Easy White Bread

This is an easy and delicious bread recipe that I make every week for my family. I made this recipe a few times in culinary school and have been in love with it ever since!

Ingredients:

Water- 12 oz.
Instant yeast- 0.25 oz.
Bread flour- 1 lb. 4 oz.
Salt- 0.5 oz.
Sugar- 0.75 oz.
Nonfat milk solids (powdered milk)- 1 oz.
Shortening- 0.75 oz.

Straight dough method:

Mix water and yeast and set aside while you measure out all other ingredients.

Add sifted flour to top of yeast mixture. Add all other ingredients to top of flour.

Mix with dough hook on low speed for 5 minutes. Turn speed to medium for another 10-15 minutes. Dough is finished mixing when it is elastic and hardly sticky to the touch.

Cover bowl and let dough rise for 30 minutes (until dough springs back after being touched). Weigh dough into two even portions (about 1 lb. 3 oz. each). Shape into loaves and place in 2 greased loaf pans. Cover and let dough rise in pans until doubled (about 30 more minutes).

Bake at 400ºF for 20-30 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on cooling rack.


Recipe adapted from Professional Baking by: Wayne Gisslen

Russian Borscht

Mmmmm, Borscht. My "go to" recipe on a cold, wet day. There is nothing better than the smell of fresh, simmering borscht on the stove and homemade bread in the oven.  Seriously. Good. Borscht is relatively easy, delicious and very healthy as well. 

This recipe is straight from motherland Russia. My husband lived in Russia for 2 years serving a religious mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and fell in love with Borscht. He brought this recipe home and converted me to it's deliciousness. :)

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. steak

4 beets

3 large potatoes

3 large carrots

1 head of cabbage

1/2 onion

4 cloves of garlic, minced

Beef Bouillon

1/2 cup ketchup

Bay leaves

Salt/pepper

Sour cream for serving

Directions:

Cut steak into 1/2 in. strips and set aside. Fill a large stew pot half full with water (about 3 quarts of water). Add a few tablespoons of oil and some salt and pepper to the water. Once water boils add meat. Turn heat down but keep water boiling for 30-40 minutes. 

In the meantime chop beets, potatoes, carrots, cabbage and onion into uniform pieces (I usually cut them all into small strips. See picture below). After the meat has cooked in water for 40 minutes add the beets to the pot. Cook for 5-10 minutes. Then add potatoes and beef bouillon.

In frying pan sauté the onion, carrots and garlic in a small amount of oil and ketchup. Sauté for 5 minutes. Add this mixture to the pot along with the bay leaves and more salt and pepper. Combine well and let cook for 15-20 minutes. Then add cabbage. Cook another 10-15 minutes or until ready to eat. Sometimes I let the soup simmer for a few hours to get the meat really tender. 

Scoop a dollop of sour cream into each bowl of soup and serve with delicious hard bread (like rye or sourdough). And, if you want to have a really authentic Russian meal then make the soup a day ahead and re-heat it the day you are ready to eat. It always tastes better leftover because all the flavors blend well over time. 

Rocky Road Ice-Cream

This summer I've become consumed with making ice-cream. It's certainly been fun creating new recipes and combinations of flavors but it's definitely forced me to run more. Oh well!

Out of all the ice-cream recipes I've tried this summer...this Rocky Road recipe is by far my favorite. The rich chocolate base combined with crunchy nuts and gooey marshmallows makes this ice-cream a big hit in my household (me... ahem!).

Recipe:

3/4 cup cocoa powder (sifted)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
pinch salt
1 cup whole milk (do NOT try using any other kind of milk)
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 T. pure vanilla extract
chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
mini marshmallows

-In bowl whisk together the cocoa, sugars and salt.
-Add the milk.
-Using a hand mixer (or a whisk) beat on low speed until smooth and sugars completely dissolved.
-Stir in heavy cream and vanilla.
-Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours but preferably overnight.

-Follow directions on your ice cream maker.
-When ice-cream is almost done churning add in the chopped nuts and mini marshmallows.
-Transfer soft ice-cream to freezer-safe container and freeze for about 2 hours before serving.

Dr. Seuss Birthday Cake!

For my son's 1st Birthday I wanted to try something special. He loves Dr. Seuss books and I knew designing a Seuss-themed cake would be fun and easy! Plus, I figured any discrepancies could be excused because lop-sided and asymmetrical cakes scream Dr. Seuss, right? Haha! I was out of state visiting family when we celebrated his birthday so between being crazy busy and being surrounded by chaos I knew I needed a margin of error. Everything ended up turning out fine! 

