coriander beer quick loaf

i'm still too worried about baking bread with yeast in it thanks to this i love lucy episode so i found a quick loaf recipe in which the only yeast in it is beer. the recipe calls for caraway seeds but i hate the taste so i used coriander. i really liked the way that taste but next time i'd cut it down to 2-3 tsp instead of 4 tsp. i served the bread with the homemade fish chowder i made using the ultimate soup bible recipe book http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Soup-Bible-Anne-Sheasby/dp/0760774498. this time i think i used a little less potatoes so it wasn't as thick but it was still tasty. i also add two strips of bacon so give it a more smoky flavor. yumm!!

4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1-1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup butter

4 tsp caraway seeds

2 eggs

3/4 cup buttermilk

3/4 cup beer

How to make it

In large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda.With pastry blender or two knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in caraway seeds.

In separate bowl, beat together eggs, buttermilk and beer; add to flour mixture all at once, stirring with fork to make soft dough.

Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface; knead lightly about 10 times. Shape dough into oval to fit into greased 9 x 5 -inch (2L) loaf pan.

With serrated knife, cut shallow slash lengthwise down center.

Bake in center of 350*F (180*C) oven for 1 to 1-1/4 hours or until golden brown and cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.

Remove from pan; let cool on rack.

Makes 1 loaf, 12 slices.

quick rolls

wanted to make quick rolls to go with dinner tonight. next time i need to make these plumper.

1 ¾ cups bread flour

¼ cup cornstarch

½ teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 egg, beaten light

1 tablespoon corn syrup

¾ cup milk

¼ cup corn oil

Instructions

Sift together the dry ingredients.

Stir in the corn oil and corn syrup.

Mix togetheer the egg and milk and add to the dry ingredients.

Turn out onto a floured board and pat to one-fourth inch thickness.

Cut in rounds and crease each one. Brush with a little corn oil.

Transfer to an oiled pan and bake from 20-25 minutes in a hot oven, 400 degrees F.

oatmeal kolaches

decided to make kolaches because i have so many different preserves in my fridge. well actually i have 3 homemade and 1 store bought, but that's a lot more than i usually keep at a time, which is usually 1. i finally finished the apricot preserves, which lasted me forever even though it was really really delicious. i also used the prickly pear jam melinda made me for the rest of the kolaches. i really enjoyed the kolaches cuz the were relatively easy to make, even though the dough was a lot more moist than it probably should have been when i was trying to roll it out. ryan thought the dough needed a little bit more sugar and he thought they were bland, but i thought they were tasty and kind of reminded me of scones.

1 3/4 cups biscuit mix

1/3 cup butter or margarine

1 cup rolled oats, quick or regular, uncooked

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

confectioners sugar

6 tablespoons thick preserves, any flavor

Put biscuit mix into mixing bowl. Cut in butter or margarine until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in oats and sugar.

Combine egg, milk and vanilla extract; add to dry ingredients. Stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Turn dough onto lightly floured board. Knead lightly several times. Roll dough 1/2-inch thick and cut out 3-inch rounds with floured cookie cutter. Place on greased baking sheet. Press a deep indentation in center of each round with back of floured spoon or thumb. Fill each with 1 teaspoon of preserves. Bake at 400 degrees F until done and lightly browned, about 10 or 12 minutes. More preserves may be added after baking. Sprinkle with sifted confectioners sugar.

toasted oatmeal crepes

i've been wanting to make crepes for a while and i stumbled upon this toasted oatmeal crepe recipe. the batter was thicker than usual for crepes, but everything placed together taste really good. i'm digging toasted oatmeal. i chose to use yogurt instead of whipped cream of ice cream. this would make a good sweet breakfast.

1/2 cup rolled oats

Crepes:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup milk

6 tablespoons butter, melted

3 eggs

4 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

Sautéed apples:

3 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 pounds cooking apples, peeled, cored, and cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices

2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Calvados

Sweetened whipped cream (optional)

Vanilla ice cream or yogurt (optional)

Preparation:

Toast the oats, stirring frequently, in a dry skillet set over medium heat. The oats are done when they are lightly browned and have a nutty aroma. Remove the oats from the skillet and set them aside to cool.

