Flour tortillas

breakfast, lunch, sides, snacks, supper 6 Comments

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

This is a Mark Bittman 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.

Flour tortillas

Ingredients

  • 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

Instructions

  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!

 

Garlic butter breadsticks

baking 7 Comments

*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 bread sticks; I found the recipe in an old Food Network magazine. They have the yum.

Garlic butter breadsticks

Ingredients

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

Instructions

Make the dough:
  1. Mix all ingredients together in stand mixer bowl till dough forms (this will take about five minutes), then knead with the hook attachment for about 2 minutes, or by hand for about three minutes or until very smooth
  2. Roll into a 2-foot long log, then cut into 16 pieces (just cut the log, then logs in half over and over till you have 16 pieces; measuring is for the birds), and place these 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper; cover with a cloth and let them rise until doubled. The original recipe said this would take 45 minutes, but with my A/C cranking it took more like 2 hours, which is fine — just watch for them to get nice and puffy
  3. Preheat the oven to 400F while you melt the butter for the topping
  4. Brush the breadsticks with about half the butter then sprinkle on the salt
  5. Bake until very lightly golden, about 12-15 minutes, while you combine the garlic powder and oregano; pull the breadsticks out and brush them with the butter, then sprinkle on the garlic/oregano mixture

Enjoy!

Nutella shortbread bites

baking, breakfast, dessert, snacks 9 Comments

It’s been at least a week since I posted a recipe with Nutella! What am I thinking? I can stop anytime I want. Ahem.

ANYWAY!

This will shock you, but this is a ridiculously easy recipe; a riff on the also ridiculously easy shortbread two ways.

Nutella shortbread bites

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
  • 2 Tbsp. Nutella
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar (unsifted)
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup flour (unsifted)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325F
  2. Cream the butter until the color lightens, then cream in powdered sugar, then Nutella, then vanilla, then flour
  3. Knead briefly without adding any flour until dough is smooth (look for it to be a uniform color)
  4. Scoop dough by the teaspoon onto a parchment-paper lined cookie sheet — they’re fine just left as little rounds, no need to flatten them out
  5. Bake for 20-30 minutes until very lightly browned, then transfer to a wire rack to cool
  6. Eat as is, or dust with powdered sugar as below:

These are AWESOME with coffee. Or for breakfast. Or after supper. Or as a snack. Or, um, well you get the idea.

Buzzy Brownies

baking, dessert Leave a comment

My sweet friend Sarah has a love for Starbucks VIA. When Kiddo and I were getting a college care package together for her last week I was already planning some basic brownies…. and then I saw the VIA in the cabinet. Score! The result? Fudgy, caffeinated, rich chocolaty brownies. I, ahem, may have eaten one before I sent the rest off. Just so I could report back to y’all, obviously.

Buzzy Brownies

Ingredients

  • 1 stick butter
  • 1-2 tbsp chocolate chips
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1/8 tsp baking powder
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 pack VIA coffee or a Tbsp. or so of espresso powder

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350F
  2. Spray a 9 inch square pan with nonstick spray, then lay in a piece of parchment paper just wide enough to cover the bottom of the pan, and long enough so the paper hangs off both sides of the pan by a good few inches (you’re making a sling for your brownies). Spray the parchment paper with nonstick spray
  3. Melt the butter with the chocolate chips (I did this in the microwave), then add in sugar and cocoa, mixing well. Add dry ingredients and eggs and mix again
  4. Spread into your prepared pan and bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted halfway between the middle and the edge of the pan comes out clean
  5. Remove the pan from the oven and wait 5 minutes, then use the sling to pull the brownies out of the pan and transfer to a cutting board; cut the brownies with a plastic knife (I don’t know why this works, but it keeps the brownies from getting torn up), then use the sling again to transfer to a wire rack to cool completely

Polenta pizza

supper 3 Comments

As promised, another recipe from The Cousin! May I say that this pairs beautifully with margaritas? 🙂

We made two sheet pans of this to feed the assorted family we had collected at the house that night; The Cousin wrote down the recipe for one sheet pan for a more reasonable size.

Polenta pizza

Ingredients

  • 2.5 cups dry polenta
  • 9 cups milk
  • 2-3 cups Parmesan cheese
  • Salt

Instructions

  1. Brink milk to a boil (it is so, so likely to boil over so don’t walk away), and slowly add polenta, stirring constantly with a whisk then a wooden spoon as it gets thicker
  2. When mixture is starting to thicken stir in Parmesan cheese and salt; continue cooking, stirring fairly often until it is “uber thick” (so sayeth The Cousin)
  3. Spread onto greased sheet pan and cool uncovered in fridge until firm
  4. Top at will (see below) and bake at 400F until cheese is melted

Topping ideas:

  • The Cousin recommends fresh mozzarella, fresh basil and fresh tomatoes. I totally concur
  • Classic toppings like pepperoni, sausage, etc? Also good
  • Sun dried tomatoes on pizza rock my world. I highly recommend
  • Other than that? Go crazy! Let me know what you come up with