Sweet/Spicy Almond Flat Bread

I've always had a weakness for flat bread and focaccia. However, I've always struggled a bit with the spicy sweet combination. I used to deem fruit in my savory salads inedible. What I'm getting at is the fact that usually a recipe that includes honey mixed with red pepper flakes would not even get a once over from me. Problem is, this recipe had a picture next to it. It showcased golden crusts with toasted almonds, rosemary and a faint glaze. Since I was on bread duty for Thanksgiving, I decided to give it a go.

Adapted from Cooking Light:

1/2 C sliced almonds
1/2 olive oil
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary (grows like weeds in Seattle)
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 cup warm 1% milk
1 tsp sugar
1 package dry yeast
3 1/4 flour
1 tsp salt
1 large egg yolk
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp honey
1 large egg white

Combine first three ingredients in small saucepan, boil one minute until golden (infusing the olive oil) and drain, reserving oil and herb/nut mixture
Drain, reserving oil and herb/nut mixture
Toss almonds with pepper flakes and sea salt
WARNING: While you might think you are just having a "few" of these before baking, a "few" quickly turns into half. Make extra, you won't be sorry.
Combine milk, sugar and yeast in large bowl until it bubbles (approx. 5 min.) Add 1 1/4 C flour and reserved oil, 1 tsp salt and egg yolk, beat at low speed until combined. Gradually add remaining flour, beat at low speed until elastic. Coat cookie sheet with oil and press dough out until it's about 3/4 inch thick.
Cover with a towel and let rise for about an hour or double in size.
Preheat oven to 350. Combine oil, powdered sugar, honey and egg white, brush half of mixture over bread.
Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, brush with remain egg white, sprinkle with almonds, bake for another 10 minutes.
Finito!

Hum Bow

Every once in a while, after a long night of cocktails, you need a good dose of grease for breakfast. Until I moved to Seattle, I had no idea Dim Sum existed. Now, on a Saturday morning, I crave the little dishes they bring around on a cart. One of my favorites is steamed hum bow. It has a spongy-bread exterior and is usually filled with sweet, barbecued chicken or pork. I used a recipe from All Recipes.
It starts like a typical bread that has to rise.
Shape dough into a...log, for lack of a better word.
Divide into individual patties. Logs, patties? Sorry, I don't know where my appetizing vocabulary went.
Flatten out the...patties. Add the marinated/cooked pork.
Wrap it up in a nice little package. It's good practice for Christmas.
After successfully wrapping the pork, let it rise again before steaming.
I put mine in a wok with about an inch and a half of simmering water and WALA!
And you don't even have to leave the house.
Did I mention you can also bake it with sugar and egg white brushed over the top?
Yup, you can bake it. This guy ended up being stuffed with cinnamon, sugar and apples.

The end.

Apples (cont.)

The bar has become my fallback dessert. It feels a little more gourmet than a cookie but only takes a tiny bit more effort. I used a recipe from allrecipes.com that was originally for a blueberry bar. The ingredient list is short and sweet:

Ingredients

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup butter
• 1 egg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 1 pinch ground cinnamon (optional)
• 2 large apples thinly sliced
  
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 teaspoons cornstarch

Next time I'll add more apple, I would have liked to have a thicker layer. This makes a BIG batch, not to worry, they freeze well!
Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder. Mix in salt and cinnamon, if desired. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the shortening and egg. Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.
3. In another bowl, stir together the sugar and cornstarch. Gently mix in the apples. Sprinkle the apple mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the apple layer.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Apples!

I know I'm a little late to the apple craze/season but I suddenly found myself with 10 pounds of Fiji's. You know when you go to a store and use your card to pay for a pack of gum and some trail mix that total $4.10 (with tax) and the sweet woman working the cash register reminds you that they only accept cards for purchases over $5? Do you take the hit and let them dock an extra 50 cents on? Or do you quickly scan for something in the $1 range close to the register because Damn These People Aren't Making Money Off Me! This woman was really pushing the apples. We were at Remlinger Farm at the tail end of apple season and apparently they reaped more than they bargained for. Homegirl was not letting us out of that place without a wheelbarrow of apples. So we left with 10 pounds of fiji's for 90 cents, that's how we roll.
My mind already started racking through apple recipes on the drive home. I wanted sweet and savory. That brings us to Apple Cheddar scones.
They start with roasted apples.
They get mixed with shredded cheddar, an egg, half and half, flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.
It's kneaded and formed into a circle shape and cut into quarters.
Brushed with egg wash and sprinkled with sea salt.
Sweet and savory goodness.
Recipe adapted from Smitten.

