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New year, new knowledge

One of my favorite things about doing this blog is regularly challenging myself to try something new. Sure, I like getting my favorites written down and sharing them, and of course, eating my creations, but that’s not all!

This week’s joy, after a whole year of making breads, was learning about tangzhong. It’s a technique to get softer bread and doesn’t take much time or effort. And, well, it works really well. It didn’t hurt that this week’s recipe — in my new equipment for the year, the ever-useful 9 x 13 in. casserole dish — was full of butter and sour cream, as well as chives: sour cream and chive dinner rolls from Bon Appetit. 

Sour cream and chive dinner roll ingredients.

Spoiler: they’re so good, they were not just eaten at dinner. They were anytime rolls, and they’re already nearly gone after making them a few days ago. 

I didn’t do much to alter the original recipe, but for once, I wish I would have read the comments in an article. At least before I ran into the exact same issue and could have saved myself some time, and a little bit of yeast and milk. The recipe says to use the same saucepan from the tangzhong steps to warm a little milk and add yeast until it dissolves; mine clumped. I, instead, ended up using a small bowl and microwaving the milk for a short bit until it was warm, then adding a pinch of sugar, and then the yeast. Worked like a charm on the second go.

Otherwise, while it was time-consuming, nothing was difficult and about all of it was expected for a yeast bread, so it was a nice way to kick off the new year. And stay away from the news for a few hours. 

Such yum, much tasty.

Here’s what I did: 

Ingredients 

  • ½ c. plus 2 T. whole milk
  • 5 ⅓ c. bread flour (667 g), divided, plus more for dusting
  • 1 ½ t. active dry yeast
  • 1 c. sour cream, room temperature
  • ¼ c. sugar, plus a pinch more for yeast
  • 2 ½ t. kosher salt
  • 3 large eggs, divided
  • 1 stick (8 T.) unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
  • ½ c. finely chopped chives
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Make the tangzhong: whisk together ½ c. milk, ½ c. water, and ⅓ c. flour in a small saucepan until smooth. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until a stiff paste forms (per the directions: it should resemble mashed potatoes), about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and scrape the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer, which is fitted with a dough hook. 

Warm the remaining 2 T. milk until lukewarm. Add a pinch of sugar and the yeast, and whisk until dissolved. Let sit about 5 minutes until the mixture is foamy. 

Meanwhile, add the sour cream, salt, 2 eggs, 4 T. butter, and 5 c. bread flour to the tangzhong. Scrape in the yeast mixture, and mix the dough together on low speed until it’s shaggy. Increase the speed to medium and mix, scraping as necessary and adding any more flour by the tablespoon if needed, until the dough is smooth, about 8 minutes. 

Dust the dough with flour and shape into a smooth ball. Place the dough inside a large bowl and cover. Let sit at room temperature until doubled in size, about 1 to 1 ½ hours. 

Meanwhile, coat a 9 x 13 in. casserole dish with 2 T. butter.

Punch down dough and turn it onto a lightly floured surface and stretch into a square. Roll out into a 12 in. square, dusting with more flour as needed. Sprinkle chives evenly on top of the dough. 

Starting at one end, loosely roll up dough, and flatten into a long rectangle using your hands. Roll out dough again, dusting with flour as needed, into about a 6 x 16 in. rectangle. Cut into 24 squarish pieces, in a 3 x 8 grid. 

Working 1 piece at a time, pinch the corners together to form a teardrop shape. Then, seam side down, roll the dough into a round ball. Place in prepared casserole dish and repeat with the remaining pieces of dough, making about a 4 x 6 grid. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature until doubled in size, about 45 to 60 minutes. 

Meanwhile, place a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 375 degrees. 

Whisk remaining egg in small bowl, uncover the dish and gently brush the tops of the rolls with egg, and then sprinkle with salt and pepper. 

Bake rolls until tops are deep golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes. 

