Martha's Cinnamon Raisin Bread

I'm just gonna put it out there, I was the cool kid in school.  Don't believe me? Listen to this...

While in college, I roomed with my best friend Anja for a semester.  We were pretty awesome.  We would sit in our room on the weekends and knit while watching Gilmore Girls and eating easy mac and Cheetos all day long.  Jealous?

Then one weekend, we heard that Martha Stewart was going to be in Minneapolis signing books.  And because we were so amazing, we got up at 3:00 on a Saturday morning, drove to Barnes and Noble, (I had Anja parallel park my car.  Nope, can't do it at 3am when nobody is around either) and sat outside for 4 hours in the freezing cold, waiting to get an autograph. 

When we got into the store and out of the cold, we bought our Martha Stewart cook books, which happened to be all about baking, which I was thrilled about.  We waited around the store for a few more hours and finally Martha arrived.  She is more beautiful than I thought.  Very lean and tall.  We got our autographs and I mumbled something to her about how I want to open a business and she said she was proud of that and that was the end of my meeting with Martha Stewart.  We drove home and went back to bed. 

Oh you know that scarf was hand knit!

Later on, I looked through my new signed cookbook and let me tell you, for a college student in a dorm, these recipes were intimidating.  The book got put in my "special things" box and put away for 7 years.

While unpacking all of my totes after moving to Cincinnati, I stumbled across this bright orange book.  I studied it for a while looking through and trying to find the easiest thing to make.  I've been getting in to making my own bread, so I wanted to try a bread recipe.  Nick loves cinnamon raisin bread so I decided I'd give it a shot.  I honestly studied the recipe for about a day before I tackled it.  Bread is just one of those things that are truly depressing when you ruin, because you put hours of labor into it.  This particular recipe takes me about 4 hours to make.  But it is totally worth it!  This cinnamon raisin bread is soooo delicious!  We just got two big tubs of coconut oil from Amazon this week and I'm just dying to try it on this bread.  I think we'll skip dinner tonight and just have toast! haha Just kidding... maybe. Enjoy!

I had to take the bread outside and capture it's beauty in good lighting.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Makes 2 Loaves

Ingredients:

For Dough:

1 envelope of active dry yeast (I just use about a tablespoon, if you buy in bulk)

2 cups warm (110 degrees F) organic milk (I use whole)

About 6 1/2 cups of organic all-purpose flour

1 stick (1/2 cup) organic butter

1/2 cup organic sugar

2 large organic eggs, plus one more egg, lightly beaten

2 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt

1 cup organic raisins

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

olive oil for bowl and plastic wrap

For Filling:

1 cup organic sugar

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

Make the dough:  In the bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk, whisk to combine.  Add the flour, butter, sugar, 2 eggs, and salt.  Attach bowl to mixer fitted with the dough hook.  Mix on low speed until all of the ingredients are well combined, about 3 minutes.  Raise the speed to medium-low, and continue to mix until the dough is uniformly smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 3 more minutes.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface.  Pat out dough into a 9-inch round, about 1 1/4 inches thick.  Sprinkle with raisins and cinnamon, and knead until they are just incorporated.  Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with oiled plastic wrap.  Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.  (If you don't have a nice sunbeam to put it in, just preheat your oven to the lowest setting, then turn it off and put the dough in the oven.  It'll raise.)

Pat dough into a 9 inch round and top with raisins and cinnamon

            After you knead the dough                                    

Return the dough to a lightly floured work surface and pat into a round.  Fold the bottom third of the dough up, the top third down, and the right and left sides over, tapping dough after each fold to release excess flour, and pressing down to seal.  Return the dough to the bowl, seam side down, and let rise again until doubled in bulk, about 40 minutes.

Make the filling:  Combine sugar and cinnamon with about 2 tablespoons of water in a small bowl.  return the dough to a lightly floured work surface, and divide in half.  Roll out one half to a 12-by-10 inch rectangle; brush with beaten egg, and sprinkle with half of the filling.  Repeat with remaining dough and filling. 

Rolling your rectangle into a loaf.

