.**