Bruschetta

In honor of Carina and Jamie's birthdays, we decided to throw a party - so that they could meet most of our good friends and because we just can't help ourselves.  We will throw a party for nearly every occasion.  Any excuse to have our friends over and enjoy some good food with some quality company, we'll take it!  This time we decided to make it bruschetta themed.  We were inspired by one of our favorite restaurants in Phoenix: Postino Wine Cafe.  Every time we go there, we get four different kinds of bruschetta, and their combinations are mouth watering!

My sisters and I went to a few different grocery stores to pick up tons of different topping options.  We, in part, followed a few recipes we discovered online that looked delicious, but we also let ourselves be inspired by the interesting produce we discovered at Trader Joes (pea sprouts, champagne grapes, etc.)

It made for a beautiful spread.

Here are the recipes I found online - each of them tasted amazing.  A few of them I adapted as I saw fit :)

Gorgonzola, Golden Raisin, and Arugula
Adapted from here
Ingredients
1/2 cup Mascarpone cheese
1/3 cup Gorgonzola cheese (more or less, to taste)
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup Marsala Wine
Arugula
Procedure
Mix the Mascarpone cheese with the Gorgonzola.  Use more or less Gorgonzola, as you see fit.  I'm not a big fan of strong blue cheese, so I tend to use less.  In a small sauce pan, combine the raisins and Marsala.  Cover, and let simmer until raisins look nice and plump.  Add more wine if necessary.  You should end up with plump golden raisins, with very little liquid remaining. Spread the cheese on toasted bread, top with a generous amount of raisins, and finish with fresh arugula.

Farmers Cheese, Beet Green and Arugula Pesto, and Crispy Pancetta
Adapted from here
Ingredients 

Fresh Farmers Cheese
Pancetta
Pesto (recipe here, only I added a few handfuls of arugula in with the beet greens, as well as the juice of half a lemon)
Procedure
Crisp the pancetta in a skillet over medium high heat - as you would with bacon, only don't cook quite as long. Spread some farmers cheese then beet green arugula pesto atop toasted bread.  Top with crispy pancetta.


Beet, Garlic Labneh, and Beet Green and Arugula Pesto
Adapted from here
Ingredients  

1 cup plain Greek yogurt
3 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp salt
3 large beets, with greens attached
Pesto (recipe here, only I added a few handfuls of arugula in with the beet greens, as well as the juice of half a lemon)
Walnuts
Procedure
Remove the beet greens, and set aside for the pesto.  Roast beets in the oven at 350 for about 30 minutes.  You want the beets to be slightly tender, but still slightly crunchy.  When beets have cooled, peel them (a potato peeler works well), then slice them into even slices.  I used a mandolin on the thickest setting.  Combine the garlic and salt in a mortar and pestle.  Grind into a paste.  Add it to the Greek yogurt and stir well to combine.  Store in the fridge for about an hour, to meld the flavors.  Make the pesto according to the recipe above.  I included arugula and lemon juice, for lack of enough beet greens, and for flavor.  Spread toasted bread with the Labneh (greek yogurt mixture you just made!).  Top with a couple beet slices, a dollop of pesto, and a few walnuts. 

Brie, Apple, and Bacon Onion Chutney
Adapted from here and here
Ingredients
Brie Cheese
sliced Granny Smith Apple (about 1/4" thick)
Bacon Onion Chutney (recipe here)
Procedure
Top toasted bread with a slice of Brie, apple slices, and a generous scoop of the bacon onion chutney.


Sweet Ricotta, Strawberry, and Chocolate
Adapted from here
Ingredients
2/3 cup Ricotta cheese
1/3 cup Mascarpone cheese
1 Tbs powdered sugar
1/4 tsp ground vanilla bean (optional, but makes it delicious and so pretty!) found here
sliced strawberries
dark chocolate shavings
Procedure
Mix all ingredients except the chocolate and the strawberries.  Spread onto toasted bread, top with strawberry slices, then sprinkle with chocolate shavings.


