Eight years ago today, two of the best things that I (and David) have ever made were ready. They took 37 weeks to finish and are sweeter than any dessert. They are a natural duo like peanut butter and jelly or Charlie Brown and Snoopy and yet as unique as can be.
I may not be patient enough to let bread rise but I would be patient again for them both.
Of the 4,372 things that make me nervous to raise kids, keeping them away from drugs is in the top 5. I can preach and threaten and point out examples but at some point I won’t have this much influence and that scares the bejeebers out of me. When my friend, Elizabeth, sent this recipe – called Christmas Crack – I started to hyperventilate then I had to adjust the name (forgive me Elizabeth!).
Preheat oven to 350. Combine cereals, peanuts and pecans in a large bowl (I actually did not use pecans). Melt butter in a 3 quart saucepan over medium low, stir in sugar and syrup. Bring to a boil over medium heat for 2 minutes. Pour mixture over cereal in bowl and stir quickly to coat. Spread in a single layer on a light greased jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.
Transfer to wax paper and cool for 10 minutes. Try not to eat. Break into pieces and toss with pretzels and M&Ms.
I am convinced that the word appetizer gained popularity because people got tired of trying to spell hors d'oeuvre. Either is popular with me because you can try a lot of them and not feel guilty. How can those small things have many calories? ‘Tis the season to consume lots of appetizers – here are a few that we ate this year.
“The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook.” – Julia Child. So true! I recently heard a presentation on the Paleo diet. Very interesting and thought provoking but I would not have survived as a caveman.
It is Day 4 of this ice day-cation. The troops are growing restless. Is it time for a drink? (which is funny because a main ingredient is watermelon which was in season when posted but not so much today).
I am grateful for power and heat (you should see the neighbor’s trees hanging on the electrical line behind the house). We, and much of Dallas, ventured out yesterday to the mall. Nordstrom lost power (except auxiliary, safety lighting) yet allowed people to wander through the store. Exactly what meaningful transactions were going to occur?
“My wife and I tried to breakfast together, but we had to stop or our marriage would have been wrecked.” – Winston Churchill. Mrs. Churchill and I must have that in common – we are not morning people. I am good to go after coffee and a shower and maybe around 9:30, the wheels will start turning. Somehow we had kids who do not know the meaning of “sleeping in.” My friends with teenagers tell me that it will happen. But when????
“Only the pure in heart can make a good soup.” - Ludwig van Beethoven. Well that can’t be true because I make a pretty good soup; my intentions are pure – maybe I am getting extra credit for that.
“I'm just someone who likes cooking and for whom sharing food is a form of expression.” While I would like to claim this quote as mine, it came from Maya Angelou, but I couldn’t agree more.
Another year has come and gone and we have journeyed together and expanded our recipe repertoire. It began as an experiment of social media and a desire to answer the “what are you making for dinner?” It has evolved into an extended family of fellow cooks, an excuse to make the kids try new foods, an opportunity to throw David under the bus periodically, and a personal challenge to find the next great, new recipe.
Thanks to you for being a part of The Baker’s Mann, for willingly sharing your best recipes, for serving as a taste tester, and/or for providing feedback as you try new recipes. Your interest and involvement keeps me searching and baking.
Happy Baker’s Manniversary to you!
For the next week or so we will take a stroll down memory lane and review all the recipes from the past year by category.
David took the kids to see Frozen this past weekend. Elizabeth was giving me a painstakingly detailed breakdown of the plot. At one point, it went a little like this “…and Elsa, the queen, she is older but not really old like you, Mommy.” Ouch.
A quick check of the internet and one of the many benefits of pomegranates is for “aging.” Good thing this fruit is currently in season and tastes great! Bobby Flay created this seasonal salad. Surprisingly, he did not include pomegranates in the salad itself, just the dressing. Being the nutty, recipe adapter that I am (ha!), I topped the salad with pomegranate seeds. No such thing as too many.
