Homemade Garlic Butter Mini Naan

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Soft, puffy and blistered with goodness is my version of butter garlic Naan. What do you serve this delightful Indian flatbread with? There are countless recipes, but stay tuned for a souper super easy recipe that will have you wiping your bowl clean with this Naan!

Spiced Pumpkin Angel Biscuits

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I am sure many of your have already started your holiday planning and prep.  I certainly have.  Besides the turkey, I think there is another universal element to the table.  That element is some sort of bread to pass at dinner and for those late night turkey sandwiches.  I always roast a turkey, but this year I also want to smoke a turkey.  Therefore, I am going to need a special vehicle for smoked turkey sandwiches.

Like the pumpkin yeast bread, the twist comes from the addition of pumpkin purée for added moisture.  Unlike the bread, you want to use a very light hand when working with this dough.  You want to use the spoon and level method for measuring the flour (too much flour will make the dough hard to work with).  Don't over work/knead the dough, otherwise you will wind up with a tough, doughy interior.  With three leaveners in the recipe, the end result will be layers of flaky goodness.

I use homemade pumpkin purée and homemade pumpkin pie spice, but store bought will work equally well.  I also added a little cardamom for some extra spice.  Not only are these delicious, the dough can be made a couple of days ahead and they can even be cut up to one day before baking (instructions are listed along with the recipe below).  Serve warm with an extra pat of butter, toast leftovers for a special breakfast treat, or reheat them and make that turkey sandwich when the craving hits.

Other breads for your holiday table...

Buttery Pan Rolls

Ciabatta

Cloverleaf Rolls

Cranberry Walnut Wheat Rolls

Fluffy Make-Ahead Dinner Rolls

No-Knead Country Bread

Oatmeal Honey Bread

Pumpkin Yeast Bread

Sweet Cornbread

White Bread

Bewitched Breadsticks

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Halloween is this week and with three children, I am always looking for something fun to put in their lunch boxes or to have as an after school snack to get them in the mood for ghouls and goblins.  I made these last week and when my youngest came home she said, "Ooh, FINGERS! Can I have one now?" She then proceeded to munch on one with great delight.  They are crispy and crunchy with a nutty end.  Eat them as they are or serve them with a favorite dip.

I use the no-knead dough for the country bread.  For eight breadsticks, you will only need 8-ounces of dough.  That is approximately 1/6 of the entire batch of dough.  If you are making them for a party, you could certainly make more.  I made just eight and saved the rest of the dough in the refrigerator for a smaller loaf of country bread for our Sunday spaghetti dinner.  The dough is easiest to work with when it is cold, so once it has risen overnight, place it in the refrigerator. (You do not need to punch down or degas the dough at all).  When ready to use, just pull or cut an 8-ounce portion from the batch and continue making the breadsticks.

Sunday Dinner

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Pistachio Covered Goat Cheese Log

Steak and Guinness Stew

Cheddar Mashed Potatoes

Buttered Peas

Caraway Rye Bread

Guinness Brownies

When you think you should make soda bread, but need a platform for a sandwich to use up left over corned beef, what do you do?  Well, I make a loaf of crusty caraway rye bread.  One of the loaves goes perfectly well with the meal tonight while the second loaf can be baked, sliced, and ready to bookend a beautiful Rueben the next day. (Don't forget the homemade Thousand Island dressing.)

No matter what time of year it is, this is a loaf of rye bread that you can count on as a table bread or sandwich foundation.  Be spry and give Rye a try! (That sounds like discarded 1950s ad copy, but it'll have to do.)

Sunday Dinner one year ago
Sunday Dinner two years ago

Homemade Pizza Dough

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Make your own pizza dough.  Really, give it a try and see if you don't end up doing it again.  Pizza places are humming during the holidays due to the amount of cooking being done for parties and family gatherings.  And that's great.  There are a lot of good pizza places out there.  But being able to reach into the fridge or freezer for your own hand-crafted dough is something special.  Taking on the challenge of perfecting it can be a rewarding experience (obsession) you might never have expected.  

This dough is great for thin pizza that has a crisp crust and chewy pull (thank the high gluten flour for that one), but it is also a suitable dough for calzones, stromboli, pizza bites, or even a simple flat bread for the dinner table.       

Make-Ahead Fluffy Dinner Rolls

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When dinner is at your house this year and you have ten different dishes to time right and prepare for, a make ahead recipe is much appreciated.  These rolls are a family favorite and simply cannot be replaced with a store bought substitute.  Mutiny (led by my 12 year old daughter, Emma) would ensue.  My mother normally makes them, but she is hundreds of miles away this Thanksgiving☹, so the duty falls on me.  That is where the make ahead part comes in and makes everything both easy and good.

These rolls are the perfect compliment to Thanksgiving dinner.  They are sturdy enough to sop up gravy, but tender enough to be a pat of butter's dream date.  They are also just the right size for late night and all weekend turkey sandwiches.