A few things I set out on the table that weren't from any of these recipes:
- chopped tomatoes tossed with cubed fresh mozzarella and fresh basil
- sliced fresh figs
- Jarlsberg cheese
- whole grain mustard
- balsamic vinegar reduction
- honey
- marionberry jam
- pomegranate jelly
- pea sprouts
- champagne grapes
- Parmesan cheese 


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English Muffins

 
Summer is finally here, I've returned from Berkeley, and now I've got time to cook and bake again!  Carsten requested a "gourmet sandwich" for dinner the other night, with homemade bread.  With only half a day to work with, I decided not to try and bake a real loaf of bread.  Good bread requires a bit more time.  Instead, I decided to try my hand at these English muffins I'd been eying for quite some time.  Back in college, Carsten and I found this cookbook, which we referred to often for our Sunday brunches.  But we never got around to trying out this particular recipe.  They turned out super delicious!  A little sweeter and slightly more biscuit-like than store bought muffins, but I think I prefer them this way!

I ended up serving them for dinner with fresh mozzarella, arugula, tomatoes, and a balsamic reduction.  It was delicious, however I still preferred them the simple way: toasted with butter (and maybe some of the chai infused honey I just bought up in San Francisco!).

Dathan, who is the master of Eggs Benedict, will be staying with us for the month of August!  He is doing a rotation out here at Loma Linda, and we're so excited to have him.  We'll have to make these again when he comes, so he can dazzle us with his egg poaching skills :)

 I apologize for the horrible pictures... I only had my phone around :/

Be warned though, while this cook book has many good ideas, I'm pretty sure the portion sizes are all wrong -- not just on this particular recipe.  For example, this recipe says "Yield: 8 muffins"  However, following the recipe exactly, we made 16!!  I should have guessed when I read "8 cups of flour..."

Ingredients
make about 16 muffins
1 Tbs yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups warm milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup powdered sugar
8 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt

Procedure
In a medium mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water and milk.  Let stand for 5 minutes, until foamy.  Add the melted butter, eggs, and powdered sugar, and mix well.  In a separate large mixing bowl, combine flour and salt.  Slowly add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture, and mix well with your hands.  Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and knead for 4 to 6 minutes.

Gently pat the dough down until about 1/2 inch thick.  Use a 3-inch round cookie cutter to cut as many muffins as you can.  Combine the scraps, and continue to cut more muffin rounds until there is no more dough.  Sprinkle your surface with cornmeal, and set muffins about 1 inch apart.  Let rise for 1 hour.

Heat a greased skillet over low to medium low heat.  (I have a gas stove, and had to have mine as low as possible.  I also had two skillets going at once, to speed up the process).  Cook the muffins about 7 minutes per side, until golden brown.  If your muffins are turning deep golden brown before 7 minutes, try lowering the heat.  Let muffins cool on a wire wrack.

To serve, split muffins with a fork, or with your hands (this will give that classic muffin texture, which cannot be achieved by slicing with a knife!) and toast in the toaster.

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Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Ingredients
Makes 2 loaves
1/2 cup warm milk
1/3 cup warm water
1 tsp (~.175 oz) active dry yeast
1 egg
2 Tbs and 2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbs and 2 tsp butter or margarine, softened
1/3 cup raisins
2 2/3 cup flour
2 Tbs milk
2 Tbs sugar
2 tsp cinnamon


Procedure
In a large mixing bowl combine warm water and yeast and let sit until yeast begins to froth. Add eggs, sugar, butter or margarine, salt, raisins, and milk. Add flour gradually until you have firm dough. Knead for 10ish min. Let rise in an oiled bowl until doubled in size (~60-90 mins). Divide dough in two Roll out dough into two large rectangle 9 inches wide. Combine sugar and cinnamon. Moisten dough with milk and sprinkle sugar cinnamon mixture. Roll the dough tightly and place in greased 9x5 baking pans. Cover and let rise until doubled (~45mins). Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 45 minutes, until lightly browned and sound hollow when knocked. Let cool before slicing.

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Vegan Cornbread

Ingredients
1 cup soymilk
1/4 cup (4 Tbs) margarine, melted
2 Tbs honey
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbs baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

Procedure
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together soymilk, margarine, honey and vinegar in large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring well to avoid lumps.
Pour batter into a well-greased muffin pan. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for about 10 minutes in pan before removing. Serve warm. Makes 12 muffins.

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Slightly adapted from a Vegetariantimes recipe.