Whisk together the pomegranate molasses, vinegar, mustard, honey and salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until emulsified - taste periodically, I used less than 3/4 c.
Combine the apples, spinach, endive, walnuts and blue cheese in a large bowl. Add the vinaigrette and toss to coat, season with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds on top.
Pomegranate molasses – this is supposedly available at some stores, in particular in Middle Eastern markets. You can also make your own – 2 cups pomegranate juice+ ¼ c sugar + ½ T lemon juice. Place the pomegranate juice, sugar and lemon juice in a 2-quart saucepan set over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has completely dissolved. Once the sugar has dissolved, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the mixture has reduced to 1 cup, approximately 70 minutes. It should be the consistency of thick syrup. Remove from the heat and allow to cool in the saucepan for 30 minutes. Transfer to a glass jar and allow to cool completely before covering and storing in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.
I nearly missed it - Flashback Friday - but we are back from Austin and San Antonio in the nick of time! We had our first annual Thanksgiving Wednesday (best ever!) - hope your Thanksgiving was delicious and relaxing and joyous too!
﻿﻿Let the festivities begin! If you are asked to bring an appetizer to a holiday gathering, wow your friends with one of these delicious dishes.
The Baker’s Mann is typically about recipes that can be made on a given weeknight. This Alton Brown recipe has a pain in the rump factor (12 hours start to finish) because it takes patience – something that I am in short supply of lately. But… if you have the desire to make your own cinnamon rolls and you time it properly, this will make your house smell great and make you the star of the family.
For the dough: in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg yolks, whole egg, sugar, butter, and buttermilk. Add 2 cups of the flour along with the yeast and salt; whisk until moistened and combined. Remove the whisk attachment and replace with a dough hook. Add 1 ¼ cup more flour and knead on low speed for 5 minutes. Check the consistency of the dough, add more flour if necessary; the dough should feel soft and moist but not sticky. Knead on low speed 5 minutes more or until the dough clears the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface; knead by hand about 30 seconds. Lightly oil a large bowl. Transfer the dough to the bowl, lightly oil the top of the dough, cover and let double in volume, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
Butter a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently shape the dough (with a rolling pin) into a rectangle with the long side nearest you. Roll into an 18 by 12-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with the 3/4-ounce of melted butter, leaving 1/2-inch border along the top edge. Sprinkle the filling mixture over the dough, leaving a 3/4-inch border along the top edge; gently press the filling into the dough. Beginning with the long edge nearest you, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. Firmly pinch the seam to seal and roll the cylinder seam side down. Very gently squeeze the cylinder to create even thickness. Using a serrated knife, slice the cylinder into 1 1/2-inch rolls; yielding 12 rolls. Arrange rolls cut side down in the baking dish; cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight or up to 16 hours.
Remove the rolls from the refrigerator and place in an oven that is turned off. Fill a shallow pan 2/3-full of boiling water (I filled a tea kettle with water and then poured it into a brownie pan in the oven) and set on the rack below the rolls. Close the oven door and let the rolls rise until they look slightly puffy; approximately 30 minutes. Remove the rolls and the shallow pan of water from the oven.
reappear and be tried or retried.
A Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. May your day be filled with gratitude and blessings, family and friends.
I am timeliness challenged. For this reason, my friends know not to assign me the appetizer for dinner parties or gatherings. Not that I don’t have great appetizer recipes, it is because they don’t want appetizers for the main course.
I found this Giada recipe and gave it a try. Definitely include the goat cheese, the sundried tomato and creamy cheese combination on top of a toasted baguette create bite size scrumptiousness. Invite me to your party – I’ll deliver this appetizer earlier in the day so at least it will be on time when your other guests arrive.
You can either use plain goat cheese or flavor it. If you choose flavored: place the soft goat cheese in a small bowl. Stir in the thyme.
Spread the crostini with Sun-Dried Tomato Jam and top with the goat cheese. Transfer to a serving plate and serve.