Remove from oven and immediately brush tops with remaining 2 T. butter. Let cool about 5 minutes and then slide the entire grid of rolls onto a wire rack. Serve warm or let cool and enjoy!

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Queso syrah syrah

Well, if you’re following along, we’ve made it to the end of the year. Good riddance to 2020, and I’m sending it off with one final dip. 

For some small frivolity in this downer of a year, my sweetie and I were bantering about who knows what when I stumbled onto the phrase “queso syrah.” As a regular crossword puzzler, I am shocked I’d not thought of it sooner. 

Queso syrah ingredients.

But as soon as I spoke the phrase, I realized this could just be an adaptation of port wine cheese spread. I found several recipes for port wine cheese, and ultimately decided to mash up the pounded cheddar with port sauce from Amy Thielen with a more typical port wine spread from Rachel Ray.

The port syrup is a very simple addition of brown sugar to port to make a little syrup-y wine. Since I used the less sweet syrah than port, I thought this especially a good addition and added a little more sugar than called for, but your mileage may vary on how sweet you want your cheese spread. 

I also think I overdid it a little on the garlic. Rarely, for me, has doubling the recipe’s amount of garlic gone wrong, but in this case, it tended to overwhelm the gentler flavors of wine and cheese. Still, it tasted good for garlic lovers, so again, YMMV. 

Other than that, I used my small skillet to make the sauce and also to serve the dip rather than rolling it into a ball, like the traditional recipe. So, I got double use and still a nice serving platter (even if it was just me and my sweetie enjoying it). 

Here’s hoping for a better 2021 and thanks for reading!

Pretty and tasty.

Here’s what I did: 

Ingredients

  • ½ c. syrah 
  • 1–2 T. brown sugar
  • 2 c. sharp white cheddar, shredded
  • 4 T. butter, softened
  • 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
  • 2 t. Dijon mustard 
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • Pepper
  • Pinch of cayenne, optional
  • ½ c. chopped walnuts, optional
  • 3 T. fresh parsley, chopped, optional
  • Crackers or bread, for serving

Directions

Combine syrah and brown sugar in a small skillet or small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered, for about 3 minutes, until the mixture slightly thickens and all the sugar has dissolved. Pour into a large bowl and let cool. 

Once the wine syrup is cooled, add in the cheddar, butter, cream cheese, mustard, garlic, and peppers. Stir with a fork or spatula until all ingredients are well combined. 

In a cleaned small skillet, spread the cheese mixture. Press to create an even layer. Add the walnuts and parsley on top, if using. 

Chill for at least an hour, or overnight, for the mixture’s flavors to combine, and enjoy! 

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Orange you glad to have a well-stocked pantry?

I wasn’t on my A-game when my sweetie did his weekly grocery shopping this past week, so I completely forgot to get any ingredients to make something in my small skillet. If this weren’t a pandemic with worrying signs in Iowa, I would have said “no worries” and made a special trip. 

However, with everything *gestures at Iowa’s mess*, I thought it best to forgo an extra trip and see if I couldn’t find something to make with what we had on hand.

Chocolate-orange shortbread ingredients.

Thankfully, we have a well-stocked pantry and a copy of my favorite cookbook “5 Ingredients” by Jamie Oliver. I managed to find three official recipes that would fit in a small skillet not including ones I’ve made before or ones that’d fit some other piece of equipment. We also had a few other things in the freezer where I could fake some sort of filo dough pot pie and enough eggs I could have managed a quiche. 

However, I liked the idea of the 5 Ingredients, because it was guaranteed to be easy. After a short debate on pros and cons of any item, my sweetie and I thought the chocolate-orange shortbread sounded ideal. 

I had to do slight alterations, using two mandarins instead of one navel orange and a mix of semi-sweet chocolate chips and a milk chocolate Hershey’s bar instead of dark chocolate. But all in all, with just five ingredients, it was pretty easy to have them all on hand, especially as someone who likes to bake and whose sweetie eats a lot of fruit. 

