Easy Biscotti
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup light olive oil
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1 1/2 cups pistachio nuts
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
- In a large bowl, mix together oil and sugar until well blended. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts, then beat in the eggs. Combine flour, salt, and baking powder; gradually stir into egg mixture. Mix in cranberries and nuts by hand.
- Divide dough in half. Form two logs (12x2 inches) on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Dough may be sticky; wet hands with cool water to handle dough more easily.
- Bake for 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until logs are light brown. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).
- Cut logs on diagonal into 3/4 inch thick slices. Lay on sides on parchment covered cookie sheet. Bake approximately 8 to 10 minutes, or until dry; cool.
Ingredients:
3 cups organic all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder (make sure it’s fresh!)
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh dill (or 2 teaspoons dried)
1 cup finely grated sharp cheddar cheese
12 ounces beer
Directions:
Heat the oven to 375°. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, dill, and cheddar in a large mixing bowl. Slowly stir in the beer and mix just until combined. The batter will be thick.
Spread in a greased 8-inch loaf pan, brush with the egg glaze if desired, and bake until golden brown and a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.
Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and cool 10 more minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Ingredients:
3/4cup (6 ounces) warm water (95-105° F)3/4teaspoon (0.1 ounce) fresh yeast1 1/2cups (10.5 ounces) Sourdough Starter1 1/2cups (7.3 ounces) all-purpose flour1 1/4cups (6 ounces) whole wheat flour1tablespoon (0.5 ounce) salt
Directions:
combine the warm water and fresh yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir to dissolve the yeast fully. Add the Sourdough Starter, flours and salt. (NOTE: If refrigerated, bring Sourdough Starter to room temperature before using.) Mix on low speed until the dough is fully developed. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl. Roll the dough into a smooth ball and place in a medium mixing bowl lightly brushed with olive oil. Cover and refrigerate for 16 hours. Remove the bowl from the refrigerator and ferment at room temperature for 6 hours.
Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces and form into loaves. Places the loaves on the counter or in a proofing basket and cover with a warm, damp cloth. Proof the loaves at room temperature for 2 hours. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Continue proofing the loaves at room temperature for 1 hour.
Score the loaves with a sharp knife, spray with water and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the crusts are a deep golden brown and the middle of the loaves is 190-200°.
Remove the bread from the oven and place on a cooling rack for 30 minutes. If the bread was baked in loaf pans, remove the bread from the pans before cooling.
Easy Sourdough Starter
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) of active yeast
2 cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees F.)
Mix the flour, sugar, and yeast together in a clean and sterile container that can hold two quarts. Gradually stir in the water and mix until it forms a thick paste
Cover the container with a dish cloth and let it sit in a warm (70 to 80 degrees F.), draft-free place.
Basic Homemade Pasta Recipe:
1.5 cups of flour
2 LARGE eggs
1 tablespoon of olive oil added throughout
3-4 tablespoons of water also added throughout
Bacon Egg Toast Cups
Ingredients
- 4 slices of bacon
- 2 slices of bread
- 4 eggs
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Using the top of a round glass that has an opening slightly bigger than a muffin mold, about 3.5 inches, cut circles from bread. You should be able to cut two circles per slice of bread.
- Grease four muffin molds. Place the bread on the bottom of each muffin mold. Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Cook bacon slices in a pan about 3 minutes or until halfway cooked. Place bacon slices around the edges of the muffin tin. To help them stay, you might want to tuck the ends underneath the slices of bread.
- Crack an egg and put in the middle of each muffin mold. You may want to leave out some of the egg white so that the yolk doesn’t overcook while waiting for the egg white to cook.
- Place muffin molds in the oven and cook for about 12-15 minutes until eggs are cooked to your liking and bacon is crisp. I like to leave the egg yolk a little runny.
- Use a knife around the edges to help lift cups from the muffin mold. Season with salt and pepper and serve while hot.
Pretzel Dogs
1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg
16 full sized hot dogs/sausages
Instructions
- Combine the warm water, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow it to sit for about 5 minutes. Add the flour and butter and using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl. Remove the dough from the bowl, and place the dough in a glass bowl oiled with vegetable oil. Cover with a plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
- Divide the dough into 16 pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 12-inch rope.