Generously butter two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans; set aside.  With the short end of the rectangle facing you, fold in both long sides of the dough, about 1 inch.  Then roll the dough toward you, gently pressing as you go to form a tight log.  Gently roll the log back and fourth to seal the seam.  (it is important to seal the seam) Place the loaf in a prepared pan, seam side down.  Repeat with remaining rectangle.  Cover pans loosely with oiled plastic wrap, and let rest in a warm place until dough rises just about the rim about the pan, about 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 (unless using it to raise the bread!).  

Rising the bread in the loaf pans.

Brush the tops of the loaves with the beaten egg, and transfer pans to a baking sheet.  Bake, rotating pans halfway through , until loaves are golden brown, about 45 minutes. (If tops begin to brown too quickly, tent with foil)  Turn out the bread onto a wire rack and cool completely before slicing.  The bread can be kept, wrapped in plastic, at room temperature for up to 4 days. (We put ours in the fridge and it lasted for 2 weeks.)

All finished!

This is why you want to make sure your pan is sprayed and your dough is sealed.

Adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook.  Go out and buy yourself this lovely book. 

Beautiful Classic Farmhouse Bread... Just Like Grandma's!

First off... Happy World Bread Day!

Secondly, I've been making my own bread for nearly a year now.  Simply, it's just so much tastier than store bought bread and when you make it yourself, you know exactly what you put in it.  We went to the store looking for an Italian loaf and every single "bakery" bread had high fructose corn syrup in it.  It's quite sad.  But not really, because home made bread is quite simple.  And this recipe is great! So easy to make on a Sunday while watching football.  It's super fluffy and I can't wait to have a piece tomorrow morning.  Really delicious. 

I wish more people would make their own bread like the old days.  I remember going to my grandma's as a kid and there would always be homemade bread around, or bread rising in the sunbeam, or bread baking in the oven.  Yum... 

Amish White Bread

Makes 2 Loaves

Ingredients:

2 Cups of warm water (110 degrees F)

3 tablespoons organic white sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons of active dry yeast

1 1/2 teaspoons of salt

1/4 cup olive oil

6 cups of organic all purpose flour (or bread flour)

Directions:

In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam, about 10 minutes.

Mix oil into the yeast. Mix salt into flour and mix in flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes, and divide in half. Shape into loaves, and place into two well oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Cool on racks. 

Note: If making in a KitchenAid mixer, dissolve sugar in water, add yeast and proof.  Mix in oil.  Put dough hook on and add flour one cup at a time, mixing on low speed.  (Another note: I add the salt to about the 3rd cup of flour.  Salt can kill yeast so its important to mix it in with the flour).  After flour is incorporated, turn speed to medium for about 5-6 minutes.  This will kneed the bread.  Turn onto a lightly floured surface.  Then follow the next steps in the directions. 

Chicken Gyros with Baked Fries

Mmmmm, I love traditional Greek gyros! However, I also love cute little fluffy lambs, which is why I don't eat gyros anymore.  We actually made these gyros with the fake "Chik'n" strips that you can get in the freezer/vegetarian section of the store.  This is my first time cooking with "Chik'n" and you know, it's wasn't the greatest.  I'm always weary of fake soy meat products and don't eat them often (only on taco night! Yum!), and I probably won't ever purchase the fake chicken anymore.  That's why I made the recipe using real chicken.  If you want a really good Greek vegetarian dish that's similar, try stuffing these gyros with my Falafel.  It's delicious.

Chicken Gyros with Baked Fries

Serves: 4

For the Chicken:

1 lb boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, cut into strips

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

4 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons Greek Seasoning (I just used oregano and thyme)

juice of 1 large lemon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except chicken, and mix well. Place in a Ziploc bag, and add chicken. Shake to ensure the marinade is covering chicken. Allow to marinate in refrigerator for at least an hour to overnight.

Remove chicken from marinade, and toss leftover marinade. You may grill the chicken at this point, but if you don't have a grill, just pan fry in a skillet with some olive oil until cooked completely.  

For the Tzatziki Sauce:

6 oz Greek Yogurt

juice of 1/2 of a medium lemon

1 med cucumber, peeled and minced

3 large cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp dried dill

Directions:

Combine the yogurt, lemon juice, minced cucumber, garlic, and dill.  Cover and refrigerate for an hour.