And boy, for so few ingredients and so little work, it was a perfectly delightful dessert. Maybe I’ll have to wing it more often. 

So tasty, so little left.

Here’s what I did:

Ingredients 

  • 150 g. butter, at room temperature (about 1 ½ sticks), plus more for greasing
  • 200 g. all-purpose flour (about 1 ¼ c.)
  • 50 g. granulated sugar (about ¼ c.), plus more for topping
  • Zest from 1 navel orange or 2 mandarins (divided)
  • 50 g. dark chocolate, chips or chunks (or however you can get chocolate for melting!) 

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees. 

Grease a 9-inch skillet with butter. Line with parchment paper, and grease that as well.

Mix together the flour, sugar, and zest from ½ the orange (or 1 mandarin). Use your fingers to mush in the butter, without kneading; the texture should resemble a pie crust that just barely holds together. Press the mixture into the prepared skillet until it’s in an even and cohesive layer. Pierce with a fork throughout. 

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until lightly golden. Sprinkle with a couple pinches of sugar on top while still warm. Then, remove to a wire rack to let cool completely. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate on a double broiler with water underneath, or a microwave like I did, though it is unlikely to spread in a pretty manner if you do it my way. Spread the melted chocolate on top of the cool shortbread. Grate the remaining zest (or 2nd mandarin) on top, and enjoy with orange slices! 

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Beans, beans, they’re good for the heart

I have had a number of solo or near-solo Thanksgivings, so this year’s forced isolation wasn’t so bad for me. While I know it’s not the same for everyone, I do truly appreciate all those who decided to stay home for the safety of everyone. 

However, just because it was just the two of us this Turkey Day didn’t mean I didn’t go all out with my usual meal prep. I’m a sucker for traditional sides, if not traditional main meats. A turkey is too much for two people. 

So, after a busy day of cooking, it’s nice to be able to have something super simple to make.

 

Bean and more dip ingredients.

I must confess that I found yet another dip recipe from Better Homes & Gardens, and I couldn’t resist making just one more. They’ve all been so good and delightfully simple, and I wanted to make just one more before the year was out. 

This one is billed as a bean dip, and while there are both pinto beans and black beans, there’s enough else in there that it doesn’t seem right to focus on the beans. There’s chorizo (I used fake!), chipotle, cheese, and that’s just other food items that start with C. 

OK, there’s not too many more beyond that and the beans, but still there’s a lot going on, and it’s simple and a total delight. Just what’s needed after stress-cooking and/or a stressful year. 

So much cheese, chorizo, and chipotle (and beans!). Nom noms.

Here’s what I did: 

Ingredients

  • 10 oz. ground chorizo (fake OK – but add a little oil if cooking with fake meat)
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained 
  • 1 (15 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
  • ¼ c. fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 1-2 t. chipotle in adobo sauce, chopped
  • 1 (15 oz) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained (since these end up smashed, I think you could buy refried beans, but I did follow the recipe and it worked out well)
  • 1 c. jalapeno jack cheese, shredded
  • Lime wedges, for serving
  • Tortilla chips, for serving

Directions

Heat oven to 450 degrees. 

In a 9-inch ovenproof skillet, cook sausage, onion, and garlic over medium-high heat until the sausage is brown, and using a wooden spoon to break up as it cooks (if using real meat). Remove mixture from skillet and drain on paper towels. 

In a medium bowl, combine black beans, tomatoes, cilantro, chipotle peppers, and sausage mixture. In a small bowl, mash the pinto beans (if you didn’t use refried beans). Spread the pinto bean paste into the skillet. Top with the chorizo mixture. Add cheese on top. 

Bake about 15 minutes until cheese is golden and mixture is bubbling. Serve with lime wedges and tortilla chips and enjoy!