Sunday Dinner

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Caramelized Onions and Gruyère Mini Phyllo Cups

Roast Chicken

Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes

Glazed Carrots

Cranberry Walnut Wheat Rolls

Rustic Chocolate Hazelnut Tart

"Breathe deep the gathering gloom,

Watch lights fade from every room"

It is at this time of year (the turning back of the clock to Standard Time in the U.S.) that my husband will unfailingly recite this Moody Blues lyric.  When darkness comes in the 5 o'clock hour, we know that we are on the front edge of the coming Winter here in the Midwest.  But that's no reason to get down about it.  I say that's a reason to have a delicious, comforting meal☺. 

Sweet and nutty are the two flavors that help a rather ordinary roll recipe stand out.  The sweetness comes from a bit of brown sugar and the addition of dried cranberries.  Walnuts and some whole wheat flour provide a pleasing nuttiness. Baked until golden brown and crusty on the outside and soft and tender on the inside, these cranberry walnut wheat rolls are a tasty compliment to a classic and comforting Fall meal.

Sunday Dinner one year ago
Sunday Dinner two years ago

Homemade Hamburger Buns

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In case you weren't aware, May is National Burger Month.  With a long weekend for grilling burgers with family and friends coming up, I certainly wanted to share one of our favorite burgers (o.k. one of many). But before I get to that recipe, I want you to have the recipe for a platform that can support that beefy goodness.

I know what you are thinking, make your own buns-- really?!  But honestly, once you start (and taste) there really is no going back to the artificial cardboard flavor that comes from too many of the store-bought variety (not to mention the pocket change you save by doing so).

I use my white bread dough recipe with a few minor adaptations.  First, I enrich the dough with an egg.  Once shaped,  I brush the buns with an egg wash and give them a sprinkling of sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or leave them plain depending on the type of burger I am making.  Finally, to give them a good rise in the oven I increase the baking temperature to 400° F. 

The golden brown appearance, the slight pull, the buttery flavor--all these qualities help to make the at-home burger experience a truly exceptional one.  

Cloverleaf Rolls

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When there is a ham dinner, there must be some type of roll.  We enjoyed these for the first time this past Sunday, but since then I have already made a second batch.  Yes-- they are that good.

It is a basic bread dough that is enriched with milk, sugar, and an egg.  The dough is divided and shaped into small balls (employ your kitchen helpers with this job) before baked until golden brown. The crust is buttery and crisp while the inside is tender and sweet.   

And lastly, the fun factor bonus for kids and adults...individual pull-aparts.  You really get three rolls in one as the separate dough balls bake together to form the cloverleaf-- it all comes together in one bite of yum.

Homemade Ciabatta

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One food staple that I just cannot live without is bread.  Not just any bread, but homemade bread.  I love the feel of the soft dough, the smell of the yeast emanating off a freshly baked loaf, and the satisfaction from the overall taste and texture.  

Ciabatta, also known as "slipper" bread, is a white Italian bread.  It has an elongated, flat shape with a porous structure and crisp crust.  Although popular across Italy and some parts of Europe, ciabatta wasn't widely known of or available in the U.S. until the early 1990s.  Its higher profile is a welcome development for this baker!  I make ciabatta and use it for sandwiches, panini, stuffing, croutons, and an outstanding garlic bread (recipe to come).  I shape it into its traditional long "slipper" form, but I also shape it into rolls.  

The recipe does require a bit of advance planning because of the biga (the pre-fermentation process used in Italian baking), but you can skip the step and make it all in one day.  In fact, the bread pictured was made without the biga and you can see that there is still a significant amount of holes and open texture.  Which ever way you decide to make it, it will be good.  Make a batch to have warm and drizzled with a good olive oil for dinner, then have some toasted with a good slathering of butter in the morning.  

Whole Wheat Pita Bread

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Once you start making certain things on your own, you never want go back to the store-bought brands.  Pita bread is one of those things.  Why??  One bite will tell you. These pitas are soft rounds full of whole wheat flavor that are sweetened with a bit of honey.  Don't be intimidated by making your own.  They really are quite simple to make.  What I love about this recipe is the amount-- 12 pitas!  That means some warm for dinner, a couple for pita pocket sandwiches for lunch, a few baked into pita chips, and whatever is left over goes into the freezer to help me out on a busy weeknight or for a last minute lunch idea. 

Below are a few step-by-step photos to help you with the process.

After kneading the dough, allow it to rise for one hour or until doubled in size.

After the initial rise, gently deflate the dough.

I like to use my kitchen scale covered in plastic wrap to weigh each dough ball, about 3 3/4 ounce each.

I use a minimal amount (if any) of flour when rolling out the rounds.  Too much flour will cause the dough to shrink back, making it difficult to hold the 7-inch round size circle.  Also, when rolling out a round of dough, keep the other balls covered with a sheet of plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out.

Lightly sprinkle the baking sheets with cornmeal to prevent the rounds from sticking.  Allow them to rise for another hour (covered with a slightly damp kitchen towel) or until puffy, but not necessarily doubled in size.  Then bake until lightly golden and puffy.

Mmm-- homemade whole wheat pita!