For the Gyros:

4 pitas cut in half.  Microwaved for 20 seconds in between two pieces of damp paper towels (this will make them warm and easy to handle).  

1 tomato, chopped

2 cups romaine lettuce, chopped

1/2 medium onion, sliced

1 cucumber, sliced

Directions:

Place lettuce, tomato, onion, cucumber and chicken into pita and top with tzatziki sauce

Don't forget the fries!!

2-3 large russet potatoes

2 tablespoons of salt plus 1 teaspoon

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon garlic powder (or a couple cloves of minced garlic)

2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

Slice the potatoes into fries, I always like the skins on. Fill a large (and I mean large) bowl with hot water and add 2 tablespoons of salt.  Soak the fries in the saltwater mixture for about 15 minutes. 

Dump the water out and pat the fries dry. 

Add the fries back to the bowl and add 1 tsp. salt, seasonings, and olive oil.  Toss to completely coat the fries.  Spray a baking sheet and spread fries evenly.  Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 20-30 minutes, or until fries are nice and brown and crispy, flipping once halfway through.

Eggplant Parmesan Stacks!

I love eggplant Parmesan.  It's so delicious!  However, sometimes I just don't have the time or energy to bread and fry all those eggplants.  So, while watching my new favorite daytime television show, "The Chew,"  my friend Mario Batali gave me an awesome recipe that cuts my eggplant Parmesan making time in half... and is a bit healthier too!!

When I made these, I set off the fire alarm.  I was toasting my homemade bread crumbs... that I made from homemade bread and all of a sudden they were burnt! So the fire alarm went off and I was totally off my game man.  Note, lightly toast your breadcrumbs over medium low heat.  It was just one of those crabby nights when I wanted everything to turn out perfect and they didn't.  These still tasted amazing, next time I make them, I'll make my sauce beforehand so I'm not doing 10 million things at once.  Sometimes that's what you get when you make everything from scratch.  Making things ahead of time is probably a good thing. 

Anyway here is the recipe that I got from the Chew website. Delicious!

Eggplant Parmesan Stacks

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

2 large purple eggplants (sliced in 1 inch rounds)

1 head of garlic cloves (peeled and thinly sliced)

1 cup basil leaves

2 cup tomato sauce

1.5 balls of mozzarella (sliced into 1/4 in rounds)

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1 tablespoons chili flake

2 teaspoons fresh thyme

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (plus 1/4 cup)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 

Lay out eggplant rounds on cookie sheets in single layers. Cut 2-3 slits per round, large enough to stuff a garlic slice into each slit. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Roast until soft and cooked completely, about 10-15 minutes.

Mix bread crumbs, thyme and chili flakes together. Heat saute pan over medium heat and add 1/4 cup olive oil. Once hot, add bread crumb mixture and toast until golden brown. Remove bread crumbs from pan onto a paper towel lined plate. (make sure not to burn like me!)

Remove eggplant from oven and let cool just slightly, enough so you can handle. Reuse a cookie sheet and build stacks of eggplant parm. Begin with a slice of eggplant and layer with 2-3 leaves of basil, smear with a couple tablespoons of tomato sauce and top with a slice of mozzarella and pinch of parmesan. Build two layers tall and top with breadcrumbs.

Increase the temperature of the oven to 400 degrees F.

Put the eggplant stacks back into the oven and cook 3-5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the bread crumbs are toasted.

Adapted from Mario Batali's Eggplant Parm Stacks. 

Easy Chicken Alfredo

This is a good super easy and quick meals for those crazy or lazy nights!

Chicken Alfredo

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken breast tenders

1 tablespoon of Cajun seasoning (or other poultry seasoning)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 box Fettuccine noodles

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped

Directions:

Season the chicken with the Cajun seasoning and cook through in a pan over medium heat with the olive oil.  May add a splash of white wine towards the end for extra flavor.  Yes... do that.  Yum.

While the chicken is cooking, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add the flour and whisk until foamy to make a roux Add the milk at this time and keep whisking to get rid of any clumps.  Simmer until it starts to thicken and add the cheese.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Might as well add some white wine to this too!! Do it when you put in the milk though.  So the alcohol is cooked off.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt the water, and add the noodles.  Cook about 12 minutes, or until noodles are al dente.  Strain the pasta and add the sauce back to the pot with the noodles.  Cut up the chicken into cubes or shred it and add it to the sauce and noodles.  Mix thoroughly.  Plate up and add parsley on top for garnish.  