- If you are making mini dogs, cut hot dogs to desired length. Then take rope of dough and begin wrapping around the length of the hot dog/sausage. One dough rope can be used for a full-sized hot dog. If you are making minis, wrap until you reach the top, then break off the dough for the rest of the mini hot dogs/sausages.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
- Using a large sauce pan, fill with water. Bring the water to a boil and add the baking soda.
- Place the pretzels into the boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Place pretzels on baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silpat mat.
- Beat one large egg. Brush the top of each pretzel dog with the beaten egg. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 6-8 minutes.
Broken Glass Jello
ingredients:
4 small boxes of jello (3 oz), different colors
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
water
Dissolve each box of jello separately, into one cup of hot water. Pour into individual containers (small tupperware works well) and chill overnight.
Once solid, cut the flavors of jello into small blocks and mix together carefully in a glass 9×13 pan.
In a separate bowl, dissolve 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin in 2 cups hot water. Let cool a bit and stir in the condensed milk. Cool to touch and pour cooled milk mixture over jello and chill overnight.
This makes for great party food. The colors are so pretty your guests will be impressed, like you took hours to make it!
Root Beer Kalbi
ingredients:
3 lbs short ribs
1/2 C soy sauce
1/2 C sugar
1Tbsp oil
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cloves garlic, minced.
1-1/2 cups Root Beer
Mix together the soy sauce, sugar, oil, pepper and garlic. Stirring slowly, add in the root beer. It will foam up rather quickly so I suggest using a large bowl.
In a ziploc bag or sealable container, place the ribs and pour the marinade on top. Marinate for 4-6 hours.
When you are ready, THROW OUT THE MARINADE and cook the ribs on a hot grill until done. Grilling the ribs really brings out a nice caramelization of the root beer. Just the tastiest ribs ever!
Chicken Marsala
Ingredients:
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 5 ounces each)
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- salt and black pepper
- 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 2 1/2 ounces pancetta (about 3 slices), diced into pieces 1 inch long and 1/8 inch wide
- 8 ounces white mushrooms , sliced (about 2 cups)
- 1 medium clove garlic , minced (about 1 teaspoon)
- 1 tsp. tomato paste
- 1 1/2 cups marsala wine (**see tip below**)
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice (from 1 small lemon)
- 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp.) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, softened
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
- optional: 1 lb. pasta (I used fettucine), cooked according to package instructions
Method:
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position, place large heatproof dinner plate on oven rack, and heat oven to 200 degrees.
Heat 12-inch heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat until very hot (you can hold your hand 2 inches above pan surface for 3 to 4 seconds), about 3 minutes. Pat chicken breasts dry. Meanwhile, place flour in shallow baking dish or pie plate. Season both sides of chicken cutlets with salt and pepper; working one piece at a time, coat both sides with flour. Lift breast from tapered end and shake to remove excess flour; set aside. Add oil to hot skillet and heat until shimmering. Place floured cutlets in single layer in skillet and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Using tongs, flip cutlets and cook on second side until golden brown and meat feels firm when pressed with finger, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to heated plate and return plate to oven.
Return skillet to low heat and add pancetta; sauté, stirring occasionally and scraping pan bottom to loosen browned bits until pancetta is brown and crisp, about 4 minutes. With slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to paper towel–lined plate. Add mushrooms and increase heat to medium-high; sauté, stirring occasionally and scraping pan bottom, until liquid released by mushrooms evaporates and mushrooms begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Add garlic, tomato paste, and cooked pancetta; sauté while stirring until tomato paste begins to brown, about 1 minute. Off heat, add Marsala; return pan to high heat and simmer vigorously, scraping browned bits from pan bottom, until sauce is slightly syrupy and reduced to about 1 1/4 cups, about 5 minutes. Off heat, add lemon juice and any accumulated juices from chicken; whisk in butter 1 tablespoon at a time. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and stir in parsley.
Pour sauce over chicken and serve immediately. (Serve over pasta if you would like.)
