This is based on a muffin recipe by Mark Bittman; I tweaked it to use some orange juice and — shocker — some Crasins. These are so good for breakfast, brunch, or even a snack! The Mickey Mouse muffin pan is not required, but certainly adds some cuteness. It does not, however, convince the Kiddo [...]]]>

This is based on a muffin recipe by Mark Bittman; I tweaked it to use some orange juice and — shocker — some Crasins. These are so good for breakfast, brunch, or even a snack! The Mickey Mouse muffin pan is not required, but certainly adds some cuteness. It does not, however, convince the Kiddo to eat any; your mileage may vary. Recipe made one dozen Mickey muffins.

You will need:

• 1 1/2 cups  flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup sugar, or to taste
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup milk, plus a little more if needed
• 1 cup Crasins, fresh cranberries or frozen cranberries (no need to defrost first)

To make the muffins:

1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. Mix dry ingredients together, then either mix egg  through milk separately or in a well in the middle of the dry ingredients (my preferred method). Add in berries and gently fold everything together till it’s just barely incorporated; lumps are your friends
3. Bake in a well greased or paper lined muffin pan for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick in the middle comes out clean. Cool in a metal or glass pan pan for 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack, longer for a silicone pan (wait for silicone to be cool to the touch for best results)

These. Are. Amazing. I can say that without bragging because it’s not my recipe; I just made ‘em.

This is a Mark Bittman (I love him) recipe that I scribbled down on a piece of paper without much documentation; I’ll assume it’s either from one of his NYT articles or from How to Cook Everything. These [...]]]>

These. Are. Amazing. I can say that without bragging because it’s not my recipe; I just made ‘em.

This is a Mark Bittman (I love him) recipe that I scribbled down on a piece of paper without much documentation; I’ll assume it’s either from one of his NYT articles or from How to Cook Everything. These top every single homemade tortilla I’ve ever made or eaten, and they’re quick and easy to boot. NO BRAINER.

You will need:

• 1 1/2 cups (7 oz) AP flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp. lard (yes, lard, people — don’t be afraid)
• 1/2 cup warm water

To make:

1. Dust off your food processor and dump in the flour, salt and lard; pulse about ten times to cut in the fat
2. With the machine running, add the water till the dough kind of all the sudden comes together in a ball
3. Dump it on the counter and knead by hand for about one minute, then wrap in plastic wrap to rest for at least 15 minutes, but up to all day at room temperature
4. Cut the dough into six pieces and heat a large (cast iron if you have it) skillet for 4-5 minutes on medium; roll out or press the tortillas till they’re quite thin, then cook for about 1-2 minutes on each side, till little browned spots appear. Eat immediately (duh), or keep warm by wrapping in a towel, or cool then keep in the fridge in a large zip top bag.

I used these to make quesadillas with some leftover steak and cheese, but they’re also heavenly for veggie wraps, or slathered in butter and cinnamon sugar and rolled up for breakfast. Enjoy!

Is this thing on?

I’m so sorry for my absence of late. I’ve been a little pregnant, you see (throws confetti).  And while this is awesome and nothing short of a miracle, I’ve been rocking the kind of symptoms that have left me avoiding the kitchen like the plague. But there’s starting to be a [...]]]> *tap tap*

Is this thing on?

I’m so sorry for my absence of late. I’ve been a little pregnant, you see (throws confetti).  And while this is awesome and nothing short of a miracle, I’ve been rocking the kind of symptoms that have left me avoiding the kitchen like the plague. But there’s starting to be a teensy light at the end of the tunnel, and this week I actually cooked something. I did not, I’m afraid, take pictures of it. Baby steps. So to speak.

ANYWAY.

These are a knockoff of Olive Garden’s breadsticks; I found the recipe in an old Food Network magazine. They have the yum.

You will need for the dough:

• 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 4 1/4 cups AP flour
• 2 Tbsp butter, softened
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp salt

You will need for the topping:

• 3 Tbsp butter, melted
• 1/4 – 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• Pinch of dried oregano

To make the dough:

They’re not biscuits. I promise.