Basic Pretzels

Ingredients
1 Tbs sugar
1 tsp salt
1 package, 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
22 oz flour, ~4 1/2 cups
1 3/4 cups warm water
1 egg plus 1 Tbs water, whisked
sea salt or pretzel salt for dusting

Procedure
Combine dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Add water and knead for approximately 10 minutes. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl to rise for 45-75 minutes.

Bring a large bowl half filled with water to boil. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Keep dough moist with a damp towel when its not being handled. Divide the dough into approximately 32 1 oz pieces. Shape into desired forms. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Carefully drop 4-5 pretzels at a time into the boiling water for 30ish seconds. Carefully remove and place on lined sheets. A spatula works well for removing the slippery dough from the boiling water. Brush the egg water wash on the pretzels and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 45-90 minutes or until pretzels have reached desired hardness. Feel free to eat them right out of the oven...delicious.

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Adapted from Alton Brown

Sattler Dresdner Christstollen

Ingredients
2.2 lbs (~7 cups) flour
25.6 g instant yeast
1 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
500 g (~2 cups) butter, melted
zest of one lemon
100 g chopped almonds
100 g candied lemon or orange peel
500 g raisins
60 g butter, melted
60 g powdered sugar



Procedure
Warm milk and flour slightly above room temp. In a small bowl combine yeast and sugar, combine. Put flour in a large mixing bowl. Add butter, sugar yeast mixture, lemon zest, and milk. Combine carefully with a wooden spoon. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead in the almonds, citrus peel, and raisins. Once everything is incorporated place dough in a greased mixing bowl and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour. Pre-heat oven to 360 degrees. Form dough into a long oval loaf and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 55-70 minutes or until a tester comes out clean and the stollen has a nice brownish sheen. Remove stollen from oven and immediately alternatively brush with melted butter and dust with powdered sugar. Serve warm or chilled.

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A Sattler Family Recipe

Basic Biscuits

Ingredients
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
5 cups flour
1 Tbs salt
10 Tbs or 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs chilled butter
2 cups buttermilk or 2 Tbs lemon juice and enough milk to make 2 cups

Procedure
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Combine dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Cut in the butter and mix in with your fingers until dough resembles coarse sand. Add buttermilk or milk lemon juice mixture. Mix until combined. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a minute or two. Roll out dough to 3/4 inch thickness; stamp out biscuit sized rounds and place on a lined baking sheet. Bake for about 12 minutes.

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Recipe care of here.

Pita Bread

Ingredients
1 Tbs active dry yeast
1 1/4 cups warm water
1 tsp salt
3-3 1/2 cups flour

Procedure
Dissolve yeast in water and let gurgle a bit (apprx 5 min). Mix together with flour and salt. Knead 10 or so minutes. Eight minutes in a electric mixture with a dough hook works perfectly. Divide dough into 6-15 pieces, depending on desired side, and roll each piece into a 1/8 inch think disk. Let disks rise on a lightly floured surface for 30-40 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Transfer disks onto lined baking sheets and bake for 12-17 mintues or until spendidly puffy and browned.

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Recipe from right here.

Pumpkin Spice Bread

Ingredients
15 oz (1 can pumpkin puree)
1/2 cup canola oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup applesauce
2/3 cup water
2 cups sugar
3 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbs instant coffee
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp cloves
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Procedure
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine pumpkin, oil, eggs, water, applesauce, and sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream together. Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Pour batter into two 9x5 baking pans. If desired mix in chocolate chips with half the batter for a Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Loaf. Bake for 60 minutes or until tester comes out clean.



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Adapted from an allrecipes recipe.

Pah Pah's Finish Cardamon Braid

makes 3 loaves

Ingredients
2 cups milk
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter (melted)
1 tsp salt
2 packages quick rise yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 eggs
1 tsp cardamon seeds (I used ground cardamon)
8 1/2 - 9 cups flour

Procedure
Warm the milk, stir in melted butter, sugar and salt. Sprinkle yeast over warm water, and stir to dissolve. Add yeast mixture, eggs, cardamon, and two cups flour to milk mixture. Beat with electric mixer or spoon until smooth. Gradually add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough that leaves the sides of the bowl. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface, knead about 10 minutes. Place in lightly greased bowl, turn dough over to lightly coat in oil. Let rise about 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Divide dough into thirds. Then divide each piece into thirds again, and braid. You should have three braided loaves. Place braids onto an ungreased baking sheet. let rise until double (30-45 minutes). bake 20 to 25 minutes at 375.


