Thanksgiving Shortcuts in the Kitchen

Yes, we are in that month where we are thinking about guest lists, menus, and plans for  a holiday dinner. My ever-present notebook is always at hand but lots more scribbling going on in it at this time of the year.

Here is one super-fast recipe that will make you look like a culinary expert in the kitchen!

For a nice breakfast snack with the first cup of coffee of the day, Monkey Bread is always a welcome addition. There are many, many recipe versions but this one is easy to get in the oven and baked within 30 minutes. Okay, 35 minutes if you decide to ice them, too.

Monkey Bread

3 cans of refrigerated biscuits (I like using the flaky type but any will do nicely.)
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (margarine would be okay, too)
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons water
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans
2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or vegetable oil spray a Bundt pan or any round cake pan with high sides. Place the chopped nuts evenly over the bottom of the baking pan.

Cut each biscuit into fourths. Kitchen scissors make fast work of this. Combine the granulated sugar and spices in a bowl. Roll each piece of biscuit in the mixture. Place in prepared baking pan.

In a small pot, melt the butter, brown sugar, water, and vanilla together. Bring to a boil and boil for about two minutes, stirring constantly. Pour over the biscuits in the baking pan. Bake for approximately 20-30 minutes. Biscuits should be golden. Cool for a few minutes and turn out onto a serving plate. Pour the glaze over the still warm treat and let it drip down the sides!

Fast glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Enough milk to form a glaze.

Pay Day Panic? Not in My Kitchen!

There is food enough in the cupboards to last until payday but anything extra or special will have to wait . . . unless you happen to have six cups of flour, a packet of yeast, salt and water available. Although it seems an unlikely combination to evolve into something of any particular palate-pleasing result, there are possibilities.

First you have to mix up the basis of your future inspirations! Dissolve the yeast in a quarter cup of cool water. Put in the flour, salt and enough water to form into a pliable dough. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. The time you spend kneading give you moments to start creating possibilities! Place the kneaded dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside to double in bulk. Go on with your life as this can take a couple of hours depending on the weather.

You come back later to find a delightful, great batch of dough pushing against the plastic film. Pull back the wrap, take a deep breath of the smell of developing bread dough and. . .punch it down! I know! It hurts to seemingly destroy that beautiful puff of dough but this procedure helps develop the flavor of the final outcome and it will rise again.

Now you come to the creative part of your day. What do you need to round out your family’s snack time or meal? Do you need sweet, savory or plain? The following are some suggestions but remember almost anything works and with a little thought you can come up with that secret, family recipe.

Rolls are always nice with a meal. They stretch the calories and everyone loves them. You can take half your dough and divide into roll size bits. Carefully curve them into smooth rolls, place them on a lightly-greased cookie sheet, let rise and bake at 425 degrees for about ten minutes. In fact, with a little forethought, the rolls can exit the oven as your family enters the kitchen for dinner. A brush with beaten egg before baking and a pinch of poppy seeds on the top, will make them even more spectacular.

The other half of your dough can be placed in a loaf pan and when it has risen, baked at 425 degrees until you have a golden loaf to be put aside for breakfast the next morning.
Now if bread is not what you sweet tooth wants, you can pinch off tablespoons of dough, roll them into pencil-thin lengths and deep-fry them until brown. Drain them on paper towel, pile them on a platter and dust with confectioners’ sugar. This makes a good dessert during the hiatus between paydays. You can also shake them in cinnamon and sugar for a donut-like treat.
You aren’t in the mood for sweet or plain? Take a portion of the dough, roll it out into a rectangular (or as near as possible!). Sprinkle a generous handful of grated cheese (your choice) over the dough. Fold the dough together, roll out again and repeat with the cheese. Do this three or four times, depending on how much you like cheese. With the final rolling, cut dough into narrow strips,, place about an inch apart on greased baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees about ten to fifteen minutes.

If you take the time to figure out the price of flour, your investment in time will make the days between payday so easy, you may forget to watch for payday. . .but I doubt it!