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I’m strong to the finish, cuz I eats my spinach

I hope and pray that people have a safe Thanksgiving. To will that into the world, I decided to do a slightly more complicated dish this week since hopefully most readers are not traveling or planning on feeding a large number of guests on Thursday. 

However, fret ye not about the level of complication. In fact, the reason I chose this one is because I wanted to make it more simply than the New York Times recipe suggested. Plus, I love spanakopita, and have made variations of it over the years of this blog. 

I was super excited to find that this spanakopita pie fit in a 9- to 10-inch skillet! 

Spanakopita pie ingredients.

The downside, if you’ve ever worked with fresh spinach, is the sheer amount of it you need to buy to get the amount you need to fill a pie, say. So, rather than worry about that, I just bought frozen; plus, it cut down on cooking. 

The other ingredient that caught my eye as troublesome in this particular fancy recipe was getting a block of feta in brine. Now, I love it when I’ve gotten it from my local Middle Eastern store; however, usually I get it when I need to use the brine as well. It’s less easy to find in my usual grocery stores, and since the brine wasn’t used, I skipped it and went for the pre-crumbled container I usually get.

Everything else was more or less standard for what I expect to be in a spanakopita, and it worked out to be quite the delight. A little skimpy on the phyllo dough, but it was a pie, not a roll; but that also made it less work. 

All in all, it was worth the effort, and where else do you need to be this weekend? May as well spend it in the kitchen. 

Hidden underneath this tasty flaky crust is a wonderful spinach mixture.

Here’s what I did: 

Ingredients

  • 8 T. unsalted butter, divided 
  • 2 medium leeks, white and green parts only, halved and sliced
  • 6 cloves garlic, chopped
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 20 to 24 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed
  • ¾ c. fresh parsley leaves, chopped
  • ½ c. fresh dill, chopped
  • ½ c. grated Parmesan
  • Zest from one lemon, plus juice from the lemon
  • Pinch of ground nutmeg
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • 8 oz. crumbled feta
  • 10 sheets phyllo dough, thawed

Directions

In a 9- to 10-inch skillet, melt 3 T. butter over medium heat. Add the leeks and garlic, and season generously with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Add the spinach, sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper, and cook for about another 5 minutes. Remove from skillet and let cool. 

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. 

In a large bowl, combine the parsley, dill, Parmesan, lemon zest and juice, and nutmeg. Stir to combine. Working about 1 c. at a time, transfer the spinach mixture to a fine mesh strainer and set in the sink to press out as much liquid from the mixture as possible. Add the strained handfuls to the parsley mixture, repeating until all the spinach has been added to the large bowl. Stir to combine, and add any additional salt and pepper as desired. Stir in the beaten eggs, and then fold in the feta, trying to leave larger chunks intact. 

Melt the remaining 5 T. of butter over the stove top on low or in the microwave. Meanwhile, wipe the skillet clean with a paper towel. Brush the bottom and sides of the skillet with some of the butter. Then, working quickly with 1 sheet of phyllo dough at a time, lightly brush the top of one sheet with butter, and then lay it in the skillet, butter side up, with an overhang on either side. Repeat with 7 more phyllo sheets, rotating each sheet in a different direction as you add it. 

Spoon the spinach mixture into the skillet, spreading into an even layer. Starting with the top layer of phyllo dough first, lift it over the spinach mixture toward the center of the pan, and repeat with remaining overlapping dough to create a top crust. 

Crinkle on top the remaining 2 pieces of phyllo dough, and brush with any remaining melted butter. 

Cook over medium heat on the stovetop for about 5 minutes to crisp up the bottom crust. Transfer skillet to the oven and bake until the phyllo dough is golden and filling is warmed, about 20 to 25 minutes. 

Remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes. Slice into wedges and enjoy! 

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Peaches and bourbon, that’s my jam

Apparently I didn’t have enough of using booze to make food after last week. 