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Vegan Grape Bread

Ingredients
3/4 cup vegan crunchy peanut butter
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 cup soy milk
1 banana
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 Tbs milled flax seeds
1/3 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cups grapes
1/2 cups rolled oats

Procedure
Preheat oven to 450. In a large mixing bowl cream together peanut butter, agave nectar, soy milk, and banana. In a separate bowl combine milled flax and boiling water; let sit for 2 minutes before adding to the wet ingredients. Add flours, salt, and baking soda. Fold in grapes, and pour batter into a greased 5x9 baking pan. Bake for a really long time, like 45 minutes plus. Remove from oven when a tester comes out clean.

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Wholeish Wheat Bread

Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups flour
2 tsp salt
1 Tbs sugar
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water
3/4 cup warm milk

Procedure
Combine flours, salt, sugar and yeast in a large mixing bowl. Add water and milk (N.B. any combination of water and milk can be used as long as it equals 1 1/2 cups). Mix until combined. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 10-15 minutes. Let rise in a covered oiled bowl for 3-4 hours or until roughly doubled in size. Knead for another 3-4 minutes. Place in a oiled 5x9 baking pan, and let rise for an additional hour or so. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 425 degrees. Bake for an additional 15-25 minutes.



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Oma's Banana Bread

Ingredients
1/4 cup margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 Tbs water
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cups nutmeats

Procedure
Pree-heat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together margarine and sugar. Add egg and mix well. Add whole wheat flour, and combine. Combine water with banana in separate bowl and add alternatively with the rest of the dry ingredients. Mix well. Add nutmeats and vanilla. Pour into a greased 5x9 loaf pan. Bake for 60 min.



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Oma Buns

Ingredients
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup oil
2 Tbs honey
1 3/4 cups warm water
1 Tbs yeast
5 cups whole wheat flour


Procedure
Mix together salt, oil, honey, water, and three cups of flour until well combined. Add yeast; mix well. Add remaining flour, and knead for 10-15 minutes. If dough resists kneading too much let it rest for 5-10 minutes. Divide dough into eight equal portions, and form into balls. Let round loaves rise on a greased baking sheet for 45-60 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes.


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Simple Crackers

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 Tbs honey
1 Tbs vegetable oil
1/3-1/2 cups water
toppings

Procedure
Mix everything but the water together in a large bowl. Add just enough water for the dough to com together into a ball. Knead for 10-15 minutes or until you can stretch the dough thin enough with your hands to see light through it without it first breaking. Let rise in a covered oiled bowl for 1-2 hours at room temperature or for up to 12 (or so) in the fridge.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Let dough return to approximately room temperature before rolling as thin as you can directly onto a baking sheet. Sprinkle on toppings. Toppings may include herbs like oregano, basil, marjoram, seeds like flax and sesame, and spices like cinnamon, turmeric, all spice, and fennel.

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Zucchini Bread

Ingredients
3 eggs
1 cup oil
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups peeled & shredded zucchini
3 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
3 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 cup chopped walnuts


Procedure
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat eggs. Add oil, sugars, zucchini and vanilla. Mix lightly until well combined. Stir in flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, baking soda and baking powder. Mix in chopped walnuts and pour batter into two well-greased loaf pans. Bake 1 hour. If bread is still gooey in the middle, bake for another 10 minutes.


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Vegan Cornbread

Ingredients
2 Tbs ground flaxseed
6 Tbs water, boiling
1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup soy milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Procedure
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine ground flaxseed and boiling water in a small bowl. Stir, and set aside. In a mixing bowl, mix dry ingredients until well combined. Add flaxseed mixutre, soy milk, and oil. Stir until just combined. Pour into greased 8-inch square baking dish. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.



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Adapted from a RecipeZaar recipe.

