mizchef

posted by admin on Nov 17

Today is National Homemade Bread Day. Making homemade bread is a beautiful thing and I often wish I had more time to do it. I thoroughly enjoyed the bread-baking class at the Natural Gourmet Institute and the students made some gorgeous loaves. Check out the photos HERE. You can also get the recipe for Whole Wheat Poppyseed Bread there, too (seen in photo on the right).

And because the holidays are coming up, here’s a recipe for Braided Challah Bread, courtesy of Bread-recipe.com.

Braided Challah Bread

Ingredients

2 (1/4-ounce) packages active dry yeast or 5 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water (105°F to 115°F / 40°C to 45°C) – divided use
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 tablespoons corn oil
3 large eggs – divided use
4 3/4 cups all-purpose or bread flour – divided use
3 tablespoons poppy or sesame seeds

Directions

• In a small bowl, combine yeast, 1/2 cup warm water and sugar. Leave it in a warm place for 5 minutes.
• Beat the rest of warm water with salt, corn oil, 2 eggs, yeast and 2 1/2 cups flour in a separate bowl. Beat often for 5 minutes or until elastic. Stir in 2-1/4 cups more flour gradually, working flour into dough thoroughly.
• Turn flour onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic. In a greased bowl, put dough and turn to coat the top. Use a plastic wrap to cover and leave it to rise in a warm place for an hour or until doubled.
• Prepare 2 cookie sheets and grease with oil.
• Deflate dough and knead for 1 minute. Divide into 6 portions and roll each one into equal 15-inches long. Make 2 braids using 3 strands for each. Cover with a dish towel and leave it to rise for 45 minutes or until doubled.
• Prepare the oven to 375 degrees F preheat settings.
• Whisk the egg and brush it over the loaves in an upward motion. Sprinkle top with seeds and bake for 35 minutes. Loosely cover with foil if it appears to brown too fast. Cool over wire racks when done.
• Makes 2 loaves.

posted by admin on Oct 24

On this day in history, Good & Plenty candy was introduced in 1893. Produced by the Quaker City Confectionery Company in Philadelphia, G&P is the oldest branded candy in the United States. There was a theme song to accompany a cartoon character named Choo Choo Charlie,who was introduced as the “spokesperson” for the candy. These were the lyrics:

Once upon a time there was an engineer
Choo Choo Charlie was his name, we hear.
He had an engine and he sure had fun
He used GOOD & PLENTY candy to make his train run.
Charlie says “Love my GOOD & PLENTY!”
Charlie says “Really rings my bell!”
Charlie says “Love my GOOD & PLENTY!”
Don’t know any other candy that I love so well!

I just remember the commercial from the 1970s with the box that moved like a train in time to the words: “Good n plenty, good n plenty, good n plenty.”

I had a friend and co-worker once who absolutely loved Good & Plenty and once in a while for Christmas or her birthday,  I would wrap up a box of G&P for her. It always made her smile.

Anyway, hope this brought back some good childhood memories for you.

posted by admin on Aug 6

August 6 is National Root Beer Float Day, and if you have a sweet tooth, there’s nothing easier than a root beer float. There are some fancy schmancy recipes out there that call for eggs, vanilla extract, and some other ingredients, but the original, and purest, recipe calls for only two ingredients: vanilla ice cream and root beer.

mccormick.com

Ice cream sodas in general were invented by Robert M. Green in 1874, when he ran out of ice for his sodas and decided to use ice cream instead, hoping it would pass unnoticed. Needless to say, it went over pretty well. Credit for the root beer float is generally given to Frank Wisner of Cripple Creek, Colorado. The story goes that he was drinking a glass of root beer and the full moon illuminating the snow-capped Cow Mountain inspired him to drop some vanilla ice cream into the root beer, which is why it’s also sometimes called a ‘”brown cow.”

So here is a simple, but excellent, recipe for a classic American root beer float.

Root Beer Float

Vanilla ice cream
Root beer

posted by admin on Aug 5

Blueberry waffles. Belgian waffles. Buttermilk waffles. They all sound good, right? Waffles have become an American breakfast classic. And today is National Waffle Day. Happy, happy, joy, joy!