They’re bagels, but without holes. Get it? Unholey? I’ll be here till Thursday!

No, seriously. No holes = more surface area for cream cheese. That’s a total win in my book.

I had a couple bags of clementine puree in the freezerleft over from the Cutie Cakes so I decided to [...]]]>

They’re not biscuits. I promise.

They’re bagels, but without holes. Get it? Unholey? I’ll be here till Thursday!

No, seriously. No holes = more surface area for cream cheese. That’s a total win in my book.

I had a couple bags of clementine puree in the freezerleft over from the Cutie Cakes so I decided to see if I could work them into bagels. Batch #2 was a success! Batch #1 involved dead yeast. D’oh. Anyhoo, work these up like super simple bagels:

Make an overnight starter of:

• 2 1/8 oz bread flour (I actually used AP flour for the starter and it was fine)
• 2 oz. cool water
• a pinch of yeast

and let it sit, covered, overnight at room temperature.

The next day add to the mixture:

• 12 oz clementine puree* (or 10 ounces clementine and 2 ounces water)
• 18 oz flour (bread flour would be great)
• 1 1/2 tsp yeast
• 1 3/4 tsp salt

And now:

1. Knead, knead, knead, especially if you’re using bread flour. When it’s lovely and smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes in a stand mixer) then let it rise for about an hour; punch it down and let it rise again for another 30 minutes
2. Transfer to a work surface (I use a silicone mat) and either divide into equal pieces, or roll out and cut out with a biscuit cutter if you’re doing the unholey version; cover with plastic wrap and let them sit for about 30 minutes while you preheat the oven to 425F and get a large pot of water boiling
3. At the end of 30 minutes drop the bagels four at a time into boiling water, cooking for 1 minute on the first side, then flipping and boiling for three more minutes, then bake for about 20 minutes or until they’re nicely browned

*Need a refresher on clementine puree? Put five clementines in a pot and pour in enough cold water to cover; bring to a boil then cook at somewhere between a simmer and a boil for two hours; drain and cool, then halve the clementines and run them through a food processor (the whole fruit) until you have a smooth puree. Easy!

Enjoy!

My sister accused me of stealing these from Logan’s and passing them off as my own. They are that yummy. This is, of course, a King Arthur Flour recipe; can you ever go wrong with those? I think not. Gather up:

I tried, y’all. I really tried. But this is just one of those suppers that tastes a million times better than it looks.

A few months back I tried to make something out of an old cookbook of my mama’s; it was similar to this but used polenta and unseasoned ground beef. It was… dismal. So [...]]]>

I tried, y’all. I really tried. But this is just one of those suppers that tastes a million times better than it looks.

A few months back I tried to make something out of an old cookbook of my mama’s; it was similar to this but used polenta and unseasoned ground beef. It was… dismal. So last night I decided to make up my own version. Success! SO tasty and good gravy it smelled amazing. The Yankee ate three helpings for supper; this counts as a thumbs-up, no?

You will need:

• One pound ground beef
• One packet taco seasoning
• Water
• One cup shredded cheese (I used cheddar)
• One box Jiffy corn muffin mix
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 400F
2. In a deep skillet (I obviously used cast iron) brown up and drain the ground beef; add in taco seasoning and 2/3 cup water and let it simmer (i.e. follow directions on taco seasoning packet)
3. Mix up Jiffy cornbread according to package directions, but use two eggs instead of one to give yourself a little extra batter
4. Turn off the heat under the ground beef and sprinkle on shredded cheese; spread cornbread batter over the top and bake at 400F for about 15-20 minutes or until cornbread is lightly browned on top

That’s it! This is perfect for a quick fall supper that tastes like you put hours of work into it. So warm and filling without you actually having to stand over the stove forever and a day. What’s not to love?

Disclaimer: Jiffy cornbread does not know that I exist; I just love the stuff.

Kiddo’s Aunt Burgle came in town for her birthday this year. Party! We always make Krispy Kreme bread pudding when she’s here but I wanted to up the ante a bit with some chocolate and some icing, it being her birthday and all. Want to try it yourself? Break out your fat pants and gather:

Wondering how to add a few calories to your breakfast?