This week’s excuse is only that I have been wanting to make this peach and bourbon jam recipe for years and for some reason didn’t think about the fact that although it called for a saucepan that it would almost certainly fit in my little Le Creuset. 

Peach and bourbon jam ingredients.

Plus, I really like bourbon and peaches. Especially as I both mourn the end of summer and welcome the first hints of autumn. 

This wonderful peach bourbon jam offers a good balance of both summer’s sweetness and cooling fall flavors. 

I love bourbon pretty much any time of year, but with the cool comes the welcome sensation of a good whiskey burning through my insides. Peaches, of course, are peaking, and I can’t get enough of one of my favorite summer fruits while they’re in season. 

The only thing I forgot about is my anxiety when it comes to getting things to an exact temperature. 

From the first time I tried to make salt water taffy as a tween to my first personal blog on peanut brittle, I have a long habit of mostly screwing up this type of thing. 

While the end result worked great (whew!), it was supposed to get to temperature in 6 minutes … but the recipe also warned to adjust the temp as needed. Me, I read that as turning things down, but I was disappointed when after 10 minutes, I was still about 15 degrees shy of the goal. I turned things back up and voila, I could literally see the change in texture to something that actually resembled a jam. 

So, I did cook things down a little bit more than the 2 cup yield, but I got a peachy vanilla-y jam, and that’s just peachy keen for me. 

All that’s missing is the peanut butter.

Here’s what I did, following an Epicurious recipe I’ve had saved for years: 

Ingredients 

  • ½ vanilla bean
  • 1 lb. ripe but firm yellow peaches, pitted and cut into ½-inch pieces
  • 1 c. sugar
  • ½ c. peeled and grated Granny Smith apple
  • 1 c. bourbon 
  • 1 T. bottled lemon juice (the recipe specified the bottled for the preservative qualities)

Directions 

Place two small plates in the freezer to chill (for testing thickness later). 

Cut vanilla bean in half lengthwise, and scrape out seeds into a 9-inch coated cast-iron skillet. Add the rest of the vanilla bean, and then stir in the peaches, sugar, apple, bourbon, and lemon juice. Mix together, cover, and let sit for 20 minutes. 

Turn on stovetop to medium-high heat, and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring often. Once sugar is dissolved, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the peaches are softened, about 10 to 15 minutes. 

Remove from heat, and crush the fruit with a potato masher until mostly smooth. 

Return mixture to the stovetop, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring often and adjusting heat if necessary, until the mixture reaches 217 to 220 degrees, about 6 to 10 minutes.

To test consistency, place a teaspoon of the jam on the chilled plate, and freeze for 2 minutes. Then, drag your finger through the jam; if your finger leaves a distinct trail, it is ready, but if it’s still runny, continue to simmer the jam for another 1 to 3 minutes, and test again. 

Meanwhile, place two 1-cup mason jars, or large mason jar under hot running water until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes, and shake dry. Use a funnel and ladle to portion out the hot jam into the hot jars. Let cool to room temperature, cover, and refrigerate until the jam is set, about 12 to 24 hours later. (Jam can be refrigerated for up to 2 months.) Enjoy with some toast, or use it to make a tasty PB&J sammy.

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Shelf-stability a plus for three-ingredient dinner

Well, this was a trying week, after weeks of trying weeks. My 2020 Bingo card did not have my first derecho on it, and it was not a welcome addition.

However, at this point, with no loss of life nor limb, no property destroyed, few groceries lost, and power restored, it’s quite easy for me to feel grateful for this week. Plus, I had so much unexpected free time to binge through my favorite lesbian necromancer fantasy series.

For those still suffering through the fallout from the storm, my thoughts are with you.

This week has also given me a new appreciation for having shelf-stable items in our pantry. Before the pandemic, I wasn’t a survivalist, and I am still not there yet, but I have been thinking more about being adaptable and having on-hand items that will keep. That’s part of what made this week’s recipe of three-ingredient (plus salt, optional) mac & cheese from Serious Eats such a draw.