Waffles may seem like a contemporary invention, but they’ve actually been around quite a long time, some say as early as the ancient Greek period. The word waffle is derived from the word wafer. According to legend,  during the Middle Ages, bakers wanted to compete with monasteries, where communion wafers were made, and came up with the waffle.

kfc.com

Waffles received a marketing boost when Thomas Jefferson bought a waffle iron in France and began serving waffles in the White House. Culinary history tells us that he began a waffle trend, and “waffle parties” became de rigueuracross the U.S.  Belgian waffles became popular after they were introduced at the 1964 World’s Fair in Queens, New York.

The waffle iron was invented by Cornelius Swarthout of Troy, New York. He patented his “device to bake waffles” on August 24, 1869.

In the interest of keeping things healthy, here is a recipe for “Healthy Waffles,” courtesy of Waffle-Recipe.com. Enjoy!

Healthy Waffles

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups skim milk or water
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat a waffle iron, and coat with cooking spray if necessary.

2. Sift dry ingredients – flour, flax seed, wheat germ, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl and set aside.

3. Beat eggs in a separate bowl.

4. Add remaining liquid ingredients – milk, oil, applesauce, and vanilla together and whisk until well blended.

5. Add liquid ingredients to flour mixture and stir until smooth.

6. Pour batter into waffle iron and cook until crisp and golden brown.

posted by admin on Jul 21

Okay, I don’t know who came up with this one, but it’s National Junk Food Day. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy some junk food every now and then–especially during a certain time of the month. I probably single-handedly put someone’s kid over at the Dorito factory through college. But a day to glorify the artery-clogging, diabetes-inducing, blood pressure-elevating, fake, synthetic, chemical-laden, dye-colored, fried, carbo-loaded crap? I don’t know how I feel about that.

www.flowersbyvalerie.com

Although, I must say, when you have that craving for something crunchy, salty, sweet, gooey,

chocolatey, flavor-packed snack that reminds you of your childhood or your fun college days, or that’s always made you feel better when you’re depressed, there doesn’t seem to be an adequate substitute.

Okay, okay. Just for today. Go get a Twinkie. Or Dipsy Doodles. Or some Jolly Ranchers.

Now, where’s that bag of Doritos?

posted by admin on Jul 19

Do you really need a reason to eat ice cream? Neither do I. But in case you’re looking for one, here it is: July 19 is National Ice Cream Day. This is aside from National Ice Cream Month, which I wrote about HERE. (Remember Tom Carvel and those commercials?) Did you know that both National Ice Cream Month and Day were proclaimed by President Ronald Reagan? Yep. So, whether you approved or disapproved of him as a President, this, if nothing else, was a good thing he did.

There are so many different kinds of ice cream and so many different flavors that you could have something different every single night for a year and never have the same thing twice. And making your own is not difficult. In my book, What, No Meat? Traditional Italian Cooking the Vegetarian Way, I have recipes for Tortoni and the classic Spumoni. Here is my recipe for Spumoni. Enjoy!

Spumoni

© Roberta Roberti
From What, No Meat? Traditional Italian Cooking the Vegetarian Way

2 cups milk
5 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (½ pint) heavy cream
1/3 cup maraschino cherries, finely chopped
1/3 cup blanched almonds, finely chopped
2 tablespoons brandy (optional)

Turn the refrigerator control to the coldest setting. Bring about an inch of water to a boil in the bottom part of a double boiler, then reduce it to a simmer.

In the top part of the double boiler, mix the milk, egg yolks, salt, and 3/4 cup of the sugar. Cook the mixture, stirring constantly, until a thin layer coats a metal spoon, about 8 to 12 minutes. Allow it to cool at room temperature, or to cool it quickly, place the top part of the double boiler in a bowl filled with ice water and stir it. Add the vanilla and blend well.

Pour the mixture into a clean casserole dish, a mold, or a loaf pan and freeze it until it is almost firm, about 2 hours.

Whip the cream with an electric beater on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold in the remaining sugar, the cherries, almonds, and brandy and blend well.

Remove the first mixture from the freezer. Scoop up the middle and push it up the sides of the dish to create a well in the center. Fill the well with the cream mixture. Cover the mold with plastic wrap and freeze it until firm, about 3 to 4 hours.