 And, of course, what 1 year old isn't going to love having cake anyway? Before we even cut the cake he already had blue frosting on his face from taste testing it. :) I'm pretty sure he approved.

Recipes:

THAT Chocolate Cake

and

Marshmallow Fondant

That Chocolate Cake

  

Ok. This is seriously THE BEST chocolate cake I have ever had! I got this recipe in culinary school and I've been obsessed with it ever since. It is super easy (no special methods required) and it always turns out great. You can let the frosting cool and cover the cake in a smooth chocolate layer. Or, you can pour the warm frosting on each layer (as pictured) which is how I prefer to serve it. This cake is sure to impress your dinner guests or lucky neighbors!

Cake:
Granulated sugar- 15 oz
All purpose flour- 9 oz
Cocoa powder- 3.5 oz
Salt- 1 t.
Baking powder- 1 1/2 t.
Baking soda- 1 1/2 t.
Eggs- 4 oz
Canola oil- 3 oz
Milk- 8 oz
Boiling water- 1 cup


-Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spray 2- 9" round pans and line bottoms with parchment paper.

-Combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder and baking soda in large bowl. Mix in the eggs, oil and milk. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.

-Slowly add boiling water in several increments stirring gently by hand until fully incorporated.

-Bake 30-35 minutes, or until skewer comes out clean.

-Cool for 10 minutes and then de-pan and finish cooling on cooling racks.


Frosting:
Granulated sugar- 10.5 oz
Heavy cream- 1 cup
Unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped- 5 oz
Unsalted butter- 4 oz
Vanilla- 1 t.

-In a saucepan, combine the sugar and cream. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 6 minutes.

-Add the chocolate and butter. Stir until melted. Then add the vanilla.

-Let frosting cool before frosting the cake (unless you're in a major hurry like me in which case you can also pour the warm frosting over the layers as shown in the picture).

Homemade Honey Graham Crackers

My little guy absolutely loves graham crackers. So, thank goodness I learned how to make them in culinary school this past year and now I'll NEVER buy them again. It's just too easy to make them and they are just too delicious! Seriously. Once you try these you will never go back. Now all I need is to whip up some homemade marshmallows and make the most divine homemade S'mores of all time! :)

FYI... you'll definitely need a kitchen scale for this recipe. Weighing your ingredients is definitely the best way to get accurate and consistent results when baking.

Recipe:

9.6 oz all purpose flour

2.1 oz pastry flour

1/2 t. (.1 oz) baking soda

1/2 t. (.1 oz) cinnamon

1/8 t. salt

8 oz unsalted butter, softened

2.4 oz granulated sugar

2.1 oz brown sugar

1.2 oz honey

2 t. vanilla extract

-Sift the flours, soda, cinnamon and salt together and set aside.

-Cream the butter, sugars, honey and vanilla together on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes or until fluffy. 

-Add the dry ingredients on low speed and mix just until combined. Do not mix after combined or you will develop the gluten too much and the crackers will end up being tough.

-Separate the dough in half. Roll each half between two pieces of parchment paper or Silpats into a rectangle the size of your cookie sheets and chill until firm.

-Bake at 350ºF for 10 to 12 minutes, remove from the oven and cut into squares. Return to oven and bake until golden brown.

-Let cool on pans and store crackers in airtight ziploc or container.

Layered Strawberry Shortcake

I've always been a sucker for strawberry shortcake. Who doesn't love the stuff? Honestly. It's just classic and delicious. And there's something about having berries in dessert that makes me feel a little less guilty. 

This recipe is adapted from a classic shortcake recipe. I modified it in order to make rounds instead of a square pan (rounds display more beautifully)and in order to produce thinner layers so you won't have to worry about trimming and cutting the layers. This recipe is perfect for that summer picnic you forgot about and need a quick, easy dessert for. Enjoy!

Recipe:

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup milk (2% or whole works best... none of that fat free stuff. :))

Sweetened whipped cream

Strawberries

Grease 2- 8in. round pans. Preheat oven to 350ºF.

In medium bowl cream sugar and butter. Add egg and vanilla and beat well. Combine dry ingredients separately (always sift dry ingredients as well).  Add dry ingredients alternately with milk beginning and ending with dry. 

Spread batter into rounds.  Bake for 12-15 minutes or until toothpick comes out of center clean. Cool in pans for a few minutes. Finish cooling on cooling rack.

When rounds are completely cooled assemble cake. Place one layer on serving plate. Spread half whipped cream over layer. Sprinkle strawberry pieces over cream. Place second cake layer on top. Spread the rest of the whipped cream onto the top. Sprinkle the rest of the strawberry pieces on the top. If you have lots of time you can get creative and make cool designs with the strawberries. 

Keep cake in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.