Gluten-Free and It All Seems Normal!

Before we had to curtail the use of gluten in our household for my husband’s health, a favorite dinner would often be soup, salad, and two or three kinds of freshly-baked bread. I enjoyed baking and the preparation was part of the fun for me. As you can imagine, you take away the gluten, you take away the structure of bread and often the results are very un-bread-like! However, the last few years has gotten a lot of people interested in making gluten-free baking better and taking away the ‘poor me’ syndrome!

Last night, I happened upon three bread recipes that were easy and quickly accomplished. The bread had to cool until dinner so I was anxious to cut into the loaves and see if the texture was close enough to the real deal. As you can see from the picture, anyone would be hard put to realize they were eating a gluten-free product. My husband was happy to have the selection especially with the rye bread recipe. Nothing like a slice of rye slathered with butter.

In all, I made a Brioche bread, Rye bread, and plain, old white bread. I was hoping to have enough left to cube and make stuffing for a turkey breast I have in the freezer but it doesn’t look likely! I’ll take it as a compliment!

Flaounes – Breaking the Easter Fast!

Flaounes (Easter Cheese breads)
From Cyprus, these are the breads used to break the Lenten Fast.

Approximately 4 cups flour
1 tablespoon or packet yeast
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp.. sugar
2 tbsp.. olive oil
Filling:
8 oz. cheddar cheese
4 oz. mozzarella
1 tbsp. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tbsp. crushed dried mint, optional
4 eggs, lightly beaten
To Finish:
1 egg, beaten
sesame seeds

Make the dough. Sift the flour into a large bowl. Stir in the yeast, salt and sugar. Add the oil and enough water to make a firm dough. Knead for at least 5 minutes. Put into a polythene bag and leave to rise in a warm place for an hour.

Make filling. Coarsely grate the cheeses, add flour and baking powder then gradually stir in the mint and beaten eggs until you have a stiffish paste.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Divide the dough into egg size pieces and roll into 4 ” discs. Put a generous tbsp. of filling in the center of each disc and spread slightly. Pull the dough up at 4 points to make a square. Press the corners together to seal and leave to rise.

Just before baking, brush with the beaten egg and sprinkle some sesame seeds over. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the cheese filling has puffed up and the pastry is golden. Serve warm or cold.

Yam Bread (and more!) Or, It’s Cold Outside So Bake!

Yam Bread

2/3 cup shortening
2 2/3 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 cups cooked yams
2/3 cup water
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
2/3 cups coarsely chopped nuts
2/3 cup raisins (optional)

Whip up the yams until fairly smooth.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottoms only of two loaf pans, 9x5x3 inches.

Mix shortening and sugar in large bowl. Add eggs, yams, and water. Blend in flour, baking soda, salt, baking power, cinnamon, and clovers. Stir in nuts and raisins. Pour into pans. (If batter seems too dry, you can always add bits of juice or water but go slowly as you don’t want it runny.)

Bake about an hour or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Loosen sides of loaves from pans; remove and cool completely before slicing.

Pumpkin Bread
Substitute yams for 2 cups of canned pumpkin.

Zucchini Bread
Substitute 3 cups shredded zucchini. Blend in 2 teaspoons vanilla with the clovers. Decrease baking time to under 60 minutes

Banana Bread
Substitute 3 very ripe, smashed (and it ain’t easy getting them drunk!) bananas

Cranberry Walnut Bread
One cup roughly chopped fresh or frozen cranberries and ½ cup toasted, chopped walnuts.

St. Patrick’s Day . . . and Beer Bread!

St. Patrick’s Day approaches and nothing goes better with a holiday meal than this simple recipe and it keeps with the modern approach of enjoying beer that day!

Beer Bread
A quick, easy, and tasty loaf of bread! Grease a loaf pan with vegetable oil spray.

3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 12-ounce can of beer

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan. Combine all ingredients, mixing well. Pour into prepared pan and bake for one hour our until golden