Scoop out the spumone and place it into individual dessert dishes. Or to plate the entire mold, invert it over a serving dish. Rub the bottom and sides of the tray or dish with a hot cloth until it slides off the spumoni. Serve immediately, alone or with pizzelles or chocolate rolls on the side.

Store it in a container with a tight-fitting lid in the freezer up to 4 weeks.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

posted by admin on Jul 12

It’s National Pecan Pie Day and this dessert is a classic American one. I imagine, though, that many people who once enjoyed reveling in pecan pie’s thick, sugary center and crunchy pecan topping have stopped doing so because of one particular ingredient: the demon corn syrup.

Corn syrup has traditionally been an integral ingredient in pecan pie, providing not only sweetness but viscosity and binding action. Well, pecan pie-lovers can once again indulge because there are now recipes that do not require corn syrup. Below is one such recipe, from Epicurious.com. And it sounds gooooooood. Of course, it still calls for brown sugar, but if you’re afraid of sugar, too, maybe it’s time to put pecan pie back into your oven by experimenting and making a version that is not only corn syrup-free but sweetened in a healthier way as well. Maybe even gluten-free? Give it a shot. And please share your recipe with the rest of us.

While I’m on the subject of pecans, I’d like to mention Priester’s Pecans in Fort Deposit, Alabama. I was there last year and got a 5-pound bag of pecan pieces for $30, which is a great price if you know anything about pecans. I wrote up a little something about it in a blog about food in Alabama in Uncovering Food Secrets in Alabama.  Enjoy!

Spirited Brown Sugar Pecan Pie

• 1 refrigerated pie crust (half of 15-ounce package), room temperature
• 2 cups (packed) dark brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon Scotch whisky
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 cups pecan halves
• Whipped cream

posted by admin on Jun 21

Today is National Peaches and Cream Day. How perfect for the first daysummer. And what better time to hit the farmer’s of markets and—if you’re lucky enough to live near one—the farm stands. Together, peaches and cream make a simple, beautiful dessert. The recipe below, from Olivia17 at Allrecipes.com, takes it to another level by grilling the peaches, using cream cheese, and adding a touch of honey. Get out the grill and Happy Summer!

Grilled Peaches and Cream

Ingredients

• 4 peaches, halved and pitted
• 2 tablespoons clover honey
• 1 cup soft cream cheese with honey and nuts
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions

1. Preheat a grill for medium-high heat.
   

   

2. Brush peaches with a light coating of oil. Place pit side down onto the grill. Grill for 5 minutes, or until the surfaces have nice grill marks. Turn the peaches over, and drizzle with a bit of honey. Place a dollop of the cream cheese spread in the place where the pit was. Grill for 2 to 3 more minutes, or until the filling is warm. Serve immediately.

posted by admin on Jun 17

It’s National Apple Strudel Day. Oh, the horror of it all.

Paula Deen’s Apple Strudel 

Paula Deen's Apple Strudel: Food Network

Courtesy: Food Network

Apple Strudel:

• 1/4 cup bourbon or apple juice
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 2 to 3 Granny Smith apples (about 1 pound), peeled, cored, halved, and thinly sliced
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup crushed shortbread cookies
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
• 5 sheets phyllo dough from 1 pound package of frozen dough
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted, for brushing phyllo sheets, plus more if needed
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• Confectioners’ sugar
• Caramel sauce, purchased

Glaze:

• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 3 1/2 tablespoons milk

For the Strudel:

Directions

For the Glaze:

Mix ingredients thoroughly.

*Cook’s Note: If too thick add a little bit of milk. If too thin add a little bit of confectioners’ sugar.

posted by admin on Jun 13

Do you always drop all the spaghetti all over the floor? Do you burn everything, including water? Do  you splash tomato sauce on your walls? Then you are a kitchen klutz. But no need to cry over your spilled milk, for today you are the person of honor. Today is National Kitchen Klutzes Day!!

That’s right, now you and your kind can rejoice in knowing you are not alone and you should not be ashamed. No need to hang your heads, no reason to hide in the shadows. Come on out into the light, count your fingers and toes (make sure they’re all there), and sing a rousing round of “Yummy Yummy Yummy.” It’s all good!