Mac & cheese ingredients.

It’s quick, it’s easy, and two of the three ingredients will last a very, very long time, and one will merely last a long time and is pretty easily replaced. Just keep some macaroni, or other small pasta, and some evaporated milk on your shelf, and some cheese in your fridge, and you’ll almost always have a dinner that takes just 10 minutes to make.

It is great.

Since I wanted to make it in my 9-inch skillet, I could only use half of the evaporated milk — which is as the recipe called for — but if you really wanted to double it, I’m sure it’d work in a larger skillet or Dutch oven.

The proportions are pretty easy to remember (though it helps to have a scale) as it’s 6 oz. each of the evaporated milk, dry pasta, and cheese, and a pinch of salt, plus some water to cover the pasta. The evaporated milk, for us, came in a 12 oz. can, so doubling would I assume/hope come up with 12 oz. of each, but only the 6 oz. amounts will fit in a 9-inch skillet.

Plus, since I made it twice, I did learn that you can either buy a block of cheddar (or other cheese) or buy pre-shredded cheese, and both work just as well. Though I only played with sharp cheddar, it does say you can use any other cheese that would melt down well.

It’s nothing fancy, obviously, but these days, simple and shelf-stable are so welcome.

So simple. So satisfactory.

Here’s what I did, following the recipe:

Ingredients

  • 6 oz. evaporated milk
  • 6 oz. shredded cheddar
  • 6 oz. dry macaroni pasta
  • Pinch of salt, for boiling, optional
  • Pepper, for serving, optional
  • Water, to cover the pasta

Directions

In a 9- to 10-inch skillet, pour in the dry pasta, and add water to just cover the pasta. Sprinkle in a pinch of salt, if using. Bring to a boil over high heat, and continue to cook on high to medium-high heat, stirring often to prevent sticking, until the water is mostly evaporated and the pasta is al dente, about 6 minutes (another easy to remember number!).

Add the milk and bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to a simmer. Add the cheese, and cook until melted, and the sauce has cooked down, another 2 to 3 minutes.

Season with more salt, if desired, and pepper, to taste, and serve immediately and enjoy!

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No crust, no problem: Skillet pie lives up to its name

A few weeks ago, I rediscovered the joy of my vegetarian cookbooks, particularly one from Deborah Madison.

The first recipe I made of her vegetarian stuffed peppers fit a large casserole, so no blogging about it, but you can get the recipe here. However, it had an interesting way of incorporating onions that at first I scoffed at. As I looked closer, though, I didn’t see a way around doing it her way. I ended up very glad I actually followed the recipe. While the onions (first deglazed in wine) baked on the bottom of the casserole, since it was stuffed peppers, they ended up as a sweet and sour topping that complemented the rest of the ingredients incredibly well.

So, for my second recipe, I looked specifically for things that would work in my small skillet.

It didn’t take long to find the perfect meal. With the amount of cheese, it wasn’t light exactly but a simple eggy dish didn’t feel all that hefty in the summer heat.

Egg and cheese skillet pie ingredients.

Even better, it was incredibly easy. Mix up some ingredients in a large-ish bowl. Pour in a buttered small skillet. Bake, and voila, you’ve got dinner.

Pulling back the curtain, I will admit I made the focaccia to go with this meal, and a bread is the perfect addition so you have a more filling meal. Alternatively, it’d make a good breakfast item.

So much cheese, so tasty.

Here’s what I did, sticking to the recipe, though I used my 9-inch skillet rather than the called-for 10-inch (and it just fit!):

Ingredients

  • ¾ lb. feta cheese
  • 1 lb. ricotta cheese
  • 6 eggs
  • ¼ c. flour
  • ¾ c. milk
  • 1 T. dill, preferably fresh and chopped (I used more)
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Butter, for coating

Directions

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Mix ¾ of the feta with the ricotta in a medium bowl, without worrying about getting it perfectly smooth. Beat the eggs into the cheese. Then, add the flour and milk. Season with the dill and salt and pepper.