Basic Pizza Dough

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups flour

2 1/4 tsp yeast

2 Tbs olive oil

1 tsp salt

1 Tbs sugar

1 cup warm water

Desired Toppings

Procedure

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl combine flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Add oil and water. Form into a ball and roll out to desired shape. Place on greased, corn meal dusted baking sheet or pizza pan. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven. Top as desired. Bake for 20-30 minutes or as desired

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Pain à l'Ancienne or Focaccia

Ingredients

6 cups flour

2 1/4 tsp salt

1 3/4 tsp yeast

2 1/4 - 3 cups ice cold water

Day One
Combine flour, salt, yeast, and 2 1/4 cups water in bowl of electric mixture, fitted with a paddle attachment, and mix for two minutes at low speed. If no mixer or paddle attachment are available use a large mixing bowl and a large spoon. Switch to a dough hook and mix for five to six minutes at medium speed. Add just enough water to keep the dough sticking to the bottom of the bowl but not so much as to make the dough stick to the sides of the bowl. If a bread hook and mixer are unavailable knead by hand for six to ten minutes. Oil a large bowl and transfer the dough. Place the bowl in the refrigerator overnight.

Day Two
Remove bowl from refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for two to three hours or longer if the the dough still has not doubled in size. Transfer dough to a floured surface, lightly as not to degas the dough. Lightly form the dough into a rectangle about 8 by 6 inches. With a long knife or a pastry cutter pinch the dough in half (don't saw back and forth). Let rest for five minutes.



Variation One: Pain à l'Ancienne
Preheat oven to 500 or 550 if possible. Set an empty cast iron pan or glass baking dish on the top shelf of the preheating oven. Take one half of the dough, and use the pastry cutter or knife to pinch the dough into three strips. Very carefully, as not to degas the dough, form the strips into long baguettes; if the dough stretches back as you form it let it sit for another five minutes or so. Transfer strips to a baking sheet lightly dusted with cornmeal. Slash dough if desired. Place baking pan in oven and immediately pour a cup of hot water into the heated cast iron pan or baking dish. Careful of the steam; close oven quickly. Wait thirty seconds, before you use a spray bottle to spray the sides of the oven with water. Repeat this step twice more at two minute intervals. After last spraying reduce heat to 475 degrees. After 8-9 minutes dough will turn golden brown. Continue baking for 1o-15 more minutes until the dough turns a deep golden caramel brown. Let cool for twenty minutes before cutting.





Variation Two: Focaccia

1/4 cup olive oil
spices to taste

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Take one half of the dough and stretch to double its original size. Place in a lightly oiled 9x13 baking pan. Drizzle oil and sprinkle spices. Use fingers to make indents into the surface of the dough. Attempt to make dimples of equal depth, and equally spaced. Bake until dough turns a light golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. Remove pan from oven and immediately remove the dough from the pan. Let cool for 20 minutes before slicing.


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Adapted from a The Bread Baker's Apprentice recipe

Chocolate Brioches

Ingredients

For dough:
1 tsp yeast
3 cups flour
1 1/2 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs honey
2 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
7 egg yolks
1/4 cups water
1/2 cup butter, cold and cut into small cubes

For Chocolate Truffles:
3/4 cup bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup buttermilk*
2 Tbs sweet and condensed milk*
1 Tbs butter
*If you don't have buttermilk and sweet and condensed milk, substitute 1/3 cup heavy cream.

First Day: In a mixer, using the dough hook, combine yeast, flour, sugar, vanilla and salt. add the yolks and the butter and mix until elastic and quite sticky, about 15 minutes. If dough looks dry while mixing, add the 1/4 cup water. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put in the fridge overnight.

To make the truffles: heat buttermilk and sweet and condensed milk (or cream) over medium heat until hot. Add chocolate and butter, and stir until melted and smooth. If you like, transfer it to a bowl, and refrigerate at least 4 hours. Make 12 truffles using spoons, cover, and freeze until use.

Next Day: Take the dough out of the bowl and knead a little on a floured surface. Divide dough into 13 balls. Flatten 12 of the balls, making the center the thinnest part. Place a chocolate truffle in the center, and bring the sides up around the chocolate to completely conceal it. Pinch seems together so the chocolate won't leak out too much while baking. Place each ball in a well greased muffin tin. Divide the 13th ball of dough into 12 little balls, placing one on top of each filled ball. Let rise at room temperature for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350degrees. Bake about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Best served in day of baking.

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adapted from a Baking For the Cure recipe.