Allow me.

These are really super easy to make (along with, uh, everything else I ever blog) and are such comfort food for breakfast! You will need:

See, King Arthur has a smaller pain de mie pan now, which is awesome. Like so:

I was excited about this because it takes us a while to work through a loaf of bread sometimes; Kiddo will go on a bread jag and eat nothing but this for a week [...]]]> Math skillz: I haz none.

See, King Arthur has a smaller pain de mie pan now, which is awesome. Like so:

I was excited about this because it takes us a while to work through a loaf of bread sometimes; Kiddo will go on a bread jag and eat nothing but this for a week and a half, and then not want to see it near his face for three weeks. It’s hard to predict. I slice it and keep it in the freezer so there’s always some on hand, and the smaller size pan makes just enough bread to fit in a one-gallon zip top bag. Perfect!

The problem is that King Arthur doesn’t have a whole wheat recipe for this size pan yet. So set out to convert the larger pain de mie recipe down to a size that fits the smaller pan.  I can’t tell you how long it took me to do enough math to convert this recipe. Well, I could but then I’d be embarrassed. Someone like The Yankee or my big brother could probably convert this in less time than it took for me to assume the appropriate thinky face (I totally stole that from Barefoot Foodie), but it took me slightly longer. But now it’s done and I will celebrate — with good bread.

So with your nifty smaller pain de mie pan, try this:

• 2/3 cup lukewarm milk
• 2/3 cup lukewarm water
• 2 ounces butter
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons + 1 1/4 teaspoons dry milk
• 2/3 cup potato flakes
• 13.75 ounces flour (or 3 1/4 cups)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast

1. Mix all ingredients in order then knead — about eight minutes by stand mixer — until dough is smooth. Transfer to a lightly greased bowl or spray a little nonstick spray around the mixing bowl and let dough rise till nice and puffy, about 90 minutes. I set the sprayed mixing bowl with the dough in the oven (off) with a pan of water that’s been just brought to a boil; think sauna for your dough
2. Lightly grease a small pain de mie pan pan, then shape the risen dough into a log; pat into the pan, flattening the top as well as you can. Cover it with plastic wrap and let it rise till the dough is about half an inch below the top of the pan (this will take about 45 minutes)
3. Spray the lid of the pan with nonstick spray and carefully slide it onto the pan — don’t deflate the dough! — and let the bread continue rising while your oven preheats to 350F (ideally about 15 more minutes)
4. Bake for 25 minutes, then remove the lid (carefully!) and bake for another 10 or 15 minutes until the middle of the loaf reads 190F, then turn out onto a wire rack; immediately brush with melted butter for an even softer crust

You know… like bread pudding, but biscuits? And OH MAH GAH this is amazing. This may be the ultimate comfort food. And yet another recipe that tastes a million times better than it looks.

See, my fabulous sister got me these books from Cades Cove, which is my most favorite place on earth. It’s [...]]]>

You know… like bread pudding, but biscuits? And OH MAH GAH this is amazing. This may be the ultimate comfort food. And yet another recipe that tastes a million times better than it looks.

See, my fabulous sister got me these books from Cades Cove, which is my most favorite place on earth. It’s home in every sense of the word. I’ve been picnicking at Carter-Shields as long as I can remember, and The Yankee and I love taking Kiddo there now to splash around and count “water spiders” down by the mill.

ANYHOO… the books. The books are Recipes, Remedies and Rumors from the Cades Cove Preservation Association. And they’re fantastic. Poison snake bite cure for dogs? In there. Squirrel dumplings? You bet. But also pork tenderloin, chicken and dumplings, fried potato cakes, you name it.

And my new favorite: biscuit pudding! This is criminally easy:

• 5 cooked leftover biscuits, crumbled
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Assemble your ingredients, then:

1. In a medium bowl beat 2 eggs, and add sugar, milk, nutmeg and vanilla and mix
2. Crumble in biscuits and stir
3. Pour into a greased 8×8 pan and bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes

See what I’m saying? So easy. And so, so good.