Butter a 9- to 10-inch cast iron skillet. Pour in the batter, and crumble the remaining feta cheese on top. Bake until golden, about 35 to 40 minutes.

Cut into wedges and serve with bread or another preferred side, and enjoy!

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Fat, fluffy focaccia

Since the pandemic began, apparently people have been getting into bread baking. Not only are there the news stories but I have the anecdotal evidence that my sweetie had trouble finding active dry yeast during one of his recent weekly grocery trips.

However, for once, I was ahead of the curve. I have been making bread on the regular for years. And since my sweetie did go to a second store for the yeast, I am back in business now after nearly using up my stash when I made pizza a couple weeks ago.

I do get why it’s picked up in popularity, as it’s often cheaper especially than some fancier breads, and it’s a good distraction for a few hours. Those brave souls who nourish sourdough starters — which I did for a while during my bread year and beyond but didn’t survive the move to Ames — are even giving themselves ongoing time commitments.

What I’m saying is, like Oprah, I love bread.

Rosemary and olive focaccia bread ingredients.

One of my favorites is focaccia. What’s not to love about a lot of olive oil, and for me, the addition of olives and/or rosemary. While I’ve made this many times before, I couldn’t recall ever making it in a small skillet.

Thankfully, the wonderful Serious Eats had a no-knead (even better!) recipe that was designed for a 10-inch skillet. I figured my 9-inch Le Creuset would work after reading the directions. It did, but barely. I ended up with a much poofier loaf than anticipated; however, another thing I did wrong among expert breadmakers is I neglected the preferred weight measurements and instead went with the also provided cup measurements. In the end, I needed more water than the recipe called for, which likely means I used too much flour and ended up with a bigger loaf than I would have otherwise.

I could beat myself up about it … but in the end, there’s just more bread to love.

Though I’m sure weighted measurements are preferred (and given) for all but my additions, this still-somewhat-lazy baker would probably worry mostly about the flour and the water measurements in weights.

Crispy, crunchy bread.

Here’s what I did, adding my own tweaks:

Ingredients

  • 500 g. bread flour or all-purpose flour (~3 ¼ c.)
  • 10 g. kosher salt (~2 ½ t.)
  • 4 g. active dry yeast (~1 rounded t.)
  • 400 g. room temperature water (1 ½ c. plus 3 T.)
  • 68 g. olive oil (~5 T.), divided
  • ~3 sprigs rosemary, divided
  • ½ c. pitted kalamata olives, chopped
  • Coarse sea salt

Directions 

Combine the flour, salt, and yeast in a large bowl and whisk to blend. Add the water and stir with a wooden spoon until no dry flour remains, about 2 minutes (if you measured by cups, you may need to add additional water to combine). Add about 1 ½ T. (20 g.) olive oil and stir to incorporate, using hands if necessary to work into the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 1 hour.

Remove plastic wrap (but keep!), and add about 2 sprigs worth of rosemary leaves, chopped if desired and all the olives. Then, use a lightly greased bowl scraper to fold the dough over itself by lifting and folding the edge of the dough toward the middle. Turn bowl and repeat the motion another 5 times (which should also help combine in the rosemary and olives). Re-cover with the plastic wrap and let rest for 15 minutes. Repeat the folding process one more time, and re-cover with the plastic wrap.

Then, refrigerate for at least 18 hours and up to 3 days.

To bake, remove the dough from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. Sprinkle the top of the dough lightly with flour, and then transfer to a work surface, and shape holding it with well-floured hands, tucking the dough underneath itself and rotating until it forms a tight ball.

Add about 2 T. (27 g.) olive oil into a 9- to 10-inch cast iron skillet and spread the oil over the entire inner surface using your hands. Transfer the dough to the pan, turn to coat it in the oil, and then position seam-side down. Spread gently with your hands to mostly fill the pan. Cover tightly and let rise at room temperature until dough is soft and puffy, about 1 ½ hours to 2 hours.