To make crepes:

Process the flour, butter, sugar, eggs and salt in a blender until the mixture is smooth. Add the milk 1/3 cup at a time, until the batter is a liquid consistency. Set batter aside for 20 minutes.

Melt a little butter in a crepe pan or large skillet over low-medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons of batter to the pan and swirl until the bottom of the pan is covered with batter. Cook the crepe for 1 minute, or until the crepe is slightly moist on top and golden underneath. Loosen the edges of the crepe, slide the spatula under it, and then gently flip it upside down into the pan. Cook for 1 minute and transfer the cooked crepe to a plate to keep warm.

To make sautéed apples:

Melt the butter in a large skillet set over medium heat. Add the apples and confectioners’ sugar to the pan and sauté them for 5 to 7 minutes, until they turn golden and tender. Sprinkle the Calvados over the apples and carefully ignite the alcohol with a long match. Stand back and allow the flames to go out.

To assemble the crepes, arrange the sautéed apples and whipped cream or ice cream in a warm crepe. Sprinkle the apple mixture with a spoon of toasted oats and fold the crepe. Garnish the top of the filled crepes with whipped cream and toasted oats.

This toasted oatmeal apple crepes recipe makes 8 to 10 servings.

fish chowder

cooked another soup from the soup bible. it was pretty easy to make, but took a little longer than anticipated. basically you make your own fish stock, whisk in some milk & mashed potatoes and re add the flaked fish. it was so good. gotta buy the book for the recipe.

catering and apricot-mango nectar lemon cake

today was my first catering gig since may. the class i'm catering for is about half the students now so i have to work on my portions. i decided to make meatballs because that's what i made for the first gig last year. so it was meatballs with pasta & vodka sauce and an apricot-mango nectar lemon cake. usually i don't make cake mix cakes but there's just something about lemon cake mix i love.

1 pk lemon cake mix

1⁄4 c sugar

1 c apricot nectar

4 eggs

1 c vegetable Oil

1. Combine the above ingredients.

2. Pour the mixture into BUNDT pan. Bake for 55 minutes at 375 degrees.

kahlua cheesecake

ok this is supposed to be kahlua cheesecake but i change the recipe a lot. first of all, i didn't have any kahlua, and i refused to pay $25 bucks for the bottle considering i'd be using just a few tablespoons of it in this recipe. this recipe caught my eye, because of the chocolate & coffee & sour cream inon the cheesecake, and that sounds da bomb to me. so i made it anyway in my own way. i halved the recipe, used a premade graham cracker crust & added a little more coffee. let's just say i took it over to gillian's house and we ate half the pie in one sitting. here is the original recipe:

1 1/4 cups crushed graham crackers

1 cup granulated sugar - divided use

3/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa - divided use

1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

2 large eggs

1/4 cup coffee, brewed

1/2 cup coffee liqueur

2 teaspoons vanilla extract - divided use

1 cup (8-ounces) sour cream

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 ounces milk chocolate candy bars, grated

Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C).

Combine graham cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup cocoa and melted butter in a small bowl; mix well. Press into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes, until firm but not browned; cool

Raise oven temperature to 375°F (190°C).

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add 3/4 cup sugar, mixing well. Beat in remaining 1/2 cup cocoa. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in coffee liqueur, coffee and half the vanilla. Pour into the cooled crust. Bake for 30 minutes, or until almost set.

Raise temperature in oven to 425°F (220°C).

Combine sour cream, 2 tablespoons sugar and remaining 1 teaspoon of vanilla in a small bowl; mix well. Spread evenly over the hot cheesecake. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes.

Cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Refrigerate, covered, for 8 hours. Carefully remove from pan and garnish with grated chocolate.

Makes 12 servings.