Cinnamon Apple Chips

My favorite part of having parties as a kid was all the nasty junk food!  Potato chips and cheese or ranch dip were my all time favorite junk foods.  Yum!!

I haven't bought a bag of potato chips in years.  I honestly don't know what would happen to my body if I ate like I did in high school these days.  Let's not find out.

Kind of went a little heavy on the cinnamon, but it was still amazing!

Instead... with the help of my new incredible dehydrator, Let's make healthy and delicious apple chips!!  Don't worry if you don't have a dehydrator.  You should go out and just buy one, but if you don't want to, you can also bake these in the oven instead.

Enjoy!

Cinnamon Apple Chips

Ingredients:
4-5 large apples cored and sliced thinly (using a mandolin helps to keep them the same size)
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 cup water
2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar

Directions:
Mix together the water and lemon juice.  Once the apples are sliced, soak them in the lemon juice mixture for about 3 minutes. Place the apples on your dehydrator racks being sure not to overlap.  Lightly sprinkle cinnamon over apples.  Turn dehydrator on 135 degrees for about 6 hours.  Be sure to check back towards the end because if you over dehydrate the apples, they lose some nutrients. Let cool and snack away!!  These are seriously my new favorite go-to snack! Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.  

If baking:  After soaking apples in the lemon juice mixture, place on a baking sheet (using parchment paper), sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, and bake at 200 degrees for 2 hours, turning once after an hour.  Let cool on a cooling rack.  
 

Butternut Squash Ravioli With a Yellow Curry Sauce

I've been wanting to make a butternut squash ravioli for a while now, but I really can't stand the brown butter sage sauce that everyone pairs it with.  Maybe because the last time I made that sauce, I didn't brown the butter enough so it just tasted like nasty butter soaked ravioli.  Anyway, this time, I wanted to make a yellow curry sauce because curry goes with pumpkin so well and butternut squashes are similar to pumpkins. 

Anyway, this turned out really really good, however I do have some crucial changes that need to be made.  Notice in my photo that the raviolis are sitting in the curry sauce.  Don't do this.  Just drizzle a tiny bit over the tops of the raviolis.  Otherwise the curry overpowers and you want to taste the squash. yum! Also, make sure to buy a high quality yellow curry paste (or make one yourself!).  I used the cheapest kind in the store (not my fault, Nick picked it out) and you can see it's very oily.  You never want an oily curry.  And lastly, I think when the curry sauce is complete, just pop it in the blender or food processor to puree.  That way, it's nice and smooth and creamy. Yum!

Butternut Squash Ravioli Yellow Curry

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

1/2 butternut squash

1 large potato

2 inch piece of ginger, pureed (I use a zester)

salt and pepper

1 can of coconut milk, divided

25 wonton wrappers

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tablespoon coconut oil (can use olive instead)

2 teaspoons of high quality yellow curry paste (found in your local Asian market) 

2 tablespoons parsley

3 tablespoons roasted peanuts

Directions:

Take half your butternut squash and place it in a 9X13 inch pan filled with 2 inches of water.  Pierce with a fork and bake at 400 for about 40 minutes.  Pierce the potato with a fork a few times and bake along side the squash on the rack.  Let cool.

Scoop out the squash, and potato into a blender or food processor and add the ginger, salt and pepper to taste, and 1/2 cup of coconut milk.   Puree until smooth and creamy.  Place 1 tablespoon of mixture onto the middle of  a wonton wrapper and seal the edges, dipping your fingers in water will help.  Set aside.

Heat up the garlic and oil in a large pan and add the curry paste.  Stir in the oil until foamy.  Add the onion and let them cook until tender.  Add the rest of the can of coconut milk and let simmer for 5 minutes.  Transfer to food processor and puree until smooth and creamy.  

Bring a large pot of water to a medium boil and add the raviolis, making sure not to overcrowd the pan.  Once raviolis float to the top, they are finished.  Repeat with remaining raviolis.  

To serve, place raviolis in a dish and drizzle lightly with curry sauce.  Top with parsley and peanuts!