Heat oven to 500 degrees and position the rack in the lower third of the oven, when the dough is nearly ready.

Use your fingertips to gently press and stretch the dough to evenly fill all corners of the pan, lifting up the edges of the dough to let air bubbles underneath escape, and then create small dimples in the top of the dough. Drizzle the remaining 1 ½ T. (20 g.) olive oil over the top of the dough, and then sprinkle with coarse sea salt and the leaves from the remaining sprig of rosemary.

Transfer skillet to oven and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the skillet about halfway through the baking. (It seems hot, and I deviated from the directions here since I didn’t have a baking stone, but it works with some light charring on top but perfectly golden on the bottom; however, keep a closer eye on times given the high heat.) Remove from heat and let the focaccia cool in the skillet for 5 minutes, and then use a spatula to carefully remove the focaccia from the still-hot skillet and transfer the bread to a wire rack. Let cool at least 10 minutes before serving, and enjoy!

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Don’t be a nutter, try this fluffernutter pie

Remember how a few weeks ago I talked about my adventures with a peanut butter and jelly pie, and my excitement to adapt it?

Well, I couldn’t wait.

My sweetie suggested a fluffernutter pie, and I had to know how it’d work as an adaptation.

Fluffernutter pie with pretzel crust ingredients.

Another thing I wanted to try was a pretzel crust. The sweetness and the salt sounded exciting, and tasty. I thought the extra sweet fluffernutter would be the perfect test vehicle for my salty crust.

So, in (very technical) science terms, I added some extra variables, but the constant from the peanut butter and jelly pie was the center peanut butter filling.

The first variable I thought I had tried before, mixing marshmallow cream into whipped cream. I had not; in past instances, I’d mixed the marshmallow with meringue as a delightful way to “toast” the marshmallow in a S’mores pie and a Thanksgiving sweet potato pie. This time, though, I wanted an icebox pie, no cooking beyond the crust required. So, it was a test. Does whipped cream folded into marshmallow cream work? It resoundingly does.

The second variable I was more confident in, as I’ve already made a saltine crust earlier this year and, in theory, crushed pretzels aren’t that different from crushed graham crackers. The pretzels took a little more pounding, but otherwise, it was much the same as the graham cracker/saltine crusts. So again, it was a test, but I was less surprised when this was also a resounding success.

Even better, it all came together great. It was, like the last pie, the perfect adaptation of the original favorite sandwich, just sweetening the deal a little. (My sweetie has next suggested a Take 5 pie … I might take him up on it, but I might also take 5 *wink* on repeating a peanut butter pie every month.)

Salt, sweet, marshmallow, peanut butter, perfection.

Here’s what I did, adapting the peanut butter and jelly pie Taste of Home recipe from last month:

Ingredients

For the crust:

  • 1 ½ c. pretzel crumbs (I’d estimate I used about 3 c. of pretzel twists and then pounded the sh*t out of them with a meat tenderizer)
  • 5 T. unsalted butter, melted
  • ¼ c. sugar
  • Pinch of salt

For the pie:

  • 1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
  • ½ c. confectioners’ sugar
  • ½ c. peanut butter (I went with creamy for the pie, even though I like crunchy, but you do you)

For the topping: 

  • 1 c. heavy cream
  • 7 oz. marshmallow fluff

Directions

For the crust:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the ingredients in a medium bowl, and then press them into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch skillet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the edges are golden. Remove from oven, and let cool completely.

For the pie: 

In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, and peanut butter until smooth. Spoon into cooled pretzel crust. Top with whipped topping (directions below).

For the topping: 

Beat the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Fold the marshmallow fluff into the whipped cream.

To finish: 

Place the whipped topping on top of the pie. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight, and enjoy!