Another apple recipe coming soon!

Roasted Beets and Squash

Posting has been slow lately. It may have something to do with this:
Our kitchen wasn't really built for two. I've gotten very good at pivoting.
Beets and Squash. Feels like fall, doesn't it? Maybe I'm a little late but Seattle has shown some summer weather it was hoarding from June through September.

This is one of those recipes that gets thrown together because it's what you have on hand. Do you ever feel like a meal is not really a meal unless there's meat? No? Just me.
Well consider this your meat. It's red (ish), it's super rich and flavorful and, it bleeds (stains).
Mix that with with your chopped squash (any type you like)
Toss with olive oil, sea salt, cumin, pepper and onion. Roast at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Add one can of chickpeas, toss. Roast for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven, toss with feta. Serve in a bowl. Top with chopped green onion...or anything green. Chives, parsley, whatever.
You won't miss the meat. Promise.

The Most Versatile Dough. Ever.

Last Thanksgiving I tried a new focaccia recipe, it involved two of my favorites: caramelized onion and rosemary. The dough is not fussy, it's forgiving, versatile, flavorful but not overpowering, crusty but moist. So, back to Thanksgiving. Holidays are generally a time to use an old and trusted recipe but for some reason, I always end up testing new ones that often result in disasters. Not this time.
Quality bread often gets forgotten on Thanksgiving and Christmas. When there's stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato pie, cranberry sauce (from a can-the only way to eat it), pie, cookies, bread tends to take the back burner. It's always the one that gets thrown together at the last minute. It's generally that person who can't really contribute to the meal in the home made sense. The guy (or gal) who offers, "I'll bring the rolls!" They get stripped from their plastic bag and thrown into a bowl to look semi-home made. Not this time!

It's true, bread may not have a place at the actual holiday meal, instead, it's time to shine comes in the days following. Hoard a couple of these rolls, you'll need them for leftover turkey, cranberry sauce and mayo. Alright, maybe the mayo isn't a leftover but who doesn't keep that in the fridge?

One of the reasons I love this dough so much is it's shelf life in the fridge/freezer. It will keep in the fridge for up to two weeks. The freezer? Fuhgettabout it, it'll last longer than you can keep it there. This dough has yet to fail me.

It's worked as the base for eggplant bruschetta:

Braided breakfast bread:

Steak sammies with goat cheese and wilted arugula:

Making the pizza dough takes a great amount of focus:
James is a little more relaxed:

And finally, the pizza:
Find out what this dough can do for YOU. Adapted from BakeorBreak.com

• 2 & 3/4 cups lukewarm water
• 1 & 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast (1 & 1/2 packets)
• 1 & 1/2 tablespoons salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 6 & 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Mix yeast, salt, sugar, and olive oil with the water in a bowl or lidded, non-airtight food container. Mix in flour using a spoon (I usually can't get it all incorporated without lightly kneading), food processor with dough attachment, or stand mixer with dough hook. Cover loosely and allow to rest at room temperature until dough rises and collapses or flattens on top (about 2 hours). After the initial rise, the dough can be used but it's easier to work with after it's chilled. Refrigerate in a lidded, non-airtight container.

Dreamy Mixed Nut Tart

I love nuts. Wait, not like that. Seriously though, I don't discriminate, I love all varieties (except Brazilian). I like them plain, salted, roasted, caramelized, clustered with granola, chopped in cookies, squeezed into almond milk (how do they make that stuff?), sprinkled over a salad, blended into butter...you get the point. When I found a recipe that called for a light creamy, pie-like base covered in almonds, pecans and hazelnuts, it was only a matter of time before I made it mine.
Whip up this quick (besides the freezing time) fail-proof tart shell.
Bake the tart. Don't forget to bake the tart, not that I've ever done that.
Lightly toast nuts. Choose any type you love.
Gather ingredients for the glaze and filling. Lay them out so you feel like a professional taping a show. Bonus: if you're the cook, you don't have to clean up anything!

Recipe adapted from Caroline at A Cozy Kitchen:
1 ½ cups unsalted mixed nuts
½ cup superfine sugar or powdered sugar
½ cup whipping cream, plus 2 tablespoons
1 cup creme fraiche
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat together the cream fraiche, brown sugar, ½ cup of cream and vanilla in a bowl until smooth and creamy. If the mixture is runny, continue beating until mixture begins to resemble whipped cream. Pour into the tart shell and smooth out evenly.
Sprinkle with toasted nuts and drizzle with glaze!
Enjoy!